Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of supply chain integration in different contexts. More specifically, it aims to show that supply chain integration is only effective in buyer-supplier relationships characterised by high supply complexity. Design/methodology/approach -A survey-based research design is developed to measure different dimensions or aspects of supply chain integration and supply complexity. Data were collected among manufacturers in The Netherlands and Spain. Findings -This research shows that supply chain integration increases performance if supply complexity is high, while a very limited or no influence of supply chain integration can be detected in case of low supply complexity. The results also show that in high supply complexity environments the use of structured communication means to achieve supply chain integration has a negative effect on cost performance.Research limitations/implications -The limited sample size prohibits estimating and testing of more comprehensive models of the relationship between supply chain integration and performance. Specifically, the authors were not able to further investigate how different supply chain integration dimensions are inter-related and mutually reinforce one another to improve performance. Practical implications -The main managerial lesson is that, in contrast to what has been written in many books and other popular publications, high levels of supply chain integration are only necessary in environments characterised by high supply complexity. Originality/value -This study helps to better understand context in supply chain management research. Specifically, it investigates the moderating effect of supply complexity on the integration-performance relationship, a topic suggested by Bozarth et al. as a line for further research.
In a study of 11 organizations among 120 manufacturing, planning and sales employees, support was found for the hypothesis that a prosocial value orientation—as a personality trait—increases the likelihood that employees show a high concern for the goals of other departments. This concern, combined with a high concern for own goals, furthermore appeared to increase the likelihood of problem‐solving behavior during interdepartmental negotiations. Measures of goal concerns were attained, firstly, by asking employees how important they found six specific organizational goals and, secondly, by assessing which goals were found most important by members of which department. The results of this study suggest that problem solving can be induced by selecting or developing prosocial employees, because a prosocial value orientation increases the likelihood of having broad role orientations, in which employees not only care for goals characteristic of their own department, but also for goals of other departments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Host governments severely impact international relief operations. An openness to assistance can lead to the timely delivery of aid whereas a reluctance to receive assistance can have devastating consequences. With lives at stake and no time to lose in humanitarian crises, understanding the host government's impact on the logistics performance of international humanitarian organisations (IHOs) is crucial. In this paper, we present an in-depth multiple-case study that explores this aspect. Results show that host government actions are explained by their dependency on IHOs and the levels of tensions between their interests (i.e., conflicting strategic goals). In addition, a host government's regulatory and enforcement capabilities are important for ensuring that they can safeguard their interests. We derive four stances that host governments can adopt in regulating logistics-related activities: non-restrictive, opportunistic, selectively accommodating and uncompromising. Each of these has different implications for the logistics performance of IHOs.
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Buyer-focused operations aim at a high level of supply chain alignment by singling out resources for one buyer in order to serve this buyer optimally. The purpose of this paper is to identify what business characteristics make suppliers choose buyer-focused operations as a supply chain strategy in their relationships with key buyers. Design/methodology/approach -A broad range of qualitative and quantitative data was collected during interviews and plant visits in a multi-case study research design. Nine units and 42 supply links with key buyers were investigated and analysed. Findings -The suppliers choose buyer-focused operations for different reasons. As expected, some of them choose buyer-focused operations to fulfil the buyer's requirements in terms of flexibility (mix, volume, specification and timing). However, in other situations, buyer-focus is used for other reasons: mostly to perform additional assembly operations. Suppliers rarely consider buyer-focus of core production technology in relationships with buyers for which cost and speed are the main order-winners.Research limitations/implications -The study is based on a relatively small number of cases. Although the findings confirm the theoretical framework, more empirical work is needed to better understand different forms of buyer-focus. Further research should also point out if and how mutual trust and risk dispersal influence decisions to invest in buyer-focused resources. Practical implications -The results of this paper help managers in choosing between different forms of buyer-focus, based on the specific characteristics of a supply chain link. Originality/value -The paper introduces focus into the domain of supply chain management and shows that striving for close cooperation in a supply relationship needs to be carefully considered and depends on the business characteristics. The paper contributes also to a better understanding of the concept of buyer-focus and distinguishes different types.
In this paper, we investigate how buyers' and suppliers' distinct perceptions of technology uncertainty affect the relationship between communication frequency and supplier performance. Information processing theory suggests that a fit is desirable between perceived environmental uncertainty and the communication processes between organisations. However, if partners in a buyer-supplier relationship do not concur on there being a high level of technology uncertainty, it is highly questionable whether increased communication will be effective in increasing supplier performance. Using dyadic data involving 388 respondents from 86 buyer-supplier relationships, we found that communication frequency was positively related to supplier performance, but only when both suppliers and buyers perceive there to be high levels of technology uncertainty. When buyers perceived greater technology uncertainty than their suppliers, communication frequency was negatively related to supplier performance. The findings from this study show that it is important to take the distinct perceptions of buyers and suppliers on technology uncertainty into account when assessing the effects of communication frequency. It appears that increased communication is only effective when both parties acknowledge the need to communicate, and can even be unfavourable when only one party sees the benefits of it.
PurposeThe literature on supply chain management has focused on the benefits of frequent and strategic communication in supply chains. However, it has paid much less attention to the difficulties and conflicts associated with day‐to‐day communications in supply chains. This discrepancy is surprising because operational communications play a crucial role in supply chain management. In this paper, the aim is to investigate when operational, day‐to‐day communications in supply chains become linked with conflicts and how these conflicts can be prevented.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed respondents from the partner firms of 81 different supply chains. The data from 380 surveys were examined with moderated regression analyses.FindingsThe findings indicate that operational communications are linked with conflicts if upstream parties in supply chains do not recognise the importance that their downstream partners attach to certain performance objectives.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the paper goes beyond the benefits of communication and demonstrates that communication in supply chains can also have drawbacks. Moreover, the paper shows how upstream goal recognition helps parties avoid conflicts in their day‐to‐day communications.Practical implicationsThe study points to the importance of developing upstream goal recognition in supply chains and provides several suggestions to promote upstream goal recognition.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to supply chain communication research by going beyond the benefits of communication and highlighting the difficulties that can accompany day‐to‐day operational communications. Moreover, it provides an explanation for the conditions under which operational communications are associated with conflict.
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