Interdependence and network-level trust in supply chain networks: A computational study Antonio Capaldo a, ⁎, Ilaria Giannoccaro b a S.E.GEST.A. Department of Management, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan and Rome, 1, Largo Francesco Vito, Rome 00168, Italy b Department of Mechanical and Management Engineering, Polytechnic University of Bari, 182, Viale Japigia, Bari 70126, Italy abstract article info Article history: Received 15 December 2012 Received in revised form 31 January 2014 Accepted 13 March 2014 Available online 29 October 2014 Keywords: Supply chain management Opportunism Interdependence patterns Complex adaptive systems NK model We investigate the impact of the supply chain interdependence structure on network-level trust in the supply chain (i.e., supply chain trust). We adopt an opportunism-based definition of trust, according to which trust and opportunism are the opposite of one another, and conceptualize the supply chain as a complex adaptive sys- tem (CAS). We thus employ the NK framework to model the supply chain network as a set of interdependent partners (and their decisions) interacting among each other according to a specific pattern reflecting the overall supply chain interdependence structure. In particular, we argue that supply chain networks can reveal in practice the 10 patterns identified by Rivkin and Siggelkow (2007) in a recent study on patterned interactions in complex systems. Thus, we perform computational analysis to evaluate, for each considered interdependence pattern, the risk of opportunism by the participating firms, which allows us to compare the patterns on the level of supply chain trust. We show that supply chain trust is a positive (negative) function of the number of uninfluenced (uninfluential) partners, that are, partner firms whose decisions are not influenced by (do not influence) the decisions made by the remaining partners. We also find that, for each examined pattern, the higher the degree of interdependence in the supply chain, the lower supply chain trust. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Supply chains are networks of interorganizational relationships among interdependent firms operating along an industry value chain. As competition is increasingly being fought supply chain vs. supply chain, managing the overall supply chain network becomes vital to com- petitive success (Greis & Kasarda, 1997; Ketchen & Giunipero, 2004). The supply chain is indeed more than its composing dyads, and looking at it as a sum of dyadic relationships does not allow managers and researchers to take into account the complex web of interdependencies which charac- terizes the supply chain and influences behaviors and performance out- comes in real-world supply chains (Nair, Narasimhan, & Choi, 2009). Thus, doing impactful supply chain management research may benefit from shifting the level of analysis from the dyad to the overall network. A critical element for achieving effective supply chain management resides in establishing and nurturing trust among the participating organizations (Handfield & Bechtel, 2002; Panayides & Lun, 2009). A significant literature has indeed pointed out the beneficial impact of trust on supply chain management and showed that trust is a powerful antecedent of effective cooperation and a significant predictor of positive performance outcomes and competitive advantage in supply chain interorganizational relationships (Dyer & Chu, 2003; Johnston, McCutcheon, Stuart, & Kerwood, 2004; Kumar, 1996; Monczka, Petersen, Handfield, & Ragatz, 1998). However, most studies on trust in supply chain contexts have focused on dyadic relationships (Dyer & Chu, 2003; Johnston et al., 2004; Laaksonen, Jarimo, & Kulmala, 2009; Zaheer, McEvily, & Perrone, 1998). Conversely, there has been a paucity of research on trust at the level of the overall supply chain network. For the purposes of this study, network-level trust (i.e., supply chain-level trust, or simply supply chain trust) expresses the extent to which trust is pervasive across the supply chain. We measure it by the level of trust that, on average, supply chain firms hold in the remaining ones. In line with the need of adopting a network (vs. dyadic) perspective to supply chain research, the present study focuses on supply chain-level trust. This resonates with previous literature suggesting that, in order to reach a better understanding of how trust affects supply chain outcomes, we need to concentrate on network-level trust (Ireland & Webb, 2007). Indeed, when trust is pervasive across the supply chain, ideas, knowl- edge, products, and services can freely flow to help design, manage, and perform processes and activities aimed at creating value, with positive ef- fects on several performance outcomes (Dyer & Singh, 1998; McCarter & Northcraft, 2007). Commenting upon supply chain management chal- lenges, Galaskiewicz (2011: 6) has put it this way: “the management problem is how to create a social network that would enable the parties to trust one another up and down the supply chain”. To contribute to Industrial Marketing Management 44 (2015) 180–195 ⁎ Corresponding author at: 1, Largo Francesco Vito, Rome 00168, Italy. E-mail addresses: antonio.capaldo@unicatt.it (A. Capaldo), ilaria.giannoccaro@poliba.it (I. Giannoccaro). URL: http://docenti.unicatt.it/eng/antonio_capaldo (A. Capaldo). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2014.10.001 0019-8501/© 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Industrial Marketing Management