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Triggered by perceived inefficiency and inequality, buyers and suppliers coordinate with each other. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework of coordination process based on theoretical review and verifications from three case studies.

The approach takes the form of three longitudinal and in‐depth case studies, which involved coordination processes between a toy manufacturer with three European retailers in one calendar year.

The three case studies provided three main observations. First, the coordination process followed some basic sequential activities: evaluation, derivation, offer and negotiation, assessment, and implementation. Second, the coordination processes deviated from this basic sequence with an interactive coordination cycles of assessment, re‐derivation, and re‐offer and negotiation (called inner‐helix) when there was disagreement. Third, closer mode of coordination, which involved joint evaluation and derivation of coordination solutions, reduced the numbers of iterative coordination cycles. These empirical findings verified the presupposed framework of coordination process.

Three qualitative case studies may not be highly generalisable and multiple dyadic coordination processes may occur. However, the findings form a foundation for further understanding of the coordination process.

The proposed framework of the coordination process further expands the theories of inter‐organisational relationship and the inter‐organisational cooperative process. It also reveals that deliberate evaluation and derivation activities (and even jointly with other supply chain members) may significantly improve coordination.

The purpose of this paper is to identify contingencies that are inherently linked to sustainability and that influence its implementation in companies. Further, to identify which coordination mechanisms (organic or mechanistic) are most effective for the implementation on the corporate and on the functional level.

Inductive case-study based upon a cross-industry sample of five cases that applies a contingency approach. The case companies differ with respect to the degree of sustainability implementation, the underlying internal coordination and structural factors like ownership, size, and industry.

The data revealed six contingency factors inherent to the implementation of sustainability that influence the effectiveness of organic or mechanistic coordination mechanisms according to the specific implementation context. Further, the implementation of corporate sustainability requires more internal coordination than implementing sustainability on the functional level.

The identified contingencies relevant for the internal coordination to implement sustainability and insights into the relevance of such coordination provide a sound basis for future research. Further, various research avenues are identified to advance the discipline's understanding of this so far under-researched field.

This paper shows that a one-size-fits-all approach to sustainability implementation is not effective. Rather, companies need to consider specific contingencies and adapt their internal coordination efforts accordingly.

This paper is the first to address internal coordination for implementing sustainability on the corporate and functional level. By providing insights on the context-specific effectiveness of different types of internal coordination for the implementation of corporate sustainability, sustainable sourcing, and sustainable marketing it provides a contribution to both academia and industry practice.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify how activities may be coordinated within shippers’ organisations to enable high load factor (a key aspect of transport efficiency).

A multiple-case study involving three shippers was conducted, in which the logistics or transport managers of each company were interviewed. The cases were analysed according to which activities were coordinated to achieve high load factor, interdependencies between the activities, and the coordination mechanisms that shippers adopted.

A matrix is developed to show the differences in applying various coordination mechanisms in eight categories, according to intrafunctional or interfunctional coordination, sequential or reciprocal interdependencies, and the number of activities (dyadic or multiple). For example, coordination mechanisms aimed at exerting control are more suitable for intrafunctional than interfunctional interaction; interfunctional coordination relies more on mechanisms that aim to increase the understanding of transport-related issues among non-logistics activities.

The study is based on data from three Swedish companies.

Managers are provided with suggestions for coordinating activities when their goal is to improve load factor. These findings are of interest for reducing costs and emissions.

In response to suggestions in the earlier literature that shippers could improve their internal coordination to improve their load factor, this paper articulates several mechanisms for performing such coordination in eight situations.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a decision support tool based on various types of contracts in a two‐level supply chain. A supply chain (SC) consists of disparate but interdependent members, dependent on each other to manage various resources (inventory, money and information). The conflicting objectives between these members may cause uncertainties in supply and demand, which can be managed by adopting coordination with the help of contracts (such as buyback, revenue sharing and quantity flexibility). Design/methodology/approach: A decision support tool for SC coordination using contracts (DSTSCCC) has been developed to explore the applicability of contracts and to compare different types of contracts in various situations. The DSTSCC is comprised of an analytical module, which is an extension of the classical newsboy problem and a simulation module. Findings: DSTSCCC helps in determining decision variables for different scenarios of contracts in the best interest of all SC members as well as whole SC. Practical implications: DSTSCCC is a simple‐to‐use and easy‐to‐implement decision making tool which helps in taking decisions prior to the actual start of SC activities. The prior decisions may help to handle future exceptions. SC members may jointly select the most profitable contract to share risks and rewards. Originality/value: DSTSCCC comprised of analytical module and simulation module presents an Integrative framework which cannot be dealt in isolation. The output of analytical module becomes input for simulation to quantify performance measures. The improvement in performance measures after satisfying the objectives of all SC members helps in realizing coordination in SC.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how various transaction-cost characteristics influence the choice of vertical coordination (VC) structures (e.g. different contract types) and horizontal coordination (HC) structures (e.g. different farmer organization types) to link smallholder farmers efficiently with buyers. It analyzes the relationship between vertical and horizontal structures, and the economic sustainability of different structure combinations.

The paper develops a conceptual framework to predict coordination structures as a function of transaction-cost characteristics, compares predictions for the Malian cereals market to empirical evidence using 15 case studies, and then analyzes structure combinations.

Asymmetric scale between farmers and buyers; uncertainty in production, prices, policy, and contract enforcement; and quality and quantity debasement lead to selections of structures with high levels of control. Vertical and horizontal structures demonstrate a complementary relationship in certain core coordination roles, while exhibiting substitutability in the provision of other coordination activities. The marketing cooperative and marketing contract pairing is the most prevalent combination.

The conceptual framework is useful for explaining the selection of coordination structures, and can be applied in other contexts to strengthen external validity.

The framework facilitates predictions and explanation of both VC and HC structures, with empirical application on a country and value chains receiving little attention in the literature.

The creative design process is often characterised by high task uncertainty and tight dependency on other functions both within a firm and with external parties. Coordination thus plays a key role in integrating different functions related to the design process in attaining a common objective of delivering products to end customers. This paper examines coordination mechanisms and their determinants in the creative design process of a fashion firm. It is argued that coordination mechanisms are driven by a set of three determinants, namely responsibility interdependence, uncertainty, and conflict. Findings from the case study are presented and areas for future research are provided.

The customer enquiry management (CEM) process is of strategic importance in engineer‐to‐order contexts but existing literature does not adequately describe how firms support delivery date setting and order acceptance decisions in practice. This paper seeks to explore how and why the CEM process varies between companies in the capital goods sector, thereby taking a contingency theory approach.

Multi‐case study research involving 18 Italian capital goods manufacturers in four industrial sectors. Face‐to‐face interviews with senior representatives have been conducted. Companies have been grouped into five clusters, based on similarities in their CEM decision‐making modes, to aid analysis.

Three contingency factors were found to be particularly relevant in determining CEM modes: degree of product customization, flexibility of the production system, and uncertainty of the context. These factors affect the choice of specific CEM decision‐making modes. However, a high level of cross‐functional coordination and formalization of the process were found to constitute best practices whatever the contingency factors.

The research focuses on companies belonging to the Italian capital goods sector – findings may differ in other countries and sectors.

The results indicate that all firms, including small and medium‐sized companies, should implement high levels of cross‐functional coordination and formalization in their CEM practices, in order to improve their performance. For other aspects of the CEM process, including supplier and subcontractor monitoring, the company context will indicate whether these aspects are required, according to a need of matching the approach to CEM with specific sets of contingency factors.

This paper provides a rare insight into the CEM processes found in practice.

This study aims to explore the conditions that lead to the occurrence of third-party interveners’ coordination in conflict resolution efforts.

The studied theme is elaborated by means of an analysis of two case studies: the Maoist armed conflict of Nepal and the Moro conflict of the Philippines. Importantly, this study solicits the views of third-party practitioners and other relevant stakeholders in the field and attempts to demonstrate how they perceive key issues in third-party coordination.

Third-party coordination is a contingent process, with varying needs and relevance in different phases and types of conflict. The escalation of violence, issues of international concern such as human rights and the homogeneity of interveners are other core elements that have often played a key role in third-party coordination.

In the existing literature, there are no such indicator-based explanations regarding the occurrence of third-party coordination; thus, the findings of this research on this particular theme are well-developed and better conceptualized than what has been discussed in the literature to date.

The analysis undertaken in this study can contribute to the design of better policies and strategies for third-party coordination.

This study is based on in-depth interviews and interactions with a diverse range of third-party practitioners and other stakeholders working in real-world conflicts, who have perhaps the best understanding of various dimensions of third-party coordination. No previous research has been conducted on this particular theme by incorporating direct interaction with a wide range of interveners from two distinct conflict contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there is room for a stabilising fiscal policy, through an analysis of the supporters of the new classical economics and the supporters of the new Keynesian economics. There are no reliable results on the Keynesian and non-Keynesian effects of fiscal policies. As such, the policy-mix becomes a problem of theoretical approach, in the sense of a strategic game between monetary authorities and tax authorities (among them). This points to the problem of coordination between budgetary authorities as being the central debate within the Eurozone. The end-result is that without fiscal policy coordination, Eurozone member states are working on a series of non-cooperative games that are inefficient, because no player can improve its position by unilaterally changing its strategy.

The analysis starts from the experience of three countries in the 1980s, these are Denmark, Ireland and Sweden. In all three cases the adoption of restrictive budget policies has provoked a strong, rapid and enduring resizing of public debt, and growth did not weaken, moreover it accelerated. In all three cases the logic behind the policy-mix actions allowed the individualisation of the respective roles of fiscal and monetary policies. Fiscal policies were joining with fiscal instruments and reduction in public spending and furthermore monetary policy was accommodated in respect of the budget contraction.

First, the authors were not able to identify an analytical method that can ensure the success of a fiscal policy. Second, analysing fiscal policies within the Eurozone implies also that the authors reflect on the need for a coordination of these policies. In fact, the authors have shown how the possible coordination of economic policies in the Eurozone would result in major benefits for all member countries.

In the absence of fiscal policy coordination, member states are engaged in a series of non-cooperative games that prove inefficient, when no player is able to improve its position by unilaterally changing its fiscal policy. The coordination of national fiscal policies generates a collective advantage, bringing each state to consistently change its strategies.

In a decentralized supply chain with one supplier and one retailer, a properly designed contract can lead to supply chain coordination. In this chapter, we model the selection of an appropriate coordinating contract from a menu of contracts including wholesale price, buyback, and markdown money, while allowing both the supplier and the retailer to assume the roles of Stackelberg leader and/or supply chain captain. This work extends previous literature that assumes that the supplier is both the Stackelberg leader and the supply chain captain. In our models, either agent can make stocking and pricing decisions. Our findings suggest that the feasibility of a coordinating contract depends on the addition of Pareto-improving, profit-sharing conditions that motivate agents to take part in the contract. Further, the selection of an optimal contract is based not only on which agent holds the overstock liquidation advantage, but also on the decision structure of the supply chain. For instance, when the supplier is the Stackelberg leader and the retailer is the supply chain captain, as well as holds the inventory liquidation advantage, and controls the stocking level, then a wholesale price contract can coordinate the supply chain under the proposed Pareto-improving profit sharing, termed Pareto-improving coordination. Additional results and managerial implications are presented in the chapter.