Market-driving strategy implementation through global supplier relationships

The global supplier network is becoming an increasingly important asset for many firms. If successfully managed, supplier relationships may support the firm's strategic orientation and become a sustainable advantage on the global market. A key question is thus how the firm can develop and maintain such relationships. The market-driving strategy has recently been advanced as a more pro-active type of market orientation that aims to reconfigure the supply chain, change the nature of competition and the values of the customers. We especially investigate how market-driving firms can develop their supplier relationships so that they actively support this strategy. We present a set of propositions that specify factors critical for the development of the market-driving firm's supplier relationships and develop a theoretical framework that specifies how these different factors interact in order to strengthen the market-driving orientation of a supplier relationship. The results are generated from an in-depth case study of IKEA's corporate supplier strategy and of supplier relationships in the Russian and Polish markets.

► The market-driving strategy is a more pro-active market strategy based on reshaping markets rather than adapting to them. ► We investigate how a global supplier base can be developed into a major support of the market driving strategy. ► The article is based upon a case study of IKEA — often regarded as a typical example of a market driving firm. ► Seven central factors derived from the actor, activity and resource dimensions of the network perspective are highlighted. ► A framework is developed to illustrate how the factors interact to create competitive advantages for a market driving firm.