The aim of this paper is to discuss the importance of trust and the effect of specific assets investments over collaborative relationships with suppliers, and also to discuss the moderating effect of the information network on such joint actions. As theoretical foundations, we use transaction cost economics, network perspectives and marketing. In order to verify our four hypothesis, we collected information from the wholesalers and other merchant-distributors in the Dutch flower industry. The results suggest that buyers temper their specific investments to the degree of joint action according to the information that is obtained in the network. The degrees of trust, specific investments and the information from the network facilitate the coordination of a buyer-supplier relationship.
Buyer-supplier relationship; supply chain management; trust; business networks