Supply Chain Coordination and Cooperation Mechanisms: An Attribute-Based Approach

SUMMARY Coordination within a supply chain is a strategic response to the problems that arise from inter‐organizational dependencies within the chain. A coordination mechanism is a set of methods used to manage interdependence between organizations. Given the increasing importance of high‐performance supply, and the advantages to be gained through supply chain coordination, the challenge to an organization is how to select the appropriate coordination mechanism to manage organizational interdependencies. This paper develops and illustrates an attribute‐based, systematic process for selecting coordination mechanisms in a supply chain.