How can Purchasing foster Supplier-Driven Innovation? – Conceptual findings based on case study data

This paper presents preliminary research results related to the question which dynamic capabilities purchasing currently uses to foster supplier-driven innovation and which ones it aims to develop further. In doing so, we analyse literature on early supplier involvement in the NPD and on dynamic capabilities. Based on the literature review we approached the research questions by taking a Grounded Theory approach. Five clusters of dynamic capabilities could be identified whose characteristics vary according to the type of innovation. Whereas purchasing has already developed these capabilities for incremental and partially for progressive innovation, their development for radical supplier-driven innovation is still in a comparably infant stage