Inter-organizational relationships and knowledge sharing in green supply chains—Moderating by relational benefits and guanxi

This paper presents a new research model to examine the factors influencing the knowledge sharing and implementation in inter-organizational relationships. In this study, we examine how relational risk affects the willingness to share knowledge and how this association is affected by the tangible relational value (relational benefits) and intangible relational value (guanxi). Data are collected from 436 green manufacturing firms that are among the top 1000 Taiwanese manufacturing firms of 2008 listed by Business Weekly. Relational risk is found to be negatively associated with willingness to share knowledge. Our results show that relational benefits and guanxi between partners improve the negative effect of relational risk on knowledge sharing. The findings of the study provide useful insights into how green supply chain members should reinforce their relational benefits and guanxi activities that would improve their value-based relationships, in order to enhance the environmentally knowledge sharing for the green supply chain as a whole.

► Rather than focusing on the antecedents to knowledge sharing behavior, this work provides insights into how the negative effect of relational risk on inter-organizational knowledge sharing can be moderated by the relational benefits and guanxi of partnership in supply chains. This study integrates the perspective of relational view (such as RBV and relational risk) in the study of the relational governance in green supply chains. This paper extends current research by highlighting the role of value-based relationships from the relational view of partners.