Supply‐chain collaboration and success in technology implementation

Competitive success is increasingly linked to implementing change in a co‐ordinated manner within the organization and in the extended value network that embeds the organization. In particular, for manufacturers the successful implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) can be linked to collaborative buyer‐supplier relationships. Derives a model from the literature to link these aspects. Tests empirically major propositions from this model using data from 83 firms positioned at the top of the Turkish automotive industry supply chain. Establishes that companies with higher levels of AMT implementation collaborative more with their parts suppliers and companies are more successful in achieving their AMT implementation objectives if increased AMT implementation is coupled with more collaborate supplier relationships. Both AMT implementation levels and buyer‐supplier collaboration are shown to have significantly increased over a five‐year period. While AMT implementation levels of individual firms appear to have diverged, levels of buyer‐supplier collaboration appear to have converged during the five years.