scholarly journals A supply network governance framework: a case study of the South Australian mining industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Statsenko ◽  
Alex Gorod ◽  
Vernon Ireland

Purpose The competitiveness of mining regions largely depends on the performance of the regional supply chains that provide services to mining companies. These local supply chains are often highly intertwined and represent a regional supply network for the industry. Individual companies often use supply chain strategies that are sub-optimal to overall supply network performance. To effectively respond to an uncertain business environment, policy-makers and supply chain participants would benefit by a governance framework that would allow to incentivise the formation of supply networks structures enabling effective operations. The purpose of this paper is to offer an empirically grounded conceptual framework based on Complex Adaptive Systems (CASs) governance principles, which links network governance mechanisms with supply network structure and operational performance to incentivise the formation of adaptive and resilient supply networks in the mining industry. Design/methodology/approach A mixed method research design and a case study of the South Australian mining sector were used to collect empirical data. Qualitative interviews and network analysis of the SA mining industry regional supply network structure were conducted. The relationships between network parameters were interpreted using CAS theory. Findings An empirically grounded conceptual framework based on CAS governance principles is developed. The case study revealed that supply chain strategies and governance mechanisms in the SA mining industry have led to the formation of a hierarchical, scale-free structure with insufficient horizontal connectivity which limits the adaptability, responsiveness and resilience of the regional supply network. Research limitations/implications The findings are drawn from a single case study. This limits generalisability of the findings and the proposed framework. Practical implications The proposed framework draws the attention of the policy-makers and supply chain participants towards the need for utilising CAS governance principles to facilitate the formation of adaptive, responsive and resilient regional supply networks in the mining industry. Originality value The proposed conceptual framework is an attempt to parameterise the governance of the regional supply networks in the mining industry.

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elcio M. Tachizawa ◽  
María J. Alvarez-Gil ◽  
María J. Montes-Sancho

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of smart city initiatives and big data on supply chain management (SCM). More specifically, the connections between smart cities, big data and supply network characteristics (supply network structure and governance mechanisms) are investigated. Design/methodology/approach – An integrative framework is proposed, grounded on a literature review on smart cities, big data and supply networks. Then, the relationships between these constructs are analyzed, using the proposed integrative framework. Findings – Smart cities have different implications to network structure (complexity, density and centralization) and governance mechanisms (formal vs informal). Moreover, this work highlights and discusses the future research directions relating to smart cities and SCM. Research limitations/implications – The relationships between smart cities, big data and supply networks cannot be described simply by using a linear, cause-and-effect framework. Accordingly, an integrative framework that can be used in future empirical studies to analyze smart cities and big data implications on SCM has been proposed. Practical implications – Smart cities and big data alone have limited capacity of improving SCM processes, but combined they can support improvement initiatives. Nevertheless, smart cities and big data can also suppose some novel obstacles to effective SCM. Originality/value – Several studies have analyzed information technology innovation adoption in supply chains, but, to the best of our knowledge, no study has focused on smart cities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atanu Chaudhuri ◽  
Abhijeet Ghadge ◽  
Barbara Gaudenzi ◽  
Samir Dani

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to develop a conceptual framework for improving the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks following a critical literature review.Design/methodology/approachA critical review of 91 scholarly journal articles published between 2000 and 2018 supports the development of an integrated conceptual framework.FindingsThe findings emphasize that supply chain integration (SCI) can have both a positive and negative impact on the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks. It is possible to have a positive effect when SCI can be used to develop competencies in joint risk planning within the organization and with wider supply network members and, in turn, to develop collaborative risk management capabilities. Supply network characteristics can influence whether and the extent to which SCI has a positive or negative impact on risk management effectiveness.Research implicationsThe conceptual framework can be used to empirically assess the role of SCI for effective risk management. Dynamic evaluation of the effectiveness of risk management and potential redesign of the supply network by considering other contingent factors are some future research avenues.Practical implicationsThere is a need for developing specific competencies in risk planning within organizations and joint risk planning with supply network members which, in turn, can help develop collaborative risk management capabilities to improve the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks. Network characteristics will influence whether and the extent to which SCI results in the effectiveness of risk management.Originality valueMoving beyond recent (systematic) reviews on supply chain risk management, this study develops a novel conceptual framework interlinking SCI and the effectiveness of risk management while considering network characteristics.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 486-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Tukamuhabwa ◽  
Mark Stevenson ◽  
Jerry Busby

Purpose In few prior empirical studies on supply chain resilience (SCRES), the focus has been on the developed world. Yet, organisations in developing countries constitute a significant part of global supply chains and have also experienced the disastrous effects of supply chain failures. The purpose of this paper is therefore to empirically investigate SCRES in a developing country context and to show that this also provides theoretical insights into the nature of what is meant by resilience. Design/methodology/approach Using a case study approach, a supply network of 20 manufacturing firms in Uganda is analysed based on a total of 45 interviews. Findings The perceived threats to SCRES in this context are mainly small-scale, chronic disruptive events rather than discrete, large-scale catastrophic events typically emphasised in the literature. The data reveal how threats of disruption, resilience strategies and outcomes are inter-related in complex, coupled and non-linear ways. These interrelationships are explained by the political, cultural and territorial embeddedness of the supply network in a developing country. Further, this embeddedness contributes to the phenomenon of supply chain risk migration, whereby an attempt to mitigate one threat produces another threat and/or shifts the threat to another point in the supply network. Practical implications Managers should be aware, for example, of potential risk migration from one threat to another when crafting strategies to build SCRES. Equally, the potential for risk migration across the supply network means managers should look at the supply chain holistically because actors along the chain are so interconnected. Originality/value The paper goes beyond the extant literature by highlighting how SCRES is not only about responding to specific, isolated threats but about the continuous management of risk migration. It demonstrates that resilience requires both an understanding of the interconnectedness of threats, strategies and outcomes and an understanding of the embeddedness of the supply network. Finally, this study’s focus on the context of a developing country reveals that resilience should be equally concerned both with smaller in scale, chronic disruptions and with occasional, large-scale catastrophic events.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 821-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmine Sabri

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop exploratory propositions and a conceptual framework on the interaction between organisational structure (decision-making centralisation and internal coordination) and the relationship between supply chain fit and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Through a case study, two corporate groups with distinctive organisational structures were examined; both are undergoing a critical moment of changes to their top management and are reshaping their corporate and supply chain strategies. Data on decision-making centralisation, internal coordination mechanisms, supply, demand and innovation uncertainties, and supply chain strategies were collected from key respondents. Findings The analysis conducted suggests the need to consider the joint interaction between organisational structure and supply chain fit in offsetting the implications of a potential misfit on firm performance. Furthermore, the context sensitivity of a supply chain is often overlooked, hence simply modifying supply chain strategy does not necessarily lead to a variation in firm performance. Practical implications This research is of particular importance to most organisations in the testing times of uncertainty in the global landscape. It guides supply chain practitioners to better understand which elements of the organisational structure interact with the uncertainty of supply, demand and innovation. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to investigate the interaction between elements of organisational structure and supply chain fit and identify decision-making centralisation and coordination as the internal uncertainty factors that are most relevant to supply chain fit research. A conceptual framework has been built for future testing, in which the organisational structure moderates the relationship between supply chain fit and firm performance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 315-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matuka Chipembele ◽  
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess e-readiness (preparedness) of the Copperbelt University (CBU) with a view to ascertain the likelihood of the university benefiting from various opportunities unlocked by the adoption and use of ICT in advancing its core mandate of teaching, learning and collaborative research. Design/methodology/approach The study used the network readiness model emanating from the socio-technical theory, which underpins the extended technological enactment framework. Further, it employed a positivist approach and adopted a case study method coupled with methodological triangulation at data collection stage. With a 95 per cent confidence level of a possible sample frame of 2,980, the study sampled 353 respondents with a response rate of 81 per cent. Findings The results show that anticipated ICTs users have not leveraged available ICT infrastructure or are unaware of its existence. Further, quantitative constructs: “accessibility to ICTs” and “requisite ICTs skills” has significant impacts on e-readiness indicators and in integration of ICTs in CBU core business activities. Also, the study argues that institutional ICT policy and working environments reshape users’ perception of ICTs for teaching, learning and research. Research limitations/implications The proposed conceptual framework only accounted for 43 per cent variance of the factors determining e-readiness of CBU. Originality/value Investigating CBU’s e-readiness will enable policy-makers to prioritise interventions needed for transforming the university into an e-ready entity favourably placed to benefit from digital opportunities. Also the emanating conceptual framework is important to theory and practice in integrating ICTs universities business value chains especially in contextually similar environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Byung-Gak Son ◽  
Sangho Chae ◽  
Canan Kocabasoglu-Hillmer

PurposeCatastrophic supply chain disruptions can significantly damage the operational and financial performance of firms. While a growing body of literature on supply network structures has studied what influences supply networks' vulnerability to supply chain disruptions and capability to recover from them, it remains unclear how supply network structures change after major supply chain disruptions. We aim to provide an understanding of how these changes occur.Design/methodology/approachUsing a natural experiment approach and supply network data from Factset, this study investigates how firms' supply network structures change after experiencing the catastrophic supply chain disruptions caused by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We capture post-earthquake supply network changes using the measures of degree centrality and ego network density.FindingsThe results of the analysis suggest that compared to unaffected firms, the affected firms experience changes in their supply network structures tending toward lower complexity measured by in-degree centrality, out-degree centrality and ego network density.Originality/valueThis study contributes to social network theory and the complex adaptive supply network literature by providing empirical evidence of structural changes in supply networks after catastrophic supply chain disruptions. A managerial contribution is made by providing a reflection on why these changes might be occurring and alert firms to the challenges of managing complexity in their supply networks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Kien Trung Nguyen

<p><strong>Abstract</strong><strong>: </strong>This paper investigates how transactions between firms are organized in an emerging market and how supply network governance affect supply network outcomes and catching up of merging market firms. We explored firms’ choices of governance in a specific context of Vietnam, where legal institution is characterized by a weak legal system for contractual enforcement and socio-economic institution is characterized by transition from central planning into market mechanism. This study examines how firms in the cassava sector in Vietnam structure their transactions and how supply network governance relates to certain supply network outcomes. A comparative case study method was adopted in this research. Two cassava supply networks, of which one is traditional type and another is led by a foreign invested firm, were selected for study. Our findings indicate that institutional context, supply chain structure, product characteristic, relationship investment influence on firms’ choices of governance and firms’ choices of governance affect supply chain network outcomes and local firms’ catching up. In the absence of legal enforcement, market governance is popularly applied in the supply chain with fragmented structure while relational governance is a popular used in more concentrated supply network. Higher value creation and more possibilities for catching up but more inequality in income distribution in supply chain with large scale lead firm. Lower value creation, rare possibilities for catching up but more equality in income distribution in supply chain with fragmented small scale firms.  </p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstrak</strong>: Kajian ini menyelidiki tentang bagaimana transaksi antar perusahaan diorganisasikan dalam sebuah pasar yang sedang berkembang, serta bagaimana tata kelola jaringan pasokan mempengaruhi hasil jaringan pasokan dan mengejar ketertinggalan dari penggabungan pasar perusahaan. Kajian ini mengeksplorasi pilihan tata kelola perusahaan dalam konteks spesifik Vietnam, di mana lembaga hukum dicirikan oleh sistem hukum yang lemah untuk penegakan kontrak dan lembaga sosial-ekonomi ditandai oleh transisi dari perencanaan pusat ke mekanisme pasar. Kajian ini untuk mengetahui bagaimana perusahaan sektor singkong di Vietnam menyusun transaksi dan bagaimana tata kelola jaringan pasokan memengaruhi hasil jaringan pasokan yang ada.  Kajian ini menggunakan metode studi komparasi kasus. Dua jaringan singkong, tipe tradisional dan perusahaan investasi asing dipilih dalam penelitian ini. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahwa konteks kelembagaan, struktur rantai pasokan, karakteristik produk, pengaruh investasi pada pilihan tata kelola perusahaan dan pilihan tersebut memengaruhi hasil jaringan rantai pasokan dan mengejar ketertinggalan perusahaan. Tidak adanya penegakan hukum dalam membuat tata kelola pasar secara populer diterapkan dalam rantai pasokan dengan struktur terfragmentasi, sedangkan tata kelola relasional pada umumnya digunakan dalam jaringan pasokan yang lebih terkonsentrasi. Penciptaan nilai yang lebih tinggi dan lebih banyak kemungkinan untuk mengejar ketinggalan, namun lebih banyak ketimpangan dalam distribusi pendapatan dalam rantai pasokan dengan perusahaan pemimpin berskala besar. Penciptaan nilai yang lebih rendah jarang memiliki kemungkinan untuk mengejar ketertinggalan, namun distribusi pendapatannya lebih merata dalam rantai pasokan dengan perusahaan skala kecil yang terfragmentasi.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huay Ling Tay ◽  
Hui Shan Loh

Purpose With the advent of technological connectivity and access to massive data, the possibilities of augmenting Lean Six Sigma’s Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (LSS’s DMAIC) problem-solving approach with advanced technologies are enormous. This paper aims to examine digital transformations (DT) of supply chains from a process improvement angle using the LSS DMAIC approach. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a case study approach. Three exemplary case studies were examined to shed light on how LSS can aid in DT to achieve enterprise-wide improvements and enhance value across the supply chains. Findings The paper provides a conceptual framework based on a structured DMAIC problem-solving approach to drive improvements in supply chains. The conceptual framework also provides a systematic approach for big data to be integrated in LSS initiatives to achieve greater supply chain performance. Originality/value This paper extends research in LSS supply chains by providing a guidance through a conceptual framework that integrate DT and LSS supply chains to support successful digital transformation and LSS supply chains.


Author(s):  
Mehmet Chakkol ◽  
Mark Johnson ◽  
Jawwad Raja ◽  
Anna Raffoni

Purpose – This paper aims to adopt service-dominant logic (SDL) to empirically explore network configurations resulting from the provision of goods, goods and services, and solutions. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a single, in-depth, exploratory case study in a truck manufacturer and its supply network. An abductive approach is adopted. In total, 54 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Findings – Three value propositions are clearly discernible within the truck provider. These range from a truck to a “solution”. These propositions have different supply network configurations: dyadic, triadic and tetradic. The extent to which different network actors contribute to value co-creation varies across the offerings. Research limitations/implications – This paper is based on a single, in-depth case study developed in one industrial context. Whilst this represents an appropriate approach given the exploratory nature of the study, further empirical investigation is needed across different industries. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first to empirically examine supply networks using SDL. A rich understanding of the challenges faced by a truck manufacturer in providing different value propositions and the resulting network configurations are discussed. In so doing, evidence is provided of a more complex, tetradic network configuration for solutions, with varying degrees of interplay between actors in the flow of operand and operant resources to create value.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Duarte ◽  
V. Cruz Machado

Purpose The purpose of this research work is to propose an assessment framework to evaluate businesses in terms of the implementation of a green and lean organization’s supply chain. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual framework was developed for the assessment of green and lean implementation. The framework was designed using key criteria to identify green and lean initiatives. This led to the development of guidelines for each criterion, and the development of a scoring method. A multiple case study of five different organizations in the automotive industry was conducted to validate the conceptual framework. Findings The study reveals that high scores are derived from a good interaction between green and lean implementation in these companies. The results confirm that the initiatives considered in the conceptual framework were appropriate to represent the green and lean assessment framework. Research limitations/implications The case study was developed in five organizations. Validation of the model is not based on quantitative techniques. The sample size is too small. More study is need in different industry sectors. Practical implications The proposed model can be the basis for further research on green and lean concepts, contributing to the understanding of green and lean implementation. With this assessment method, managers can evaluate their business in relation to the implementation of green and lean supply chain initiatives. Originality/value To the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to provide an assessment framework to evaluate an organization’s supply chain in terms of green and lean implementation.


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