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Drawing on social capital theory, we extend the concept of supply chain capital to examine whether structural and relational capital can strengthen the complementary capabilities of suppliers and enhance their performance.

The empirical study was conducted on 161 precision mold equipment suppliers. To evaluate the mediated moderation model of supply chain capital, we applied multiple linear regression to test our hypotheses.

We found that both structural and relational capital positively affect the complementary capabilities of suppliers and that these capabilities mediate the relationship between supply chain capital and supplier performance. Furthermore, structural capital positively and significantly moderates the mediating effect on the relationship between complementary capabilities and supplier performance.

This study provides suggestions for suppliers that are equipped with sufficient structural and relational capital to effectively enhance their complementary capabilities. By considering the interaction between structural capital and complementary capabilities, suppliers can effectively improve their performance.

This novel research develops a theoretical model to examine the antecedents and consequences of supplier complementary capabilities. We contribute to a new line of research on supply chain capital, which aims to explore how it affects the complementary capabilities of suppliers by examining a practical supply chain activity setting.

This paper attempts to analyze the relationship between the complementarity degrees of imperfect complementary products and sales strategies and give appropriate sales strategies for a two-stage supply chain.

With respect to two-stage supply chain consisting of two manufacturers who produce imperfect complementary products and one retailer who sells the products, aiming at bundling sales strategy, the authors define complementarity elasticity of products and use it to measure the degree of complementary between two products. Based on Stackelberg game and cooperation, the authors analyze the relationship between the complementarity degrees of imperfect complementary products and appropriate sales strategies.

As the impact of complementarity degree on sales strategy decision-making is better, the authors can pinpoint out which sales decision-making is optimal and which bundling sales strategy is the best for a two-stage supply chain. Considering that the degree of complementarity has a significant impact on the product sales strategy, the authors can point out which sales decision-making is optimal, that is, which bundled sales strategy is the optimal in the secondary supply chain of selling complementary products.

An innovative bundling can expand the sales of existing products and new products. It helps a retailer transcend and defeat competitors by reducing marketing expenses while increasing profits. Proper use of bundling can improve consumers utility and create an overall positive effect for both the enterprises and consumer.

The research can help some retailers to make many appropriate bundling sales strategies.

Through examining the two constructs of inter-organizational complementarity and inter-organizational compatibility in supply chains, the purpose of this paper is to develop a taxonomy of focal firms’ inter-organizational fit (IOF) configurations with their suppliers and customers, and examine the relationship between these configurations and environmental innovation (EI) in order to answer the question of “with whom” to collaborate for EI development.

A survey instrument was elaborated and data from a sample of 171 US firms were collected. The authors adopted cluster analysis to identify the IOF taxonomy. Canonical discriminant analysis was employed to uncover underlying dimensions between clustering variables and cluster membership. Then, ANOVA tests were conducted to investigate relationships between IOF configurations in the context of EI in supply chains.

Three configurations were identified based on the complementarity and compatibility between focal firms and their supply chain partners. It is observed that the overall IOF level is positively related to firms’ EI outcomes. Moreover, inter-organizational complementarity facilitates incremental EI while inter-organizational compatibility plays a more crucial role in radical EI. Both are required to achieve the best innovation outcome.

This research develops the first taxonomy for depicting IOF in a supply chain innovation context and also clarifies different rationale behind the development of incremental and radical EI through examining distinctive effects of the complementarity and compatibility with supply chain partners.

This paper explores how the manufacturer’s strategic choice (acquisition or investment) impacts product quality in a supply chain comprising two complementary suppliers and a common manufacturer.

The manufacturer faces six strategic choices to improve product quality: acquiring or investing in the high-capable supplier, the low-capable supplier, or both. As the Stackelberg leader, the manufacturer determines which strategy is adopted, while suppliers are separately responsible for components’ quality and wholesale prices. The authors use game theory and calculate the model with Mathematica.

The authors develop analytical models to analyze how acquisition costs, investment proportions, component importance and quality improvement coefficients influence decision-makers. The results show that the highest quality may not benefit the manufacturer. Investing in or acquiring a low-capable supplier is better than a high-capable supplier under certain conditions. If the gaps between two suppliers’ quality improvement coefficients and the importance of two components are dramatic, the manufacturer should choose an investment strategy.

This study contributes to the complementary supply chain management by comparing two kinds of strategies-acquisition and investment, with a high-capable supplier and a low-capable supplier.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically assess the complementary impact of JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices on environmental performance.

Data from a sample of 225 US manufacturing managers are analyzed using a PLS-SEM methodology.

JIT and TQM are directly and positively associated with green supply chain management practices. JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices are complementary in that combined they provide a greater impact on environmental performance than if implemented individually.

The sample is limited to US manufacturing managers, with a low response rate.

Successful implementations of JIT and TQM improvement programs support the implementation of green supply chain management practices leading to improved environmental performance.

The combination of JIT, TQM and green manufacturing practices improves the environment by eliminating all forms of waste and providing customers with eco-friendly products and services.

This study is one of the first to empirically assess the complementary impact of JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices within the context of environmental sustainability.

The paper extends a central paradigm of the strategy literature to the supply chain environment to foster a better understanding of the elements characterizing strategic decisions that lead to supply chain structural development and performance.

Strategic literature is reviewed to provide a fuller explanation of the strategy‐structure‐performance (SSP) research stream. SSP foundational principles are linked to supply chain management concepts, and synthesized into an explanatory framework. Propositions for future research are presented based upon the framework.

An iterative relationship among internal firm strategy, structure, and performance measurement systems is indicated, implying that firm supply chain strategy should be complementary with that of supply chain partners.

The paper presents a content analysis of existing research and a conceptual framework emerging from it. No data were collected nor were research propositions tested.

The primary implication is “know your supply chain partners”. Do their strategies mesh – either as consistent or complementary – to your own firm's supply chain strategy? Strategic alignment is a necessary precursor to deployment of an effective supply chain structure.

The paper shows that SSP theory can be extended beyond the firm to the complex supply chain environment.

From the perspective of the economic theory of complementarity, the purpose of this paper is to examine how internal collaboration and external competencies would provoke and strengthen each other, and subsequently enhance organizational innovation capability.

The survey data were collected from 201 manufacturing firms and checked for common method variance, validity and reliability. Structural equation modeling was then used to test the hypothetical complementarity effect.

The results suggest that internal collaboration (as a manifestation of exploitative learning) and external competencies, which include supply network flexibility and supplier operational capabilities (as manifestation of exploratory learning), do in fact compensate for each other’s deficiencies. Complementary deployment of internal collaboration and external competencies enhances each other’s contribution to innovation capability. Practically, the study indicates that organizations should consider making concerted efforts to develop internal collaboration, supply network flexibility and supplier operational capability as a bundle.

Extensive discussions exist in the literature on exploration and exploitation being essential components of innovation and their conflicting impact on innovation efficiency and effectiveness. But how an organization should operationally develop supply chain competencies in order to maximize overall innovation capability still remains largely an unanswered question. The current study advances the research on the inter-relationships between exploration and exploitation by empirically demonstrating the complementary nature of internal collaboration and external competencies in developing sustainable innovation capabilities.

Companies face the critical reliability problem of products due to the development of outsourcing. This study intends to provide some feasible solutions for a company to improve the reliability level of products.

The paper considers the reward and reliability decisions regarding a product made with two complementary components from two different suppliers: high-capable and low-capable. Two kinds of reliability improvement incentives (normal incentive and cost-sharing incentive) through which a manufacturer provides a reward and shares the reliability improvement cost with a supplier are discussed. As the Stackelberg leader, the manufacturer determines the strategy, while the suppliers are responsible for determining its reliability. Using a game-theoretic framework, four different contract scenarios are addressed. We develop analytical methods to better understand how the manufacturer decides the incentive mechanism to be used for the suppliers.

The results show that cost-sharing contracts do not always lead to a higher reliability level and more enormous profits. Setting a target reliability level is better for the manufacturer. The cost-sharing contract is beneficial for a high-capable supplier even though it does not directly participate in that kind of mechanism. A low-capable supplier gains more profit when the manufacturer provides incentive mechanisms that do not specify a target reliability level.

This paper investigates the reliability improvement mechanism used for complementary products and focuses on identifying the optimal decisions when demand is influenced by the gap between the product's failure rate and the standard failure rate.

The importance of a lean health-care supply chain is increasingly discussed. However, it is still not very clear how lean practices relate to resilience capabilities, as there are synergies and divergences between them. This study aims at identifying the relationship between lean practices and resilience capabilities in the health-care supply chain.

This study conducted a scoping review based on five databases, which allowed the content analysis of 44 articles. Such analysis allowed the verification of trends and volume of studies on this topic. Further, the descriptive numerical and thematic analyses enabled the proposition of a conceptual framework, relating the adoption of lean practices to the development of resilience capabilities according to the tiers of the health-care supply chain in different value streams.

Three research directions were derived from this scoping review: empirical validation of the contribution of lean practices to resilience capabilities in the health-care supply chain; systemic implementation of lean practices across tier levels of the health-care supply chain; and complementary approaches to lean implementation toward a more resilient health-care supply chain.

The understanding of these relationships provides health-care managers arguments to prioritize the application of lean practices to improve desired resilience capabilities in the entire health-care supply chain.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no similar study in the literature.

Additive manufacturing (AM) involves the renewal of production systems and also has implications for firms’ supply chains. Innovations related to AM supply chains are, so far, insufficiently understood, but their success will require firms’ awareness of their systemic nature and their firm-specific implications. The purpose of this paper is to explore the supply chain innovations dealing with AM in business-to-business supply chains.

An exploratory qualitative research design is used. Interviews were conducted in 20 firms, workshops were organized to map AM-related processes and activities, and supply chain innovations were analyzed.

This study reveals practical changes in supply chains and requirements for AM-related supply chain innovations. While earlier research has centered on technology or firm-specific AM implementations, this study shows that fully leveraging AM will require innovations at the level of the supply chain, including innovations in business processes, technology and structure, as well as supportive changes in the business environment. These innovations occur in different parts of the AM supply chain and are emphasized differently within different firm types.

This research was conducted in one country in the context of the machine building and process industry with a limited data set, which limits the generalizability of the results. The results offer an analytical framework and identify new research avenues for exploring the innovations in partial or complete AM supply chains.

The results offer a framework to assess the current state and future needs in AM-related supply chain innovations. Practical ideas are proposed to enhance AM adoption throughout firms’ supply chains. These results are important to managers because they can help them position their firms and guide the activities and collaborations with other firms in the AM supply chain.

This study draws attention to the supply chain innovations required when firms adopt AM in their processes. The generic supply chain innovation framework is enhanced by adding the business context as a necessary component. Implementation of AM is shown to depend on the context both at the level of the supply chain and the firm’s unique role in the supply chain. The holistic view taken reveals that successful AM technology adoption requires broad involvement from different firms across the supply chain.