Comment on “Taking the leap from dyads to triads: Buyer–supplier relationships in supply networks” by Choi and Wu: To leap or not to leap: Triads as arbitrary subsets of networks of connected dyads

Journal article, 2009

In their paper, Choi and Wu convincingly argue that owing to its focus on dyads, research in the supply chain management area fails to capture the complex dynamics of supply networks. Their solution to this problem is to replace the focus on dyads with a focus on triads. While it is easy to agree with Choi and Wu concerning the limitation of dyadic analyses in relation to understanding network processes, substituting triads for dyads may not be a viable alternative. Choi and Wu's claim that "... it is the triad that captures the basic essence of a network and allows us to study the behaviour of a network" (p. 3) opens up to questions regarding definitions of "a network" and views regarding how an understanding of network dynamics can be further developed. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.