Building visibility when firms depend on suppliers: Case of seafood producers in Vietnam

Nguyen Vu Hung, Nguyen Hung Cuong

Abstract

Abstract: This paper develops a model highlight the importance of visibility for mitigating supplier risk when a buying firm depends on the supplier. Our model has shown that visibility can be an important information-based capability for reducing the dependence burden on supplier risk. In particular, visibility is more needed to mitigate supplier risk when a buying firm is more dependent on its supplier. In reverse, the importance of visibility is reduced if buyer is not dependent on its supplier. Two sides of antecedents to visibility are also posited and tested. A sample of 70 seafood producers in Vietnam is used to test the model using partial least square technique. Discussions on estimated results and recommendations for further research are provided to extend the extant literature.

Keywords: Visibility, Supplier Risk, Supply Chain Management, Supply Management, Absorptive Capacity, IT Integration, Trust, Dependence.