Buyer–Supplier Relationships in the Modern Supply Chain: Exploring Professionals' Perspectives on Power Balance in Pursuit of Decarbonization

ABSTRACT

Decarbonization is a contemporary and critical organizational agenda for meeting climate change goals, but little is known about how strategies deployed to meet decarbonization goals interact with employees' agentic capacities and coping strategies, particularly in the context of supply chain pressures and power dynamics. We address this knowledge gap through a qualitative study and collected data through open‐ended essay‐based interviews from 43 supply chain professionals from various countries. The data analyzed through the Gioia method revealed six aggregate dimensions, showing that decarbonization changes what power rests on without changing who holds it: The ability to decarbonize becomes a new, shared basis of dependence that binds partners closer, while the balance of power holds—except where capability is scarce, demand is mature, or one party dominates. Our findings extend power‐dependence theory by indicating a transition in the modern supply chain toward a collaborative dynamic rather than one based purely on power.