Collaborating for Circularity: A Relational View Perspective on Buyer–Supplier Relationships in Restorative and Regenerative Supply Chains

ABSTRACT Industrial firms are required to redesign their supply chains into restorative and regenerative archetypes, rethinking not only their own production systems but also relationships with suppliers that may possess resources, capabilities, and knowledge too complex to be developed on their own but vital for circular value creation. Despite this, how the relational mechanisms underlying buyer–supplier collaboration differ across restorative and regenerative supply chains remains poorly understood. Drawing on Relational View Theory, this study examines how relation‐specific investments, knowledge‐sharing routines, complementary resources and capabilities, and governance structures are configured within these two archetypes. We conducted an abductive multiple‐case study of eight large Italian fashion‐textile and furniture firms, collecting data from semi‐structured interviews with procurement professionals and secondary data. Findings reveal two distinct configurations of the relational mechanisms. In restorative supply chains, buyer–supplier collaborations rely on asymmetric yet complementary investments, compliance‐oriented knowledge‐sharing routines, functional accountability‐based complementarities, and formal governance. In regenerative supply chains, buyer–supplier collaborations rely on joint investments, co‐generative knowledge‐sharing routines, dynamic complementarities, and adaptive governance. The study advances circular supply chain research, while refining the application of Relational View Theory and offering archetype‐specific managerial guidance.