현대의 기업경쟁이 공급사슬 간 경쟁의 양상을 띠면서 공급사슬 역량이 기업 경쟁우위의 중요한 원천으로 인식되고 있다. 많은 기업들이 공급사슬 관리에 있어 점차 시장거래방식 위주에서 협력방식 위주로 전환하고 있는 추세이다. 대기업과 중소 공급사의 양극화가 초래할 수 있는 제조업 전체의 경쟁력 약화에 대한 우려가 심화되면서 우리나라에서도 지난 10년간 대기업과 중소 공급사의 상생협력에 대한 관심이 지속적으로 증대되었다. 그러나 국내에서 상생협력은 구호와 선언 위주에 머물면서 실무적으로 발전적인 정착을 이루지 못했고 이론적인 학술 체계를 형성하는데 미흡했다. 본 연구는 사회적 자본 이론을 활용하여 상생협력이 어떻게 공급사슬 성과에 긍정적인 영향을 미치는지 설명하고 이를 국내 기업을 대상으로 실증 분석하였다. 먼저, 상생협력 개념과 구성요소를 규명하고 상생협력이 기업간 관계자본 형성과 이를 통한 성과향상에 기여하는 이론 모형을 제시하였다. 중소규모 공급사를 대상으로 수집된 197개 자료를 통계적으로 분석한 결과는 상생협력(공정거래, 협력활동), 관계적 사회자본, 공급사 생산운영 성과 간에 긍정적인 영향관계가 있다는 가설을 지지하고 있다. 또한 관계적 사회자본의 완전 매개효과를 확인함으로써 상생협력이 관계적 사회자본 축적을 높이는 방식을 통해 공급사 생산성과 향상에 기여한다는 사실을 밝혔다. 본 연구는 상생협력을 통한 제조업 공급사슬 전체 역량 강화를 위해 구매 대기업, 중소 공급사 경영자뿐 아니라 정부 정책 입안자에게도 시사점을 제공하고 있다.
Firms have changed a way of managing their supply chain by adopting win-win collaboration approach as they have realized that a large and increasing amount of sources for a corporate competitive advantage can be found in their supply chain. Such win-win collaboration in supply chains that focuses on a supply chain`s capabilities rather than mere short-term outputs has been paid more attention in Korea as polarization between large buying firms and their small suppliers became problematic. However, several important aspects have received relatively little attention. First, to date, little academic research has clearly identified win-win collaboration and its elements, and explored its effects on supply chain performance in the Korean context whereas rhetoric about the importance of win-win collaboration is abundant. Second, previous studies examining the relationship between collaboration and overall supply chain performance have provided mixed results. Third, most previous studies have more focused on large buying firms` performance, and thus little attention have paid to suppliers, in particular that of small and medium size (SME) suppliers. Given this gap, this paper explores tow questions. How does win-win collaboration influence the performance of suppliers? More specifically, how does social capital accumulated between large buyers and SME suppliers mediate the relationships between win-win collaboration and supplier performance? First, this study identified a comprehensive set of win-win collaboration practices in the Korean context by synthesizing relevant literature and perspectives of practitioners. Second, the study suggests a mediating role of relational social capital between win-win collaboration and the performance of suppliers. Third, this paper provides empirical analyses of these relationships. Consistent with the purpose of this study, the study focused on medium-sized suppliers. A total of 197 responses from SME suppliers were used for the empirical analysis. The results of a series of rigorous tests provided support for the validity and reliability of the scales, including two sub-constructs of win-win collaboration ? fairness and collaboration. Regression analyses were used to test the effects of win-win collaboration on relational social capital and supplier manufacturing performance as well as the mediating effects of relational social capital on the relationship between win-win collaboration and performance. Overall, the research results indicate that the hypotheses for the relationships between win-win collaboration, relational social capital, and supplier performance were supported. First, win-win collaboration has positive and significant impact on social capital accumulation between a buyer and its suppliers. Second, both dimensions of win-win collaboration ? fairness and collaboration ? contribute to the improvement of supplier manufacturing performance. In particular, fairness is found to have a higher impact on supplier performance than collaboration. Third, the results empirically verify a significant positive effect of social capital on the performance of suppliers. Noteworthy is that win-win collaboration increased the supplier`s manufacturing performance through relational social capital accumulation. In other words, relational social capital was found to fully mediate the effects of win-win collaboration on supplier performance. Through a comprehensive model and empirical evidence, this study provides a better understanding of win-win collaboration and important guidelines for managers of buyers as well as suppliers who wish to foster stronger supply chain capabilities. First, large buying firms should recognize that both buyers and suppliers can benefit from win-win collaboration, and thus it is not a one-directional support and/or dispensation. In addition, win-win collaboration is likely to fail if fairness is not well guaranteed. Second, managers of buyers and suppliers should foster frequent communication, mutual understanding, goal congruence, and benefit sharing as a source of relational capital, which in turn leads to collaborative advantage.