Mobilising supplier resources by being an attractive customer: Relevance,status and future research directions

For buying companies, supplier resource mobilisation is an essential process in gaining and sustaining preferential access to supplier resources. This editorial provides insights into the processes of supplier resource mobilisation and introduces three empirical studies on supplier resource mobilisation. We first introduce the supplier resource mobilisation cycle. This cycle may serve as a roadmap for purchasing and supply management (PSM) practitioners seeking to improve access to supplier resources. In addition, this article informs PSM scholars about the status of the supplier resource mobilisation literature and proposes avenues for future research. The cycle includes six stages: (1) becoming an attractive customer, (2) segmenting suppliers, (3) generating supplier satisfaction, (4) becoming a preferred customer, (5) engaging in supplier-oriented actions, and (6) integrating supplier resources. Finally, we introduce the articles in this issue that each examine a different stage of the supplier resource mobilisation process.     

Supplier behavior and its impact on customer satisfaction: A new characterization of negotiation behavior

Many questions of customer/supplier negotiation dynamics remain unanswered. One reason behind this is that most existing models do not entirely reflect the complex relationship between negotiation behavior and the attained outcome of the negotiation process, analyzing the former from a purely dichotomous perspective. This study examines supplier negotiation behavior and how it impacts the outcome (satisfaction) from the customer´s perspective, thereby proposing a new characterization of negotiation behavior. Our analysis is based on a case study of 21 customer/supplier negotiations carried out by four leading supermarket chains in Costa Rica. Evidence supports our proposal that in customer/supplier negotiations, supplier negotiation behavior can include both integrative and competitive actions within the same negotiation, thereby justifying our proposal of different classifications existing within the negotiation continuum. It was also noted that supplier negotiation behavior influences a customer´s perceived satisfaction level. These findings are relevant to both academia and the professional world and can be used to promote better implementation and performance of agreements attained during a negotiation.     

Managing the performance of outsourced customer contact centers

This research focuses specifically on customer contact services that have been outsourced to external suppliers. The performance of the contact services supplier directly affects end customer satisfaction which underlines the need for appropriate management of customer contacts and consideration of the end customer's perspective in designing appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs). This research draws on various streams of literature including services purchasing, performance management and service quality to derive propositions on how to manage customer contact services suppliers. These propositions are subsequently investigated in an in-depth case study. The results of the case study show that managing customer contact services suppliers on effectiveness rather than efficiency benefits the overall performance of the supplier. This research shows that quality improvements in both process and service delivery ultimately lead to decreased costs. These improvements will furthermore enhance customer satisfaction and improve buying company performance. The current trend in selecting and managing suppliers for outsourced business processes is on efficiency improvements and cost savings. However, this research shows that this type of focus can actually decrease customer satisfaction and increase costs.     

Limits to global sourcing?: Strategic consequences of dependency on international suppliers: Cluster theory,resource-based view and case studies

This paper argues for the inclusion of an analysis of industry clusters when making decisions about global or local sourcing. Suppliers are viewed as valuable resources that can contribute to a firm's competitive advantage. Two contrasting case studies illustrate that, contrary to common expectations, a high global sourcing quota does not necessarily improve a firm's competitiveness. Rather, there may be limits to global sourcing, if a firm is unable to become a preferred customer of its strategic suppliers. Achieving preferred customer status is easier for firms located in the same regional or national cluster than it is for foreign firms attempting to access a remote supplier. This paper contributes a new and more differentiated approach to global sourcing decisions by integrating the cluster concept. Furthermore, our findings enrich the discourse of strategic management by supporting the view that resources which enable a firm to achieve sustainable competitive advantages can be located beyond its legal boundaries.     

Contingency relationships of firm size,TQM duration,unionization, and industry context on TQM implementation—A focus on total effects

Past TQM literature has been inconclusive in resolving the validity of the universalistic approach versus the contingency approach of TQM implementation. In this paper we contribute to the resolution of this debate by using a total effects approach within the contingency perspective. We propose a culture-quality system design-outcomes framework for TQM implementation. We then use this framework to study the differences in total effects relationships among TQM constructs across four contingencies, firm size, TQM duration, unionization, and industry type. Data from a sample of 394 plants (SIC codes 20 through 39) are used to test the validity of our contingency model. Our results revealed that firm size, TQM duration, and industry type moderate the influence of total effects of culture (top management commitment, customer focus, and trust) on final outcomes (process quality, product quality, and customer satisfaction). These contingencies also moderate the influence of total effects of quality system design (design management, training, empowerment, quality information usage, supplier quality management, and process quality management) on final outcomes. The strongest contributor to variation in total effects across groups was industry type, followed by size and then TQM duration. To a lesser extent, unionization was a moderator in total effects relationships. These findings uniquely contribute to the emerging contingency theory of TQM implementation.     

The purchasing department's leadership role in developing and maintaining a preferred customer status

Developing and maintaining a preferred customer status is one of the main objectives of organizations that want to obtain a better access to supplier's information, resources, and innovation. This paper addresses the extent and the nature of the purchasing department's leadership role in the process of developing and maintaining a preferred customer status. A qualitative exploratory approach based on eleven cases has been used in order to take into consideration the context specific to the buyer-supplier relationship in a preferred customer scenario.Our study shows that the purchasing department performs four main categories of roles: (1) identifies and selects the best supplier, (2) structures and segments the supply base, (3) builds close relationships with selected suppliers and (4) develops working relationships, using an effective communication. Each of these roles is related to three key components of the purchasing department's capabilities: boundary, relational, and coordination. These four categories of roles illustrate supply's ability to recognize and understand the specifics of the preferred customer situation. Based on our analysis, the purchasing department should be viewed as extending an organization's resource base, making the organization more competitive.Our analysis also shows that the purchasing managers' leadership is critical for the development and the coordination of activities with selected suppliers, as well as proper communication with them. Specifically, the purchasing manager's transformational leadership generates more internal user and supplier involvement through the creation and articulation of a common vision, by establishing shared goals with other organizational units, and by focusing on activities that benefit the organization; this allows to move from initiative-driven efforts to an “institutionalized preferred customer status management” in the organization.     

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.     

From supply to demand chain management: efficiency and customer satisfaction

How do companies in the fast-growing industries achieve good customer satisfaction together with efficiency in supply chain management (SCM)? This inductive case study of six customer cases of Nokia Networks, one of the leading providers of mobile telecommunication technology, led to propositions exploring that question. Good relationship between the customer and the supplier contributes to reliable information flows, and reliable demand information flows in turn contribute to high efficiency—these are well-researched issues also in other industry environments. But in a fast-growing systems business such as mobile telecommunications industry, the supplier needs to be able to adapt its offering to a wide variety of customer situations and needs. Understanding the customer’s situation and need together with the right offering contributes to good co-operation in improving the joint demand chain, which further leads to superior demand chain efficiency and high customer satisfaction.     

Going beyond supplier diversity to economic Inclusion:Where are we now and where do we go from here?

Supplier diversity is not a new concept but has increased in urgency due to racial unrest and social polarization across the globe. As culture shifts globally, demanding more diversity and inclusion in businesses, companies are having to rethink their overarching values and strategies. Supplier diversity programs foster more inclusive relationships with diverse and underrepresented populations of suppliers to produce both economic and social impact. Researchers have shown if managed effectively, a diverse and inclusive supply base can help organizations reduce risk, enhance brand image, and increase innovation and flexibility. The intent of this Notes and Debates article is to introduce and define supplier diversity, showing how an economically inclusive supplier diversity program enhances organizational benefits and provides greater economic and social benefits. A secondary intent is to begin the dialogue on the benefits of transitioning from traditional supplier diversity programs to fully embedded economic inclusion models. What is the purpose behind the transition? Is more supplier diversity necessarily better? What enablers or capabilities may be needed to evolve from a traditional supplier diversity program to a strategically positioned economic inclusion mindset? Suggestions are made about embedding key enablers within an organizational structure so that companies can mature in supplier diversity efforts and drive stronger social and economic value. This Notes and Debates piece uses support from ongoing research efforts that include interviews with companies engaged in supplier diversity programs and several supplier diversity councils. Some initial observations and remarks are incorporated in the text to help illustrate how to move from supplier diversity to economic inclusion. The enablers that help move from traditional diversity programs to economic inclusivity appear to mature and develop over time. Some organizations remain in the early, more traditional phases while others have dynamic ecosystems that have developed to support this transition.     

Supplier satisfaction: Conceptual basics and explorative findings

In the past, supplier satisfaction has not been a major topic of interest within purchasing and industrial management from either a practitioner or an academic point of view. Yet, successfully managing buyer–supplier relationships is difficult without taking the supplier's satisfaction into account. Consequently, analysing supplier satisfaction should take into account interaction processes within buyer–supplier relationships (e.g., exchange of information) as well as the atmosphere within these relationships (e.g., power dependence). This paper aims to explore the construct of supplier satisfaction as a factor of buyer–supplier relationship quality. Supplier satisfaction is defined as a supplier's feeling of fairness with regard to buyer's incentives and supplier's contributions within an industrial buyer–seller relationship. Supplier satisfaction as a complex construct is operationalised through an index, and its determinants are measured using a survey.     

审计委员会透明度与供应商/客户关系型交易

关系型交易的隐蔽性决定了公开信息披露的不透明。利用2013年上交所强制要求审计委员会披露履职信息的准自然实验,构建双重差分模型,考察提高审计委员会透明度是否以及如何影响上市公司与供应商/客户之间的关系型交易。研究发现,提高审计委员会透明度在短期内对供应商/客户关系型交易有促进作用,这可能与政策实施传递的可置信承诺有关,信息使用者更加信任企业的信息披露,但长期内这一促进作用有所减弱。进一步验证信任机制的作用发现,只有当企业位于法律环境较好、社会信任度较高的地区时,提高审计委员会透明度才有利于开展此类关系型交易。此外,审计委员会透明度提高通过促进供应链关系型交易缓解了企业融资约束。上述结论丰富了关系型交易在公司信息环境层面影响因素的研究,并为监管部门评估审计委员会改革实施效果提供了经验证据支持。     

基于企业社会责任理论顾客满意度模型的研究

自从顾客满意的概念的提出之后,各方专家学者根据自己的见解,建立了不同的顾客满意度模型。但是,这些模型只是从某些方面解释了如何提高顾客满意度。而且,有的模型已经不能适应当前社会的发展。很多企业想通过这些模型来提高顾客满意度,最终的效果却很不理想。究其原因,是由于社会的高速发展,顾客的范围不断变化,而这些企业没有更深入地对顾客的概念进行发掘和认识。所以,文章通过对顾客这一概念的重新理解,结合企业社会责任理论,将顾客进行分类,并且对隐藏型顾客做出详细的阐述。在原有的顾客满意度模型的基础之上,文章提出了一种更为全面的顾客满意度模型。     

基于客户价值和感知服务质量的电力客户分级服务模式

传统的电力客户分类偏重于客户的社会价值,忽视了其经济价值,不利于客户满意度和供电企业社会及经济效益的提升。本文提出基于客户价值的电力客户分类方法,将客户用电贡献、客户用电规范性、客户合作等三个维度作为分类标准,以此全面衡量客户价值。针对现有电力客户服务中的不足,借鉴顾客服务感知质量理论,从可靠性、响应性、保证性、移情性和有形性等五个方面构建了电力客户服务策略组合,并提出了针对不同级别客户的差异化服务策略。     

供应链条件下的顾客链与顾客满意链研究

文章在明晰供应链成员企业所面向的全过程顾客及其组成的基础上,运用供应链及供应链管理理论,架构了顾客链与顾客满意链的结构模型并界定了其概念,进一步明确其与供应链、供应链管理的区别,同时对其形成与运作机制和系统协同效应开展了相关研究,从而为有效实施顾客满意战略和提高供应链整体竞争力提供了一种全新的思路。     

一种新的顾客满意度指数测评模型

顾客满意度指数是近年来许多国家和地区积极开展研究和采用的一种新的经济指标。本文在已有研究的基础上,结合我国消费者行为的特点,构建了一种新的顾客满意度指数测评模型。该模型在期望不一致模式的基础上,同时考虑了公平模式和需要不一致模式,引入感知公平和感知价格变量,并为这些结构变量设计了相应的观测变量和路径关系,建立了由顾客满意、企业形象、感知价格到顾客忠诚三条路径关系,改变了传统模型中从顾客满意到顾客忠诚路径过于单一的情况。     

顾客需求变化对供应商选择影响的一种量化方法

本文在零部件供应商参与产品设计的背景下,根据顾客需求权重的变化,利用QFD技术中的产品规划质量屋、部件配置质量屋及两者之间的关系,以客户满意度最大化为尺度,建立整数数学规划模型,求解各部件的变化情况,实现了从顾客需求变化到外包给供应商部件变化的转换,从而为供应商的动态选择提供依据,并给出了数值实例。     

浅议指导生产性服务外包的管理理念

本文提出了进行生产性服务外包管理的三大主要理论基础:顾客满意理论、零缺陷质量管理理论和供应链管理理论,分别从顾客需求挖掘、生产性服务过程控制和服务供应商关系管理三个方面阐述三大理论对生产性服务外包管理模式构建的指导作用。     

A model to evaluate the effectiveness of enterprise training programmes

This paper describes a model developed to measure customer satisfaction with enterprise training programmes. Based on developments in customer satisfaction and quality measurement, it is proposed as an alternative to the training evaluation model developed by Kirkpatrick (1959). A single indicator, a Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), quantifies the level of satisfaction with each training programme. The model also measures the individual parameters that contribute to the CSI, as well as their relative importance. It facilitates a benchmarking process regarding these parameters and between training programmes. The development process of the model is described, as is its use in practice.     

A coordination mechanism through value-added profit distribution in a supply chain considering corporate social responsibility

The consumers pay more and more attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR), which has been a new competitiveness for the enterprises. This paper constructs a supply chain consisting of a dominated retailer, a socially responsible supplier and a non-socially responsible supplier (compared with the socially responsible supplier), consider the consumer preference and exploit the game analysis technique to analyze the optimal decisions under the decentralized and concentrated decision, and then design a coordination mechanism based on value-added profit distribution. The results show that compared with the decentralized decision, the retail price and order quantity of two products are lower, the CSR effort degree of socially responsible supplier is higher, and the performance of the whole supply chain is better under the concentrated decision. In addition, the mechanism designed can induce the socially responsible supplier to undertake CSR without damaging its profit, prompt the supply chain members to make the concentrated decisions, and promote the competitiveness of the retailer-dominated supply chain.     

Customer concentration and corporate innovation: Evidence from China

This paper investigates the impact of customer concentration on corporate innovation in China. We hypothesize that a more concentrated customer base increases a supplier’s operational risk and causes firms to become more cautious with regard to investment in innovation. Moreover, a more concentrated customer base gives such customers stronger bargaining powers and makes suppliers less willing to make relationship-specific investments. Hence, the hold-up costs of customer concentration in China exceed the benefits that accrue from the economies of scale associated with such concentrations, which impede a supplier’s corporate innovation. Our results reveal that suppliers with higher customer concentrations produce fewer patents and invention patents. Moreover, our results are robust after adopting an instrumental variables approach. We further show that the effect is more pronounced in firms with lower business diversification and in firms that have lower stability in their major customers. Our paper sheds lights on the hitherto underexplored unfavorable impact of customer concentration on innovation.