An antagonist supply chain is characterized by which of the following arrangements?

• A. Lowest price suppliers
• B. Heavy penalties in contracts
• C. Knowledge of suppliers cannot be exploited
• D. Long-term relationships with suppliers

Answer: (A)

Antagonistic supply chains are driven by self-interested actors who compete with each other and share little trust or collaboration. In that kind of environment the primary driver is price competition: the buyer aims to minimize costs and suppliers compete on price to win contracts. Sourcing from the lowest price suppliers embodies this focus on cost and quick, transactional gains rather than building stable, cooperative relationships or exploiting information for advantage. Heavy penalties or governance mechanisms hint at control rather than the basic dynamic, and long-term relationships or belief that supplier knowledge cannot be exploited point toward cooperation and trust, not antagonism. So the arrangement that best reflects an antagonistic setup is choosing the suppliers with the lowest prices.