Building supply chain collaboration: a typology of collaborative approaches

Purpose – This research aims to examine the characteristics, requirements, benefits, and barriers to various collaborative relationships and proposes a typology of collaborative approaches. Design/methodology/approach – The research discusses insights and observations from exploratory interviews with 21 managers from ten different manufacturers and retailers. Findings – A typology of three types of collaborative approaches (collaborative transaction management; collaborative event management; and collaborative process management) is proposed. The three collaborative approaches are compared and contrasted. Benefits and limitations associated with each type of collaboration are discussed. Practical implications – Managers can use the typology to assess current collaborations and seek ways to improve current collaborative efforts. Managers can also use the typology to develop collaborative strategies across a broad spectrum of relationships in order to determine which type of collaboration best fits each individual business relationship. Originality/value – This research extends previous relationship typologies by focusing specifically on collaborative relationships. The research examines various types of collaborative relationships in order to categorize collaborative approaches in a manner useful to academicians and practitioners.