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.     

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.     

Customization and real time information access in integrated eBusiness supply chain relationships

eBusiness enabled information systems and technology have proliferated with the diffusion and technological advances of the Internet. This research examines supply chain management relationships between service providers and clients, focusing on the performance impacts of (1) the level of customization implemented by clients using vendor provided eBusiness solutions and (2) the subsequent real time access achieved with respect to operational information maintained by vendors. The study also focuses on the impacts of the provider's information exchange behavior and both parties’ level of trust. Using dyadic data collected from a logistics services provider and 91 clients, findings show that the level of customization and real time information access has a direct positive impact on performance outcomes realized by both. Additionally, results demonstrate that provider's level of trust in the client positively influences their information exchange behavior, and in turn, information exchange behavior positively impacts client customizations.     

Exploring internal and external supply chain linkages: Evidence from the field

In their pursuit of improved operational performance, organizations in supply chains have sought to develop external information-based linkages with their customers and vendors. Has this course of action been at the expense of developing similar internal information-based linkages? This research explores the specific roles of internal and external information-based linkages in achieving improved operational performance. Based on a single case study that comprises a supply chain containing twenty-four internal and fourteen external linkages this research develops a series of propositions. We find that the individual internal linkages may be useful for extending externally derived visibility, and for addressing to some extent, “structural holes” in the supply chain. Additionally, to extend visibility across the entire supply chain, organizations need to recognize the combining role of internal and external information-based linkages. Finally we offer some thoughts for future research in this area.     

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.     

The iron cage exposed: Institutional pressures and heterogeneity across the healthcare supply chain

The healthcare industry has been known to operate in a strong institutional environment (i.e. government regulations), and the implementation of inter-organizational systems (IOS) has followed an institutional process. Extending this perspective across different tiers in the healthcare supply chain, we investigate how organizations in different tiers in the supply chain (i.e. hospitals, distributors and manufacturers) respond to institutional pressures when implementing IOS. How institutional dynamics unfold across multiple tiers of a supply chain is an uncharted area of research, and we take the theory-building case study approach using data collected from ten organizations. Because organizations are embedded in their respective tiers, our within-tier analyses are equivalent to cross-organization analyses. In this regard, the cross-case analyses occur at two different levels: at each tier level (i.e. across multiple hospitals, multiple distributors and multiple manufacturers) and across the supply chain (i.e. across all three tiers). The study shows how different institutional pressures such as coercive, mimetic, and normative manifest across the tiers. It also demonstrates how a differential mix of endogenous and institutional pressures lead to mixed organizational responses across the tiers. The propositions developed from the study enrich institutional theory arguments within the information systems and supply chain management disciplines. They highlight how the IOS implementation dynamics within and across different tiers in a supply chain result in heterogeneous rather than isomorphic consequences, thereby exposing the “iron cage” of institutionalization.     

Towards an understanding of supply chain quality management

In this paper, we define supply chain quality management (SCQM) to operationalize and understand the effect of increased emphasis on supply chain management on the practice of quality management. We review current research in quality management and identify common themes found in the literature. Key quality management content variables identified are customer focus, quality practices, supplier relations, leadership, HR practices, business results, and safety. We use these variables to propose areas for future research in the field of supply chain quality management.     

Electronic supply chain management applications by Swedish SMEs

The Internet has become an integral part of business activities of most corporations today. Electronic supply chain management (SCM) can improve the operational efficiency of the firm by streamlining processes between the company and its suppliers, business partners, and customers. This research explores the extent and the degree of Internet application in Swedish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The analyses of the data show that the Swedish SMEs use the Internet in their supply chain activities to a large degree. The study establishes some differences between smaller and larger organizations as well as between manufacturing and service companies.     

Implementing supply chain information integration in China: The role of institutional forces and trust

This study investigates the effects of Chinese companies’ institutional environment on the development of trust and information integration between buyers and suppliers. Three aspects of China's institutional environment are salient: legal protection, government support, and the importance of guanxi (interpersonal relationships). This study uses structural equation modeling to analyze data collected from 398 Chinese manufacturing companies. Government support and importance of guanxi significantly affect trust, which subsequently influences two elements of information integration, namely, information sharing and collaborative planning. Furthermore, the importance of guanxi has a direct, positive impact on information sharing, and government support has a direct, positive effect on both information sharing and collaborative planning.     

Customer-facing supply chain practices—The impact of demand and distribution management on supply chain success

Traditionally, distribution has been viewed as the key (physical) link between a company's internal supply chain activities and its customers. More recently, demand management has emerged as a new dimension at the customer interface. Although it has become increasing popular in industry, it has not yet been analyzed in depth with respect to its impact on supply chain performance. Both distribution management and demand management entail customer-facing processes and practices and that are interrelated and (may) jointly determine supply chain performance. In this paper we seek to extend the stream of research in supply chain management by systematically investigating the impact of customer-facing supply chain practices on supply chain performance. Specifically, the paper examines the relative impact of relevant practices associated with demand and distribution management. To this end, we collected data from 116 multi-national companies based in Europe and analyzed it using structural equation modeling techniques. Our results suggest that (i) high demand management performance has a substantial positive impact on the overall supply chain performance, (ii) this effect is stronger than that of distribution management performance, and (iii) there is no evidence that demand management might be an enabler for effective distribution management. Among the individual practices that constitute demand and distribution management, adherence to the demand and distribution management processes and demand segmentation emerged as the strongest performance levers. Based upon additional in-depth interviews conducted with selected companies from our sample, we shed light on some of the most important findings that emerged from our survey analysis.     

Supply chain practice and information sharing

Effective supply chain practice and information sharing enhances the current supply chain management environment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of information sharing and supply chain practice in supply chain management. Data from 125 North American manufacturing firms were collected. The results show that (1) effective information sharing significantly enhances effective supply chain practice; (2) supply chain dynamism has significant positive influence on effective information sharing as well as effective supply chain practice. Supply chain dynamism has more influence on information sharing than supply chain practice; (3) and effective supply chain practice becomes more important when the level of information sharing increases. The findings show that both effective information sharing and effective supply chain practice are critical in achieving good supply chain performance.     

Success factors for continuous supply chain process improvement: evidence from Japanese manufacturers

This study explores how firms can realise ‘continuous’ supply chain process improvement. Specifically, this study proposes the success factors of routinised activities (also called ‘repeated activities’) in the supply chain process improvement. Eight Japanese manufacturers are selected for the case studies. These firms are selected based on their supply chain process operation capabilities. From the case studies, we find that the planning of supply chain process improvement depends on the existing stage of the firm’s Supply Chain Management reform. In addition, even firms with high scores for supply chain process operation capabilities do not have supply chain performance systems. Furthermore, quite surprisingly, many Japanese manufacturers tend to improve their supply chain processes in the absence of such systems.     

Demand chain management theory: constraints and development from global aerospace supply webs

This paper develops an empirical and theoretical approach to where strategic capabilities should lie within global aerospace supply chains. Theory from transaction cost economics (TCE) and the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm are applied to the aerospace sector and used to underpin a theory of demand chain management (DCM). A two-stage research process was used to generate and validate data from aerospace supply chain case studies. Demand chain driver and resource-based response categories were identified from these data and are presented. Concluding comments concern current limits of a demand chain theory and implications for practitioners.     

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.     

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.     

The configuration between supply chain integration and information technology competency: A resource orchestration perspective

Research indicates that deploying appropriate information technology (IT) competency in a manner that fits the supply chain integration (SCI) of a firm induces superior firm performance; however, our understanding of how to empirically conceptualize and assess the performance effect of the fit remains limited. Drawing upon resource orchestration theory and the literature on fit assessment methodologies, our study employs both a contingency and a configuration perspective to conceptualize and operationalize “fit.” The results of a survey of 196 firms in China provide the first empirical evidence for the existence and nature of interrelationships between multiple components of SCI and IT competency and their effects on firm performance. In particular, fit as “moderation” approach indicates that IT competency could strengthen the relationship between SCI and both operational and financial performance. Fit as “profile deviation” approach further reveals that the more similar the IT competency configurations are to those of the top performers in the high-level SCI group, the higher their operational and financial performance are. However, in the medium- and low-level SCI groups, the SCI-IT competency fit is significantly positively associated with financial performance and insignificantly associated with operational performance. The theoretical contributions and managerial implications of the study are discussed.     

The benefits and constraints of temporary sourcing diversification in supply chain disruption and recovery

Sourcing diversification is the preferred hedge to supply chain disruption risks, but many companies insist on single-sourcing for long-term strategic benefits. For rare-but-catastrophic disruptions of fortified supply chains, temporary sourcing diversification has been seen as a desirable response strategy. However, little is known about the conditions to temporary sourcing diversification and the situations where it is applicable. Our fieldwork and comparison of two disaster recoveries at Aisin Seiki and Riken Corporation shows that while temporary sourcing diversification worked in the Aisin Seiki case, it was impossible at Riken due to the high degree of specificity required in the design and manufacturing methods of the disrupted product item, suggesting product and process specificity limits recovery alternatives. Unawareness of such constraints to temporary sourcing diversification may result in over-optimism regarding its feasibility and insufficient disaster preparedness. In addition, the case of Riken’s recovery from an earthquake in 2007 is systematically documented in this paper for the first time.     

电子化采购与供应链管理浅谈

当今经济环境中的激烈竞争和市场不确定性的增加为企业带来了越来越大的压力。企业纷纷转向战略供应管理,加强与供应链上、下游企业的合作,改善与供应商的关系,使供应链流程自动化以降低成本、缩短采购提前期,最终赢得市场竞争优势。电子化采购则是企业实现上述运营目标的关键管理模式。文中首先简要论述了供应链管理相关理论和电子采购的基本内涵,然后阐述了实施电子采购的必要性,最后提出了电子化采购的构成因素并分析其在供应链管理中的作用。     

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.