Influence of power regimes on identification and mitigation of material criticality: The case of platinum group metals in the automotive sector

The discourse on material criticality assists with the identification of materials that are subject to supply disruptions and have high economic importance within an industrial system. Multiple research efforts generated different lists of critical materials and proposed a variety of mitigation strategies. However, the current discourse substantially misses to consider the business dimension in the criticality analysis. The paper addresses this gap, and in particular, examines power regimes in buyer-supplier relations as mechanisms for shaping company's ability to identify and mitigate material criticality. The empirical investigation is based on the case of platinum group metals employed in the automotive industry. Four companies that form two supply chains were engaged in the study. The findings demonstrate the impact of the power structure on identification and mitigation of material criticality, and highlight examination of the power position as an important part of the criticality analysis process and the consequent mitigation strategy formulation. In an era of globally dispersed supply networks, both practitioners and policy-makers should consider power regimes between companies when developing strategies and policies to secure stable flow of materials.