Where is Mr. Spock? Supply Chain Disruptions, Emotions and Strategic Supplier Decisions

Emotions are powerful determinants of judgements and decisions in various contexts. Nevertheless, Supply Chain Management researchers have overlooked emotions and their influence on decisions, especially within taxing situations such as supply chain disruptions. In this paper, we investigate the effects of supply chain disruptions, which are appraised differently, on negative emotions, and in turn on strategic supplier decisions. To examine the research questions, we conduct two vignette-based experimental studies. In the first study, we demonstrate that supply chain disruptions, which are appraised differently on situational control and responsibility, elicit distinct negative emotions. In the second study, we seek to show that these distinct negative emotions differentially influence managerial propensity to leave the supplier, and to select risky suppliers for future contracting and future supplier development.

Information:  Dr. E.M. van Raaij, tel. 81948, e-mail: eraaij@rsm.nl