Abstract:Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how a supply chain (SC) network helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to obtain liquidity and working capital for enhancing their performance while developing the relationships among SC members through information sharing. Moreover, this study also investigates whether a strong tie or bridge tie improves the availability of SMEs’ credit and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey approach, data were collected from textile SMEs, located in Pa… Show more
“…A sample size of 15 literature studies was viewed to be adequate in terms of providing the data for the statistical analysis. As noted by previous researchers (Mashenene and Rumanyika, 2014;Mohammed et al, 2013;Ali et al, 2019), a sample size of no less than 12 items of literature is sufficient to extract the variables for analysis.…”
Section: Titlementioning
confidence: 99%
“…Eckstein et al (2014) suggests that SCM helps firms to adopt agility, which in return positively affects both costs as well as operational performance. Ali et al (2019) found that SCM positively and significantly helps SMEs to obtain liquidity, working capital and to improve member relationships. Notwithstanding the benefits of SCM in organisations, various studies have documented the impediments that stand in the way of successful SCM implementation.…”
Supply chain management (SCM) has gained popularity around the globe due to its significance in relation to improving business performance. Although large enterprises have been able to successfully implement SCM, it is different in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as they are faced with several constraints that hinder the effective implementation of SCM. Variables such as technological difficulties, poor coordination with the supplier's lack of government support, resources, funds, access to markets and top management support, issues in information sharing, inventory management, poor SCM knowledge and unskilled workforce all affect the SCM implementation in SMEs. These variables were measured in this study. A mixed method approach was used in this study where content analysis was employed through carrying out an extensive literature review to identify the SCM constraints. Descriptive statistics were then used to justify the relationship between SCM impediments and effective SCM implementation in Tanzanian SMEs. Frequency and percentages were computed to obtain the study results. The findings reveal that there is a significant relationship between effective SCM implementation in Tanzanian SMEs and constraints such as technological difficulties, poor coordination with suppliers, a lack of support from the top management and insufficient funds. This indicates that Tanzanian SMEs are mostly constrained by technological difficulties, poor coordination with their suppliers, a lack of support from top management and insufficient funds. The results also revealed that information sharing, inventory management, a lack of access to markets and poor SCM knowledge were insignificant constraints affecting SCM implementation in Tanzanian SMEs, thus indicating that there are no significant relationships between these constraints and SCM implementation in Tanzanian SMEs. The study recommends that support from the government in terms of financial assistance could help the SMEs to overcome the financial constraints and to invest more in recent technologies to help effectively implement SCM. Training from SME governing bodies such as the Small Industry Development Organisation (SIDO) in Tanzania could help to increase awareness of the importance of SCM. Furthermore, forming and maintaining long-term relationships with suppliers is critical for effective SCM implementation.
“…A sample size of 15 literature studies was viewed to be adequate in terms of providing the data for the statistical analysis. As noted by previous researchers (Mashenene and Rumanyika, 2014;Mohammed et al, 2013;Ali et al, 2019), a sample size of no less than 12 items of literature is sufficient to extract the variables for analysis.…”
Section: Titlementioning
confidence: 99%
“…Eckstein et al (2014) suggests that SCM helps firms to adopt agility, which in return positively affects both costs as well as operational performance. Ali et al (2019) found that SCM positively and significantly helps SMEs to obtain liquidity, working capital and to improve member relationships. Notwithstanding the benefits of SCM in organisations, various studies have documented the impediments that stand in the way of successful SCM implementation.…”
Supply chain management (SCM) has gained popularity around the globe due to its significance in relation to improving business performance. Although large enterprises have been able to successfully implement SCM, it is different in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as they are faced with several constraints that hinder the effective implementation of SCM. Variables such as technological difficulties, poor coordination with the supplier's lack of government support, resources, funds, access to markets and top management support, issues in information sharing, inventory management, poor SCM knowledge and unskilled workforce all affect the SCM implementation in SMEs. These variables were measured in this study. A mixed method approach was used in this study where content analysis was employed through carrying out an extensive literature review to identify the SCM constraints. Descriptive statistics were then used to justify the relationship between SCM impediments and effective SCM implementation in Tanzanian SMEs. Frequency and percentages were computed to obtain the study results. The findings reveal that there is a significant relationship between effective SCM implementation in Tanzanian SMEs and constraints such as technological difficulties, poor coordination with suppliers, a lack of support from the top management and insufficient funds. This indicates that Tanzanian SMEs are mostly constrained by technological difficulties, poor coordination with their suppliers, a lack of support from top management and insufficient funds. The results also revealed that information sharing, inventory management, a lack of access to markets and poor SCM knowledge were insignificant constraints affecting SCM implementation in Tanzanian SMEs, thus indicating that there are no significant relationships between these constraints and SCM implementation in Tanzanian SMEs. The study recommends that support from the government in terms of financial assistance could help the SMEs to overcome the financial constraints and to invest more in recent technologies to help effectively implement SCM. Training from SME governing bodies such as the Small Industry Development Organisation (SIDO) in Tanzania could help to increase awareness of the importance of SCM. Furthermore, forming and maintaining long-term relationships with suppliers is critical for effective SCM implementation.
“…Although previous research on SCF has discussed how network structural characteristics affect CFP, (e.g. Carnovale et al (2019) consider EC and network density, and Ali et al (2019) consider strong ties and bridge ties in supply chain networks), our research is the first to expand the analysis into FSCs, an important branch of SCF. Moreover, compared with previous SCF studies based on the network organisation, such as Seiler et al (2020), our research offers a broader view of the SCF network organisation by detailed evidencing that network structural characteristics affect CFP based on both network centrality (EC, CL, and BC) and network power (ND, NS, and CC).…”
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to bridge the gap in the literature on supply chain finance (SCF) by exploring the relationship between network capabilities and corporate financial performance (CFP) in financial supply chains (FSCs).Design/methodology/approachThe authors collect panel data and adopt regression analysis to analyse the joint investment activities among 1359 manufacturing firms and 289 financial service providers in China to explore how network capabilities, both network power and network centrality, improve CFP in the FSCs.FindingsUnder the FSCs environments, network centrality (i.e. eigenvector centrality, closeness centrality and betweenness centrality) raises CFP (ROA, ROE and Tobin's Q) and network power (node degree, clustering coefficient) also improves CFP. However, node strength from the network power stream has a negative effect on Tobin's Q, indicating that when the partner of a firm has an extremely strong influence in FSCs; this weakens the bargaining ability and flexibility of the focal firm, thus reducing its long-term financial performance.Practical implicationsThe joint investment activities among supply chain partners and financial service providers help managers understand the advanced financing solutions generated by internal and external network organisations as well as be aware of network capabilities' impact on CFP in FSCs.Originality/valueThis study answers the call for more empirical research on SCF to provide a broader sample to examine financial supply chain management. This is one of the earliest studies to shed light on a new perspective – how network capabilities improve CFP in the FSCs.
“…[53] integrates supply and demand across companies." [59] discovered that SCM undoubtedly and significantly promotes SMEs to achieve liquidity, working capital and to improve member connections. Notwithstanding the advantages of SCM in institutions, numerous investigations have documented the difficulties that attain in the way of successful SCM implementation.…”
Today, the advent of new technologies, globalization of markets, customers' varied needs, and increasingly fierce competition, are making SMEs seek to improve engagement with their suppliers, and cost management practices in order to survive. SMEs clearly need to focus on the interests of the entire supply chain by enacting win-win policies. In this study, we investigate a two-level inventory model featuring a manufacturer and a buyer in the competitive market with the policy of producing new products. Imperfect quality products and the capacity to rework are also considered in the model. In other words, because of the competitive nature of the market, any increase in price leads to a decrease in demand. The mathematical model is proposed over two scenarios: a scenario where shortage can occur, and one with no possibility of shortage. The objective function of the mathematical model revolves around the central goal of maximizing the total profit of the supply chain considering both independent and joint optimization by the supply chain members. A new algorithm is proposed to solve the mathematical model whose applicability is evaluated by giving a numerical example to the analysis software MATLAB. The results are analyzed and discussed using a sensitivity analysis approach.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.