The selection of supply chain management projects: A case study approach

Organizations undertake strategic supply chain initiatives through project implementation. However, selecting the right supply chain projects can be difficult due to high levels of organizational risk and technical complexity. Although the literature is rich in quantitative and qualitative methods for project management, prior research into best management practices specific to supply chain management (SCM) project selection is limited. This paper examines the methods used in evaluating and selecting SCM projects used by the management at three publically held multi-national organizations. The primary objective of this research is to identify a set of generalizable good practices in the selection and evaluation of SCM projects. Nine useful business practices in SCM project selection have been identified based on cross-case comparisons and a close examination of the literature. Eight practices had been previously identified, but were scattered throughout the literature on ERP, IT management, and R&D management. A new practice calls for the consideration of supply chain partners’ return-on-investment (ROI) in the project selection process. Highest preference should be given to win-win projects for the organization and its partner(s). The practices identified here sho`uld provide the foundation of practical guidelines that can be used during the planning stage of SCM projects. This paper reduces the knowledge gap in SCM project management by analyzing organizations with significant supply chain experience and synthesizing these results with the current related literature.     

基于供应链的采购管理信息系统的研究与实现

从供应链的角度，阐述采购管理在现代企业管理中的重要作用，并且介绍了基于网络的物资采购系统的系统构架、系统功能、开发模式以及系统特点。该系统实现了物资采购活动的信息化过程控制，加强了供应链上各企业间的信息传递，为企业物资管理系统的开发提供了可借鉴的经验。     

U.S. chief procurement officers’ perspectives on public procurement

Each year public procurement officials in the United States spend trillions of dollars to purchase goods and services for public use. The volume of public procurement spending compels public administration and supply chain management scholars to examine these procurement practices. Based on a unique dataset composed of a series of qualitative and quantitative interviews with chief procurement officers (CPOs) and their team members from 45 states and 2 territories in the United States, this paper explores the key institutional factors affecting state-level public procurement in the U.S., explores variation in the definition of contract performance, and assess the importance of multiple factors in creating procurement contracts. We present an agenda for future research on state-level public procurement in the U.S that has important implications for the theory and practice of public procurement.     

Working below and above the line: the research–practice gap in diversity management

In HRM, a line can be drawn that distinguishes research on formal organisational programmes (above‐the‐line research) from research on organisational practices as they are experienced by employees (below‐the‐line research). Diversity management research has heavily emphasised below‐the‐line research using methodologies that measure employee perceptions of diversity management activities. This research demonstrates an impact of diversity management on employee reactions and identifies unit‐level factors (e.g. leader behaviour) that impact the effectiveness of diversity management activities. However, below‐the‐line research is not able to answer HR professionals' questions about which diversity management activities should be adopted when, and so a research–practice gap is developing. I explain how both academics and practitioners would benefit from more above‐the‐line research examining the impact of formal organisational diversity management activities as reported by senior managers or documented in organisational records.     

实施供应商管理 促进采购优化

供应链管理优化的起点是采购管理的优化,而采购优化中重要的组成部分即是供应商管理。文章首先讨论了供应商管理的目的和原则,以及供应商的整合和接纳;接着对供应商关系管理的实施原则和程序做了介绍,并指出应构建供应商监控体系作为保障;最后介绍某集团公司的成功实例。     

电子商务导向的建筑企业供应链管理研究

供应链管理和电子商务是建筑企业节约成本、缩短工期、提高质量的有效方法。电子商务又为供应链管理提供了廉价、便捷的信息支持。在此基础上,文章分析了建筑企业供应链管理与电子商务结合面临的若干问题,探讨基于电子商务的供应链管理在建筑企业应用的关键环节:合作与协同,大规模定制与集中采购,第三方物流与JIT供货。     

The Japanese at work: illusions of the ideal

Five aspects of Japanese organisational practice are commonly cited as factors in the Japanese ‘economic miracle’. While these are often used to illustrate the human-centred philosophy of Japanese management, closer scrutiny reveals that these ‘ideal’ working practices are rooted in various culturally-dependent, coercive techniques which may be unsuitable for Britain.     

How do supply chain management and information systems practices influence operational performance? Evidence from emerging country SMEs

This study first provides a comparative analysis of the impact of supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) practices on operational performance (OPER) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in two neighbouring emerging country markets of Turkey and Bulgaria. Then, we investigate moderating effects of both SCM–IS-linked enablers and inhibitors on the links between SCM and IS practices and OPER of SMEs. To this end, we first empirically identify the underlying dimensions of SCM and IS practices, and SCM–IS-related enabling and inhibiting factors. Second, a series of regression analyses are undertaken to estimate the impact of the study's constructs on OPER of SMEs. The results are discussed comparatively within the contexts of both Turkish and Bulgarian SMEs and beyond. The study makes a significant contribution to the extant literature through obtaining and analysing cross-national survey data of SCM and IS practices in emerging country markets.     

Green human resource management and the enablers of green organisational culture: Enhancing a firm's environmental performance for sustainable development

Scholars have shown that green human resource management (GHRM) practices enhance a firm's environmental performance. However, existing studies fail to explain how GHRM initiatives can enable a green organisational culture or how such a culture affects the environmental performance and sustainable development of the firm. This paper examines the relationship between GHRM practices, the enablers of green organisational culture, and a firm's environmental performance. We conduct a large‐scale survey of 204 employees at Chinese manufacturing firms. Our findings suggest that proenvironmental HRM practices including hiring, training, appraisal, and incentivisation support the development of the enablers of green organisational culture. We suggest the key enablers of green organisational culture include leadership emphasis, message credibility, peer involvement, and employee empowerment. Our paper contributes to HRM theory in terms of originality and utility of research by explaining that the enablers of green organisational culture positively mediate the relationship between GHRM practices and environmental performance. Managers are provided with a detailed understanding of the GHRM practices needed to enable an organisational culture of environmentally aware employees. Finally, we address potential implications of this work for teaching green organisational culture to future generations of responsible managers.     

Strategic management perspectives on supply chain

In the second decade of the twenty-first century, supply chain management (SCM) practices have gained an increasingly strategic character. The focus has shifted from an operational perspective to a strategic one, and SCM is repeatedly cited in the literature as a strategic management tool with a profound effect on the survival of the organizations. SCM domain is well-supported to be closely linked with a number of strategic management views and theories. This study investigates the main strategic management views and theories relevant to SCM and their interactions. It reveals how they complementarily explain supply chain management characteristics of being customer-driven, process-oriented, global, strategically coupled, complex, dynamic, adaptive, multi-agent, IT-intensive, value creating, collaborative and networked. Based on a comprehensive literature taxonomy, a mapping of the main supply chain characteristics to these management views and theories is provided. A conceptual clustering of different management perspectives is developed, and their interactions are analyzed.

     

The impact of supply chain quality management practices and knowledge transfer on organisational performance: an empirical investigation from China

In recent years, both quality management practices (QMP) and knowledge transfer (KT) have been studied extensively from inter-organisational and intra-organisational perspectives. However, to the best of our knowledge, the interaction between QMP and KT in a supply chain and their joint effects on organisational performance have not been addressed fully. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights for improving performance by mapping the relationship between supply chain quality management practices (SCQMP) and KT. A survey of 157 Chinese manufacturing firms is used to test a conceptual model that proposes relationship among SCQMP, KT and organisational performance (including operational performance and innovation performance). Structural equation modelling reveals that internal QMP have significantly positive effect on internal KT, while QMP at supply chain level have highly positive effect on cross-organisational KT. Furthermore, the results show that both internal KT and cross-organisational KT can promote operational and innovation performance, although the influence from internal KT is much more significant than cross-organisational KT for Chinese firms. The findings contribute to theory as well as practice by increasing understanding of how to improve the operational and innovation performance through enhancing SCQMP and KT.     

Access denied? Exploring the causes of the low representation of women in senior executive positions within procurement

Recent surveys report the representation of women in senior executive positions within procurement as both very low and lower than in other professions. In this paper, the authors explored the causes of this. The authors interviewed 41 female and male procurement professionals from a range of sectors and seniority levels. Different views were encountered, but overall the findings suggested that female advancement within procurement is affected by both generic organisational and procurement-specific impediments, including inadequate work design, male-dominated cultures, negative stereotypes, high levels of travel and an aggressive ethos that characterises many procurement functions. The latter was said to be greater where procurement functions lacked ‘cultural maturity’. The findings suggested that both the procurement literature and procurement profession need to do more to address these impediments to female advancement. Ways forward are suggested.     

Capturing the value creation in public procurement: A practice-based view

Public procurement has struggled to fulfill its mission to create public value due to a narrow interpretation of value emphasizing the costs of procured goods and services. A holistic view of multidimensional value creation in the context of public procurement has received limited research attention despite a significant body of research on the potential benefits associated with public procurement. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by analyzing the value components and means of value creation developed through public procurement activities. We conduct a systematic literature review and content analysis of 171 research articles to determine the constituents of the value of public procurement and the practices needed to achieve them. Using the theoretical lens of the practice-based view, we propose a conceptual framework that holistically integrates different components of the value of public procurement for the public buyer, supplier, and user, along with the practices needed to achieve them. The study contributes to the literature by offering a multidimensional conceptual framework, a structured review of value components and associated practices, and the application of the practice-based view as the theoretical lens, all of which have implications for practice and theory.     

A cross‐cultural examination of the relationships among human resource management practices and organisational commitment: an institutional collectivism perspective

Previous research has shown that human resource management (HRM) practices vary across cultures. However, little research has empirically compared the effects of various HRM practices on firm‐level or individual‐level outcome variables across cultures. Drawing upon psychological contract theory and the literature on cultural values, the present study examined the effects of three organisational‐level HRM practices on individual organisational commitment in a survey of 2424 individuals in 120 organisations located in four countries and three industries. Based upon the GLOBE study, we classified the four countries into two groups – high versus low institutional collectivism. The results of our hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) analyses found significant differences in the effects of organisational‐level HRM on individual organisational commitment across cultures for two of the three HRM practices included in our model: training and teamwork. We also found partial support for differences across cultures for the effects of the third HRM practice: employee involvement in decision making. Overall, our results support the utility of theoretical and empirical models that address multiple levels of analyses to better understand the mechanisms through which the HRM‐performance link takes place across national cultures.     

Sustainable procurement in Malaysian organizations: Practices,barriers and opportunities

The purpose of this study is to uncover the extent of sustainable procurement practices amongst procurement directors/managers employed in public and private sector organizations in Malaysia, a developing country where socialization is underpinned by religious beliefs. The results showed there is a significant variation in the adoption of sustainable procurement across the sectors with the private sector registering significantly higher levels of SP practices than their public counterparts. Lack of awareness posed the most significant barrier to sustainable procurement implementation regardless of organizations or sectors whilst improved working conditions, an organization׳s/council׳s/public image, and organizational efficiency and transparency provided optimal opportunities for implementing sustainable procurement practices. Finally this study identified the two new factors of religion and sense of humanity as influencing an employee׳s engagement in sustainable procurement practices.     

Is local authority procurement ‘lean’? An exploration to determine if ‘lean’ can provide a useful explanation of practice

This article makes a contribution to the research debate examining relationships between public and private sector procurement practice by exploring the influence of ‘lean’ upon procurement practices in English local authorities. A survey found that whilst some characteristics, such as a reducing supply base, resembled those of lean thinking, they could also be associated with a partnership approach. Other evidence highlighted gaps between practice and lean, leading to the conclusion that lean is not currently an influence. However, many procurement officers are aware of the concept and are willing to embrace the idea. There is a need to monitor and examine progress further.     

Shaping the organisational context for corporate entrepreneurship and performance in Iran: the interplay between social context and performance management

Abstract

Prior research highlighted the importance of an organisational context stimulating autonomous behaviour when trying to increase levels of corporate entrepreneurship. From a social exchange perspective, we argue that firms in developing countries need to complement such supportive practices with performance-oriented practices. Our findings indicate that Iranian firms with an organisational context characterised by an interaction of social context and performance management have more engagement in corporate entrepreneurship, and that corporate entrepreneurship mediated the relationship between the organisational context and firm performance. This provides a better understanding of the way firms in developing economies can shape their organisational context to promote corporate entrepreneurship in order to achieve better firm performance.     

Exploring the power dimensions of the human resource function

While a large body of literature has investigated the content of human resource management (HRM) practices, this research explores the process through which the HRM function impacts on organisational performance. Specifically, the research explores the reasons for the success or failure of HRM initiatives that have been associated with organisational outcomes and classifies the reasons as dimensions of HRM power. Based on 26 interviews conducted in Australia with senior HRM executives, top management team (TMT) executives and two management consultants, we found that, in order to contribute to organisational performance, HRM professionals can effectively utilise three dimensions of power, namely power of resources, power of processes and power of meaning. The findings offer new insights to the relationship between dimensions of HRM power and organisational performance.     

You'll never walk alone: Why we need a supply chain practice view on digital procurement

This paper conceptualizes digital procurement readiness as a dyadic construct and introduces the supply chain practice view (SCPV) as a theoretical lens that can help guide future research on digital procurement. We build on a literature review and on dyadic, explanatory case studies to provide a nuanced understanding of how the digital readiness of supply chain partners—on both sides of the dyad—needs to co-evolve for the implementation of digital procurement practices. Specifically, we outline how the SCPV can serve as both a holistic and a supply chain-specific framework for future research on the following: 1) the antecedents that help explain why supply chain partners adopt inter-organizational digital procurement practices, and 2) the relational performance outcomes derived from their use. For managers, this study implies the need to explicitly consider interactions with and influences of supply chain partners in their quest to rapidly and effectively digitalize procurement.