Sustainable supply chains: An introduction

Consideration is given to the convergence of supply chains and sustainability. In doing so, the focus on environmental management and operations is moved from local optimization of environmental factors to consideration of the entire supply chain during the production, consumption, customer service and post-disposal disposition of products. This is a critical and timely topic that captures increasing concerns over sustainability, whether driven by current legislation, public interest, or competitive opportunity. As such, sustainable development is a rich area for academic research that is still in its infancy and has the potential to affect future government policy, current production operations, and identify new business models. This paper provides a background to better understand current trends in this multidisciplinary field that intersect with operations management, and the research opportunities and challenges it presents.     

The impact of supply chain integration on performance: A contingency and configuration approach

This study extends the developing body of literature on supply chain integration (SCI), which is the degree to which a manufacturer strategically collaborates with its supply chain partners and collaboratively manages intra- and inter-organizational processes, in order to achieve effective and efficient flows of products and services, information, money and decisions, to provide maximum value to the customer. The previous research is inconsistent in its findings about the relationship between SCI and performance. We attribute this inconsistency to incomplete definitions of SCI, in particular, the tendency to focus on customer and supplier integration only, excluding the important central link of internal integration. We study the relationship between three dimensions of SCI, operational and business performance, from both a contingency and a configuration perspective. In applying the contingency approach, hierarchical regression was used to determine the impact of individual SCI dimensions (customer, supplier and internal integration) and their interactions on performance. In the configuration approach, cluster analysis was used to develop patterns of SCI, which were analyzed in terms of SCI strength and balance. Analysis of variance was used to examine the relationship between SCI pattern and performance. The findings of both the contingency and configuration approach indicated that SCI was related to both operational and business performance. Furthermore, the results indicated that internal and customer integration were more strongly related to improving performance than supplier integration.     

An empirical investigation into supply chain vulnerability

A growing number of academicians and practitioners have put supply chain risks on their agendas, particularly triggered by a recent series of catastrophic events that have disrupted economies and supply chains around the globe. Given the increasing awareness of this important topic, the purpose of this research was to study supply chain risks in more detail and to investigate the relationship between supply chain vulnerability and supply chain risk. Responses from 760 executives from firms operating in Germany reveal that supply chain characteristics such as a firm's dependence on certain customers and suppliers, the degree of single sourcing, or reliance on global supply sources are relevant for a firm's exposure to supply chain risk. Overall, this research represents the first large-scale investigation of this important relationship and provides a finer understanding of the antecedents of supply chain vulnerability.     

供应链契约研究综述

文章介绍了供应链契约的概念及分类,然后详细介绍了数量折扣契约、退货策略、数量柔性契约以及收入共享契约,最后指出供应链契约未来的研究方向。     

How supply chain architecture and product architecture impact firm performance: An empirical examination

In order to enhance performance, manufacturing firms are building various capabilities and utilizing supply chain networks that are geographically dispersed around the globe. This study examines how decisions related to supply chain architecture and product architecture influence organizational competitiveness. Building on the co-specialization perspective, we evaluate the performance implications of product modularity and supply chain agility. While, product modularity constitutes a product configuration related to sourcing and assembling of products, supply chain agility is a supply chain configuration related to velocity (sensing, comprehending, and responding) and visibility (supplier network, internal operations, and external environment). Both the product and supply chain architectural decisions can impact performance, individually and in conjunction with each other. We empirically test the hypothesized relationships using data collected from 103 manufacturing firms. Results show that supply chain agility and product modularity directly enhance responsiveness and enable organizations to reduce cost. Furthermore, supply chain agility partially mediates the relationship between product modularity and both responsiveness and cost reduction. We elaborate on the key contributions of this study for both research and practice, discuss limitations, and also offer various avenues for further research.     

Enhancing hospital supply chain performance: A relational view and empirical test

Improving hospital supply chain performance has become increasingly important as healthcare organizations strive to improve operational efficiency and to reduce cost. In this study, we propose a research model based on a relational view, delineating the factors that influence hospital supply chain performance: trust, knowledge exchange, IT integration between the hospital and its suppliers, and hospital–supplier integration. Testing results of the research model based on data from a sample of 117 supply chain executives from U.S. hospitals show positive direct effects: (1) from trust and from IT integration to knowledge exchange respectively; (2) from knowledge exchange and from IT integration to hospital–supplier integration respectively; and (3) from hospital–supplier integration to hospital supply chain performance. The results also show the following indirect effects: (1) the influences of knowledge exchange and IT integration on hospital supply chain performance are partially and fully mediated by hospital–supplier integration, respectively and (2) the influences of trust and IT integration on hospital–supplier integration are fully and partially mediated by knowledge exchange, respectively. In addition, the results show the following moderating effects: (1) hospital system membership moderates the relationships between IT integration and knowledge exchange and between trust and knowledge exchange; (2) hospital environmental uncertainty moderates the relationship between trust and knowledge exchange; and (3) trust moderates the relationship between knowledge exchange and hospital–supplier integration. Implications of the study findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Structural drivers of upstream supply chain complexity and the frequency of supply chain disruptions

A great deal of research has focused on supply chain risk management, but the question “Which supply chain characteristics increase the frequency of supply chain disruptions?” has not received much attention from empirical research. This is a relevant question, because firms seek stability in their operations, and therefore managers need to know how the structure of their supply chains affects the occurrence of disruptions. The present study addresses this issue with a specific focus on upstream supply chain (supply-side) disruptions. Drawing on the literature on supply chain complexity, we devise and test a model that predicts the frequency of supply chain disruptions based on a multi-dimensional conceptualization of upstream supply chain complexity. Not only do the empirical findings suggest that all of the three investigated complexity drivers – horizontal, vertical, and spatial complexity – increase the frequency of disruptions, but also that they interact and amplify each other's effects in a synergistic fashion.     

Fairness in supply chain contracts: A laboratory study

Various contracts can be designed to coordinate a simple supplier–retailer channel, yet the contracts proposed in prior research and tested in a laboratory setting do not perform as standard theory predicts. The supplier, endowed with all bargaining power, can neither fully coordinate the channel nor extract all of the channel profit. We report on a sequence of laboratory experiments designed to separate possible causes of channel inefficiency. The three causes we consider are inequality aversion, bounded rationality, and incomplete information. It turns out that all three affect human behavior. Inequality aversion has by far the most explanatory power regarding retailers’ behavior. Incomplete information about the retailer's degree of inequality aversion has the most explanatory power in regards to the suppliers’ behavior. Bounded rationality affects both players, but is of secondary importance.     

Levels of strategic purchasing: Impact on supply integration and performance

The growing importance of supply chain management has led to an increasing recognition of the strategic role of purchasing, which has recently evolved and expanded from “buying” to “procurement” and “supply management”. In this study, we chart our sample firms’ advance in strategic purchasing, characterized by the strategic focus, strategic involvement of the purchasing function and the status and visibility of the purchasing professionals, into three stages.This study provides strong empirical support for the importance of strategic purchasing by showing that, by moving towards the more advanced stages, firms at the nascent stage of strategic purchasing can achieve better supply integration, a second-order construct composed of four facets of relational, process, information, and cross-organizational team integration. Our analyses further reveal that strategic purchasing can have a profound impact on supply chain performance for both buyer and supplier firms.     

Antecedents of supply chain visibility in retail supply chains: A resource-based theory perspective

Although visibility has become a popular buzzword in the supply chain literature it remains an ill-defined and poorly understood concept. It is assumed that if companies across supply chains have visibility of demand, inventory levels, processes, etc., that organizational performance improves. This research explores the antecedents of high levels of supply chain visibility from a resource-based theory perspective across five different external supply chain linkages. We find that the level of visibility across these linkages differs considerably based on various contributing factors which are both technology and non-technology based. Using resource-based theory, we identify those factors that can give a sustainable competitive advantage to a supply chain linkage through a “distinctive” or high level of visibility.     

The role of control power allocation in service supply chains: Model analysis and empirical examination

In complex and competitive business environment, there have been many examples of supply chain members fighting for power. Therefore, researchers have begun focusing on the impact of control power allocation on the supply chain. This paper examines the allocation of power in different service supply chain relationships, analyzing the impact of service level on optimal control power allocation and comparing the differences between the optimal power distribution in service supply chains and that of manufacturing supply chains. We adopt a mathematical model building method to discuss this issue, verifying the theoretical perspectives through empirical studies of China's largest state-owned logistics company, the China Railway Company, and the private ownership enterprise, Tianjin SND Logistics Company. We also develop a conceptual model of the influence of control power on the performance of service supply chains, based on the modeling and case analysis. The conceptual model shows several results: the control power allocation determines the dominant structure of the supply chain; the service provider's wholesale pricing strategy and the service integrator's sales price strategy present different outcomes under various dominant structures of the supply chain, which will greatly affect the performance of the corresponding supply chain; and the relationship between the supply chain dominant structure and the price can be adjusted by the service level.     

Concentrated supply chain membership and financial performance: Chain- and firm-level perspectives

This study reports evidence that concentrated 3-firm supply chains achieve superior financial performance, and that supply chains’ financial performance varies systematically with measures of chain concentration and chain duration. Results from firm-level analyses suggest that the profitability benefits of supply chain relationships are captured predominantly by downstream chain members, whereas cash cycle benefits are realized throughout the supply chain. Firm-level tests also reveal that chain members’ financial performance varies systematically with measures of downstream bargaining power, downstream relationship duration, and degree of supply consolidation. The study's chain- and firm-level analyses employ data extracted from sample firms’ publicly available financial reports, including their major customer disclosures under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Nos. 131 (1997) and 14 (1976).     

From market to hierarchy: An empirical assessment of a supply chain governance typology

This study performs an empirical assessment of the highly influential supply chain governance typology put forth in Gereffi et al. (2005). In spite of the influence this Global Value Chain (or GVC) Typology has had, there have been few (if any) attempts to empirically assess its alignment with real-world supply chain structures and to establish a baseline for its predictive utility. The GVC Typology is assessed for face and nomological validity through testing of its key dimensions in relation to purchasing-logistics integration and supplier performance measures, using an information-processing theory framework. The GVC Typology appears to have considerable face validity as actual supply chain governance structures aligned well with those it proposes. It also has reasonable predictive power with regards to governance dimensions and integration, and in some connections between governance types, integration, and supplier performance. This study provides researchers with the tools to move this typology beyond the “conceptual” stage in their work, allowing for holistic and higher-level assessments of supply chain governance structures and changes. It may also help researchers and managers to consider when and to what extent purchasing-logistics integration should be fostered.     

The effects of innovation–cost strategy, knowledge, and action in the supply chain on firm performance

Despite the importance of supply chains within today's economy, we know little about how the knowledge of supply chains can contribute to superior performance at the firm level. Building on the resource-based view, knowledge-based view and strategic choice theory, we develop hypotheses linking two knowledge-driven supply chain phenomena (i.e., knowledge development capacity and intellectual capital), innovation–cost strategy, and action to firm-level performance. Using survey and archival data from 489 firms, we found that performance is influenced by how well knowledge development capacity and intellectual capital efforts complement alternative chain strategies. More specifically, each strategy type requires different constellations of knowledge development capacity and intellectual capital to enhance action and create superior firm performance. These results highlight the importance of supply chain phenomena for firm-level performance, and more broadly, the value of supply chains as a competitive weapon in contemporary firms.     

The impact of bullwhip on supply chains: Performance pathways,control mechanisms,and managerial levers

Even though few empirical studies have tried to actually explicate the relationship between the bullwhip effect and performance of the supplier firm, there exists a common perception for over 30 years among both practitioners and academics that the bullwhip effect naturally results in decreased firm profitability. Anecdotal evidence further suggests that this decline in profitability arises from a decline in operational performance. However, the results of our study, which empirically examines the bullwhip effect across supply chain partners through an analysis of 383 actual customer base-supplier dyads, challenge this commonly held position by suggesting that while traditional bullwhip often yields reduced ROA, it ultimately has no relationship with the firm's operating margin. Additionally, our results also call into question whether or not production coordination between customers and suppliers can minimize the need for inventory and capacity buffers, which are the two commonly utilized methods for battling the bullwhip effect. Thus the relationship between bullwhip and firm performance is far more nuanced and complicated than previously believed. We also show how the managerial bullwhip levers of coordinating production across supply chain partners, or deploying inventory and capacity buffer control mechanisms, can help maximize a firm's performance along different dimensions.     

Firm's resilience to supply chain disruptions: Scale development and empirical examination

This paper expands our understanding of factors that contribute to development of firm resilience to supply chain disruptions. In doing so, we operationalize firm resilience to understand how supply chain disruption orientated firms can develop resilience to supply chain disruptions. We find that supply chain disruption orientation alone is not enough for a firm to develop resilience. Supply chain disruption oriented firms require the ability to reconfigure resources or have a risk management resource infrastructure to develop resilience. The way in which supply chain disruption oriented firms develop resilience through resource reconfiguration or risk management infrastructure depends on the context of the disruption as high impact or low impact. In a high impact disruption context, resource reconfiguration fully mediates the relationship between supply chain disruption orientation and firm resilience. In a low impact disruption context, supply chain disruption orientation and risk management infrastructure have a synergistic effect on developing firm resilience.     

Impact of eBusiness technologies on operational performance: The role of production information integration in the supply chain

While the information technology (IT) literature is mixed regarding the direct benefits of eBusiness technologies on performance, the impact of such technologies on supply chain practices remains largely an unexplored area of research. We hypothesize that while there may be no direct benefit of eBusiness technologies on performance, these technologies might support customer integration and supplier integration in the supply chain, which in turn might impact operating performance.To examine our hypotheses, we collected data from respondents who focused their responses to a single major product the process that manufactures it, a significant customer, and an important supplier. Our analyses showed that there was no direct benefit of eBusiness technologies on performance; however these technologies supported customer integration and supplier integration. Further, supplier integration was found to positively impact cost, quality, flexibility, and delivery performance; however there was no relationship between customer integration and performance. Consequently, there is a relationship between eBusiness technologies and supplier integration that leads to better performance. Further, there is an interactive effect between customer integration and supplier integration that supports the notion that firms that have both forms of integration, supported by eBusiness technologies, significantly outperform the others.     

Participation of suppliers in greening supply chains: An empirical analysis of German automotive suppliers

The public increasingly holds companies accountable for environmental misbehavior in their supply chains. To offset that risk corporations start initiatives to green their supply chains. Yet suppliers often fail to properly participate in these initiatives. This paper presents a conceptual framework to explain supplier participation in green initiatives, by investigating customer requirements, supplier readiness, relational norms and customer investment as possible drivers. The framework and hypotheses were tested using survey data of 54 German automotive suppliers. Partial least squares methodology was deployed for hypothesis testing. The study found supplier readiness and customer requirements to be significant drivers in supplier participation. Relational norms and customer investment did not per se yield significant importance for explaining supplier participation, but when taking into account firm size, the data suggests that cooperative relation norms and customer investment work as an additional driver in green supply chain management for larger suppliers. This research is one of the few studies that explore drivers for supply chain participation at the supplier's level.     

The organizational antecedents of a firm’s supply chain agility for risk mitigation and response

Today’s marketplace is characterized by intense competitive pressures as well as high levels of turbulence and uncertainty. Organizations require agility in their supply chains to provide superior value as well as to manage disruption risks and ensure uninterrupted service to customers. Thus the cultivation of agility is approached as a risk management initiative that enables a firm to respond rapidly to marketplace changes, as well as anticipated and actual disruptions in the supply chain. Agility is of value for both risk mitigation and response.