The impact of an ambidextrous supply chain governance on supplier performance : the role of supplier performance measurement systems

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of supplier PMS Lifecycle elements in supporting the implementation of an Ambidextrous buyer-supplier relationship Governance, thus leading to superior performance. The analysis covers all the phases of the supplier PMS lifecycle, i.e. design, implementation, use and review. Grounding on Dynamic Capabilities theory, the study investigates the company ability to exploit the complementary forces of the Ambidextrous Supply Chain Governance (being Contractual Governance and Relational Governance), linking them to the supplier PMS put in place and to operational (quality, delivery), strategic (innovation, corporate social responsibility) and cost performance. The model has been tested on a final sample of 117 matched buyer-supplier dyads. Buyer companies (with more than 100 employees) were first addressed and asked to provide the contact of a supplier, to which a specular questionnaire version was sent (response rate 88% on supplier side). The main findings obtained from a PLS-SEM analysis show that an Ambidextrous SC Governance is a significant antecedent of a supplier PMS mature adoption and supplier PMS partially mediates the relationship between an Ambidextrous SC Governance and supplier’s performance. According to the study results, managers should carefully take care of the entire process of PMS adoption in order to maximize benefits and avoid drawbacks. Moreover, an Ambidextrous Governance seems to result in good operational and strategic performance in the long run and the supplier PMS represents a tool the buyer company can exploit to implement this Governance. Theoretical advancements consist in defining and validating measures for all the constructs of the supplier PMS Lifecycle, while previous studies were focused only on the design phase. Moreover, the study takes into account both buyers’ and suppliers’ point of views in order to highlight and solve bias deriving from the misalignment of perspective.