If a firm is a nexus of contracts, then it is just the sum of its counterparties. It follows that when a firm monopolizes a particular market and exploits its power to impose unfavourable terms on a counterparty, the firm necessarily exploits one counterparty for the benefit of another, because the additional profits the firm generates from the unfavourable terms must be paid out eventually to some other counterparty of the firm. One alternative to attacking monopoly power through breakup of large firms or limits on anticompetitive conduct in the marketplace is therefore to prevent any one counterparty of the firm from so dominating firm governance as to be able to induce the firm to oppress other counterparties for its benefit. Creating a balance of power in firm governance, by giving each class of counterparties (i.e., workers, suppliers, investors, and consumers) an equal say over the choice of board members, would eliminate the internal forces that induce firms to exercise monopoly power. But it would not prevent firms from engaging in productive, pie-expanding, behaviour, because such behaviour tends to expand the business that the firm does with all of its counterparties—or at least enables the firm to use a share of the gains to compensate those counterparties that lose out—and therefore benefits them all.

“One of the core functions of business is managing its operations and that includes its supply chain. The supply chain includes the decisions around who should be the suppliers of raw materials, parts, services, and products and the customers of those services and products, including the end user. Although the decisions about who to buy from and who to sell to seem straightforward, it may not be as trivial for Native American entrepreneurs. Moreover, for a Native American entrepreneur, there may be specific influencing factors due to federal and tribal input that affect the selection of suppliers for a business. Although each Native tribe is distinct, we consider the general influential factors in supply chain decisions for Native American entrepreneurs that help decisions align with business strategy and Native identity.

Specifically, we connect the supply chain decisions of a Native American entrepreneur by adapting a recent supply chain framework.”