RESPONSES TO SUPPLIER-INDUCED DISRUPTIONS: A FUZZY-SET ANALYSIS

Supplier-induced disruptions are critical events that can either lead to dysfunctional conflict or spark more fruitful collaboration in buyer-supplier interactions. However, the focus on a single level of analysis in existing research has limited our ability to better understand the complex mechanics linking supplier-induced disruptions and their consequences. Recognizing this need to bridge different levels of analysis, our study builds on event system theory and presents an in-depth qualitative investigation of 60 response processes following supplier-induced disruptions in Western-Chinese buyer-supplier relationships. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we explore how cognitive, behavioral, and structural factors across the individual and organizational levels of analysis combine in complex ways to give rise to either dysfunctional conflict or constructive interaction in the aftermath of supplier-induced disruptions. Because little is known about the cognitive underpinnings of responses to supply chain disruptions, we investigate the specific role of managerial cognition. To do so, we employ a cognitive-linguistic approach, which maintains that subtle differences in language reflect differences in cognition, for the textual analysis of our 101 interviews across 20 companies. The configurational fsQCA across the individual and organizational level identifies two archetypes associated with dysfunctional conflict and three archetypes associated with constructive interaction. These findings are the foundation of a middle-range theory for responses to supplier-induced disruptions that bridges different levels of analysis and accounts for the role of managerial cognition.