Ambidextrous supply chain as a dynamic capability: building a resilient supply chain

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang M Lee ◽  
Jin Sung Rha

Purpose – Developing ambidexterity as a dynamic capability is important for firms to sustain their competitive advantage. Moreover, this capability allows firms to build the resiliency to mitigate enterprise risks. The purpose of this paper is to apply two main theoretical frames from the strategy literature, dynamic capabilities, and organizational ambidexterity, to supply chain management (SCM) to examine mitigation strategies for supply chain (SC) disruptions. The authors empirically investigated how the firm’s SC ambidexterity is developed through a dynamic capability-building process and how this, in turn, can mitigate the negative impact of SC disruptions and improve business performance. Design/methodology/approach – This study conducted a field survey to answer the research questions as there exists no archival database with detailed information on ambidextrous SC strategies and dynamic capability. A total of 316 usable responses were received from managers working in the SC area. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were run on SPSS (version 16.0) and AMOS (version 18.0) to test the hypotheses to answer research questions. Findings – Overall, the results of the study confirmed that a dynamic SC capability-building process is an antecedent of SC ambidexterity, and that SC ambidexterity is important to firms as it mitigate the negative impact of SC disruptions and enhance business performance. To take advantage of an ambidextrous SC, through minimizing the negative impact of SC disruptions and maximizing firm performance, firms should continually search for creative ways to satisfy new market needs and adapt to the fast changing business environment. Originality/value – This study applied a dynamic capability-building process and ambidexterity to SCM. From the resilient SC perspective, the study found that the ability to effectively utilize existing resources and create novel strategies for problem solving plays a critical role in addressing SC disruptions.

Author(s):  
Navee Chiadamrong ◽  
Tran Thi Tham

Growing in the competitive environment, organizations need to find ways to improve their performance even better by ensuring that all key drivers are being developed and utilized effectively. Thai and Vietnamese food industries are rapidly growing sectors. This study investigates the relationships between supply chain capabilities and competitive advantages towards business performance, and compares the above mentioned relationships between Thai and Vietnamese food industries. The data were gathered from conducted surveys with the food manufacturing companies in both countries, and tested by Structural Equation Modeling. The empirical results show that supply chain capabilities play an important role in business improvement in both countries. While, supply chain integration is considered as a critical factor for the Vietnamese food industry, human resource management is much regarded as important for the Thai food industry. These findings help companies in each country decide the best strategy for differentiating themselves in their business environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 787-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wantao Yu ◽  
Roberto Chavez ◽  
Mark Jacobs ◽  
Chee Yew Wong ◽  
Chunlin Yuan

Purpose It remains unclear how environmental scanning (ES) can generate firm performance through supply chain management (SCM) practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of ES on operational performance through supply chain integration (SCI) and supply chain responsiveness (SCR). Design/methodology/approach The scanning–interpretation–action–performance (SIAP) model and organization information processing theory (OIPT) are used to explain the ES–SCI–SCR–performance (S–I–A–P) relationships, which were tested by structural equation modeling of survey data of 329 manufacturing firms in China. Findings The results indicate that ES has a significant positive effect on SCI and SCR. SCI is significantly and positively related to SCR. SCR partially mediates the relationship between ES and operational performance, and fully mediates the relationship between SCI and operational performance. Practical implications Supply chain managers should collaborate with senior executives to obtain signals from ES activities, as input for building SCI and SCR and use SCI as a joint interpretation mechanism of ES signals for developing SCR to reap operational advantages in the rapidly changing business environment. Originality/value Strategic management academics and practitioners have explicitly emphasized the importance of ES in developing strategic plans but are unsure about the role of SCM in creating operational advantages through ES. Using the SIAP model, this study theorizes and demonstrates how SCI and SCR transform signals from ES into operational performance. In doing so, a more precise application of OIPT is explicated in the supply chain context.


Author(s):  
Tyler R. Morgan ◽  
Robert Glenn Richey Jr ◽  
Chad W. Autry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of collaboration and information technology (IT) on the reverse logistics competency of firms. Through collaboration firms can improve their ability to handle returns, but this research introduces IT as providing a moderating influence over the impact of collaboration in the advancement of a reverse logistics competency. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was administered to employees involved with supply chain relationships. Empirical evidence from 267 respondents is analyzed with structural equation modeling. Findings – Support is found for the positive moderating influence of an IT competency on the relationship between collaboration and a reverse logistics competency. Additional benefits for logistics performance are also realized. Research limitations/implications – This research provides theoretical implications for the development of a reverse logistics competency through an application of resource-based theory/resource-based view of the firm. The study is limited to the selected research questions and sample of predominantly US firms. Practical implications – This research assists managers as they attempt to develop a reverse logistics competency to address the growing problem of returns through collaboration with supply chain members and the development of an IT competency. Originality/value – The framework developed in this research provides insights regarding the handling of product returns. Specifically, the moderating influence of an IT competency is addressed as it enhances the impact of collaboration on the development of a reverse logistics competency.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Sturm ◽  
Nils-Ole Hohenstein ◽  
Hendrik Birkel ◽  
Gernot Kaiser ◽  
Evi Hartmann

Purpose This paper integrates research on demand- and supply-side risk management practices to better explain how to achieve competitive advantage in dynamic business conditions. The purpose of this study is to develop a model linking supply chain flexibility, agility, robustness and resilience and to investigate its relationships and impact on business performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct a review of existing literature to derive their hypotheses and operationalize the respective constructs. The formulated research model is then validated applying partial least squares structural equation modeling on survey data from 89 multi-national companies based in Europe. Findings The authors find a significant positive relationship between supply chain flexibility and supply chain agility as well as supply chain robustness and supply chain resilience, respectively. Additionally, it is argued that supply chain flexibility, agility and resilience have significant positive impact on individual dimensions of business performance. Originality/value The relationships between supply chain flexibility, agility, robustness, resilience and business performance are investigated and empirically validated altogether in a single model for the first time, providing a clear separation of these terms and shedding further light on the management of supply chain risks.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 2318-2342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nitya Prasad Singh ◽  
Shubham Singh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how firms can develop business risk resilience from supply chain disruption events, by developing big data analytics (BDA) capabilities within their organization. The authors test whether BDA mediates the impact of institutional response to supply chain disruption events, and information technology infrastructure capabilities (ITICs), on firm’s ability to develop risk resilience from supply chain disruption events. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on survey data collected from 225 firms, spread across several sectors in the USA and Europe. The respondents are primarily senior and middle management professionals who have experience within the information technology (IT) and supply chain domain. Validity and reliability analyses were performed using SPSS and AMOS; and covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis. Findings The analysis reveals two significant findings. First, the authors observe that institutional experience with managing supply chain disruption events has a negative impact on firm’s ability to develop business risk resilience. However, if the organizations adopt BDA capabilities, it enables them to effectively utilize resident firm knowledge and develop supply chain risk resilience capacity. The results further suggest that BDA positively adds to an organization’s existing IT capabilities. The analysis shows that BDA mediates the impact of ITIC on the organization’s ability to develop risk resilience to supply chain disruption events. Originality/value This study is one of the few works that empirically validate the important role that BDA capabilities play in enabling firms develop business risk resilience from supply chain disruption events. The study further provides a counterpoint to the existing perspective within the supply chain risk management literature that institutional experience of managing past supply chain disruption events prepares the organization to deal with future disruption events. This paper adds to our understanding of how, by adopting BDA capabilities, firms can develop supply chain risk resilience from disruption events.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 3951-3985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surajit Bag ◽  
Shivam Gupta ◽  
Arnesh Telukdarie

PurposeThe alignment of procurement strategy with overall business strategy is important for superior firm performance. It is also essential for firms’ purchasing structure to fit the purchasing strategy whether it is cost reduction; value analysis and/or improving delivery and increasing flexibility for achieving superior purchasing performance. The purpose of this paper is to scientifically examine the influence of organization culture (OC), green supplier development (GSD), supplier relationship management, flexibility and innovation on sustainability in supply network (SSN) under the moderation effect of institutional pressures and resources availability.Design/methodology/approachThe study is grounded by integrating institutional theory (IT) and resource-based view (RBV) theory. The study empirically tests the conceptual model through survey data gathered from 175 respondents in the KwaZulu-Natal province of Southern Africa using structural equation modeling which is a multivariate data analysis technique that permits to simultaneously examine many relationships among manifest and latent variables.FindingsIt was found that OC plays a crucial role in shaping the workforce behavior and responsible for enhancing GSDs and building good relationship with suppliers which ultimately results into increased flexibility and innovativeness. Coercive pressures (CPs) play a moderating role between the causal relationship of innovation and SSN. Therefore, CPs have got the ability to amplify or reverse the effect between innovation and SSNs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study suffers from few limitations. First, the study is restricted to one particular province in South Africa. Second, cross-sectional data were used for testing of model in the research study.Practical implicationsThe findings are of great importance for both the researchers and supply chain practitioners. Supply chain practitioners may use this knowledge for benchmarking the supply network configuration process and continuously improve the process. The tested model actually shows the mechanism for enhancing SSNs. In today’s dynamic and uncertain business environment, all firms in the supply network aims to minimize risks and maximize profitability. The findings show that CPs play a moderating effect on the relationship between innovation and SSN. Whenever government authorities and institutions pressurize firms for minimizing pollution levels, we see a trend of increased innovations in the form of new product developments, usage of eco-friendly raw material and application of eco-friendly technology which ultimately minimizes the carbon footprint. Through such initiatives steel and engineering firms conform to the government norms and regulations. However, innovations are possible through collaboration with specialist suppliers and sub-suppliers by adopting a common standard across the supply network. Through this overall process of innovation, the focal firm and sub-suppliers linked in the network will benefit and ultimately achieve a competitive edge. Therefore, firms can experience multiple benefits in terms of lower development costs, lower project cycle completion time, improvement in design for re-manufacturability, low downtime, low supply risks, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and, ultimately, sustainable development.Originality/valueThe study is unique from dual perspective – both in terms of scope and contribution to supply chain management literature. First, the study integrates flexibility and innovation to study the impact on SSNs. Second, it integrates both IT and RBV theory of firm to test the moderation effect and the findings further opens up window for future research.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaw Agyabeng-Mensah ◽  
Ebenezer Afum ◽  
Innocent Senyo Kwasi Acquah ◽  
Essel Dacosta ◽  
Charles Baah ◽  
...  

PurposeThe priority giving to green practices in today's competitive market has made green logistics management practices (GLMPS) a significant driver of organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of GLMPS, logistics ecocentricity and supply chain traceability on sustainability performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses structured questionnaires to gather data from 274 managers of manufacturing firms in Ghana. The partial least square structural equation modeling approach is used to analyze the data to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results obtained from the analysis indicate that GLMPS positively influence social sustainability and environmental sustainability. However, GLMPS negatively influence business performance. The results further reveal that logistics ecocentricity and supply chain traceability augment GLMPS to achieve significant improvement in both business performance and environmental sustainability through the mediation effect approach.Originality/valueThe study proposes a conceptual framework that tests the combined effect of GLMPs, logistics ecocentricity and supply chain traceability on environmental sustainability, social sustainability and business performance from the Ghanaian perspective.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 461-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikas Kumar ◽  
Ozlem Bak ◽  
Ruizhi Guo ◽  
Sarah Louise Shaw ◽  
Claudia Colicchia ◽  
...  

Purpose This study aims to explore the importance and impact of supply and manufacturing risk management upon business performance within the context of Chinese manufacturing supply chains. Design/methodology/approach A two-phased multi-method approach was adopted, which included a survey questionnaire to practitioners in Chinese manufacturing supply chains followed by semi-structured interviews. The findings included 103 valid survey responses complemented by six semi-structured interviews. Findings The results indicate that in Chinese manufacturing context supply risk and manufacturing risk management are both vital for business performance. A high correlation between business and manufacturing risk management performance exists; however, no significant impact of supplier dependency, systematic purchasing, maturity of production and supply chain and human resources was found despite previously these elements being regarded as key influencers for supply and manufacturing risk management performance. The Chinese manufacturing supply chain indicated that elements such as the supplier and customer orientation, flexibility, manufacturing and supply risk highly connotes with business performance. Practical implications In the current unpredictable and volatile business environment, the competitiveness of manufacturing supply chains to a large extent depend on their ability to identify, assess and manage the manufacturing and supply risks. The findings of this study will assist supply chain managers in taking decision on manufacturing and supply risk management and reducing the uncertainty upon their business performance. Originality/value The supply chain risk has been widely explored within the context of individual case studies, or standalone models focusing on either supply or manufacturing risk in supply chains; however, to what extent this has been applicable to a wider context and its impact upon business process has not been explored. Hence, this study simultaneously has analysed manufacturing risk and supply risk and its impact upon Chinese manufacturing supply chains business performance. Moreover, this study uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, which is often limited in this area. Finally, the institutional theory lens offers novel insights in better understanding the factors that can affect the impact of supply and manufacturing risk management upon business performance in those contexts, such as China, where the institutional aspect presents specific features.


Author(s):  
Navee Chiadamrong ◽  
Tran Thi Tham

Growing in the competitive environment, organizations need to find ways to improve their performance even better by ensuring that all key drivers are being developed and utilized effectively. Thai and Vietnamese food industries are rapidly growing sectors. This study investigates the relationships between supply chain capabilities and competitive advantages towards business performance, and compares the above mentioned relationships between Thai and Vietnamese food industries. The data were gathered from conducted surveys with the food manufacturing companies in both countries, and tested by Structural Equation Modeling. The empirical results show that supply chain capabilities play an important role in business improvement in both countries. While, supply chain integration is considered as a critical factor for the Vietnamese food industry, human resource management is much regarded as important for the Thai food industry. These findings help companies in each country decide the best strategy for differentiating themselves in their business environment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios P. Kafetzopoulos ◽  
Evangelos L. Psomas ◽  
Katerina D. Gotzamani

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide additional evidence of the impact of ISO 9001 effectiveness on three dimensions of a firm’s performance, namely product quality, operational performance and business performance. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis includes an initial exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM), in order to investigate the relations between the constructs of the proposed model. A sample of 287 ISO 9001 certified Greek manufacturing firms is used for this purpose. Findings – According to the study findings, ISO 9001 effectiveness directly contributes to product quality and operational performance. Although it has no direct impact on manufacturing firms’ business performance, it has an indirect impact through the moderator of operational performance. Research limitations/implications – The sample of the responding manufacturing companies is limited to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from one country (Greece). In addition, the effects of the internal business environment and endogenous business factors have not been assessed through the present study. Practical implications – The study offers clear implications for managers who focus on elements that will increase the ISO 9001 effectiveness and desire to choose strategies, allocate resources and improve their firm’s performance. Originality/value – The present study contributes to the literature gap aiming at examining the degree to which ISO 9001 effectiveness influences the performance of certified firms. The concept of “ISO 9001 effectiveness” is introduced as the extent to which its prescribed quality objectives are met.


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