What Do We Really Know About What We Know? The Nature of Relationship Governance in the Reverse Supply Chain

Inter-organizational relationships have received significant attention in the marketing channels literature (Anderson and Weitz, 1992; Mohr and Spekman, 1994; Morgan and Hunt, 1994). More recently, the supply chain literature has emphasized the importance of cooperative inter-firm relationships for achieving competitive advantage (Mentzer et al., 2001; Rogers and Leuschner, 2004). While understanding supply chain relationships is important in the forward supply chain, relationships are important in the reverse supply chain as well. This exploratory research identifies two themes of inter-organizational governance that warrant further research for managing the reverse flow of goods through a supply chain. Research directions are provided.