Re‐Examining Supply Chain Fit: An Assessment of Moderating Factors

Research has emphasized the importance of matching products' characteristics with their supply chain design (i.e., supply chain fit). Fisher ( 1997 ) introduced the notion of supply chain fit and indicated that before developing a supply chain firms must consider the nature of the demand for their products. I expand on the Fisher ( 1997 ) framework by offering a more comprehensive understanding of when it pays off for firms to deploy resources to achieve supply chain fit. I argue that it is simplistic to assume that perfect supply chain fit will always lead to improved financial performance because the benefits generated by perfect supply chain fit might be offset by the resources deployed to achieve that fit. In order to execute this research I use archival and survey data to evaluate the moderating effects of six dimensions of environmental uncertainty (e.g., munificence, market dynamism, technological dynamism, technical complexity, product diversity, and geographic dispersion) on the relationship between supply chain fit and financial performance.     

An Empirically Derived Framework of Global Supply Resiliency

In today’s global business environment, supply chains have increased in both length and complexity. This increase in length and complexity coupled with a focus on improving efficiency, such as lean manufacturing practices, may lead to higher levels of supply chain risk where the likelihood of a disruption severely impacting supply chain performance increases. Resilient supply chains have been touted as a means to reduce the likelihood and severity of supply chain disruptions. However, there is little empirical evidence relative to the factors that contribute to or detract from supply resiliency. Using systems theory and the resource‐based view of the firm as the theoretical underpinnings, this study provides an in‐depth systematic investigation of supply resiliency. Adopting a theory‐building approach based on a multi‐industry empirical investigation, this study derives empirical generalizations linking 19 supply chain characteristics to supply resiliency. The study culminates in a framework that could be used to assess the level of resiliency in a supply base. Building on this framework, the study also provides a supply resiliency matrix that can be utilized to classify supply chains, or supply chains segments according to the level of resiliency realized. This article concludes by proposing several future research directions and issues that may be investigated in more detail.     

供应链系统的复杂性构成分析

本文认为,供应链是一个复杂系统,其复杂性无处不在,在研究供应链复杂性时既要避免遗漏对供应链整体运作效果和效率产生较大影响的复杂因素,又要避免将复杂性分解得过细、过多、过杂,导致只见树木不见森林。本文根据供应链集成、运作过程中所涉及交互的非线性关系,对其复杂性的构成进行分析,提出了供应链系统复杂性的构成体系。     

The Emergence of Consolidated Service Centers in Health Care

Hospital supply chains can be conceptualized as complex systems with a large number of players and a high degree of interrelatedness among them, creating an environment that is difficult to optimize and manage. In recent years, a consolidated service center (CSC) strategy (sometimes also referred to as “self‐distribution” strategy), has emerged in some healthcare systems, showing a strong potential for reducing the complexity in a hospital's supply chain to achieve high levels of performance and innovation. We examine three CSCs using a qualitative case method to understand the unique characteristics of this supply chain strategy, and how CSCs move hospital supply chains toward a less complex state. We find that CSCs demonstrate characteristics that distinguish them from other supply chain strategies. These characteristics enable the CSC to orchestrate supply base rationalization and disintermediation initiatives in the hospital's supply chain to effectively reduce the number of components and interrelatedness in this complex system.     

Supply Relational Risk: What Role Does Guanxi Play?

The topics of supply chain risk and global sourcing have garnered significant attention in recent years. Although there is ample circumstantial evidence of global sourcing risk, especially from the western‐firm perspective of sourcing from China, few published studies have investigated the root causes of this risk. In this paper, we argue that much of the risk associated with sourcing from China stems from the differences associated with institutional norms and philosophical orientation between western and Chinese thought and culture. Based on an in‐depth literature review and case analysis, we compare western forms of supply chain relationship management with Guanxi, the Chinese form of relationship management and propose a framework of how western firms are exposed to supply relational risk when sourcing from Chinese suppliers. The framework proposed in this article sheds light for supply chain managers with regard to the potential pitfalls facing firms when working with Chinese suppliers, and provides the groundwork for future research regarding supply chain practices and Guanxi networks.     

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。     

论产业集群供应链协同体系的构建

本文基于产业集群发展的特点和要求.阐述了产业集群供应链协同管理三个层面的主要内容及其优势.从四个方面提出了我国产业集群企业实施供应链协同管理体系的构架,将学界关于集群式供应链从抽象理论落实到实际应用层面,从而推动我国产业集群的发展和提升.文章提出,构建产业集群供应链协同的体系是一个复杂的系统工程,主要包括建立供应链协同联盟,建立协同供应链的信任机制,建立供应链协同的激励机制,强化产业集群企业的信息化建设.     

供应链协同机制设计探讨

供应链运作是以核心企业为中心的各节点企业协同活动。为了保证供应链目标的实现,应建立供应链协同机制。本文依据机制设计理论,探讨了供应链机制设计的目标、规则、程序、组织联盟和策略等问题,对于提高供应链协同效应或价值具有重要意义。     

The Coevolution of Relationship Dominant Logic and Supply Risk Mitigation Strategies

How and why do risk mitigation strategies evolve? And which resources are needed for engaging in such changes? This paper contributes to the understanding of risk management in supply chains by developing theory about the interplay between supply risk mitigation strategies and the purchasing team's relationship dominant logic (RDL), which we define as the purchasing team's orientation toward and shared cognitive map of the management of its supply chain relationships. Specifically, we propose that RDL and supply risk mitigation strategies are fundamentally intertwined. Following a Straussian approach to grounded theory, this study analyzes data generated from the purchasing teams of Western green‐tech firms trying to mitigate supply risk for technically indispensable rare earth metals from China. Our findings from this context that is heavily shaped by state‐influenced supply chain members show that the firms chose their mitigation strategies in line with their RDL. Human capital, social capital, and financial capital seem to moderate the link between RDL and mitigation strategies. We link our findings with the strategic management literature in deriving theoretical propositions concerning these relationships.     

Customer and Supplier Portfolios: Can Credit Risks be Managed Through Supply Chain Relationships?

While supply chain risk has been the subject of an ever‐increasing amount of research attention, the importance of credit risk has been less studied, at least by supply chain researchers. Yet, there may be risks inherent within a firm's portfolios of supply chain relationships that are manifested in the credit risk of a firm. Moreover, portfolio characteristics may serve as a signal to the external market regarding these risks. While customer and supplier portfolio characteristics may impact the firm's exposure to risks, the specific issue of how portfolio characteristics relate to credit risk has rarely been examined by supply chain scholars. This research bridges extant works in supply chain management and finance to relate supply chain characteristics to a critical reputational outcome, namely credit ratings. In this research, we utilize a sample of firms that recently underwent an initial public offering to empirically examine the theoretical predictions of Resource Dependence Theory regarding the relationships between different supply chain portfolio characteristics and credit risk.     

Supply chains and their management: Application of general systems theory

This theoretical paper discusses the application of general systems theory to supply chains and the management of supply chains. Applying general systems theory to supply chains and their management allows them to be abstracted from their real world complexity. The abstraction process uses the view of general systems theory developed by Yourdon E. [1989. Modern Structured Analysis, Yourdon Press, Prentice-Hall International, Englewood Cliffs, NJ] in his seminal work on the fundamental characteristics of information systems. In particular, Yourdon's (1989) four general systems theory based principles for information systems are applied to supply chains and their management. Through a theoretical discussion informed by relevant research literature it is considered that a more fundamental view of supply chains has been developed. That is, the application of the four general systems theory principles developed to supply chains is supported and this application provides deeper insights into how supply chains operate. This in turn should allow better supply chain management processes to be developed.     

UNDERSTANDING THE FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE BULLWHIP EFFECT IN A MULTI‐ECHELON SUPPLY CHAIN

This article is concerned with how supply chain strategies can mitigate the Bullwhip Effect and inflated inventories from the perspective of the central firm (typically a manufacturer) in the supply chain. We first outline a base case scenario with a validated system dynamics simulation model, using supply chain characteristics as reported by a real firm, in this case a Mexican electronics supplier to U.S. automobile assemblers. We find, surprisingly, that a lower Bullwhip Effect Index (BE) does not always lead to lower costs in the supply chain studied. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis suggests some interesting, counterintuitive results. The implications of these findings are further developed as we test how lead time reduction can also reduce the Bullwhip Effect in the simulated setting.     

基于委托——代理理论的供应链质量契约决策研究

有效的质量管理是确保供应链稳定运行重要前提,论文对供应链中企业所面临的质量风险进行了探讨,并基于委托—代理理论建立了供应链质量契约决策模型,在该模型中通过对不同情形下采购者所面临质量风险进行分析,确定了与之相适应的供应链质量契约类型。利用该决策模型,供应链管理者可根据自身的运营环境识别并分析供应链中的质量风险,并建立有效的供应链质量契约。     

供应链的风险及防范

企业之间的竞争就是供应链之间的竞争,而企业的供应链又存在各种风险,本文分析了企业存在的供应链风险,以及如何评估供应链风险,并提出了供应链存在的风险的防范措施。     

Disruptions in Supply Networks: A Probabilistic Risk Assessment Approach

Supply disruptions are attracting growing attention. Even in geographically, politically and economically stable locations, companies are exposed to disruptions, because they depend on their suppliers and suppliers’ suppliers. The analysis of these disruptions helps mitigate risks: for example, instead of relying on local measures such as safety stock or insurance, a company can introduce new supply contracts or backup risky suppliers. In this article, we analyze risks caused by supplier disruptions by introducing concepts from probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), which is a widely employed methodology for the risk analysis of complex engineering systems. We apply PRA to examine simple networks such as triads analytically, and use simulation to analyze disruption risks in random networks of realistic size. We also illustrate how PRA can support strategic decisions such as whether or not to use single or multiple suppliers; which suppliers are more risky than others; and what impacts the complexity of the supply base has on the reliability of the supplier network.     

DO PERCEPTIONS BECOME REALITY? THE MODERATING ROLE OF SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCY ON DISRUPTION OCCURRENCE

The concern and study of supply risk and supply continuity has recently come to the forefront in managing business and conducting research. This empirical study of U.S. and German firms investigates the relationship between perceived supply risk sources and supply disruption occurrence, as well as the use of supply chain resiliency practices to reduce disruption frequency. We demonstrate that supply managers' concerns with risk emanating from suppliers and the supply market are positively related to supply disruption occurrence. We further show how and when implementing flexibility and redundancy may reduce the effects of supply disruptions.     

Using Country Sustainability Risk to Inform Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Design Science Study

The sustainability of our global supply chains is an essential concern in strategic supply chain management research. Modern information and communication technologies enable stakeholders to punish buying firms for any sustainability‐related grievances at their suppliers, even in remote locations. This study investigates how the notion of country sustainability risk can inform sustainable supply chain management, in particular with respect to sustainability risk assessment at the individual supplier level. Drawing on institutional theory, we provide insights surrounding the emergence of environmental, social, and governance‐related country‐level sustainability risks and show their implications for and application in sustainable supply chain management. The study employs a design science methodology, based on cooperation with a multidivisional German technology firm, to develop a supply chain sustainability risk (SCSR) map as technological solution design. This article contributes to the study of SCSR by reconciling the scholarly SCSR discourse with the buying firms’ pursuit of efficiency. Moreover, it elucidates the augmentation of a research agenda through a design science approach. In practical terms, the technological solution design can directly inform managers about SCSR at the country level and serves as a decision basis for the management of individual suppliers.     

A Cross‐Disciplinary Examination of Firm Orientations’ Performance Outcomes: The Role of Supply Chain Flexibility

Although market orientation (MO) has long been considered an important business philosophy, the examination of MO outside the firm's boundaries has been rather limited. To address this, this study explores how supply chain orientation and operational flexibility (FLX) facilitate the implementation of MO. Although the positive impact of MO on firm performance has been well established, this study highlights that such benefits are enhanced by the development of supply chain related capabilities. Results indicate that market‐oriented firms are more likely to realize the strategic importance of managing the supply chain when operating under conditions of high environmental munificence, dynamism, and complexity. This provides a better understanding of the complex relationship between the demand and supply sides of the firm. This study highlights the importance of marketing theory and concepts to supply chain management scholars, and vice versa. This further accentuates the importance of eliminating the disconnect between supply and demand‐management processes, also described as the “Great Divide” (Drucker 1973; Esper et al. 2010a,b). A number of key managerial implications are offered as well.     

Prices and promotions in U.S. retail markets

We provide generalizable results on the price and promotion tactics employed in the U.S. retail grocery industry. First, we document a large degree of price dispersion for UPCs and brands across stores, both nationally and at the local market level. Base price differences across stores and price promotions contribute to the overall price variance, and we show how to decompose the price variance into base price and promotion components. Second, we document that a large percentage of the variation in prices and promotion tactics across stores can be explained by retail chain and especially market/chain factors, whereas market factors explain only smaller percentage of the variation. Third, we show that the chain-level price and promotions similarity can be explained by similarity in demand. In particular, a large percentage of the variance in price elasticities and promotion effects can be explained by retail chain and especially market/retail chain factors. Further, price elasticities and promotion effects across stores of the same chain are hard to distinguish from the chain-market-level mean, and cross-price elasticities are typically imprecisely estimated. These findings suggest that retail managers may plausibly consider price discrimination across stores to be infeasible.

     

Understanding Managers’ Reactions to Blockchain Technologies in the Supply Chain: The Reliable and Unbiased Software Agent

Organizations investing in supply chain information systems struggle to ensure successful adoption and implementation. Projects fail because of technical caveats, inability to meet business needs, and poor management of implementation. Implementation of blockchain technologies across a network of supply chain partners is more complex than internally focused technologies. It is necessary for partner firms to implement, contribute, and share information, and employees to actively use the capabilities of the technology to realize potential. Blockchain technologies can substitute for traditional interfirm intermediaries acting as an unbiased software agent embedded in the supply chain network. Understanding managers’ perceptions of and willingness to use blockchain technologies is crucial for successful implementation. Integrating design theory with classic diffusion processes, we conducted a scenario‐based role‐playing experiment with industry professionals to examine managers’ perceptions of blockchain technologies and willingness to use. We find that trustworthiness with regard to competence and perceived distributive justice is the focal drivers of managers’ willingness to use the technology. Additionally, both risk and interactional justice are not drivers of willingness to use blockchain technology despite significant claims to that effect. We provide implications for how managers can leverage these drivers to influence supply chain partners’ willingness to use the technology.