A Conceptual Model of Value-Transparency in Supply

This paper presents a model of how organisations might employ Value-Transparency (V-T) as a resource within supply relationships. The model refutes classical models of buyer-supplier relationships which assume a hierarchy wherein customers specify and demand suppliers to conform or acquiesce. V-T is presented as a potent resource for exploiting and expanding the innovative capabilities of inter-organisational working. The selective application of V-T, within a delineated project framework, is proposed as an alternative to the traditional customer-supplier hierarchy and its institution-based processes. It is proposed that V-T might represent a new resource or innovative capability for customers and suppliers.