Supply chain management: A multidisciplinary content analysis of vertical relations between companies, 1997-2006

The aim of this work is to contribute to a better understanding of the research conducted on supply chain management (SCM) at a multidisciplinary level. To this end, a content analysis was performed of the most significant scientific literature about marketing, logistics, management and marketing channels published over the period 1997-2006. As a result, a database of 414 papers from 14 journals was created. Analysis of these works reveals the level of development of the main lines of research into SCM and makes it possible to detect the topics that require greater attention and which may be the object of future studies conducted by researchers and academics. It also allows managerial staff to identify the methodologies and tools that can be used to improve the management of relationships within the supply chain. One of the main conclusions reached in the study is the shortage of studies conducted on the supply chain as a network of enterprises, since most research focuses on a single enterprise or, at the most, on its relationships with its suppliers or direct customers.     

A solution business model: Capabilities and management practices for integrated solutions

The developed solution business model framework assists firms wishing to design solution business models by categorizing capabilities and management practices necessary for the effective management of such a business model. The developed framework integrates findings from a wide variety of research streams with the empirical data collected in an abductive research process, involving ten firms with multi-national operations. The framework consist of a solution process with four phases (develop solutions, create demand, sell solution, and deliver solution) and three groups of cross-functionality issues (commercialization, industrialization, and solution platform). The framework identifies twelve capability categories, and sixty-four capabilities and management practices pertinent to the effective management of solution business. The research points to the importance of cross-functional alignment within firms. An effective solution business model requires the intricate coordination of resources and business processes across all functions.     

A case study exploring drivers and implications of collaborative electronic logistics marketplaces

Since the 1990s there has been a rich literature on business-to-business electronic marketplaces. While many aspects of supply chain management have been considered, there are only a few studies which investigate the development and application of these electronic marketplaces in logistics. These can be termed Electronic Logistics Marketplaces (ELM). The paper aims to understand the rationale behind a particular type of ELM, termed ‘collaborative ELM’, and evaluates the impact of introducing such an ELM. To do this, an in depth case study in the UK fast moving consumer goods industry is used. Data has been collected from shippers, transport companies and the technology provider using a range of tools, including interviews, quantitative data analysis and process mapping. The research reveals that the collaborative ELM is still a relatively new business model. It has potential for growth in optimizing supply chain networks and enabling not only vertical collaboration between shippers and carriers but also horizontal collaboration between shippers and/or between carriers. It identifies the motives behind a collaborative ELM, and demonstrates how such a system is implemented through the configurations of information system, process and collaborative arrangements. The impact on the different participating parties is also examined. Finally the necessary conditions for a successful implementation are derived in the light of the research findings.     

Brand relationships and brand equity in franchising

Previous research suggests that building brand equity enhances the competitive advantage of retailers in B2B markets. However, limited attention has been paid to the concept of brand equity in B2B retailing contexts, particularly in franchise channels. This study seeks to understand how brand relationships can be leveraged to enhance brand citizenship behavior and ultimately brand equity in franchise channels. Accordingly, this study explores franchisees’ perceptions of their franchise brands, leading to a new conceptualisation of ‘franchisee-based brand equity’. An interpretive research design is employed, comprising of semi-structured interviews with key informants. Findings suggest that franchisors play an important role in promoting brand citizenship behaviour of franchisees, which in turn enhances brand equity. The study provides insight on how to effectively manage brand relationships to enhance franchisees’ brand citizenship behaviour and brand equity. The concept of brand relationships has been discussed widely in consumer markets, but has received limited attention in B2B contexts. In response, this study provides new insight in B2B branding and specifically, in how brand relationships may enhance brand citizenship behaviour and brand equity in B2B markets.     

The effects of manufacturer's organizational learning on distributor satisfaction and loyalty in industrial markets

The main objective of this study is to examine the effects of organizational learning (OL) on satisfaction and loyalty in industrial markets. A conceptual model, in which the unit for analysis is the dyadic relationship between manufacturers and their main distributor, is proposed and tested. The empirical results showed that the manufacturer's OL is an antecedent of the relational outcomes achieved in business relationships. Specifically, increased OL in the manufacturer has a direct effect on the main distributor's degree of satisfaction and an indirect effect on his loyalty. It is also confirmed that the manufacturer's OL has a direct effect on the manufacturer's business performance. However, we found that links between OL and satisfaction and OL and loyalty are not changed by market turbulence.     

The competitiveness of nations and implications for human development

Human development should be the ultimate objective of human activity, its aim being healthier, longer, and fuller lives. Thus, if the competitiveness of a nation is properly managed, enhanced human welfare should be the key expected consequence. The research described here explores the relationship between the competitiveness of a nation and its implications for human development. For this purpose, 45 countries were evaluated initially using data envelopment analysis. In this stage, global competitiveness indicators were taken as input variables with human development index indicators as output variables. Subsequently, an artificial neural network analysis was conducted to identify those factors having the greatest impact on efficiency scores.     

Profit, productivity and distribution: Differences across organizational forms - The case of Spanish banks

We examine variations in financial and economic performance as a function of organizational form, and, over time. The forms we consider include Spanish commercial banks, savings banks, and financial cooperatives. We decompose multilateral variation in operating profit, our measure of financial performance, into price and quantity effects. We then decompose the latter into a margin effect and productivity change. Our measure of economic performance, productivity variation, is subsequently disaggregated into technical, cost efficiency, and scale. We find that deregulation and liberalization have acted to narrow performance gaps among organizational forms; this, despite less-than compelling evidence that increased competition has contributed to this convergence. For the Spanish banking system as a whole, the margin effect appears to deliver twice as much financial benefit as do improvements in productivity. Importantly, this finding does not vary across organizational form. Such regularity has an important implication: Incentives for growth are apparently provided by a positive margin rather than by the more elusive benefits of economies of scale and improved cost efficiency.     

Direct and iterated multistep AR methods for difference stationary processes

The paper focuses on a comparison between the direct and iterated AR predictors for difference stationary processes. In particular, it provides new methods for comparing the efficiency of the two predictors. The methods are based on an encompassing representation for the two predictors, which enables us to derive their properties quite easily under a maintained model. The paper provides an analytical expression for the mean square forecast error of the two predictors and derives useful recursive formulae for computing the direct and iterated coefficients. From an empirical standpoint, we propose estimators of the AR coefficients based on the tapered Yule-Walker estimates; we also provide a test of equal forecast accuracy which is very simple to implement and whose critical values are obtained using the bootstrap method.     

Extending lead-user theory to online brand communities: The case of the community Ducati

While research on user innovations within communities exists mainly in offline contexts, few studies have attempted to define the profile of lead users in online (or virtual) communities, and even fewer have been conducted in the specific context of online brand communities, formed by people with a “common interest in a brand,” in its evolution and in the discourse about it. This study focuses on innovative activities within the Ducati Motor online community. The research reveals the following characteristics as crucial factors for the identification of lead users in online brand communities: willingness to collaborate, product knowledge and strategic alignment with the brand identity. Our sample consists of 2071 messages posted by 572 Ducati Motor virtual community members in a specific blog developed by Ducati Motor with the purpose of involving members in a collaborative innovation process that took nearly 14 months. Several implications for scholars and new product development managers are discussed.     

One model and various experts: Evaluating Dutch macroeconomic forecasts

The Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) uses a large macroeconomic model to create forecasts of various important macroeconomic variables. The outcomes of this model are usually filtered by experts, and it is the expert forecasts that are made available to the general public. In this paper we re-create the model forecasts for the period 1997-2008 and compare the expert forecasts with the pure model forecasts. Our key findings from the first time that this unique database has been analyzed are that (i) experts adjust upwards more often; (ii) expert adjustments are not autocorrelated, but their sizes do depend on the value of the model forecast; (iii) the CPB model forecasts are biased for a range of variables, but (iv) at the same time, the associated expert forecasts are more often unbiased; and that (v) expert forecasts are far more accurate than the model forecasts, particularly when the forecast horizon is short. In summary, the final CPB forecasts de-bias the model forecasts and lead to higher accuracies than the initial model forecasts.