A weighted max-min model for fuzzy multi-objective supplier selection in a supply chain

Supplier selection is one of the most important activities of purchasing departments. This importance is increased even more by new strategies in a supply chain. Supplier selection is a multi-criteria decision making problem in which criteria have different relative importance. In practice, for supplier selection problems, many input information are not known precisely. The fuzzy set theories can be employed due to the presence of vagueness and imprecision of information. A weighted max-min fuzzy model is developed to handle effectively the vagueness of input data and different weights of criteria in this problem. Due to this model, the achievement level of objective functions matches the relative importance of the objective functions. In this paper, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to determine the weights of criteria. The proposed model can help the decision maker (DM) to find out the appropriate order to each supplier, and allows the purchasing manager(s) to manage supply chain performance on cost, quality and service. The model is explained by an illustrative example.     

Industrial brand value and relationship performance in business markets — A general structural equation model

This paper develops a general model of industrial brand value and relationship performance in business-to-business markets from the perspectives of consumer and industrial marketing literature. The structural equation model integrates the analysis of industrial brand value and relationship performance. The model describes the extent to which supplier-buyer transaction performance is influenced by the eight important factors: supplier competence, purchasing value, customer satisfaction, switching cost, brand trust and loyalty, relationship quality, commitment, and transactional performance.The general model is applied to organizational buyer groups of comprehensive industrial markets (Electronics, Chemicals, Equipment, etc). The analysis finds that supplier competence directly affects purchasing value and customer satisfaction, and via purchasing value and customer satisfaction, it indirectly affects commitment, switching cost, brand trust and loyalty. The managerial implications of the study results are also discussed.     

Emergency and routine MRO part buying

This article examines the effect of emergency vs. routine replacement part buying situations on the purchasing criteria used by maintenance and purchasing managers in process industries. Criteria included expediency, distance, part quality, price, and similar factors. Three sources were considered: OEMs, non-OEMs, and in-house production. The study found significant differences between criteria as a function of the buying situation. No significant difference was found between the criteria of maintenence managers and those of purchasing managers.     

Performance implications of distributor effectiveness, trust, and culture in import channels of distribution

Recent research has highlighted the need to examine international channels of distribution from the viewpoint of the industrial distributor, with a focus on how distributors may add value to their channel relationships. The present research responds to such calls and focuses on the value added in terms of the extent of channel functions undertaken by the distributor on behalf of export-manufacturers. Trust is also examined as a source of added value that may be particularly important for cross-cultural relationships. Trust is investigated for its mediating effects on otherwise detrimental effects of cultural value differences. We also examine the presence of explicit legal contracts used to govern channel relationships and find that the use of such contracts may also hinder distributor perceptions of performance.     

Leadership, the buying center, and supply chain performance: A study of linked users, buyers, and suppliers

With conceptual foundations taken from leadership theory and the resource-based view (RBV), this study examines the influence of transactional and transformational leadership on the relationship between the value of the corporate buying center and performance in supply chains. The sample consists of 58 directly linked and matched supply chains, each composed of one user (internal customer), one corporate buyer, and one external supplier. The results indicate that transformational leadership has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between the value of the corporate buying center and performance, while transactional leadership negatively moderates this relationship. Two “localness” dimensions (formalization and centralization) and two “openness” dimensions (participative and reflective) were included as controls in the analysis.     

The mediating role of key supplier relationship management practices on supply chain orientation—The organizational buying effectiveness link

The role of key supplier relationships and their link with purchasing performance are poorly recognized in current business-to-business marketing literature. Given the predominance of collaborative supply chain relationships, purchasing must be considered to be providing value, thereby implying its effective nature. This study introduces a conceptual model of the relationship between supply chain orientation (SCO) and key supplier relationship management (KSRM) with organizational buying effectiveness (OBE) as a measure of effective purchasing behavior. To extend the model's nomological network, we link OBE with firm profitability. We find that SCO and KSRM have a strong positive influence on OBE. Furthermore, KSRM is demonstrated to be a significant mediator in the SCO–OBE relationship. Finally, OBE significantly and positively influences firm profitability, suggesting that it adequately addresses the aspects of effective purchasing behavior. We also discuss theoretical and managerial implications as well as future research directions in light of the limitations of this study.     

Customer solutions in the capital goods industry: Examining the impact of the buying center

Based on in-depth interviews with customers, this study explores the customers' view of relevant solution criteria in the capital goods industry. Our research examines (1) whether the initial four-process conceptualization of customer solutions also holds for this industry, or whether it has to be extended and (2) which criteria of the customer solution matter the most for each member of the buying center. This study reveals that customers purchasing solutions in the capital goods industry expect the provider to be excellent in terms of six customer/supplier relational processes, namely (1) customer requirements definition, (2) customization and integration of goods and/or services, (3) their deployment, (4) post-deployment support, (5) signaling activities, and (6) inter-process management. Moreover, we found that the relevance of these processes differs across the most important members of the buying center (users, buyers, and deciders) due to their specific organizational function.     

Performance feedback and supplier selection: A perspective from the behavioral theory of the firm

Drawing upon the behavioral theory of the firm, this study explores the behavioral antecedent of buying firms' decisions in supplier selection through relational referrals, beyond the predominant argument from relational network theory. Centering on the risk and uncertainty of searching for new suppliers, this study attempts to integrate the behavioral theory and relational network theory in explaining buying firms' supplier selection. Data from 112 Chinese manufacturing firms were used to test the hypotheses. The results suggest that performance feedback triggers buying firms' decision on the extent of reliance on relational referrals to select suppliers. Outperforming firms are more likely to use relational network to select suppliers while underperforming firms are less likely to use. This relationship will be strengthened when the intensity of market competition and specific investment in buyer-supplier relationship are high.     

The organizational form of vertical relationships: Dimensions of integration

In this paper we argue that the organizational form of a buying firm's vertical relationship with a supplier can be defined as a configuration of four distinct, but related dimensions of integration. These dimensions pertain to ownership integration (the extent that the firm owns the upstream component supplier), coordination integration (the intensity of information exchange to align the two stages of production), task integration (the extent that the buying firm performs upstream tasks), and knowledge integration (the extent that the buying firm possesses knowledge about the upstream component). Ranging from fully integrated to fully disintegrated, these dimensions can be combined to form various organizational configurations that better reflect the true nature of organizational forms than one-dimensional conceptualizations. Drawing on distinct fields of research (e.g. transaction costs economics, information-processing theory, and learning) the goal of this paper is to improve our understanding of the four dimensions of integration and their interrelationships. This is an important step for future processes of configurational theory building and normative testing.     

When the purchasing agent is a committee: Implications for industrial marketing

This article describes a research project that investigated the relationship between the purchasing decision process occurring within a firm and intrinsic factors relating to the product. The study determined the effects of product complexity on the procurement process and identified those dimensions of complexity to which participating departments are sensitive. The results of the study provide information of great value to the theoretical development of buying centers as well as to those involved in targeting industrial marketing efforts.     

Plural governance: The effect of internal production on supplier performance

We suggest that both making and buying the same product or service has several effects on supplier performance. A model is developed and tested by use of answers gathered from the Danish municipalities. The results support the three hypotheses that (1) the negative effects of technological uncertainty on supplier performance decrease when buyers combine internal production and external sourcing, (2) the negative effects of performance uncertainty on supplier performance decrease when buyers combine internal production and external sourcing, and (3) the negative effects of asset specificity on supplier performance decrease when buyers combine internal production and external sourcing. However, the moderating effects depend on how the plurality is measured. The results indicate that internal production may facilitate effective governance of the relationships with external suppliers. Implications for research on make-or-buy decisions and for practice are also discussed.     

Buyer and seller perceptions of transportation purchasing variables

The study in this article involved the investigation of 15 carrier selection variables over three dimensions by three groups with high involvement in the purchasing decision—traffic managers, sales representatives, and sales managers. The primary focus of the study was the identification of significant differences in the assessment of importance of the technical abilities of a carrier, the service orientation of a carrier and the image of a carrier as perceived by sales managers and sales representatives representing the selling systems, and traffic managers representing the buying systems.     

Assessing introduction factors for a new industrial product

The present research involves determinant component analysis [3]. Specifically, the study assesses which components—price, product or environmental—are most important in the design of new entry strategy. Under conditions of abundance, industrial firms primarily analyzed price and product characteristics when making new product decisions. In choosing one supplier over another the stalwart buying motives have been quality, service and price [4]. However, these decision components were conceptualized in a period of abundance. Under conditions of scarcity, are price and product characteristics still important? Are environmental dimensions perhaps more important under shortage conditions when making new product decisions? Besides describing the key components that may be considered in new product programming, the article also outlines an approach that may be used to find determinant decision components.     

竖管降膜蒸发器内液体分布器的研究进展

对小型竖管降膜蒸发器和大型竖管降膜蒸发器内液体分布器的型式、特点和应用作了介绍,分析了液体分布器的研究现状。报道了可调齿缝型液体分布器、伞板型液体分布器、再分布型布膜器、多层喷淋盘式分布器、管外多层淋降式分布器等液体分布器的新型式,进而给出了液体分布器的选择原则,并对液体分布器的研究前景和面临的问题作了展望。     

Understanding users' performance evaluation of IT solutions

Traditionally, buying center research in business marketing has long focused on the role of various buying center members, including users, in influencing purchasing decisions. Recent studies have also established the important role users play in successfully implementing information technology (IT) initiatives of buying organizations and its influence on future relationships with sellers. Consequently, in order to ensure future business, marketers need users to evaluate their solutions favorably. This study attempts to understand the factors influencing user evaluation of performance of sellers' IT solutions. Based on an inter-disciplinary approach, a model of antecedent factors to explain user evaluation of suppliers IT solutions is proposed and tested. Results gleaned from a survey of 361 users of Internet-based technology in an automotive supply chain indicate that user attitudes toward technology, satisfaction with the new technology, users' overall understanding of supply chain management principles, and job-related consequences influence user evaluation of IT solutions.     

Managing customer share in key supplier relationships

Supply base consolidation is an important issue in many business markets. Against this background, the allocation of purchasing budgets across vendors becomes an area of vital interest to suppliers. In the present research, we argue that customer share is a key decision variable in business marketing settings and investigate how a supplier can proactively manage the share of its customer's business. We report the results of a cross-sectional study among purchasing managers in U.S. manufacturing industries. Our findings confirm the role of customer value as an antecedent to customer share in business relationships. The study further shows that customer share influences the stability of key supplier relationships. Rather than displaying a direct impact, our results suggest that trust mediates and dependence moderates the link between customer share and search for alternative suppliers. Based on these findings, we propose a framework for managing customer share in key supplier relationships. Four approaches of how industrial vendors can proactively manage customer share are discussed.     

Segmenting buyers in different types of organizations

Organizational type is presented as a potentially important company specific characteristic that affects the organizational buying process. Factor analysis and multiple discriminant analysis are utilized to demonstrate that differences in the importance associated with purchasing related factors exist among purchasing managers from commercial, non-for-profit, and government organizations. Finally, the managerial usefulness of organizational type as a macrosegmentation variable is discussed.     

The effects of distributor relationship commitment and relationship exploration on opportunism: The moderating roles of exchange uncertainties and network factors

Channel management entails both the evaluating of incumbent business partners and simultaneously seeking potential new partners. In supplier–distributor exchanges, distributors can explore alternative suppliers while still committing to incumbent suppliers. While the current literature has demonstrated the importance of relationship commitment, the consequences of relationship exploration and whether that exploration is harmful to any incumbent relationships remain unclear. Drawing from relational governance and social network theories, this study thus examines how distributor dual relationship strategies of commitment and exploration influence their opportunistic behavior. The findings from a survey of 328 distributor firms indicate that relationship commitment leads to reduced opportunism; yet relationship exploration exerts no significant main effect on opportunism. More interestingly, these effects are subject to two types of uncertainty and two characteristics of distributor network wherein the focal exchange relationship resides. Specifically, behavioral uncertainty—an internal source of uncertainty—aggravates the opportunism that arises from both strategies, whereas, environmental uncertainty—an external source of uncertainty—alleviates both these effects. The distributor's network density weakens the effect of relationship commitment on opportunism, but network centrality strengthens this effect. By contrasting relationship commitment with relationship exploration under multiple moderating conditions, this study advances the extant channel relationship management literature and practice.     

Why members stay in or leave an R&D consortium: performance and conditions of membership as determinants of continuity

This paper jointly examines performance and conditions surrounding membership as determinants of the decision to stay or leave an R&D consortium. Hypotheses were developed for performance and, by drawing from power dependence and transaction cost theories, for conditions surrounding membership. Analysis of survey questionnaire data from 184 member organizations of U.S.-based R&D consortia indicates that performance and the conditions of knowledge-related involvement, network ties, learning, and alternatives are related to the decision to stay in or leave. These results provide limited support for power dependence but are more consistent with transaction cost theory. Subsequent analyses revealed an interaction between performance and membership conditions, suggesting performance leads to the conditions of membership, and that the continuity decision for a poorly performing consortium differs from that for one performing well. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Product type and the relative influence of buyers in commercial construction

Organizational purchasing is usually the product of collective decision making. While the seller's first contact with a prospective customer is with the purchasing agent, the purchasing agent is by no means the sole decision maker. The purpose of this study is to identify the relative influence of purchasing agents and other buyers in the commercial construction industry. Individual buyers and firms can also make use of the framework evolved to examine their own buying practices.