"interorganizat1onal Cooperation: the Role of Information Technology. an Empirical Comparison of Us and Japanese

This paper investigates the comparative role of several factors, including information technology (IT), predicting the level of cooperation between two independent organizations. Drawing upon multiple theoretical perspectives we develop five hypotheses about the impact on cooperation of three sets of factors: (1) the characteristics of the environment within which the relationship operates, (2) the characteristics of the relationship itself, and (3) how information technology is used across organizational boundaries. Each conceptual construct is operationalized and measured within the context of buyer-supplier relationships in the US and Japanese automobile industries. The five hypotheses are tested using multiple regressions conducted on a data set of 447 distinct relationships. The data analysis suggests that relational characteristics (i.e., the climate of the relationship) are the most consistent predictor of cooperation in both countries when compared with other structural (e.g., asset specificity) or technological factors (use of EDI). Environmental uncertainty (i.e., technological unpredictability) is positively associated with cooperation only in Japanese supplier relations. Governance structure is a strong and highly significant predictor of cooperation in both samples, but with the opposite sign. Similarly, information technology does not play the same predictive role in the two countries. Significant only in Japan it reflects an 'electronic partnership' approach to the use of IT in supplier relations. Interorganizational Cooperation: the Role of Information Technology. An Empirical Comparison of US and Japanese Supplier Relations