Interviewee: Dr. Andrea Gelei, professor, Corvinus Business School, Institute of Business Economics, Department of Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Interview by: Miklós Kozma, PhD, senior lecturer, Department of Business Studies
27/10/2016

Who among researchers would find this piece of research relevant?
The title of our study financed by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) is ’Analyzing supply networks – a behavioral approach’. As it examines the impact of business relationships and networks on the economic performance of companies, it can be of interest to many researchers in the field of management. First of all, instead of looking at companies as business nodes, we chose to look at the relationship between the different companies and their complex systems, the units of analysis upon which competition is based today. Also, by widening the level of the unit of analysis, we encountered methodological problems the solution of which is a challenge for researchers in every field. We ourselves have applied a number of methodological innovations. One of them is the dyadic data analysis, which had never been used in economics before, but we also use tools from experimental economics, for example an improved version of the so called trust game.

How can the results be implemented in practice?
The analysis of business relationships sheds light on the trust between partners, which in practice is also a sensitive question. While CEOs mention the issue only cautiously, they are very eager to get the results of the research, since they can gain new knowledge that is vital for their competitiveness. The findings are also interesting for them because as a result of the dyadic nature of the analysis, it will change the CEOs’ self-perception as well as their view on the business world.

What other researchers would you involve?
Given the multidisciplinary nature of the work, the research group has come together from across different departments, even faculties. We have also contacted several other researchers from the areas of finance, management science and sociology. Owing to the innovative approach in both definition (business networks as the research unit) and methodology (dyadic data analysis and experimental game), we envisage further research cooperation from the broad field of business economics.

Photo: György Kenéz