Institutional-based antecedents and performance outcomes of internal and external green supply chain management practices

Green supply chain management (GSCM) has been a developing topic for at least a couple of decades. Over this time, significant complexities have been observed in its management. Helping to simplify and understand these complexities is necessary from both a practical and research perspective. Given this situation and to further enhance understanding of the topic and even supply chain management in general, this paper develops and empirically tests a theoretical model on the different types of institutional pressures motivating manufacturing enterprises to pursue green supply chain management (GSCM) practices and commensurate performance outcomes. Using a sample of 396 Chinese manufacturers, path analysis is used to evaluate the many structural links. The statistic results show that institutional pressures have driven the manufacturer adoption of internal GSCM practices which in turn relate to their external GSCM practices adoption. The statistic results also suggest that GSCM practices do not directly affect economic performance, but can improve it indirectly. This research contributes to the literature on institutional theory in corporate environmental practices. The research findings provide useful insights for managers seeking to adopt GSCM practices. The results also provide policy insights for professional organizations, regulators, and legislators to further promote GSCM.     

基于两部收费契约的三级供应链协调研究

研究了在随机市场需求下如何利用两部收费契约来协调由制造商、分销商和零售商组成的三级供应链的问题。首先针对供应链系统的全局协调,得出了系统的最优订购决策;其次,证明了两部收费契约能够协调三级供应链,建立了满足供应链协调的条件和供应链成员实现双赢的数学模型;最后,通过算例验证了合理的契约参数设定能够实现各成员的双赢,在合理的范围内契约参数的大小与企业的讨价还价能力有关。     

Supply chain collaboration and eco‐innovations: An institutional perspective from China

This study explores the impact of supply chain collaboration on eco‐innovations in the context of 220 Chinese manufacturing supplier firms involved in global supply chain networks. It investigates how supplier and customer collaborations help firms to enhance product eco‐innovations, and/or process eco‐innovations, and how the institutional context (i.e., regulatory, market, and community pressures) influences these relationships. The structural equation modeling approach is used to analyze the data captured from medium and large manufacturing enterprises in three major sectors: automotive, electronics, and textiles. The results show that community pressure has a positive effect on supplier collaboration, which further leads to enhanced process eco‐innovation. On the other hand, the findings indicate that while market pressure enhances customer collaboration, this does not reinforce product eco‐innovation. Contrary to our expectation, regulatory pressures do not impact supplier or customer collaboration for innovation. Overall, different institutional factors indicate divergent effects on supply chain collaboration and product/process eco‐innovation. The importance of normative pressures, such as those applied through the local community and interest groups, for eco‐innovations in production processes is further discussed as a typical feature of the institutional environment of Chinese supplier firms.     

提升中国电子元器件和集成电路分销商供应链竞争力的管理策略

中国电子分销约占中国电子元器件和集成电路(IC)总体市场需求的60%,也就是说国内电子制造商的采购多数是与分销商打交道。在客户端和供应商之间多出了分销商,好象增加了通路的环节,但实际上增加了价值链的有效性,因为在客户端和供应商之间如果有正确和有效率的信息传递,便能够为整个产业带来双赢。元器件分销商作为供应链的重要组成部分,所起到的作用是延长和连接,将元器件制造商的服务和产品延长到客户端,将电子制造商的真实需求带到元器件厂商面前,将原本断开的链条紧密地连接起来。面对竞争日益激烈的分销市场,如何构建自身的核心优势以及真正满足用户需求是分销商们值得深思的问题。从营销学和供应链理论的角度,结合电子元器件分销市场的行业特点,分析总结了提升元器件分销商供应链竞争力的管理策略。     

供应链一体化实施策略研究

供应链一体化管理是围绕核心企业,将供应商、制造商、分销商、零售商、直至最终用户连成一个整体的功能网链结构模式。通过对供应链管理的研究,提出了从信息集成、系统协调和组织联结等三个方面实施供应链一体化的策略和方法。     

Does the configuration of macro‐ and micro‐institutional environments affect the effectiveness of green supply chain integration?

Despite the importance of the general environment in affecting the effectiveness of green supply chain integration (GSCI), our understanding of the roles of different configurations of macro‐ and micro‐institutional environments remains limited. Based on institutional theory and resource mobilization theory, this study examined the moderating effects of the configurations of macro‐ and micro‐institutional environments on the GSCI performance link employing both a configuration and a contingency perspective. Our findings from a longitudinal survey of 206 Chinese manufacturing firms provide empirical evidence for the coexistence and nature of macro‐ and micro‐institutional environments and their moderating effect on the GSCI performance link. Specifically, the results revealed that Chinese manufacturers can be clustered into three groups with different macro‐ and micro‐institutional environments (i.e., cognizant, sensible, and conscious manufacturers). Furthermore, the configuration of macro‐ and micro‐institutional environments moderates the effect of green supplier integration on social performance, as well as the effects of green customer integration on financial, environmental, and social performance. This study contributes to both the GSCI literature and practices.     

我国企业供应链中供需合作关系的经验研究

供应链管理是一种系统的、集成的管理思想,它要求在供应链的所有成员,包括原料供应企业、制造企业、分销企业都通过有效的合作提高各自在市场中的竞争力,达到“双赢”或“多赢”的效果。本文介绍了作者对我国企业供应链管理实践有关供需合作关系的调查报告,分析了供应链中企业合作行为,剖析了我国企业的现状,分析结果对改善我国企业的供应链管理水平有重要参考价值。     

The Effect of Customer‐Centric Green Supply Chain Management on Operational Performance and Customer Satisfaction

This study explores the links of implementing customer‐centric green supply chain management (GSCM) with its antecedent factors (i.e. customer pressure) and performance outcomes (i.e. operational performance and customer satisfaction). Data for this study were obtained through a survey of 126 automobile manufacturers in China. Results suggest that customer pressure has a positive effect on the implementation of customer‐centric GSCM, which, in turn, leads to multiple operational performance improvements (i.e. flexibility, delivery, quality and cost). While production flexibility and cost appear to have no significant impact on customer satisfaction, product quality and delivery are significantly and positively associated with customer satisfaction. On the practical front, this paper provides guidelines for managers in implementing customer‐centric GSCM to respond to customer pressures and improve firm performance, and for policy‐makers to encourage partner‐focused GSCM efforts in environmental policy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

协同学在汽车制造业供应链中的应用综述

协同学原理表明,任何系统的发展都遵循着一种协同学的规律。汽车制造业是个复杂的社会系统,其供应链网络结构由多级汽车供应商、汽车制造商、汽车分销商、零售商以及顾客构成,各环节都显现出一种普遍的协同规律。本文对协同学的应用领域进行了研究,具体针对协同学原理在汽车制造业供应链中各个环节的应用进行相关的介绍,最后指出了协同学更加广阔的应用前景。     

Improving resilience of the healthcare supply chain in a pandemic: Evidence from Europe during the COVID-19 crisis

The severe scarcity of critical medical supplies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to considerable procurement challenges in the healthcare supply chain (HCSC). As ensuring the availability of such supplies during disruptions is critical, the debate on how to increase supply chain resilience in healthcare has gained new momentum. We present empirical evidence from a multi-tier case study spanning nine European medical supplies manufacturers and hospital groups. Based on the resource dependence theory, we investigated procurement-related strategies to improve medical supplies availability. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 39 procurement and supply chain management experts and derived seven propositions on buffering and bridging approaches for managing evolving resource dependencies and thereby strengthening supply chain resilience in a pandemic. Overall, we confirm the resource dependence theory's applicability for explaining companies' mitigation measures in a pandemic disruption. We find that bridging measures within the healthcare supply base, such as offering procurement support for suppliers or leveraging long-term buyer-supplier relationships, are more effective for securing medical supplies than buffering measures. Complementing bridging with buffering, such as extended upstream procurement or resource sharing among hospitals, can lead to superior risk mitigation as capacities of the present supplier base may not suffice. Furthermore, we extend the resource dependence theory by showing that the severity of disruptions caused by a pandemic triggers new forms of buffering external to the HCSC. Both traditional and new buffering measures establish novel flows of medical supplies in the HCSC that can enable higher supply security in a pandemic.     

Contract ineffectiveness in emerging markets: An institutional theory perspective

The effectiveness of contracts is bounded by the institutional environment in which they are designed and enforced. When firms form supply chain partnerships in emerging markets, they may experience contract ineffectiveness, which is defined as a firm's perceived limits of contracts with respect to safeguarding interests and coordinating activities. Specifically, we identify two institutional factors that may give rise to contract ineffectiveness, information transparency and legal enforceability, as they determine how effectively a firm designs and enforces a contract. In addition, we reveal that contract ineffectiveness prompts a firm to seek social ties, including business ties and political ties, to overcome the institutionally induced limits of contracts. These efforts, however, are moderated by the type of predominant pressure a firm bears. While equity pressure strengthens the relationship between contract ineffectiveness and a firm's pursuit of social ties, efficiency pressure weakens this relationship, because seeking social ties imposes an extra burden of efficiency. Tested by data collected from 187 distributors in China, our study reveals the institutional causes and the consequences of contract ineffectiveness, which is a common problem encountered by firms when forming supply chain partnerships in emerging markets.     

Global sourcing and quality recalls: An empirical study of outsourcing-supplier concentration-product recalls linkages

This study investigates how supply chain sourcing strategies are associated with product quality recalls. In particular, the research examines how make-or-buy decisions (i.e., outsourcing), the use of foreign suppliers (i.e., offshore outsourcing), the relocation of production to offshore markets (i.e., offshoring), and decisions to consolidate supply bases (i.e., the use of few vs. myriad suppliers) are related to product recalls. Product recalls are serious quality failures in supply chains with significant, negative impacts on firm performance. Product recalls are frequently connected to the globalization of supply chains. Globalization has, at times, promoted inconsistency in quality control and standards, leading to quality problems and failures. Data across multiple industries, with widely reported recalls, have been collected and analyzed using regression techniques. Our findings indicate that offshore outsourcing has a greater impact on recalls than offshoring without outsourcing; outsourcing domestically has the least influence. Outsourcing to a smaller supplier base may lead to fewer recalls at low levels of outsourcing. However, it may exacerbate the impact of outsourcing on recalls at high levels of outsourcing.     

Relationship Investment and Channel Performance: An Analysis of Mediating Forces

This study explores how relationship-specific investment (RSI) enhances interfirm cooperation in buyer–supplier partnerships in an emerging market. Building upon the logic of economic sociology, we argue that the contribution of RSI to the success in buyer–supplier partnerships will be mediated by reduced opportunism and reduced conflict and by heightened commitment and knowledge sharing. Our survey of 216 paired distributors (buyers) and manufacturers (suppliers) in China generally supports this argument, leading to a conclusion that RSI is not a direct performance propeller but an important builder of relational infrastructure in which mid-range processes are nourished. Theoretical implications in strategic management and supply chain management research are highlighted.     

Institutional effects in the adoption of e-business-technology: Evidence from the German automotive supplier industry

This article analyzes the adoption of B2B-e-business technology in German automotive supplier companies during the internet hype period, i.e. in the very early stage of technology diffusion. While from the outset e-business was assumed to be used by companies in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs, some previous IOS research and theoretical considerations suggest that both efficiency and environmental expectations can be important reasons for companies to implement e-business. On this backdrop, the paper analyzes the reasons for e-business technology adoption, focusing on the explanatory value of institutional factors like mimesis, coercion, and normative pressures. Theoretically based hypotheses are developed and tested using regression models with a quantitative data set of more than 1900 companies.The article tries to make an innovative contribution to the field of IOS research, first, by drawing on theories of organizational structuring — new institutionalism, social psychology, and transaction cost economics; second, variation of adoption rationales in different types of companies and different business functions inside a company is taken into account.It appears that the adoption of e-business is explained by external pressures from other customers, bandwagon effects and herding behavior during the e-business hype, and expectations and interests of professionals inside a company. In the ‘core’ areas of a firm, efficiency rationales play an important role, too. The data reveals that the reasons of e-business usage differ significantly by department and company type.     

供应链采用跨组织信息系统的博弈分析

跨组织信息系统(IOS)对于供应链至关重要。它跨越组织边界,牵扯供应链上各成员利益,建立IOS受多方面因素影响。从博弈的角度分析供应链成员实施IOS的行为,并给出了有益的启示。     

三级供应链系统的信息共享价值分析

提出并研究了一种多级复杂供应链系统的信息价值共享问题。以一个制造商,多个互异的分销商以及多个互异的零售商组成的复杂供应链系统为研究对象,建立了供应链系统库存成本模型,导出了各个企业信息共享价值的计算公式,并和信息不共享方式进行了对比,其结果表明供应链成员间信息共享可显著降低供应链的平均成本。     

Staffing effectiveness across countries: An institutional perspective

This study draws on institutional theory to investigate why and how staffing effectiveness varies across countries. Utilising data from multiple sources (Cranfield Network on Comparative Human Resource Management [CRANET], Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness [GLOBE], World Economic Forum [WEF], Transparency International, Tightness-Looseness Index), it covers 2,918 organisations in 11 countries. Extending earlier research on comparative staffing that focuses on cultural or regulatory differences separately, our findings show that companies in different countries implement staffing practices in line with their normative (i.e., cultural), regulatory, and cognitive institutions. A second key finding shows that institutionally embedded staffing practices are associated with organisational turnover, thus challenging dominant universalist perspectives on staffing effectiveness. Finally, we shed light on a central yet understudied boundary condition of contextual perspectives on staffing by identifying the strength of institutional pressures (i.e., societal tightness-looseness) as a moderator of the relationships between national institutions, staffing, and turnover.     

Effect of armed conflicts on humanitarian operations: Total factor productivity and efficiency of rural hospitals

We study an important but widely neglected topic in humanitarian operations: armed conflicts. Specifically, this paper empirically analyzes the effect of armed conflicts on the operational performance of first-layer response organizations. Using as a case study the Colombian conflict we investigate the effect of conflict on public rural hospitals' (i) total factor productivity, (ii) efficiency and (iii) efficiency variability. The panel data set (2007–2011) used in this study includes information at the hospital level for 163 hospitals and qualitative data collected from interviews with medical staff from the Colombian Ministry of Health and hospitals in different conflict zones. Our results indicate that armed conflict has a positive effect on total factor productivity, while it has a negative impact on hospital efficiency, and interestingly that efficiency and total factor productivity both increase in post conflict. Finally, the results show that efficiency variability is higher in peace and post-conflict hospitals and lower in medium and severe-conflict hospitals. These results have operations management implications and opportunities for future research related to sourcing decisions, supply chain and workforce flexibility, behavioral impacts on the workforce, and humanitarian response to conflicts.     

Exploitation- and exploration-based innovations: The role of knowledge in inter-firm relationships with distributors

Learning capacity is a critical factor for a firm’s innovation and competitiveness. This study explores the issue of how knowledge in inter-firm relationships with distributors influences manufacturers’ exploitation- and exploration-based innovations and performance. The empirical model examines the effect of three different types of knowledge-related issues in inter-firm relationships: (i) the acquisition of substantial knowledge (about products, technology, or markets) from distributors; (ii) the learning about collaborating with each distributor as the relationship evolves; and (iii) the general firm’s knowledge about managing distributors. A model of learning—innovation—performance is developed and tested in a sample of 201 firms in the food and beverages sector. The results reveal that: (i) knowledge about managing distributors promotes continuous learning from them; (ii) learning to collaborate is critical, as it favours knowledge acquisition and both types of innovations (exploitation- and exploration-based); (iii) learning from distributors weakens firms’ tendency to stress one type of innovation strategy over another; and (iv) knowledge in inter-firm relationships with distributors affects performance in a completely mediated way, that is, through innovation. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed in the conclusion of the paper.