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This article describes an Action Research (AR) framework applied to the supplier evaluation environment of a telecommunication company. Within this AR framework, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used because the methodology can successfully delineate evaluation problems and then outline a desirable path. This leads management to continuously review and improve complex systems or processes. The DEA methodology coordinates the supplier evaluation inputs and reconciles what can be very diverse performance measures and even more diverse weights applied by evaluation team members. Finally, dyadic interdependence can be demonstrated by identifying the impact of changes in buyer performance attributes on each supplier's capacity to accommodate and adjust.

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This article presents a consensus-building methodology to implement dyadic performance measurement. It focuses on transmuting supplier performance and buyer performance metrics on several important attributes into actionable relationship management plans using Clark's (1996) theory of performance frontiers. Access to the supplier performance management program of a Fortune 100 corporation was granted to the research team. Direct observation of practice and in-depth discussions with several managers provided a roadmap for investigating both the literature on quantitative evaluation methods and the empirically derived theory on buyer-supplier relationships from several perspectives. This study describes a multiphase, iterative framework that uses current methods and theory on dyadic buyer-supplier evaluation to consider: (i) evaluation criteria and their importance; (ii) whether the improvement focus should be on strengths, weaknesses, or both; and (iii) whether the referent role supplier should be the ideal supplier, best supplier, or best-in-strategic-group supplier in the focal supply base. We illustrate a unifying approach by reporting results from a large buyer and 35 of its key suppliers. This research makes the case for managing supplier relationships through the dyadic performance lens. The outputs from this framework provide individual supplier improvement paths which are actionable prescriptions for each buyer-supplier dyad, as well as recommendations for strategic group formation. * We gratefully acknowledge the valuable suggestions of Kaoru Tone and Rob Handfield during the very early stages of this research. † Corresponding author. 37 38 Using Buyer-Supplier Performance Frontiers to Manage Relationship Performance

This article provides an analysis of inbound logistics incorporated in a JIT manufacturing environment. An inventory‐theoretic model is presented that measures the implications of JIT manufacturing on the logistics process and the ability of inbound consolidation opportunities to accommodate these implications. Key components of the inventory‐theoretic model are indentified and the sensitivity of the model to these components is analysed.

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One justification for eliciting and representing the judgment strategy of an expert in a rule-based expert system (RBES) is to facilitate knowledge transfer to individuals with less expertise. However, prior research suggests complexities and potential problems when using RBESs for training. In this paper, a conceptual framework of user learning from RBESs is presented. It is proposed that learning may be ineffective when the problem representation of the RBES is inconsistent with the user's mental representation of the task-domain knowledge.An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of consistency (inconsistency) between the problem-solving strategy of RBESs and individuals' memory structures. Groups of subjects whose memory structure either matched or did not match two RBESs' problem-solving strategies were examined using an internal control evaluation task. The results suggest that learning was facilitated only for groups with congruence between the RBES's problem-solving strategy and a subject's memory structure. 263264 Decision Sciences [Vol. 21 However, research in cognitive psychology of learning, expert problem solving, and man-machine interface (MMI) suggests that using RBESs for training requires an understanding of the complex cognitive interface between the system and users. Unfortunately, most RBES research has been criticized for emphasizing the construction of the computer system while failing to adequately consider the cognitive aspects of the user-system interface [21 [291 [301 1491 1521 [531 [691. Jointly, these findings suggest that an existing RBES's usefulness in training may be limited.The purpose of this research is twofold. First, we provide a theoretical framework for user learning from decision aids such as RBESs. Specifically, we discuss the importance of the user's existing knowledge and mental representation of the system on learning the domain-specific knowledge represented in the RBES. It is hypothesized that if an RBES is to be successful as a training device, the knowledge structure of the rule base must be consistent with the user's mental representation of knowledge in the task domain. Second, we offer some experimental evidence to illustrate the importance of user cognitive processes in knowledge transfer.The present research has potential implications for both theory development and practice. The decision-aid literature has only scant underlying theory on the effects of decision aids on user learning and performance. As DeSanctis pointed out, There has been no research on learning and the use of decision support systems other than studies that consider the problem of teaching people to use software.The need is for research into how a user comes to integrate decision aids into the decision making process effectively, given that he or she is already familiar with the software. [30, pp. 4774781 information systems, and individual decision making in journals such as The Accounting Review, Accounting Organizations and Society, Journal of Accoun fancy, Journal of Inform...