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.     

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。     

An empirical study of the impact of e-business technologies on organizational collaboration and performance

The use of e-business technologies between supply chain organizations has been thematic in recent literature. Organizational collaboration, the foundation of supply chain management, has been enabled by the development and use of e-business technologies. Organizational collaboration and information sharing, in turn, are expected to improve organizational performance. We propose and test a model of the relationship between organizational use of e-business technologies, organizational collaboration, and performance, using empirical data. Our model differs from past studies in that collaboration is viewed as two unique constructs, differentiating between intra- and inter-organizational collaboration. Our findings show that use of e-business technologies impacts performance both directly and indirectly by promoting both measures of collaboration. Intra-firm collaboration is also found to have a direct impact on organizational performance. However, the impact of inter-organizational collaboration on performance is found to be only indirect, through the impact of intra-organizational collaboration. These findings reveal the complexity of organizational collaboration, underscore the importance for companies to promote internal collaboration, and invest in information technologies that facilitate it.     

代理成本理论综述及其对我国的借鉴意义

在现代公司制度中,由于公司所有权和控制权的两权分离,股东和管理当局的利益函数和收益函数并不完全一致由此产生了代理问题。在经济学中,代理成本被定义为由于代理关系中两个利益主体目标上的差距而诱发的损失或代价。本文从契约理论和交易成本经济学开始对代理成本问题做一个理论综述,然后探讨其对我国的国有上市公司治理的借鉴意义。     

供应链中的关系治理模式比较研究

通过对市场治理、科层治理和关系治理各自的特点进行分析、比较,认为关系治理有效结合了市场治理和科层治理的优势,避免了两者的不足,是一种适应现代环境要求的新型治理模式,但是合作方之间建立信任的难度也使得关系治理模式的应用存在一定障碍。最后,还对供应链中关系治理模式的管理启示和进一步研究进行了探讨。     

Building manufacturing flexibility with strategic suppliers and contingent effect of product dynamism on customer satisfaction

A critical capability sought by an increasing number of firms is manufacturing flexibility, because it allows to effectively respond to dynamic markets. Grounded upon a supply chain perspective, this paper aims to assess antecedents of manufacturing flexibility that stem from the upstream relationships with strategic suppliers. Additionally, it is one of the first to analyze the contingent effect of product dynamism on the impact of manufacturing flexibility on downstream customer satisfaction. We apply structural equation modeling to a sample of 155 companies in order to analyze our hypotheses. Results strongly indicate that buyer-supplier collaboration facilitates inter-organizational learning that in turn allows organizations to develop manufacturing flexibility and increase customer satisfaction. Approaching manufacturing flexibility from a broader supply chain view thus pays off. Moreover, we apply multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to explore the contingent effect of product dynamism on the relationship between manufacturing flexibility and customer satisfaction. Results suggest a stronger impact of manufacturing flexibility on performance in the context of higher product dynamism in companies’ customer markets, confirming the importance of a contingency view to flexibility.     

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.     

供应链管理中的协调机制设计

本文首先指出协调问题是供应链管理中的核心问题,阐述了协调机制的理论背景,基于博弈论和机制设计理论给出了协调机制的形式化描述,在此基础上提出协调机制设计的思路和方法,并指出委托代理理论是协调机制设计中的一个重要理论工具。