TransacTion cosT Economics and ThE rEsourcE BasEd ViEw’s influEncEs on suppliEr EnVironmEnTal collaBoraTion

Drawing on transaction cost economics (TCE) theory and the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, we develop an integrative model of the determinants of supplier environmental collaboration with influential buyers. We hypothesize that suppliers with higher levels of (a) coordination with, (b) control over focal buyers and (c) higher levels of asset specificity in the relationship are more likely to enter into environmental collaborations with influential buyers, as are suppliers with higher levels of relevant environmental capabilities (reflected in supplier environmental activities). We test our hypotheses using data on 150 global suppliers of a very large focal buyer—the Spanish subsidiary of a large multinational retailer. Our results show strong support for our hypotheses in the case of coordination, asset specificity, control and supplier environmental capabilities.