Suppliers' corporate ability and consumer evaluations of a manufacturer

Abstract

This study explores consumer perceptions of supply chain partners. In particular, we analyse whether a supplier's corporate ability affects consumer evaluations of a manufacturer. We also examine the moderating effect of a supplier's market position, either the top-dog (strong) or underdog (weak) position. Using a vignette-based experiment, we find that a supplier's high corporate ability does not affect how consumers evaluate the manufacturer. However, a supplier's low corporate ability leads consumers to devalue the manufacturer. We also find that the effect of a supplier's corporate ability is moderated by the supplier's market position: the link between a supplier's low corporate ability and consumers' negative evaluations of a manufacturer becomes stronger when the supplier is perceived as in a top-dog position.