DISTRIBUTOR-SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS STUDY QuickTime ™ a nd a None de compre s s or a re ne e de d to s e e this picture Professor Aric Rindfleisch University of Wisconsin-Madison Instructions When completing this study, please answer the questions in the order that they appear Please not consult with others We are interested in your perceptions and opinions There are no right or wrong answers It is important that we have complete information, so please answer all questions carefully The information collected is for research purposes only; it is not intended for commercial or any other use and will not be shared or sold Situation Overview This study is designed to assess information sharing in distributor-supplier relationships Please imagine that you are the general manager of a firm that distributes medical equipment such as XRay and MRI machines Your major suppliers are firms that manufacture these machines Your major customers are hospitals and HMOs As a distributor, one of the key decisions that you have to make is how much strategic information to share with your suppliers This information comes in two main forms: Internal Strategic Information Information about your firm’s internal operations and financial situation, such as: Inventory Pricing Profit Margins Key Market Segments External Strategic Information Information about your firm’s customers and competitors, such as: Customer suggestions for quality improvement Customer response to our supplier’s product offerings Competitor entry and exit Changes to competitive offerings (e.g., products, pricing, service) Sharing strategic information entails a number of potential benefits and costs The main benefits include improved efficiencies and enhanced revenues and profits gained from improved coordination with your suppliers The main costs include the time and energy required to communicate this information as well as the risks that this information could be used by your suppliers against your firm Keeping these costs and benefits in mind, we ask that you carefully read and then respond to the following scenario Scenario Assume that you are currently in a business relationship with ABC Medical Supply Company Your firm has been working with ABC for several years – is this an added unintentional manipulation?-KDA-and ABC and have established a high level of mutual trust In addition, your firm and ABC depend on each other to a great extent At the current time, the medical equipment industry is experiencing a considerable degree of volatility and unpredictability Would you be willing to share strategic information (internal, external, or both) with ABC Medical Supply? Please explain why or why not _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Please check from the list provided below all the types of strategic information that you would be willing to share with ABC Medical Supply Internal Strategic Information Information about your firm’s internal operations and financial situation, such as: Inventory External Strategic Information Information about your firm’s customers and competitors, such as: Customer suggestions for quality improvement Pricing Customer response to our supplier’s product offerings Profit Margins Competitor entry and exit Key Market Segments Changes to competitive offerings (e.g., products, pricing, service) Please circle the number that best indicates how much information of each type you would share with you feel about sharing the following types of information with ABC Medical Supply Company? Low Amount Internal strategic information High Amount 2 External strategic information Based on this scenario, please indicate how much you agree with each of these statements: Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree My distributorship would share a great deal of sensitive internal strategic information with ABC Medical Supply We would have little concern about sharing strategic information about our internal operations with ABC Medical Supply My distributorship would not hesitate to fully disclose strategic financial information with ABC Medical Supply We would be very willing to inform ABC Medical Supply about major product innovations introduced by our competitors ABC Medical Supply can expect our firm to openly share customer suggestions for product improvements We would definitely inform ABC Medical Supply about competitors entering or existing our market 7 We would share with ABC information regarding changes to our competitors’ product offerings What is your age? What is your gender? Female Male What is your major? Business Other Thank you for participating on this study! ... use and will not be shared or sold Situation Overview This study is designed to assess information sharing in distributor-supplier relationships Please imagine that you are the general manager... gender? Female Male What is your major? Business Other Thank you for participating on this study!