This paper examines the boundary role person (BRP) as an influence agent and investigates an aspect of his potential ability to influence the decision outcomes of other organizational members. It was found that as their information requirements increase under conditions of higher perceived environmental uncertainty, the constituent members attribute to the BRP greater power in the decision making process. The results further suggest that, in light of the BRP's position in the transference of information across the organization's boundary, the reliance on expert power appears to be the most effective basis of social power for dealing with other organizational members.

Abstract The formation of partnerships between firms is becoming an increasingly common way for firms to find and maintain competitive advantage. While the antecedents of partnership formation and the characteristics of the resulting cooperative working relationship have been explored in the literature, an understanding of characteristics associated with partnership success is lacking. Such an understanding is important in reconciling the prescriptions to form partnerships with the reality that a majority of such partnerships do not succeed. We hypothesize that partnership attributes, communication behavior, and conflict resolution techniques are related to indicators of partnership success (satisfaction and sales volume in the relationship). The hypotheses are tested with vertical partnerships between manufacturers and dealers. Results indicate that the primary characteristics of partnership success are: partnership attributes of commitment, coordination, and trust; communication quality and participation; and the conflict resolution technique of joint problem solving. The findings offer insight into how to better manage these relationships to ensure success.

We use the metaphor of the mutual assurance game to develop the notion that overseas suppliers may proactively manage uncertainty by making customized investments to serve their buyers. Using this game-theoretic conceptualization as a complement to the transactions cost analysis notion of credible commitments, we argue that such investments serve as assurances of commitment to the international buyer. The hypotheses are tested using data collected in a survey of U.S. purchasing managers regarding their relationships with their Pacific Rim suppliers. Consistent with our hypotheses, our primary results indicate that suppliers' relationship-specific investments are greater when technological uncertainty is high and buyers value supplier responsiveness. Further, our results suggest that relationship stability and buyer information sharing are greater when supplier relationship-specific investments are greater. These results provide some support for our argument that in the face of technological uncertainty, overseas suppliers may unilaterally commit to their buyers in attempts to obtain reciprocal benefits that help them manage external uncertainty.