Toward Greater Validation of Supply Chain Management Theory and Concepts: The Roles of Research Replication and Meta‐Analysis

Although researchers have been working for over three decades to identify, construct, and test the critical concepts and theories that comprise the supply chain management (SCM) discipline, the field’s theoretical basis has yet to be thoroughly vetted through repetitive, rigorous study. Emerging theories in SCM offer great explanatory potential, but if they are to stand the tests of time, place, and reason, research findings must be accumulated and synthesized. For the field to prosper, we advocate the execution of multiple studies that replicate findings across contexts while simultaneously encompassing relevant theoretical extensions. Furthermore, as SCM research streams mature, scholars should then employ meta‐analytic techniques to gain consensus across studies, such that findings can be more confidently extolled to both academic and practitioner constituencies. In this article, we evaluate the progress of replication and meta‐analysis to date within the SCM field and provide some prospects for thematic research that could perpetuate accelerated validation.     

Customer demotion in hierarchical loyalty programmes

Hierarchical loyalty programmes are popular in many service industries, as a means to tie customers to the company and improve customer relationships. In these programmes, customers obtain more benefits if they spent more but are demoted if they spent less. This study focuses on demotion and suggests that customer demotion can have an asymmetrical negative effect on customers' trust, commitment, and loyalty. The effect appears strongest for demoted customers with an external locus of causality. An experimental study also shows that customer loyalty is lower for demoted customers than for customers who were never elevated.     

An evaluation of government- sponsored vocational training programmes for the unemployed in urban Russia

This is the first study on the effects of active labour marketprograms such as training in Russia. We use the data from theofficial unemployment register combined with information fromthe follow-up survey in a large industrial city in the year2000. The method of propensity score matching was applied tolearn whether participation in the training programmes increasedthe monthly salaries of participants. The findings suggest thatindividuals tend to benefit from the participation in the trainingprogrammes. However, one year later, this effect disappeared.     

Development of advanced tourism studies in Holland

Bodewes, Theo, Development of Advanced Tourism Studies in Holland. Annals of Tourism Research 1981, VIII(1):35–51. The entry of tourism studies into the field of advanced education is often a difficult process. Theory and practice sometimes serve conflicting interests. In the Netherlands an option has been taken for a theoretical, multi-disciplinary approach with links to the field of practice. Within this framework, tourism is indissolubly connected with leisure and recreation, leisure being the core of studies. This implies that the universities should educate leisure economists, leisure sociologists, etc., and that advanced professional educational institutions should educate leisure experts. This paper discusses whether the problems and solutions in the Netherlands are recognizable and/or useful abroad, and whether one institution can learn from the experiences of others.     

Food commodity price changes and consumer welfare in Bangladesh: Valuable lessons for today

The recent rise in global food prices threatens many countries worldwide, especially the vulnerable populations. Viable coping strategies can only be designed based on the important policy lessons learned from the experiences of these countries in confronting the similar shocks of 2007–2011. However, the disproportionate effects of these events and the impacts of policy responses remain largely unexplored. We examine the impact of a food price surge and the effectiveness of various mitigating policies in Bangladesh, one of the most populous, densely populated countries in the world that is plagued by poverty. Specifically, we combine individual-level expenditure survey data with recent advances in consumer theory to examine the welfare consequences across income groups and geographic areas of the country over 2000–2016. Our empirical findings lend support to the hypothesis that the brunt of the price surge was borne by relatively less affluent and rural households, and government poverty alleviation programmes were largely ineffective.     

Trust over time in exchange relationships: Meta‐analysis and theory

A common premise in prior research is that trust increases over time in relationships. Through a meta‐analysis of 39 studies, we find that the bivariate correlation between trust and relationship duration (1) is on average positive and small, and (2) varies significantly across studies indicating the presence of unobserved moderators. We therefore build a theoretical framework to specify four different mechanisms—initial bias correction, change in relationship value, identification, and trust‐based selection—that may affect the development of trust. We then argue that the relative strength of these mechanisms should influence whether trust increases, remains constant, or decreases over time. © 2013 The Authors. Strategic Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

军事供应链结构可靠性研究

军事供应链是与信息化战争相对应的后勤形态,为实现精确化后勤保障,研究军事供应链的可靠性非常必要。文章根据SCOR模型建立了军事供应链结构模型,将其划分为供应商网络和后勤配送网络,分别对基于Meta图模型的供应链和基于结构树模型供应链的结构可靠性进行定量描述,最后给出了计算军事供应链结构可靠性的公式。     

Revisiting the role of the environment in the capabilities–financial performance relationship: A meta‐analysis

Within the capabilities‐based view of the firm, there is debate about the relative importance of ordinary and dynamic capabilities for firm performance and about the extent to which their performance effects are contingent on environmental conditions. We meta‐analyze 115 studies to investigate the relationship between both ordinary and dynamic capabilities and the financial performance of firms in relatively stable versus changing environments. The results suggest that the performance effects of both types of capabilities are positive and similar in magnitude. Environmental dynamism reinforces the effects of both ordinary and dynamic capabilities. Furthermore, the two types of capabilities are closely associated. Our findings provide support for a moderate capabilities‐based view of the firm, rather than one that considers dynamic capabilities as superior to ordinary ones. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using meta‐analytic structural equation modeling to advance strategic management research: Guidelines and an empirical illustration via the strategic leadership‐performance relationship

This paper demonstrates how meta‐analysis can be combined with structural equation modeling (MASEM) to address new questions in strategic management research. We review this integration, describe its implementation, and compare findings from bivariate meta‐analyses, a direct‐effect structural equations model, and two mediating frameworks using data on the strategic leadership and performance relationship. Results drawn from 208 articles that collectively included data on 495,638 observations demonstrate the new insights available from MASEM while also suggesting a revision to conventional thinking on strategic leadership. Whereas some theories posit that boards of directors influence firm performance through monitoring and disciplining the top management team, MASEM provides more support for the view that boards mediate the top management teams' decisions. Implications for applying MASEM in strategic management are offered. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of social capital on post-earthquake reconstruction (programmes) in Nantou County,Taiwan: an assessment

The study aims, through an examination of social capital on post-earthquake reconstruction programmes, to assess the impact of government's programmes on integrated community development and to draw policy implications. To this end, the study explores the programmes implemented by the government in the communities of Nantou County after the earthquake. The findings show that of the three measurements, ‘infrastructure improvement’ satisfied most respondents in the three survey areas, but in Lugu Township and in Nantou City, further improvements are needed in ‘unemployment reduction’ and ‘respondents betterment’.