This piece of research, therefore, sets out to follow Rinehart’s (1989) and Ramsay’s
(2004) suggestions of investigating from a qualitative angle what impact different
negotiation strategies have on the negotiation setting in different buyer-supplier
relationships. Through this, a framework is advanced, which not only reveals valuable
insights into the nature of negotiations in a supply chain setting, but also, in turn,
questions some of the conclusions reached in a previous study done on negotiation
strategies within the discipline of SCM.
In order to do this, a literature review is carried out regarding the extant literature
on negotiation issues in a SCM context in the next section. For this purpose, a total of
ten top ranked SCM-related journals were selected. The section is followed by a
methodology section that introduces paradigmatic considerations and subsequent
qualitative, methodological techniques that were applied in order to shed light on
the research question chosen. Subsequently, relevant empirical data collected at
negotiations between a focal firm and five of its suppliers are presented. Based on the
empirical data, a framework is advanced, consisting of 2D that explain how the use of
different negotiation strategies in different relational settings impacts the negotiation
situation between buyers and suppliers. The paper ends by highlighting several
implications for the SCM discipline based on this data interpretation, before finally
concluding and suggesting new, relevant paths for future research endeavours.