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1 – 10 of over 5000Chee Wong, Heather Skipworth, Janet Godsell and Nemile Achimugu
The importance of supply chain alignment has been discussed since the birth of supply chain management (SCM). Yet it remains a major challenge for supply chains. This paper aims…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of supply chain alignment has been discussed since the birth of supply chain management (SCM). Yet it remains a major challenge for supply chains. This paper aims to systematically review the cross disciplinary literature on supply chain alignment in order to identify, and develop constructs for enablers to alignment, and an associated set of hypotheses.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic approach has been taken to the literature review, which ensures it is auditable and repeatable. The selection criteria are clearly aligned with the review question ensuring all literature pertinent to the question is identified and reviewed. Relevant information is extracted from the selected papers and synthesised into a set of hypotheses.
Findings
Six main constructs for the enablers of alignment are identified and defined: organisational structure, internal relational behaviour, customer relational behaviour, top management support, information sharing and business performance measurement system. While the literature is disparate, across different disciplines there is good support for these enablers. The relationships between supply chain alignment and shareholder and customer value are also argued with the support of the literature. Although each of the enablers is argued to positively affect shareholder and customer value, their interactions with one another are not well supported in the literature, either theoretically or empirically, and therefore this could be an area for further research.
Research limitations/implications
While the hypotheses remain theoretical, it is now possible to test them and understand the relative significance of the various enablers to alignment.
Practical implications
The significance of shareholder and customer alignment on the delivery of shareholder and customer value can be examined, thus moving towards a theory of supply chain alignment. This is needed since in practice companies are struggling with supply chain alignment.
Originality/value
The existing literature on supply chain alignment is disparate and multi‐disciplinary as this descriptive analysis shows, with 72 papers published in 43 different journals. Moreover, most of the papers focus on particular enablers, while this paper brings together six key enablers from the literature to produce a set of hypotheses.
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Rachelle Bosua and Krishna Venkitachalam
Knowledge management (KM) has become a key driver of organisational performance. The existing literature suggests that many organisations fail in their attempts to align their KM…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge management (KM) has become a key driver of organisational performance. The existing literature suggests that many organisations fail in their attempts to align their KM strategies with knowledge processes within their organisation. Based on the management literature on alignment, there is a gap in the understanding of how an organisation's KM strategy and KM processes in workgroups can be aligned. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that alignment in terms of KM is important and underpins the improvement of KM processes in organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study research approach was used to examine alignment between strategy and processes of knowledge in organisations. In total, three case organisations representing different industry sectors were chosen to examine how organisations align their KM strategies with workgroup knowledge processes.
Findings
This study proposes a Strategic‐Workgroup Alignment Framework that explains the key alignment enablers and different alignment approaches required to align KM strategy with workgroup KM processes in organisations.
Research limitations/implications
The authors acknowledge the limitations of this paper. Although the proposed framework provides valuable insights with respect to different alignment approaches, it does not specify how each alignment approach can be assessed in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. As part of the alignment approaches, this study's focus was between strategy and processes of knowledge: further research could bring to light new alignment options of knowledge and the associated implications.
Originality/value
This study illustrates that organisations can improve the management of knowledge through alignment between KM strategies and KM processes. Such an improvement is also possible in the absence of a KM strategy emphasis, where alignment would require a deeper examination of workgroup knowledge processes. This study also identifies specific alignment enablers to align KM strategy and KM processes.
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Heather Skipworth, Janet Godsell, Chee Yew Wong, Soroosh Saghiri and Denyse Julien
This study aims to explain how supply chain alignment, which remains a major challenge for supply chains, can be achieved and its implications for business performance (BP) by…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explain how supply chain alignment, which remains a major challenge for supply chains, can be achieved and its implications for business performance (BP) by testing the strengths of the relationships between previously identified enablers, supply chain alignment and BP.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review develops hypotheses on the relationships between enablers, alignment and BP. A survey of medium-to-large UK manufacturing companies was conducted where the sample comprised 151 randomly selected companies, and the response rate was 56 per cent. Partial least square regression was used to test the hypothesis.
Findings
Two types of supply chain alignment are defined – shareholder and customer – but only customer alignment (CA) has a direct positive impact on BP, while shareholder alignment (SA) is its antecedent. Top management support was shown to be an enabler of both shareholder and CA, while organisation structure, information sharing and performance measurement system enabled SA, while internal relational behaviour enabled CA.
Research limitations/implications
Supply chain management research lacks knowledge on exactly how supply chain alignment can be achieved and what BP implications it has. This research provides a tested conceptual model to address this gap.
Practical implications
The refined conceptual model provides precise guidance to practitioners on how to improve BP through supply chain alignment.
Originality/value
Whilst the strategic management literature emphasizes the importance of SA, this study reveals another crucial alignment – CA – and shows its direct positive impact on BP.
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Francisco Javier Carrillo, Bo Edvardsson, Javier Reynoso and Egren Maravillo
This paper aims to deepen the understanding of resource integration for value co-creation within service-dominant logic (SDL), by drawing on key knowledge management (KM) concepts.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to deepen the understanding of resource integration for value co-creation within service-dominant logic (SDL), by drawing on key knowledge management (KM) concepts.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual study introduces three key KM concepts, namely, object, agent and context to SDL; thus, deepening the understanding of how resources are becoming when actors are engaged in co-creating value-in-context.
Findings
This paper extends understanding of actors’ uses of knowledge in their efforts to co-create value. Paradoxically, SDL takes a phenomenological approach to understanding value co-creation, whereas KM embraces a realist-phenomenological view. Emphasizing knowing rather than knowledge reveals that there is no object without an agent, no agency without context and no knowledge without value-alignment. Thus, the paper contributes to theorizing about resource integration through SDL by identifying the need for effective alignment between relevant objects, capable agents and meaningful contexts for value to emerge. The paper also contributes with four facilitators of object-agent-context alignment: tacit knowledge contextualization, collective sensemaking, shared values among engaged actors and feedback on alignment effectiveness.
Originality/value
It advances current conceptualizations of resource integration and value co-creation in SDL by paying explicit attention to a KM perspective.
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Chiara Gobbi and Juliana Hsuan
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how buyers and the vendors pursue alignment in collaborative purchasing (CP) of complex medical technologies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how buyers and the vendors pursue alignment in collaborative purchasing (CP) of complex medical technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a literature review in CP, the paper identify factors for shareholder alignment (i.e. aligning the needs of the buyers within the purchasing group) and customer alignment (i.e. aligning buyers’ needs with the vendors offering strategies) and investigate how they manifest in the case of CP of complex technology in the Danish National Healthcare System.
Findings
Shareholder alignment requires appropriate management of the relationships, expertise and guidance in simplifying procedures and effective management of the purchasing group. Customer alignment is facilitated by buyers’ understating of the vendor’s design options, which are moderated by the vendor’s design strategies.
Research limitations/implications
The findings and generalizations from a single case study are limited to the complexity of the purchased technology and the specific cultural context. However the paper represents the first explorative study that poses the attention on the relevance of shareholder and customer alignment in CP.
Practical implications
The study can offer hospitals, vendors, governmental and regional institutions a better understanding about the alignment mechanisms for successful implementation of CP and how to avoid pitfalls.
Originality/value
Literature on CP is scarce as there are virtually no contributions that debate the key elements and tradeoffs that need to be considered for strategic alignment. The study addresses this gap.
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Giulia Piantoni, Laura Dell'Agostino, Marika Arena and Giovanni Azzone
Measuring shared value (SV) created in innovation ecosystems (IEs) is increasingly relevant but complex, given the multidimensional and multiactor nature of both concepts, which…
Abstract
Purpose
Measuring shared value (SV) created in innovation ecosystems (IEs) is increasingly relevant but complex, given the multidimensional and multiactor nature of both concepts, which challenges traditional performance measurement systems (PMSs). Moving from this gap, the authors propose an integrated approach to extend the balanced scorecard (BSC) for measuring and monitoring SV creation at IE level.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed approach combines the most recent contributions on PMS in IEs and SV to define perspectives and dimensions that are better suited to deal with the nature of both IEs and SV. The approach is also applied to the real case (Alpha) of an Italian IE through a step wise method. Starting from the IE vision, the authors identify in the strategy map the specific objectives related to each perspective/dimension combination and then associate a performance indicator with each objective.
Findings
The resulting SV BSC is composed of indicators interconnected along different perspectives and dimensions. The application of the approach to the real case proves its feasibility and highlights characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of the SV BSC when used at IE level. The authors also provide guidelines for its application to other IEs.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the research on PMS by introducing and applying to a real case an integrated approach to assess SV in IEs, overcoming the shortcomings of PMS framed for single firms. It can be of interest for both researchers in the field of ecosystems value creation and practitioners managing or promoting such complex structures.
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Aswathy Sreenivasan and M. Suresh
When coping with uncertainties, three characteristics distinguish firms: agility, adaptability and alignment (triple-A). Based on significant field research, the triple-A…
Abstract
Purpose
When coping with uncertainties, three characteristics distinguish firms: agility, adaptability and alignment (triple-A). Based on significant field research, the triple-A highlights the significance of coordinating agility, adaptability and alignment. Start-ups are facing a lot of challenges in this turbulent environment. However, this sector is undergoing a major transformation. Agility, adaptability and alignment concepts have had a major influence on the supply chain, but their implementation in start-ups has been less visible. This paper aims to identify, analyze and categorize the enablers for agility, adaptability and alignment in start-ups using the total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) approach.
Design/methodology/approach
In addition to the scheduled interview, a closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect data. To identify how the factors interact, the TISM technique is used, and the Matriced’Impacts Croises-Multipication Applique’ and Classment method is used to rank and categorize the agility, adaptability and alignment enablers.
Findings
This study identified ten agility, adaptability and alignment factors for start-ups. It has been found that the key importance should be given to management involvement, conflict management, collaboration and information integration.
Research limitations/implications
This study primarily focused on the agility, adaptability and alignment factors in start-ups.
Practical implications
This study will help academics and key stakeholders understand the aspects that lead to agility, adaptability and alignment in start-ups.
Originality/value
Agility, adaptability and alignment concepts have had a major influence on the supply chain, but their implementation in start-ups has been less visible. Therefore, this is a novel attempt in this industry’s agility, adaptability and alignment.
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Nastaran Hajiheydari, Mohammad Soltani Delgosha, Yichuan Wang and Hossein Olya
Big data analytics (BDA) is recognized as a recent breakthrough technology with potential business impact, however, the roadmap for its successful implementation and the path to…
Abstract
Purpose
Big data analytics (BDA) is recognized as a recent breakthrough technology with potential business impact, however, the roadmap for its successful implementation and the path to exploiting its essential value remains unclear. This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the enablers facilitating BDA implementation in the banking and financial service sector from the perspective of interdependencies and interrelations.
Design/methodology/approach
We use an integrated approach that incorporates Delphi study, interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and fuzzy MICMAC methodology to identify the interactions among enablers that determine the success of BDA implementation. Our integrated approach utilizes experts' domain knowledge and gains a novel insight into the underlying causal relations associated with enablers, linguistic evaluation of the mutual impacts among variables and incorporating two innovative ways for visualizing the results.
Findings
Our findings highlight the key role of enabling factors, including technical and skilled workforce, financial support, infrastructure readiness and selecting appropriate big data technologies, that have significant driving impacts on other enablers in a hierarchical model. The results provide reliable, robust and easy to understand insights about the dynamics of BDA implementation in banking and financial service as a whole system while demonstrating potential influences of all interconnected influential factors.
Originality/value
This study explores the key enablers leading to successful BDA implementation in the banking and financial service sector. More importantly, it reveals the interrelationships of factors by calculating driving and dependence degrees. This exploration provides managers with a clear strategic path towards effective BDA implementation.
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Shirley Gregor, Dennis Hart and Nigel Martin
Drawing on established alignment and architectural theory, this paper seeks to present the argument that an organisation's enterprise architecture can enable the alignment of…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on established alignment and architectural theory, this paper seeks to present the argument that an organisation's enterprise architecture can enable the alignment of business strategy and information systems and technology (IS/IT).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a detailed case study of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), where a high degree of alignment and international recognition of excellence in business and enabling IS/IT performance are documented.
Findings
The ABS enterprise architecture was developed in 1999‐2001 and describes the organisation's physical business and IS/IT elements, and the connective relationships that inform the alignment condition. The ABS architecture is robustly holistic in form, and is characterised by a strong and equal focus on business operations, the deliberate inclusion of an IS/IT governance framework, the structuring and hosting of corporate information for business delivery, and the efficient reuse of IS/IT components.
Originality/value
The ABS case study also examined empirically the social aspects and formal mechanisms of organisational alignment, and shows how a formal enterprise architecture mechanism can integrate into a successful alignment process.
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