Symbiotic and parasitic supply chains

The aim of the paper is to identify and characterize radically different models of supply chains. On the one hand, it tends to indicate the economic basis of theoretical existence and development of these different models and, on the other hand – that reconstructs their basic attributes. According to autors the model of symbiotic supply chains are one example of sharing economy institutions. The presented model should be treated as ideal types (of the Weberian sense), which is extremes actual business practice. It can become the starting point for assessments of real supply chain and design directions of their improvement. Paper type: Conceptual paper Published online: 28 October 2016 Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 455–464 DOI: 10.21008/j.2083-4950.2016.6.5.7 ISSN 2083-4942 (Print) ISSN 2083-4950 (Online) © 2016 Poznan University of Technology. All rights reserved.