The potential role of philanthropy in humanitarian supply chains delivery: the case of Thailand

Author(s):  
Ruth Banomyong ◽  
Puthipong Julagasigorn

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework on how strategic philanthropy can be included in humanitarian supply chains delivery. This framework explains the modalities where strategic philanthropy can be successful when collaborating with key humanitarian supply chain actors. Design/methodology/approach A philanthropy delivery framework is developed based on the literature related to strategic philanthropy and humanitarian supply chains. The delivery framework is further validated with the real-life case study of a multinational firm during the 2011 Thai floods. Findings Procter and Gamble (P&G) was involved in the Thailand flood 2011 relief efforts in three phases: preparation, immediate response, and reconstruction phase. The company supported and distributed a water purifier through a non-governmental relief agency, the Princess Pa Foundation, under the Thai Red Cross Society, that enabled P&G to not only gain the trust of the targeted community during all the phases but in the continued usage of their water purifier after the event. Community leaders and P&G’s modern trade retailers played an important role in collaborating in this humanitarian supply chain to enable the successful delivery and usage of the donated water purifier. Research limitations/implications This proposed delivery framework is appropriate for in-kind products and services philanthropy. The case study describes how strategic philanthropy can be implemented in a specific case, i.e. flood disaster. Practical implications Academia, practitioners, and companies who are involved in humanitarian reliefs may adopt and adapt this framework in order to enable a win-win situation for all stakeholders in the humanitarian supply chain. Originality/value The delivery framework suggests that firms can develop successful strategic philanthropy through systematic humanitarian supply chain collaboration. It explains how a company can operate its philanthropic programs through collaboration with others as well as describes how these different actors can work together.

Author(s):  
Ruth Banomyong ◽  
Puthipong Julagasigorn ◽  
Paitoon Varadejsatitwong ◽  
Pairach Piboonrungroj

Purpose An understanding of the “AS-IS” stage of a relief operation is the basis for further action in humanitarian supply chain management. The purpose of this paper is to develop a toolbox called the Humanitarian Supply Chain Assessment Tool (HumSCAT). This toolbox is comprised of a set of basic tools which can be classified into each phase of disaster relief. Design/methodology/approach The HumSCAT is proposed by paralleling frequently used tools in commercial supply chains with the objectives and characteristics of relief phases. A case study was used to validate the HumSCAT along with six tools provided in the preparation phase. Findings The HumSCAT consists of seven tools in the preparation phase, nine tools in the response phase and ten tools in the recovery phase. The case study illustrates how to use the HumSCAT and the six tools. The latter were found to be useful for improving the relief chain. Research limitations/implications The list of tools is not exclusive. Other tools might be applicable as long as they meet the objectives and characteristics of the phase. A tool should be adjusted accordingly to the contexts. Tools in other phases should be validated in future research. Practical implications The HumSCAT may serve as a reference toolbox for practitioners. Its output can be used for further designing of the “TO-BE” status of humanitarian relief chains. Originality/value The HumSCAT is proposed as a toolbox for academics and practitioners involved in humanitarian supply chains.


Author(s):  
Ira Haavisto ◽  
Jarrod Goentzel

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to deepen the understanding of supply chain performance objectives in the humanitarian context by striving to understand the underlying goals and conceptual variables behind the measurement of performance, such as efficiency. Design/methodology/approach – The research is an in-depth case study with one humanitarian organization. The data are gathered with mixed methods over a two-year period. Interviews were conducted in August 2010 and April 2012, and a survey conducted in October 2012. Findings – Misalignments are detected among different groups in humanitarian operations and between their goals and processes. These misalignments could possibly be corrected through long-term thinking in short-term operations by considering sustainability aspects throughout humanitarian assistance, for example. In addition, efficiency was a commonly identified objective in the case organization, although the definition varied widely and extended beyond the traditional definition of productivity to include planning, accountability and quality. Practical implications – Better communication and definition of terms is necessary to align goals and the power hierarchy in humanitarian supply chains, where operations seem to be structured more according to donor requirements then beneficiary needs. Originality/value – This is an in-depth case study, applying goal-setting theory to study supply chain performance. The study further responds to the public “aid efficiency” discussion by striving to recognize how efficiency is understood and how it can be measured in a humanitarian supply chain.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 613-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudine Antoinette Soosay ◽  
Paul Hyland

Purpose – This paper aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature on supply chain collaboration published over a 10-year period from 2005 to 2014. It explores the nature and extent of research undertaken to identify key themes emerging in the field and gaps that need to be addressed. Design/methodology/approach – The authors review a sample of 207 articles from 69 journals, after using an iterative cycle of defining appropriate search keywords, searching the literature and conducting the analysis. Findings – Key themes include the meaning of collaboration; considerations for supply chain collaboration theory; emerging areas in collaboration for sustainability, technology-enabled supply chains and humanitarian supply chains; and the need for a more holistic approach, multi-tier perspectives and research into B2C collaborations. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides discussion and scope for future research into the area which would contribute to the field tremendously. Originality/value – There have been very few reviews in the past on supply chain collaboration, and this is one of the first extensive reviews conducted to address how well the body of knowledge on supply chain collaboration corresponds with our contemporary society.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 592-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hella Abidi ◽  
Sander de Leeuw ◽  
Matthias Klumpp

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the state of the art of performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains; to categorize performance measurement indicators in the five supply chain phases of Gunasekaran and Kobu (2007) and evaluate them based on the evaluation criteria of Caplice and Sheffi (1995); and to define gaps and challenges in this field and give insights for future research in this domain. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review has been conducted using a structured method based on Denyer and Tranfield (2009) and Rousseau et al. (2008). The state of the art on humanitarian supply chain performance management with a focus on measurement frameworks and indicators and their applications in practice is classified in three categories. The first category is the definition and measurement of success in humanitarian supply chains. The second category is managing performance, which focuses on describing and analyzing the actual practice of managing performance. The third category shows the challenges in performance management that humanitarian supply chain actors deal with. Findings – Findings reveal that performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains is still an open area of research, especially compared to the commercial supply chain sector. Furthermore, the research indicates that performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains has to be developed in support of the supply chain strategy. Based on the findings of the literature review on performance measurement and management in the commercial and humanitarian field, a first classification of 94 performance measurement indicators in humanitarian supply chains is presented. Furthermore, the paper shows key problems why performance measurement and management systems have not been widely developed and systematically implemented in humanitarian supply chains and are not part of the supply chain strategy. The authors propose performance measurement guidelines that include input and output criteria. They develop a research agenda that focuses on four research questions for designing, deploying and disseminating performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains. Practical implications – The result helps the humanitarian supply chain community to conduct further research in this area and to develop performance measurement frameworks and indicators that suit humanitarian supply chains. Originality/value – It is the first systematic approach to categorize research output regarding performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains. The paper shows the state of the art in performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains and develops a research agenda.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 485-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rameshwar Dubey ◽  
Zongwei Luo ◽  
Angappa Gunasekaran ◽  
Shahriar Akter ◽  
Benjamin T. Hazen ◽  
...  

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand how big data and predictive analytics (BDPA), as an organizational capability, can improve both visibility and coordination in humanitarian supply chains.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conceptualize a research model grounded in contingent resource-based view where the authors propose that BDPA capabilities affect visibility and coordination under the moderating effect of swift trust. Using ordinary least squares regression, the authors test the hypotheses using survey data collected from informants at 205 international non-government organizations.FindingsThe results indicate that BDPA has a significant influence on visibility and coordination. Further, the results suggest that swift trust does not have an amplifying effect on the relationships between BDPA and visibility and coordination. However, the mediation test suggests that swift trust acts as a mediating construct. Hence, the authors argue that swift trust is not the condition for improving coordination among the actors in humanitarian supply chains.Research limitations/implicationsThe major limitation of the study is that the authors have used cross-sectional survey data to test the research hypotheses. Following Guide and Ketokivi (2015), the authors present arguments on how to address the limitations of cross-sectional data or use of longitudinal data that can address common method bias or endogeneity-related problems.Practical implicationsManagers can use this framework to understand: first, how organizational resources can be used to create BDPA, and second, how BDPA can help build swift trust and be used to improve visibility and coordination in the humanitarian supply chain.Originality/valueThis is the first research that has empirically tested the anecdotal and conceptual evidence. The findings make notable contributions to existing humanitarian supply chain literature and may be useful to managers who are contemplating the use of BDPA to improve disaster-relief-related activities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ira Haavisto ◽  
Gyöngyi Kovács

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for analysing how humanitarian organisations (HOs) address different expectations regarding sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative and qualitative content analysis is used to assess the annual reports (ARs) of HOs for their discussions on sustainability overall, and in relation to contextual expectations, subsystems and supply chains, organisational structure and strategy. Findings – HOs address sustainability primarily from the perspective of contextual expectations from society and beneficiaries. Some fits between supply chain design and societal expectations are attended to, but fits between programmes and contextual expectations are not discussed explicitly. Research limitations/implications – ARs express what organisations want to portray of their activities rather than being direct reflections of what occurs in the field, hence the use of ARs for the study delimits its findings. However, HOs rarely publish sustainability reports. Practical implications – Even though there is a general pursuit of the elusive aim of aid effectiveness, organisational structures need to be further aligned with societal aims as to support these. Social implications – Beneficiaries are still seen as external to the humanitarian supply chain and humanitarian programmes, though their role may change with the introduction of more cash components in aid, voucher systems, and ultimately, their empowerment through these. Originality/value – The suggested conceptual framework combines elements of contingency theory with a prior four perspectives model on sustainability expectations. The framework helps to highlight fits between the humanitarian context, operations and programmes as well as misalignments between these.


Author(s):  
Juan David Suarez ◽  
Mateo Pachón Rincón ◽  
Carlos Osorio Ramirez

Coordination has been reported as a main issue in humanitarian supply chain. Although it is recognized as a potential driver for efficiency, it is not broadly studied in real cases. This chapter presents a case study for humanitarian supply chain. Using Lambert's framework for SCM, humanitarian supply chain is characterized identifying its structure, business processes, and management components. Once humanitarian supply chain is understood, a short review is performed to identify how coordination is being integrated into humanitarian supply chains body of literature, and principles, techniques, and technologies applied for coordination in humanities supply chain are identified. Finally, using content analysis methodology, coordination issues are mapped through humanitarian actors in Colombia by understanding the supply chain strategy of three principal actors for Colombian humanitarian supply chain.


Author(s):  
Yasmine Sabri ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Zarei ◽  
Christine Harland

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop an existing collaborative research methodology process (Sabri, 2018), contextualise it for application in humanitarian supply chains and test it empirically. Design/methodology/approach Building on collaborative research methodology and humanitarian supply chain literature, the Sabri’s (2018) collaborative research methodology process is further developed to comprise eight phases of collaborative research contextualised for the humanitarian supply chain domain. The process is applied in a collaborative research case of academia–practitioner knowledge co-creation in a humanitarian supply chain setting, focussing on environmental sustainability improvement. The collaborative case analysis suggests a number of refinements to the elements of the process. This study undertook two cycles of academia–practitioner collaborative research. Findings In testing the process, a noticeable improvement in the collaboration among different humanitarian stakeholders was observed, leading to improved stakeholder management. The implementation improved the sustainability awareness and social inclusion of the affected population. Rurality, remoteness, security issues and resistance of field staff against change were among the main challenges for supply chain researchers to engage in collaborative research in the humanitarian domain. Originality/value The paper addresses the rigour‒relevance‒reflectiveness debate in the humanitarian supply chain domain. A collaborative research methodology process derived from action research is further developed using humanitarian literature, and then it is applied in a humanitarian logistics case focussed on environmental sustainability. The present collaborative research process facilitates engaged scholarship among the humanitarian stakeholders, as the researchers’ roles move from observatory to participatory knowledge broker.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Solaimani ◽  
Jack van der Veen

Purpose In the ever-increasing dynamics of global business markets, firms must use all possible sources to innovate continually. This study aims to explore how supply chain innovation can be fostered through joint efforts between firms and their supply chain partners. Design/methodology/approach At least two areas advocate innovation through external relations, namely, supply chain collaboration and open innovation. This study aims to provide a holistic insight into how vertical and horizontal partnerships can be implemented to help supply chains become more innovative, building upon commonalities and differences between the two areas. Findings This study proposes a conceptual framework for supply chain innovation based on the following three ambidextrous capabilities: purpose (i.e. knowledge exploration and exploitation), span (horizontal and vertical collaboration) and orientation (i.e. incremental and radical innovation). With five propositions, the link between the three ambidextrous capabilities and supply chain innovation is explained. The implementation of the framework is articulated through an illustrative real-life case. Originality/value The concept of open innovation in supply chain settings is progressively essential yet under-researched. This study is an early attempt to draw on the available theories and literature on open innovation and supply chain collaboration and elaborates how supply chains can facilitate and adopt a more open approach toward innovation.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natália Rohenkohl do Canto ◽  
Marilia Bonzanini Bossle ◽  
Luciana Marques Vieira ◽  
Marcia Dutra De Barcellos

PurposeThis paper investigates how chain members collaborate to ensure the sustainability of supply chains through the social capital perspective.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a case study design, three social capital mechanisms – reach, richness and receptivity – were used as a lens with two eco-innovative food companies and their respective supply chains in Southern Brazil. Data consisted of interviews and other sources of evidence obtained from multiple stakeholders.FindingsResults highlight the importance of a managerial orientation for sustainability and that sustainable chains presuppose a network that is closely linked and with great affinity. Not only does the management of operations improve the green performance of companies for environmental benchmarking but it also expands to include the supply chain. Social capital mechanisms can encourage partners to develop strategic initiatives for sustainability, especially if managers share key drivers for adopting eco-innovations and overall chain sustainability.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to research on collaboration within sustainable supply chain management. Empirical data were gathered from different stakeholders in two food chains in a developing country. Through the lens of social capital mechanisms, the paper shows how different types of companies collaborate in their supply chain for sustainability.


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