SHARED INNOVATION, CONTROL, AND DEPENDENCE IN THE GOVERNANCE OF RELATIONAL RISK: EVIDENCE FROM INTERNATIONAL SUBCONTRACTING IN TUNISIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.6025Keywords:
Shared Innovation, Relational Risk, Control, Trust, Dependence, Subcontracting, Textile and Apparel, TunisiaAbstract
This study examines how shared innovation reconfigures the governance of relational risk in international subcontracting. Building on trust-control research and the supplier-innovation literature, it treats shared innovation not simply as an outcome of collaboration but as a governance contingency that changes how control, trust, and dependence are linked within a focal buyer-supplier relationship. The analysis draws on a 2023 single-wave survey of 284 Tunisian textile and apparel subcontractors, each reporting on one focal foreign buyer relationship, matched with archival firm information. The hypotheses are tested primarily through hierarchical regressions and corroborated with latent-variable structural equation modeling. Three findings stand out. Shared innovation strengthens the positive association between control and trust (H7), weakens the positive association between relational risk and subcontractor dependence (H8), and makes perceived buyer dependence more plausible when relational risk is salient (H9). By contrast, shared innovation does not significantly weaken the association between relational risk and control (H6), suggesting that innovation changes the function of control more than the need for control. The study clarifies when control becomes more trust-enabling and how collaborative innovation redistributes dependence within subcontracting dyads. For managers, the findings indicate that innovation-relevant supplier relationships require governance systems that combine coordination, visibility, and relational investment rather than relying on control alone.
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