scholarly journals Operational competencies and relational resources: a multiple case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Nascimento Zatta ◽  
Elmo Tambosi Filho ◽  
Fernando Celso de Campos ◽  
Rodrigo Randow Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Operations Management ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relational Resources ◽  
New Research

Purpose The purpose of this study was to use relational vision as a theoretical support for an investigation of how operational competencies are developed from the interaction of shared relational resources in the supply chain and to verify how these competencies allow the resources to be able to function, unity, integration and direction. Design/methodology/approach This multihull study was based on semi-structured interviews with 13 representatives of four dyads from companies in the steel, automotive and industrial applications, pulp processing and manufacturing and application of flexible tubes. Findings The results indicate that information, knowledge and learning are significant constructs to influence the development of operational skills in the supply chain because they represent the ability of the company to promote skills to efficiently use resources and create a barrier to imitation. Research limitations/implications There are limitations in the use of four companies from different industrial segments because it is possible to generalize the results. However, given the cross-sectional nature of the research, new studies may adopt a longitudinal approach to verify the evolution in the area of operations. Future studies may also expand the unit of analysis to understand the role of the relationship between the focus business and its strategic suppliers from the viewpoint of the suppliers. Thus, new research can be expanded to dyads, triads and business networks by investigating the various stages in the supply chain. Practical implications This study contributes to the literature and adds the dimension of relational operational skills, which is hitherto little explored in previous studies. Social implications This study contributes to the literature in the area of operations management, in collaborative relationships between buyers and sellers, focusing on the relational view of competitiveness. Originality/value The growing importance of organizations and the role of collaboration, based on mutual benefits and grouping of skills, tend to increase the competitive benefits of companies operating in this context. The management of this type of arrangement becomes a challenge for researchers, reinforcing the originality of this study.

Building resilience in retail supply chains: Lessons learned from COVID-19 and future pathways

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atif Saleem Butt
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study explores the countermeasures taken by retailers to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on supply chain disruptions.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses a multiple case study approach and undertakes 36 semi-structured interviews with senior management of the four largest retailers of the United Arab Emirates. The respondents were designated at different positions such as Vice President, Director and Project Manager.FindingsResults reveal that retailers are employing six countermeasures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on supply chains. Particularly, retailers are securing required demand, preserving cash flows, redirecting inventory, adding capacity to their distribution centres, becoming more flexible with their direct or third-party logistics provider and finally widening delivery options for their suppliers to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has some limitations. First, the results of this study cannot be generalized to a broader population as it attempts to build an initial theory. Second, this study uses a cross-sectional approach to explore the countermeasures employed by retailing firms to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.Originality/valueA notable weakness in a supply chain disruption literature is an unfulfilled need for research examining the strategies employed by retailers to respond to/address the challenges posed by COVID-19. Our study fills this gap.

Socio-economic and technological new normal in supply chain management: lessons from COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mian M. Ajmal ◽  
Mehmood Khan ◽  
Muhammad Kashif Shad ◽  
Haseena AlKatheeri ◽  
Fauzia Jabeen
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
New Normal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Platforms

PurposeThis paper explores the new normal activities and strategic responses of the service industry towards the challenges created by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and other constructs and validates the measurement scale for socio-economic and technological new normal activities following lockdown and social distancing practices.Design/methodology/approachFirst, structured interviews with 28 participants helped us generate items and develop survey instruments for cross-sectional data collection in the second phase. So, the authors received 256 complete responses from the top and middle management of the services industry. Exploratory factor analysis helped us explore the factors and reliability of the items. Confirmatory factor analysis aided us in generating and confirming the factorial structure of the constructs.FindingsResults indicated that amid COVID-19's pandemic, new normal activities are emerging in which organizations are deploying crisis strategies to safeguard their business and stakeholders. Organizations are re-opening swiftly, focusing on digital transformation, developing digital platforms for ease in working and improved consumer services, to name a few operational changes.Practical implicationsDiscussion on empirical analysis revolves around the guidelines to service industry's managers and top management to improve shortcomings in combating the challenges they face in their operations.Originality/valuePrior studies have provided substantial insights on the COVID-19 pandemic, but relatively little research exists on new normal activities in the supply chain network of the service industry. Among other reasons for such less empirical evidence on new normal activities is the unavailability of a comprehensive tool for measuring the socio-economic and technological new normal activities. This paper is a contribution to bridging this knowledge gap.

scholarly journals Searching for a new perspective on institutional voids, networks and the internationalisation of SMEs in emerging economies: a systematic literature review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ofer Dekel-Dachs ◽  
Marta Najda-Janoszka ◽  
Peter Stokes ◽  
Amon Simba ◽  
Shlomo Tarba
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Theory ◽  
International Marketing ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Institutional Voids ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
New Research ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study, a systematic review, focuses on the internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) originating in developing countries. It critically analyses, evaluates and synthesises studies featuring formal and informal institutions, embedded in social and business networks, as a marketing solution for institutional voids. The review shows that current international marketing studies downplay the role of informal institutions in the internationalisation of SMEs. Thus, the authors set a new research agenda for advancing the institutional theory to account for the impact of informal institutions and networks on firm internationalisation.Design/methodology/approachThis review followed five structured stages, including framing the research questions, identifying relevant studies, assessing their quality, summarising the evidence and interpreting the findings. Based on the systematic approach, 434 papers (374 from Web of Science, 60 from Scopus) were generated. Following that, the authors applied the qualitative inclusion/exclusion criteria, which yielded 63 papers. Their analysis involved three authors, with the fourth author focusing on ensuring quality in the analysis.FindingsThe study findings invite a different line of theorising market structures and processes focusing on the role of networks as an alternative to formal institutional systems. The outcome of our review suggests that there is scope for developing the institutional theory that account for the role of informal institutions and networks.Originality/valueBased on the analysis, we call for new theorisation, in the international marketing literature, which accounts for informal networking amongst internationalising SMEs in the light of institutional voids. Thus, the authors promote novel participatory, bottom to top understanding of relationship between institutions and enterprises.

scholarly journals The institutional logic of the sustainable organisation: the case of a chocolate supply network

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate McLoughlin ◽  
Joanne Meehan
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Network ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chain ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analyse Power ◽  
Stakeholder Network ◽  
New Research ◽  
Competitive Activities ◽  
Social Logics

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how, and by whom, institutional logics are determined in the action of sustainable organisation. The authors analyse a supply chain network structure to understand how multiple stakeholders' perceptions of sustainability emerge into a dominant logic and diffuse across an organisational field.Design/methodology/approachStakeholder network theory provides novel insights into emerging logics within a chocolate supply chain network. Semi-structured interviews with 35 decision-makers were analysed alongside 269 company documents to capture variations in emergent logics. The network was mapped to include 63 nodes and 366 edges to analyse power structure and mechanisms.FindingsThe socio-economic organising principles of sustainable organisation, their sources of power and their logics are identified. Economic and social logics are revealed, yet the dominance of economic logics creates risks to their coexistence. Logics are largely shaped in pre-competitive activities, and resource fitness to collaborative clusters limits access for non-commercial actors.Research limitations/implicationsPowerful firms use network structures and collaborative and concurrent inter-organisational relationships to define and diffuse their conceptualisation of sustainability and restrict competing logics.Originality/valueThis novel study contributes to sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) through presenting the socio-economic logic as a new conceptual framework to understand the action of sustainable organisation. The identification of sophisticated mechanisms of power and hegemonic control in the network opens new research agendas.

The role of cognitive proximity on supply chain collaboration for radical and incremental innovation: a study of a transition economy

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai Anh Thi Nguyen ◽  
Hui Lei ◽  
Khoa Dinh Vu ◽  
Phong Ba Le
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
Incremental Innovation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Supply Chain Collaboration ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Incentive Alignment ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of cognitive proximity on supply chain collaboration and how it relates to radical and incremental innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on quantitative approach to analyze the data of 218 firms in a developing and transition economy. The proposal model is tested with exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe authors’ findings show that cognitive proximity facilitates decision synchronization and incentive alignment in the supply chain. Furthermore, the authors’ results indicate that information sharing and decision synchronization are determinants of radical innovation while incentive alignment is a determinant of incremental innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was cross-sectional, so the authors could not consider the control variable such as sectors or firms’ size. It is hard to control the specific features of cognitive proximity in one single industry when using cross-sectional data. In future investigations, it may be possible to use a different dimension of proximity to explain the implementation of collaboration for innovation.Originality/valueThis study attempted to explore the role of cognitive proximity on supply chain implementation process in the context of a transition economy. Moreover, the authors’ findings provide the clearer understanding of the relationship between collaboration and innovation.

scholarly journals Operations and supply chain management

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 1673-1695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Coughlan ◽  
Domien Draaijer ◽  
Janet Godsell ◽  
Harry Boer
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Operations Management ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Reflective Practitioner ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Association ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Based on the combined experiences of operations and supply chain management (O&SCM) scholars and a reflective practitioner, the paper compares, contrasts and reconciles the competences needed to research O&SCM practice and to practice O&SCM research. The purpose of this paper is to locate these competences for young faculty in relation to their ambitions and career choices. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based upon the contributions made at European Operations Management Association 2014 Young Scholars Workshop (YSW). The theme and programme of the workshop was “Operations management – research and practice”. Findings The paper outlines first the concept of the YSW, the evolution of themes and the specific focus of the 2014 workshop. It concludes with a reflection on the career development of O&SCM scholars, their potential role, as academics or practitioners, in the development of O&SCM theory and practice, and the role of collaborative research in that development. Practical implications This paper shows what it takes for O&SCM researchers to engage with “the world around us” involves and, vice versa, how “doctorate” OM and SCM practitioners may successfully solve practical problems and engage with the O&SCM world surrounding them in doing so. Originality/value The paper presents a collection of viewpoints of O&SCM scholars and a reflective practitioner on the competences needed to research OM practice and to practice OM research.

scholarly journals Network orchestration: new role of business incubators?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Guilherme Rodrigues Antunes ◽  
Cleber Carvalho de Castro ◽  
Andrea Ap da Costa Mineiro
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Business Incubators ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Network Orchestration

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance of incubators in the stages of formation and development of incubated business networks, especially in bottom-up and top-down network models. Design/methodology/approach The research is defined as qualitative and descriptive, with the application of multiple case studies, in which two networks of incubated businesses were investigated, one being top-down and the other bottom-up, which emerged within the incubation process of two business incubators (CIETEC and INCIT). To make the study operational, 11 semi-structured interviews were carried out and the thematic analysis of content was developed. Findings The results pointed out that in the top-down network the incubator performs a new assignment, the network orchestration, which corresponds to the actions of formation, coordination and governance of the group. In the bottom-up network, it was found that the role of the incubator was to expand the value offers usually practiced. Research limitations/implications As a limitation of the research, the very limitation of case studies is pointed out that is they do not allow for generalizations. Practical implications The research contributes to reflections on the effectiveness of the incubator and sheds light on the complementarity of networks in incubation processes, providing gains for incubators, incubated businesses and society. Originality/value The originality of this document is the new role of the incubator, which is orchestration, and its categorization. The results allow us to understand the effects of providing networks and relationships for incubated businesses. In addition, this study broadens the focus of traditional analyses of the incubator–incubated duo to consider the incubator–network–incubated trio.

The mediating role of supply chain collaboration on the relationship between technology, trust and operational performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 298-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Asif Salam
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Operational Performance ◽  
Developing Economy ◽  
Supply Chain Collaboration ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Ongoing Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the link between trust, technology and supply chain collaboration and their impact on firms’ operational performances. Design/methodology/approach Based on extant literature, a hypothesized model was developed and tested using structural equation modelling (i.e. AMOS). A survey was conducted to collect data from the supply chain managers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies (more precisely in the food and beverage sector) in Thailand. Findings The study findings suggest that through an ongoing relationship, trust evolves and is shaped over time and can form a competitive capability that may not be easy for competitors to replicate. Both trust and technology are found to have significant impact on supply chain collaboration and on firms’ operational performances. Research limitations/implications One of the major limitations of the study is that the data were obtained from one single economy, which restricts its generalizability across other economies. The study was a cross-sectional and descriptive sample of the FMCG industry at a given point in time. A more stringent test of the relationships between trust, technology, supply chain collaboration and operational performance requires an in-depth case study or longitudinal study. Practical implications The findings will enable supply chain managers in the FMCG industry to understand the strategic role of trust and technology in building supply chain collaboration that leads to superior operational performance. Originality/value The paper clearly confirms that trust and technological capabilities are significantly associated with supply chain collaboration and operational performance. Most of the earlier supply chain collaboration research streams are based on developed economies where supply chain collaboration challenges are predictable, while the current study conducted is based on a developing economy setting. This study facilitates the author’s understanding of the challenges in managing supply chain collaboration within a developing economy.

scholarly journals Ambiguity and its coping mechanisms in supply chains lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 1201-1223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saileshsingh Gunessee ◽  
Nachiappan Subramanian
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Operations Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Coping Mechanisms ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Organisational Level

PurposeThe first purpose of this paper is to situate and conceptualise ambiguity in the operations management (OM) literature, as connected to supply chain decision-making (SCDM). The second purpose is to study the role of ambiguity-coping mechanisms in that context.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses the behavioural decision theory (BDT) to better embed ambiguity in a generic SCDM framework. The framework explicates both behavioural and non-behavioural antecedents of ambiguity and enables us to also ground the “coping” mechanisms as individual and organisational level strategies. Properties of the framework are illustrated through two “ambiguous” events – the 2011 Thai flood and Covid-19 pandemic.FindingsThree key findings are documented. First, ambiguity is shown to distinctively affect supply chain decisions and having correspondence with specific coping mechanisms. Second, the conceptual framework shows how individual coping mechanisms can undermine rational-based organisational coping mechanisms, leading to “sub-optimal” (poor) supply chain decisions. Third, this study highlights the positive role of visibility but surprisingly organisational “experiential” learning is imperfect, due to the focus on “similar” past experience and what is known.Originality/valueThe paper is novel in two ways. First, it introduces ambiguity – an often neglected concept in operations management – into the supply chain lexicon, by developing a typology of ambiguity. Second, ambiguity-coping mechanisms are also introduced as both individual and organisational strategies. This enables the study to draw distinctive theoretical and practical implications.

From cultural intelligence to supply chain performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luu Trong Tuan
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Supply Chain Performance ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – Cultural intelligence (CQ) has transcended its role of adaptation to local values toward narrowing the cultural gap between foreign stakeholders and local stakeholders in the supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to decipher the catalyzing role of CQ in its chain effect, through corporate social responsibility and trust, to supply chain performance and competitive intelligence (CI). Design/methodology/approach – The proof for the research model was derived from the SEM-based analysis of cross-sectional data provided by 392 respondents from MNCs in Vietnamese business landscape. Findings – Findings, from this inquiry, produce the evidence for the positive effect of all four dimensions of CQ (metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral CQ) on ethical and legal CSR, as well as knowledge-based and identity-based trust, which leverage supply chain performance. The connectivity between supply chain performance and CI was also established. Originality/value – Supply chain literature, from this research model, has increased its breadth with the novel role of CQ and stakeholder-oriented levers such as CSR in heightening supply chain performance.

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