Firm Growth and Supply Chain Partnerships: An Empirical Analysis of U.K. SME Subcontractors

This paper examines the performance of a sample of 211 U.K.subcontractors to evaluate whether differences in how they manage their supply chain relationships are associated with differences in (sales and employment)growth rates over two consecutive 3 year periods from 1993 to 1999.We identified 34 firms that had close partnership relationships with members of their supply chain. Our empirical findings indicate that firms with inter-firm partnership arrangements with members of their supply chain experienced significantly higher growth rates. These results suggest that inter-firm partnerships may facilitate more rapid and sustained SME growth,though further research is required to determine the role played by partnerships and the extent to which this may vary to reflect differing owner-manager motivations and growth opportunities.     

供应链管理实践、供应链敏捷性对企业绩效的影响研究

市场竞争逐渐由企业间的竞争转化为供应链间的竞争,供应链管理日益受到关注。文章采集163家企业信息进行实证分析,探索供应链管理实践和供应链敏捷性对企业绩效的影响与作用机制。研究结果表明：供应链管理实践对企业绩效具有直接正向影响,供应链管理实践对供应链敏捷性具有直接正向影响,供应链敏捷性对企业绩效具有直接正向影响且在供应链管理实践与企业绩效之间发挥部分中介作用。     

Relational and Process Multiplexity in Vertical Supply Chain Triads: An Exploration in the U.S. Restaurant Industry

Both supply chain relationships and process connections between organizational units have been studied in business research, to enhance the understanding of supply chain integration, and to explore the differential outcomes of both types of connections for business and functional performance. However, the extant research remains deficient in two ways: within individual studies, researchers have operationalized supply chain connectivity unidimensionally, with the concept of connectivity constrained to either social relations or operational/process ties while disregarding the other viewpoint. Additionally, researchers have persistently designed studies to evaluate dyadic structures, while foregoing the larger, more intricate structures representative of complex supply chains. We address these issues by modeling supply chain connectivity as having multiple relational‐ and process‐based threads comprising linkages, and by empirically testing a set of theorized relationships describing vertical triadic supply chain networks (manufacturer, broker, retailer) within the U.S. restaurant industry. We find that increased supply chain connectivity improves chain performance, but this improvement is more directly attributable to process‐based linkages than relational linkages, which impact performance only through the process mediator variable, suggesting that current theories of interorganizational relationalism may lack complete conceptualization. Implications of these findings for managers and the academy are highlighted, and areas of follow‐on research are discussed.     

The Struggle is Real: Insights from a Supply Chain Blockchain Case

Despite the anticipated benefits and the numerous announcements of pilot cases, we have seen very few successful implementations of blockchain technology (BCT) solutions in supply chains. Little is empirically known about the obstacles to blockchain adoption, particularly in a supply chain's interorganizational setting. In supply chains, blockchains' benefits, for example, BCT‐based tracking and tracing, are dependent on a critical mass of supply chain actors adopting the technology. While previous research has mainly been conceptual and has lacked both theory and empirical data, we propose a theory‐based model for interorganizational adoption of BCT. We use the proposed model to analyze a unique in‐depth revelatory case study. Our case study confirms previous conceptual work and reveals a paradox as well as several tensions between drivers for and against (positive and negative determining factors, respectively) of BCT adoption that must be managed in an interorganizational setting. In this vertical context, the adoption and integration decision of one supply chain actor recursively affects the adoption and integration decisions of the other supply chain actors. This paper contributes midrange theory on BCT in supply chain management (SCM), future research directions, and managerial insights on BCT adoption in supply chains.     

Examining Antecedents to Supply Chain Security Effectiveness: An Exploratory Study

In recent years there has been increasing emphasis on managing risk and security in supply chains. Despite this emphasis, there have been relatively few empirical studies dealing with this issue. In an attempt to partially address this lack of empirical research, the primary purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between security management practices and the perceived effectiveness of supply chain security. With a resource‐based view of the firm and supply chain integration as theoretical underpinnings, the study utilized survey data to test propositions derived from the security literature. Internal and external integration efforts, a nodal planning focus, and proactive motivations related to security measures were found to be positively related to security effectiveness. The article concludes with implications for security stakeholders including suggestions for future research.     

Supply Chain Collaboration,Integration, and Relational Technology: How Complex Operant Resources Increase Performance Outcomes

How firms coordinate efforts to collectively compete as supply chains is a key concern of supply chain management scholars and practitioners. One avenue, the development of collaborative relational capabilities that support supply chain integration, offers promise. However, the effectiveness of collaboration as a supply chain resource has been questioned due to concerns associated with collaborative technologies, and thus prior research has called for a deeper examination of the role that technologies play in facilitating integration. Employing a Service‐Dominant Logic view of hierarchical resources, grounded in Resource Advantage Theory, this research tests a model subsuming relationships between collaboration, integration, and interfirm coordination technologies, and their associated performance outcomes. A sample of 282 supply chain managers from a variety of industries were surveyed, with proposed relationships examined employing structural equation modeling. Test results indicate that collaboration and integration interact to form higher order resources that collectively influence firm performance outcomes through interfirm coordination technologies.     

再制造闭环供应链研究综述

分析国内外再制造闭环供应链的研究现状及进展文献综述发现,国外研究主要从闭环供应链回收管理、考虑产品生命周期的逆向供应链、再造品利润分配策略及再制造竞争问题、再制造管理、库存控制问题几个方面进行综述;国内研究主要从闭环供应链定价策略及其协调和其它方面进行综述。国外对再制造闭环供应链的研究是多方面、多角度的,但尚未形成系统的体系;国内的研究主要侧重对闭环供应链定价、利润分配等经济角度的研究,而缺乏其它方面的深入研究。如何系统地构建与实际相近的闭环供应链模型体系,并增加实证研究,是未来闭环供应链研究的方向。     

A Review of Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices in Canada

There is a growing body of research on the theory and practice of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). However, relatively little research has been conducted on the extent to which corporations have integrated sustainability principles into the management of their supply chain and the evaluation of supplier performance. The purpose of this article is to explore the extent to which corporate sustainability principles are integrated into supply chain management (SCM) in corporations. Canada is used as a case study in this article. The study included a content analysis of one hundred Canadian corporate sustainable development reports and in-depth interviews with 18 Canadian experts on SSCM. The article highlights the wide array of ways in which Canadian corporations address SSCM issues. Amongst other topics, issues associated with supply chain governance, standards for SSCM, collaboration with suppliers, performance measurement, and accountability within the supply chain are explored. The findings reveal that there are many challenges in integrating sustainability into SCM. These challenges shed light on possible future directions for research in SSCM. This article underlines the need for research that reflects the interconnected nature of the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability, particularly as it relates to measuring supplier performance on sustainability initiatives.     

Managing Internal Supply Chain Integration: Integration Mechanisms and Requirements

In response to globalization, diversification, and other organizational drivers, managers continue to seek organizational designs that promote integration. We study this phenomenon by focusing on requirements and mechanisms for internal supply chain integration (SCI). Using qualitative interview data, we examine how managers in manufacturing firms integrate internal supply chain activities. We elaborate and extend the information processing view by studying why organizations integrate (integration requirements) and how integration mechanisms are associated with different integration requirements. Four patterns of integration requirement–mechanism linkages emerged from our study, depicting integration mechanisms that are associated with a particular integration requirement, and those that are not. We provide a detailed examination of the multidimensional nature of integration requirements, as well as an increased understanding of how integration mechanisms are used to manage different integration requirements. These findings offer deeper insights into organizational integration, enhancing the understanding of integration in the context of internal supply chains, while also contributing to the literature on organizational design. For supply chain managers, these findings describe ways in which organizational design decisions can support internal SCI efforts with varying aims.     

Integrating Behavioral Decision Theory and Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Prioritizing Economic,Environmental, and Social Dimensions in Carrier Selection

Carrier selection is a specialized sourcing decision with sustainability impacts in every supply chain. This research tests the effects of a transportation carrier's economic, environmental, and social sustainability performance on a shipper's carrier selection decision. Underrepresented experimental methods are used to test an a priori hypothesis derived from behavioral decision theory logic. Results contradict commonly held win–win, trade‐off, and ecological perspectives of sustainable supply chain management by finding that the economic dimension of sustainability has the greatest effect on carrier selection. Our research highlights this managerial preference and offers a theoretically grounded explanation for selection behaviors. This is one of the first empirical studies to simultaneously consider all three dimensions of sustainability. It also moves beyond an internal focal firm focus to evaluate sustainability effects through the eyes of external supply chain members. Our unique approach and findings offer managerial opportunities for differentiation and resource allocation as well as policy implications for the broader transportation system.     

Supply Chain Integrity: A Key to Sustainable Supply Chain Management

As stakeholders continue to increasingly hold firms accountable for environmental and social performance in their supply chains, the importance of understanding how firms can be more sustainable becomes more prescient. Based on the underlying premise of stakeholder theory that business and ethics decisions are intertwined, the current research introduces the concept of supply chain integrity (SCI) to explore how the interdependence of business and ethics decisions can lead to improvements in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. Exploratory analysis employing secondary data sources in an elastic net (EN) logistic regression provides support for the proposed construct, by providing preliminary empirical evidence that SCI, measured through two subdimensions of structural and moral SCI, can be linked to firm sustainability. The research contributes to the supply chain management literature by: (1) introducing the concept of SCI; (2) performing an exploratory econometric analysis to provide initial validity of the SCI construct; and (3) providing a research agenda to guide further research on the concept of SCI and its role in SSCM.     

国外供应链整合的研究述评与展望

文章在回顾供应链整合相关研究文献的基础上,首先对供应链整合的概念演变进行梳理,然后将供应链整合对企业绩效的影响以及供应链整合的前因研究成果整合为一个包容性更强的“供应链整合的前因——供应链整合——供应链整合的结果”组织间供应链整合概念模型,最后对未来的相关研究进行了展望。     

农产品供应链管理与质量安全关系的实证研究

随着农产品质量安全管理日益重要和农产品供应链的广泛应用,有必要在农产品供应链框架下研究农产品质量安全管理。本文以农产品供应链管理和质量安全控制效率作为实证分析对象,重点通过实地问卷调查的方法获取企业供应链管理和质量安全控制的相关数据,构建结构方程模型,探讨供应链框架下合作关系、供应链管理行为、农产品质量安全控制行为以及安全管理效率之间的相互关系,并提出了相应的对策建议。     

网络嵌入对大型复杂产品制造业供应链绩效的影响研究

网络嵌入已经成为影响大型复杂产品制造业供应链绩效的主要因素之一。本文以我国航空制造业供应链为例,在分析网络结构嵌入和关系嵌入维度的基础上,提出供应链网络嵌入与供应链绩效之间关系的研究假设,并构建相应理论模型,通过实证分析来探究供应链网络嵌入对供应链绩效的影响机理。研究结果显示,供应链网络结构嵌入（节点度和中介中心度）和关系嵌入（信任、信息共享和共同解决问题）对大型复杂产品制造业供应链绩效具有显著影响,并且结构嵌入与关系嵌入之间存在理论上的结构关系。     

供应链脆弱性研究评述

供应链是企业最直接的生存环境,供应链脆弱性指供应链层面上因供应链环境的动态性和供应链内部的复杂性而使其易受外界干扰的缺陷。供应链脆弱性能导致供应链中断,使供应链风险变为现实,从而严重影响供应链企业及供应链整体绩效,供应链脆弱性及其应对措施研究具有重要意义。而由于供应链脆弱性研究历史较短,需要做的工作很多,任务非常艰巨。文章在对供应链脆弱性研究现状进行概括与总结的基础上指出,今后应进一步加强对供应链脆弱性形成原因、评价指标、应对措施及实践热点等问题的研究,为今后的工作理清思路。     

An Empirical Taxonomy of Supply Chain Management Practices

We develop an empirical taxonomy of supply chain management (SCM) practices grounded in the capability‐based view. Three groups—transactional SCM, translational SCM, and relational SCM—were identified using cluster analysis of data collected from over 200 U.S. manufacturing firms. We explain the differences among these groups and their relationship to improvements in supplier and buyer performance. Finally, we discuss implications for research and practice in SCM.     

How Environmental Management Competitive Pressure Affects a Focal Firm's Environmental Innovation Activities: A Green Supply Chain Perspective

Recently, environmental management offers firms a source of competitive advantage in the marketplace. The development of environmental innovations is critical to the success of today's firms. Drawing on the Schumpeterian perspective of competition, this research examines how the perception of rival firms' green success influences a firm to pursue and produce environmental innovation through its green supply chain integration activities. Using survey data from 230 firms, a conceptual model is developed and tested using structural equation modeling. We find that the firms in our sample do perceive pressure from their competitors' success in environmental management activities, and thus take supply chain action to pursue integration activities. By differentiating incremental and radical environmental innovation, this study also reveals the role of three dimensions of green supply chain integration (internal, supplier, and customer integration of green product development) on incremental and radical environmental innovation separately. Specifically, findings suggest that green supply chain integration has a positive impact on developing incremental environmental innovation, while only customer integration has a significant positive impact on developing radical environmental innovation.     

Value-Creation Logic in Supply Chain Relationships

Purpose: This article explores the idea that different types of interaction among supply chain partners entail different value-creation logics (interdependence, objective, focus of coordination, and value-creation initiatives) and that they must, therefore, be managed in different ways.

Approach: The article reviews and synthesises the relevant literature and presents a summary of the findings.

Findings: Four types of value-creation logic are explored: (1) Logistics integration is best managed by undertaking efforts to achieve mutual transparency, adaptations, and appropriate logistical planning; (2) in unilateral learning, management's task is to ensure the efficient flow and processing of information from one party to another; (3) in unilateral development, one party must have good knowledge of the partner's organization and provide the relevant expertise for coaching the latter's problem-solving efforts—management's task is primarily to define relevant projects and facilitate coaching; and (4) in bilateral learning, management's task is to obtain a mutual understanding of the partner's organisations and establish appropriate joint problem-solving arrangements.

Research implications: The article calls for a better understanding of the motivations, effects, and strategic implications of different ways of collaborating with partners in supply chain relationships.

Contribution: The article presents a case for the strategic value of collaboration, rather than merely addressing the tactical aspects of supply chain relationships.     

Finding the True Voice of the Customer in CPG Supply Chains: Shopper‐Centric Supply Chain Management

Demand and supply integration is the subject of increasing scholarly attention. The theoretical emphasis on combining market and supply chain data as the basis for strategic and operational decision making is particularly relevant in the context of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) supply chains, and offers the basis for advancing our understanding and knowledge in this field. Point‐of‐sale (POS) data are commonly used as the demand signal in CPG supply chains. Using empirical data, this research demonstrates that POS data can be influenced by nondemand factors. We present a number of issues raised by this finding.     

Contextualizing speed and cross-border acquisition performance: Labor market flexibility and efficiency effects

There is general agreement that acquisition integration is decisive for acquisition performance. Despite this consensus, there are heterogeneous results on integration measures, such as integration speed with empirical research supporting the benefits of either fast or slow integration. We argue that the business environment surrounding acquisitions has the potential to reconcile conflicting findings. We develop how institutional factors (i.e., labor market flexibility and efficiency) influence the relationships between speed of human and functional integration on acquisition performance. With a sample of 203 transactions from acquirers from central Europe and Scandinavia, we find human and functional integration speed have divergent effects on acquisition performance. Further, both relationships are moderated by labor market flexibility and efficiency, but in different ways. Implications for research and practice are discussed.