Value chain supply procurement strategies in international construction

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 501-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Martek ◽  
Chuan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
International Construction ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Local Supply ◽  
Procurement Strategies ◽  
Foreign Enterprises

Purpose – Firms compete using a variety of strategies. Typically they aim to provide something different, to be better, or simply cheaper. In the construction industry, the performance characteristics, quality and cost of the final delivered project will be the outcome of the interplay of capabilities of all the firms involved in the project. Consequently, in order to improve competitiveness, firms must pay attention to not only their own competitive advantage but to those of the firms, both up-stream and down-stream, on whom they depend in delivering their projects. For foreign constructors in China, those competitive considerations will be informed by circumstances different from home. How then do foreign constructors adapt themselves to the problem of sourcing competitively when located within a China-based supply chain? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – In this study 60 foreign enterprises operating within the Chinese construction sector were investigated by using a comparative case study approach. Findings – Four generic procurement strategies were identified. First, firms adapt themselves in the search for optimal supply sources by replicating home-based suppliers, controlling local suppliers, or by remaining agile and non-aligned. Second, firms develop niche supply monopolies through market dominance, uniquely differentiated offerings, or by integration with down-stream providers. Third, firms find opportunities to bring in off-shore technology intensive procurements, where that technology is either protected, improved upon, or sold. Finally, firms also seek to transit to China as a procurement base in order to reduce local supply cost, service world-wide operations, or as part of a total strategy of China relocation. Originality/value – The identification of this rich range of procurement approaches will be of interest to internationalization strategists, as well as to industry practitioners looking to find appropriate business models for off-shore operations.

Strengthening Agriculture Value Chain through Collectives: Comparative Case Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 097300522199143
Author(s):  
Sneha Kumari ◽  
Nisha Bharti ◽  
K. K. Tripathy
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Action Theory ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
The Board Of Directors ◽  
Market Linkage

Indian agriculture has always been less profitable. Several factors contribute to the low profitability in agriculture, but less value addition, weak value chain system and weak market linkage are some of the most important factors. Producer companies are helping small farmers to emerge in the market. The farmer producer organisations (FPOs) linked with the producer companies are the best example of collective actions. The collective actions for the agriculture value chain (AVC) have resulted in a decrease in the cost and an increase in revenue. FPO and producer company find a good place in the underpinning theory of collective action theory. This study examines various successful examples of strengthening AVC through cooperatives and tried to identify various factors responsible for the success of these collectives. This study has adopted a case study approach. Three successful cases, that is, Vasundhara Agriculture Horticulture Producer Company Ltd: a multi-state FPO, Abhinav Farms Club and Sahyadri Farmer Producer Company have been selected for the case study based on their successful interventions for strengthening the agriculture value chain. Primary and secondary data has been collected through telephonic interviews from the board of directors, chairman and the members of the FPO. Both primary and secondary data have been collected to compare the three cases for AVC models. The data has been analysed using a comparative case study approach. The parameters of AVC have been identified using the Delphi technique. The study has found that collective actions have helped the farmers to strengthen the agriculture value chain. The study also concluded that leadership played an important role in defining the success of the FPOs. The study brings out future directions to excel in AVC through collectives.

The future of the Internet of Things: toward heterarchical ecosystems and service business models

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 749-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seppo Leminen ◽  
Mervi Rajahonka ◽  
Mika Westerlund ◽  
Robert Wendelin
Keyword(s):  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Business Models ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industry Collaboration ◽  
New Business ◽  
The Internet Of Things

Purpose This study aims to understand their emergence and types of business models in the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds upon a systematic literature review of IoT ecosystems and business models to construct a conceptual framework on IoT business models, and uses qualitative research methods to analyze seven industry cases. Findings The study identifies four types of IoT business models: value chain efficiency, industry collaboration, horizontal market and platform. Moreover, it discusses three evolutionary paths of new business model emergence: opening up the ecosystem for industry collaboration, replicating the solution in multiple services and return to closed ecosystem as technology matures. Research limitations/implications Identifying business models in rapidly evolving fields such as the IoT based on a small number of case studies may result in biased findings compared to large-scale surveys and globally distributed samples. However, it provides more thorough interpretations. Practical implications The study provides a framework for analyzing the types and emergence of IoT business models, and forwards the concept of “value design” as an ecosystem business model. Originality/value This paper identifies four archetypical IoT business models based on a novel framework that is independent of any specific industry, and argues that IoT business models follow an evolutionary path from closed to open, and reversely to closed ecosystems, and the value created in the networks of organizations and things will be shareable value rather than exchange value.

Competency-oriented education for sustainable development

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1299-1316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandy Singer-Brodowski ◽  
Katrin Grossmann ◽  
Stephan Bartke ◽  
Sandra Huning ◽  
Theresa Weinsziehr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Energy Poverty ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
General Didactics ◽  
Key Competencies

Purpose Energy poverty can be seen as a relatively new, but typical sustainability problem in which various dimensions (ecology, society and economy) are interlinked and in part conflict with each other. Moreover, the variety of involved stakeholders (planners, tenants, housing companies, private landlords, energy consultants, etc.) represents conflicting aims for solving this problem. This paper aims to present a systematic linkage between higher education for sustainable development (HESD) and education about energy poverty yet. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative comparative case study approach with a similar didactic approach is used. Findings Based on the literature about HESD and an overall model in general didactics, ten criteria were identified and used for an overall reflection about similar courses dealing with the topic of energy poverty. The criteria covered the learning goals, the didactical approaches and the institutional support in the forms of organisation in the courses. Research limitations/implications There was no competency measurement of the students in the described courses. Practical implications There was no evaluation of the development of students’ key competencies for sustainability. However, the reflections of students and teachers revealed a positive development regarding the students’ learning process, especially because they worked on a real-world sustainability problem: energy poverty. Originality/value This contribution describes how university courses on energy poverty were designed and implemented at five German universities. Against the background of general criteria for HESD, it reflects on the experiences that the use of this concept evoked. Through a comparison of the five courses against these criteria, the paper outlines strengths and weaknesses of the approach and closes with recommendations and requirements for designing further courses.

Strategic behavior of nontraditional lenders in agricultural credit markets

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iuliia Tetteh ◽  
Michael Boehlje ◽  
Anil K. Giri ◽  
Sankalp Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Credit Markets ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Agricultural Credit ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Funding Sources

PurposeThis paper examines credit products, operational performance and business models employed by nontraditional lenders (NTLs) in agricultural credit markets.Design/methodology/approachTwo research methods were employed in this study: (1) an executive interview to collect primary data and (2) a case study approach to analyze the findings and develop insights.FindingsThe findings indicate the presence of significant differences among lenders across and within three categories of NTLs (large volume, vendor financing and collateral-based NTLs). For example, collateral-based NTLs employ different strategies focusing on types of loans, funding sources, commodities they support and geographic coverage to further segment the market. NTLs in this study were able to capture market by successfully identifying gaps in the supply side of agricultural credit and developing products that meet the needs of that niche (e.g. heavy renters, large operations, producers seeking fixed interest rates for term loans, financially fragile producers). Most of the interviewed NTLs had credit standards comparable to those of traditional lenders and consider them both competitors and partners since many NTLs partner with traditional lenders on participation loans, loan servicing and/or sourcing funds.Originality/valueThe supply side of a nontraditional lending has not been studied extensively due to the proprietary nature of data. The executive interviews conducted in this study allowed for accumulation of industry data, which is not available otherwise.

A new sustainability model: engaging the entire firm

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne McPhee
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Firm Strategy ◽  
Chain Model ◽  
Activity Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The sustainable activity model re-envisions Porter's value chain to reflect the emerging impact of sustainability on firm strategy. The model helps to convert high level sustainability vision statements into a new set of actions that can create value from emerging issues like climate change, resource constraints, and a smaller, more connected world. Design/methodology/approach – The emergence and growth of sustainability, provides an opportunity to rethink traditional business models to better reflect current and emerging market conditions. Porter's value chain was adapted to reflect that: the value of a firm is based on more than just the profit margin and includes reputation, brand value and license to operate; sustainability can generate value by improving both internal and external engagement and collaboration; and the impact that the firm has on the outside world need to be included in firm strategy and decision making. Findings – The sustainable activity model is useful for focusing strategy on the material impacts of the firm rather than focusing on the issues that are most prevalent in the media or where managers have a particular interest. The model allows the firm to clearly set out new actions and new behaviors that change how the firm interacts with the world and how value is created. Originality/value – The sustainable activity model adapts the traditional value chain model to better fit the business issues that have emerged over the last 25 years and to prepare for a future that will continue to change at an ever increasing rate. Applying the model to strategy and business decisions will encourage new ways of thinking about value and generate new activities for creating value and enhancing the resilience of the firm against future changes as the sustainability trend continues to evolve.

Collaboration in achieving sustainable solutions in the textile industry

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mônica Cavalcanti Sá de Abreu ◽  
Fabiana Nogueira Holanda Ferreira ◽  
João F. Proença ◽  
Domenico Ceglia
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Clothing Industry ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Ecological Value ◽  
Society Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Textiles And Clothing

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how sustainable solutions in the textiles and clothing industry are decided through business-to-business collaboration. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative and inductive study of the Brazilian textiles and clothing industry is carried out, an industry in which sustainable denim products are increasingly being recognized as subject to competition. The paper adopts a focal net perspective to understand the collaborative arrangements through which firms combine the products they offer as a sustainable solution. Documentary data were collected and in-depth interviews conducted with the top managers of one of the world’s largest denim-manufacturing companies present in the Brazilian market, which is involved in providing sustainable solutions in cooperation with its partners. Findings The authors describe the factors that reflect the conditions for generating a sustainable business performance, including a corporate policy that assumes and articulates the responsibility for social interest, core-business stakeholders and regulatory requirements; a sustainable product-service system (S.PSS) based on innovative interactions between the stakeholders in the value production system; relations between stakeholders that promote business sustainability through a dependable value chain characterized by a sense of collaboration and collective actions; and a business model for sustainability that combines economic with social and ecological value creation. These factors help a business establish a more strategic position in the value network, enabling it to capture more value. Practical implications Sustainable solutions are developed dynamically and collaboratively within an S.PPS. Managers need to focus not only on tangible products but also on intangible services designed and combined so that they are jointly capable of fulfilling customer’s needs and creating social and ecological value. Managers within the solution provider must develop business models for sustainability that are continually evolving to satisfy the interest in resource-efficiency by actors in civil society, business and government. Originality/value The research contributes to the existing literature by applying approaches involving corporate social responsibility (CSR) and strategic nets to the study of the implementation of an S.PSS. Sustainable initiatives and offers developed by an S.PSS are not isolated phenomena but result from collaboration in finding solutions among different actors linked in a strategic net. In this sense, companies need to adjust their business models for sustainability to generate positive economic, social and ecological value and gain credibility for their missions.

Crowdsourcing business models that last

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kohler ◽  
Marco Nickel
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Corporate Value ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Value Capture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Original Contribution ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss how to sustain crowdsourcing business models. Emerging companies are innovating their business model to rely on a crowd of participants and involve contributing users in value capture. While some organizations demonstrate initial success, sustaining a crowdsourcing business model is challenging. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a comparative case study of the prominent crowdsourcing communities Threadless and Quirky. Participatory observation resulted in over 380 analyzed comments. Findings Seven lessons from Threadless’s success and Quirky’s failure are discussed to derive implications for sustaining crowdsourcing business models. Research limitations/implications Because both cases are integrator platforms build around contests, other crowdsourcing platform types should be studied to enrich the findings. Practical implications Managers receive guidance on how to design a sustainable business model that involves the crowd in creating value and lets the crowd participate in value capture. Originality/value Current research primarily addresses the question of how companies can take advantage of crowdsourcing and mainly considers corporate value capture. The original contribution of this article is a set of strategies to sustain crowdsourcing platforms by taking a platform’s entire business model into account.

What drives the disintegration of the loan origination value chain in the banking business

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-311
Author(s):  
Enzo Scannella
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Integration ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Transaction Cost Economics ◽  
Bank Lending ◽  
Bank Loan ◽  
Resource Based View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vertical Disintegration ◽  
Banking Business

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the vertical disintegration of the bank loan origination value chain. This paper conducts a study on the credit information market from the perspective of the bank’s decision to vertically disintegrate the loan origination value chain. The main aim is to identify the relevant drivers of the decision to vertically disintegrate the credit assessment phase in the lending business. Design/methodology/approach – Transaction cost economics and information asymmetry are the typical perspectives of analysis of the vertical scope of business value chains. Findings – This paper argues that in order to capture the drivers underlying the dynamic evolution of the vertical scope of bank loan origination business models, the above perspectives must be combined and integrated further with a resource-based view and the modularity perspective. Combining managerial and financial perspectives, this paper offers an examination of the drivers of vertical disintegration in the lending value chain and, specifically, in the credit assessment phase. Originality/value – Although the existence of substantial research on value chain vertical integration/disintegration in the literature, none has directly focussed on the credit assessment value chain. It leaves a gap that the paper aims to overcome. The value chain disintegration has deep managerial and financial implications at firm and industry levels, and the comprehension of the rational underlying it is critical to maintaining competitive business model configurations in the bank lending industry.

scholarly journals An open innovation approach to co-produce scientific knowledge: an examination of citizen science in the healthcare ecosystem

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vincenza Ciasullo ◽  
Mariarosaria Carli ◽  
Weng Marc Lim ◽  
Rocco Palumbo
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Lay People

PurposeThe article applies the citizen science phenomenon – i.e. lay people involvement in research endeavours aimed at pushing forward scientific knowledge – to healthcare. Attention is paid to initiatives intended to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic as an illustrative case to exemplify the contribution of citizen science to system-wide innovation in healthcare.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methodology consisting of three sequential steps was developed. Firstly, a realist literature review was carried out to contextualize citizen science to healthcare. Then, an account of successfully completed large-scale, online citizen science projects dealing with healthcare and medicine has been conducted in order to obtain preliminary information about distinguishing features of citizen science in healthcare. Thirdly, a broad search of citizen science initiatives targeted to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic has been performed. A comparative case study approach has been undertaken to examine the attributes of such projects and to unravel their peculiarities.FindingsCitizen science enacts the development of a lively healthcare ecosystem, which takes its nourishment from the voluntary contribution of lay people. Citizen scientists play different roles in accomplishing citizen science initiatives, ranging from data collectors to data analysts. Alongside enabling big data management, citizen science contributes to lay people's education and empowerment, soliciting their active involvement in service co-production and value co-creation.Practical implicationsCitizen science is still underexplored in healthcare. Even though further evidence is needed to emphasize the value of lay people's involvement in scientific research applied to healthcare, citizen science is expected to revolutionize the way innovation is pursued and achieved in the healthcare ecosystem. Engaging lay people in a co-creating partnership with expert scientist can help us to address unprecedented health-related challenges and to shape the future of healthcare. Tailored health policy and management interventions are required to empower lay people and to stimulate their active engagement in value co-creation.Originality/valueCitizen science relies on the wisdom of the crowd to address major issues faced by healthcare organizations. The article comes up with a state of the art investigation of citizen science in healthcare, shedding light on its attributes and envisioning avenues for further development.

scholarly journals Effectuation logic in digital business model transformation

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 811-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Baber ◽  
Arto Ojala ◽  
Ricardo Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Model Transformation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Digital Business Models ◽  
Causal Logic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study how digital business models evolve when entrepreneurs move to new digital platforms and how this evolution is related to effectuation and causation logics. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a multiple case study approach to investigate how digital business models change in small, Japanese high-tech firms providing their innovations through different digital platforms. To investigate digital business models, this study considers the elements that comprise general business models. The case firms were selected based on size, products and transitions from physical to various digital platforms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the key decision-makers from the case firms. Findings The findings show that through digital transformation, the case firms’ digital business models evolved by following effectuation logic as well as causal logic. All the firms employed causal logic when moving to new platforms, among other actions. The case firms used effectual logic with success for product development and adjustments to their network. Especially firms providing video games relied on effectuation for high impact products. Effectual logic did not play a role at all in changes to value delivery and had only little impact on revenue structures. Originality/value This research helps understand how digitalization of platforms and subsequent moves to newer digital platforms improve a firm by changing the business model elements through effectuation and causation logics. This research extends the understanding of digital business model transformation to a more granular level, business model elements.

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