Co-development partnerships: consequences for car suppliers

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This article presents the statistical results of a questionnaire survey sent to a sample of 2,500 automotive suppliers around the world. The purpose of this research is to identify factors that allow a supplier to find a favourable issue within a co-development partnership with a powerful client (i.e., a car manufacturer). Based on three theoretical propositions (transaction costs theory, resource based view and resource dependence theory), hypotheses are tested. Results show that an intense co-development partnership can be an opportunity for a supplier to balance its dependence position and to build a ‘force of proposition’ vis-à-vis its client. © 2001 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.