| Transaction cost analysis, relational governance and social capital issues have long drawn considerable attention from marketing scholars, so these theories will be used in this research to understand buyer-supplier networking relationships within Hong Kong clothing manufacturing industry, especially with the influence of Asian culture. A theoretical framework for networking relationships was integrated from the literature to investigate three research questions: (1) how the antecedents of strategic networking affect the intensity of collaborative relationships, (2) how the antecedents of strategic networking affect transaction costs, and (3) how the intensity of collaborative relationships affects transaction costs. The constructs of trust, commitment, reputation, communication, cooperation, risk management, guanxi, asset specificity, relationship continuity, size of supplier base and transaction costs are studied.;Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. Case research collected qualitative data at seven large clothing companies in Hong Kong, in which, constructs such as communication, cooperation and risk management were taken out, while the remaining antecedents of commitment, trust, reputation and guanxi were applied on the quantitative survey methodology. This latter stage collected data from 168 firms in the Hong Kong clothing industry, and analysed using structural equation modelling techniques to test and confirm the hypotheses that were specified in the model. Quantitative results of the first research question show that asset specificity is positively affected by commitment, relationship continuity is positively affected by trust and reputation, and although the size of the supplier base is negatively affected by trust, it is positively affected by reputation. The results of the second research question demonstrate that trust is negatively associated with transaction costs, whereas reputation is positively associated with transaction costs. The results of the third research question indicate that asset specificity relates positively to transaction costs and relationship continuity relates negatively to transaction costs. In summary, eight of the 19 sub-hypotheses are supported by the empirical findings of this study. Based on these findings, a final confirmed theoretical framework that depicts strategic networking in the Hong Kong textile and clothing industry was developed. This research ends with giving contributions to knowledge and managerial implications. In conclusion, this research constitutes an important step towards understanding how strategic networking with capable partners improves the competitiveness of an enterprise. |
