City Research Online

Abstract

Purpose: Reverse factoring (RF) – a form of supply chain finance (SCF) – is widely recognised as a win-win for both buyers and suppliers. Still, there is evidence that suppliers are often hesitant to join RF programmes initiated by their buyers. This study advances our understanding of how suppliers assess the importance of various attributes of a buyer’s offer to join RF and discusses the role of programme configuration and digital technology in overcoming impediments to RF adoption.

Design: Using a choice-based conjoint experimental design validated by experts, we isolate and manipulate the main attributes of a RF programme offer. This enables us to estimate the attributes’ importance and to examine suppliers’ trade-off behaviour. We complement the experimental study with content analysis of respondents’ comments.
Findings: Our study reveals the importance of behavioural considerations in RF adoption. The main findings include that (a) suppliers are willing to reject offers that they perceive to be unfair even if these offers benefit them financially, (b) suppliers are willing to trade-off their financial benefit for non- financial reasons – most notably attributes that relate to trustworthiness of the buyer, and (c) suppliers expect technologies to increase transparency and reduce variability in trade processes.

Implications: Non-financial attributes that influence supplier perception need to be considered in the programme configuration. Technologies that reduce information asymmetry, increase trust and transparency, increase the speed of execution, and reduce process inefficiencies will have a positive impact on the likelihood of acceptance.

Originality: Our research opens new lines of inquiry on the role of digital technologies in influencing behavioural operations management specifically suppliers’ adoption of digital SCF solutions.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com
Publisher Keywords:	Supply chain finance, reverse factoring, technology adoption, behavioural experiments
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Departments:	Bayes Business School > Management
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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