PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among supply chain management (SCM) practices and their impacts on firm financial and non‐financial performance. This paper contributes to SCM literature by exploring a structural model connecting the relationships among external customer‐firm‐supplier integration, internal SCM contextual factors, and various dimensions of firm performance.Design/methodology/approachIn order to understand the interactions between SCM practices and firm performance, this paper considers four internal contextual factors, namely: human resource management, quality data and reporting, design management, and process management. Three levels of firm performance are also examined in this paper, including internal operational performance, external customer satisfaction, and firm financial performance. A structural model was further constructed by integrating external SCM, internal SCM contextual factors, and firm performance. The sample data were collected from Taiwan information‐related industries, where firms are facing increased global competitive pressure and heavily utilize SCM to retain their competitive advantages.FindingsThe results presented in this paper show that external customer‐firm‐supplier relation management positively impacts firm internal contextual factors, which in turn have positive effects on firm performance. This finding suggests that a successful implementation of SCM not only directly improves operational performance, but also indirectly enhances customer satisfaction and financial performance. In addition, higher financial performance is also attributable to better customer value resulting from the achievement of better customer satisfaction.Originality/valueThis paper provides empirical evidence on the relationships among SCM practices and how they affect various levels of firm performance, which in turn, provides strategic insights on the relationship between SCM practices and firm performance.

One of the proposed mechanisms through which plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) enhance plant growth is the production of plant growth regulators, especially cytokinin. However, little information is available regarding cytokinin-producing PGPR inoculation on growth and water stress consistence of forest container seedlings under drought condition. This study determined the effects of Bacillus subtilis on hormone concentration, drought resistance, and plant growth under water-stressed conditions. Although no significant difference was observed under well-watered conditions, leaves of inoculated Platycladus orientalis (oriental thuja) seedlings under drought stress had higher relative water content and leaf water potential compared with those of noninoculated ones. Regardless of water supply levels, the root exudates, namely sugars, amino acids and organic acids, significantly increased because of B. subtilis inoculation. Water stress reduced shoot cytokinins by 39.14 %. However, inoculation decreased this deficit to only 10.22 %. The elevated levels of cytokinins in P. orientalis shoot were associated with higher concentration of abscisic acid (ABA). Stomatal conductance was significantly increased by B. subtilis inoculation in well-watered seedlings. However, the promoting effect of cytokinins on stomatal conductance was hampered, possibly by the combined action of elevated cytokinins and ABA. B. subtilis inoculation increased the shoot dry weight of well-watered and drought seedlings by 34.85 and 19.23 %, as well as the root by 15.445 and 13.99 %, respectively. Consequently, the root/shoot ratio significantly decreased, indicative of the greater benefits of PGPR on shoot growth than root. Thus, inoculation of cytokinin-producing PGPR in container seedlings can alleviate the drought stress and interfere with the suppression of shoot growth, showing a real potential to perform as a drought stress inhibitor in arid environments.

Two submm/mm sources in the Barnard 1b (B1-b) core, B1-bN and B1-bS, have been studied in dust continuum, H 13 CO + J=1-0, CO J=2-1, 13 CO J=2-1, and C 18 O J=2-1. The spectral energy distributions of these sources from the mid-IR to 7 mm are characterized by very cold temperatures of T dust < 20 K and low bolometric luminosities of 0.15-0.31 L ⊙ . The internal luminosities of B1-bN and B1-bS are estimated to be <0.01-0.03 L ⊙ and ∼0.1-0.2 L ⊙ , respectively. Millimeter interferometric observations have shown that these sources have already formed central compact objects of ∼100 AU sizes. Both B1-bN and B1-bS are driving the CO outflows with low characteristic velocities of ∼2-4 km s −1 . The fractional abundance of H 13 CO + at the positions of B1-bN and B1-bS is lower than the canonical value by a factor of 4-8. This implies that significant fraction of CO is depleted onto dust grains in dense gas surrounding these sources. The observed physical and chemical properties suggest that B1-bN and B1-bS are in the earlier evolutionary stage than most of the known Class 0 protostars. Especially, the properties of B1-bN agree with those of the first hydrostatic core predicted by the MHD simulations. The CO outflow was also detected in the mid-IR source located at ∼15 ′′ from B1-bS. Since the dust continuum emission was not detected in this source, the circumstellar material surrounding this source is less than 0.01 M ⊙ . It is likely that the envelope of this source was dissipated by the outflow from the protostar that is located to the southwest of B1-b.

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Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are important catalysts that regulate the functional properties of agricultural systems. However, there is little information on the effect of PGPR inoculation on the growth and nutrient accumulation of forest container seedlings. This study determined the effects of a growth medium inoculated with PGPR on the nutrient uptake, nutrient accumulation, and growth of Fraxinus americana container seedlings. PGPR inoculation with fertilizer increased the dry matter accumulation of the F. americana aerial parts with delayed seedling emergence time. Under fertilized conditions, the accumulation time of phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) in the F. americana aerial parts was 13 days longer due to PGPR inoculation. PGPR increased the maximum daily P and K accumulations in fertilized seedlings by 9.31 and 10.44 %, respectively, but had little impact on unfertilized ones. Regardless of fertilizer application, the root exudates, namely sugars, amino acids, and organic acids significantly increased because of PGPR inoculation. PGPR inoculation with fertilizer increased the root, shoot, and leaf yields by 19.65, 22.94, and 19.44 %, respectively, as well as the P and K contents by 8.33 and 10.60 %, respectively. Consequently, the N, P, and K uptakes increased by 19.85, 31.97, and 33.95 %, respectively. Hence, PGPR inoculation with fertilizer can be used as a bioenhancer for plant growth and nutrient uptake in forest container seedling nurseries.

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