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1 – 10 of 112Jon F. Kirchoff, Chris Koch and Bridget Satinover Nichols
The purpose of this paper is to extend the stream of thought regarding the concept of demand and supply integration (DSI) within the domain of environmental responsibility and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to extend the stream of thought regarding the concept of demand and supply integration (DSI) within the domain of environmental responsibility and green marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
Conceptual application of theory to strategic‐level concepts is used to develop propositions representing a theoretical approach to the integration of green marketing and green supply chain management (SCM).
Findings
Based on stakeholder theory, the authors propose that greater value will be perceived by customer stakeholders when the firm is able to successfully manage and coordinate demand (marketing) and supply (SCM) functions, ensuring that customer stakeholders receive what they are promised in regard to environmental products and services. For this relationship to offer competitive advantage and higher firm performance, the authors contend that it is necessary to better understand how customer stakeholders perceive firms' environmental initiatives, and to investigate if the degree to which a firm's demand and supply functions are integrated influences these perceptions.
Research limitations/implications
Scholars will benefit from ideas and questions put forth in this paper as it suggests specific avenues to pursue empirically in order to understand stakeholder perceptions of a firm's environmental responsibility activities.
Practical implications
Managers will benefit from the results of this paper by better understanding the benefits of DSI in creating marketing campaigns for environmental products and services that stakeholders perceive as legitimate.
Originality/value
The authors introduce the concept of DSI to the green marketing and green SCM literature and position DSI within the broader rubric of environmental commitment in the firm.
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Johannes Schmidt, Lars-Peter Lauven, Norman Ihle and Lutz M. Kolbe
The purpose of this study is to examine both the technical feasibility and the commercial viability of several demand-side integration (DSI) programs to utilize the charging…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine both the technical feasibility and the commercial viability of several demand-side integration (DSI) programs to utilize the charging flexibility of electric transport vehicles in a logistic facility. DSI is important for improving system reliability and assisting in integrating renewables into the energy system.
Design/methodology/approach
A pre-assessment of several DSI programs is performed by considering effort for implementation, costs and economic potential. Afterward, the most promising programs are compared economically on the basis of optimization methods and economic analysis. The analysis is based on a comprehensive electric mobility project dealing with electric transport vehicles operating in container terminals.
Findings
The pre-assessment of several potential DSI programs revealed that many of these programs are unsuitable, largely due to regulatory requirements. Although using DSI to optimize the company’s load is feasible, controlled charging based on variable prices is particularly advantageous because the implementation requires modest effort while identifying significant cost-saving potentials.
Practical implications
Based on the analysis, other companies using electric transport vehicles have a foundation for identifying the most promising demand-side management program.
Originality/value
While most research has focused on individually used electric vehicles, here commercial electric transport vehicles operating in closed systems were investigated as this area of application was found to be particularly suitable for participation in DSI programs.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of demand management in achieving supply chain agility (SCA) through a multi-disciplinary review of the relevant research. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of demand management in achieving supply chain agility (SCA) through a multi-disciplinary review of the relevant research. The systematic literature review provides the basis for formulating a conceptual framework of the relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic, comprehensive review of the literature on manufacturing, marketing organizational and SCA from 1991 through 2013 was conducted. The literature on demand management is also examined to identify the various elements that contribute to SCA.
Findings
Most agility frameworks take a supply-side perspective and assume that demand is known. Those that do acknowledge the role of demand fall short of offering a holistic framework that acknowledges the role of both. This paper suggests that it is simply not enough to have flexible manufacturing, distribution and procurement systems to achieve SCA. Flexibility in managing demand is also needed. Furthermore, it is the premise of this paper that demand and supply integration (DSI) inside the firm is critical to achieving SCA.
Research limitations/implications
This research is a systematic, integrative review of the existing literature on the concept of agility. As such, the next phase of research needed for theory building will be the operationalization of constructs and testing of the hypothesized relationships proposed by the conceptual framework.
Practical implications
The paper has several managerial implications as well. It illustrates how firms can create and sustain competitive advantages in turbulent environments. Managers can use the framework developed here to assess what structures and decision-making processes they can use to increase the firm’s SCA. Practitioners can use this model as a checklist to identify candidate areas for improving agility. The section illustrating the use of knowledge management to increase DSI should be of particular interest to managers, considering that a great deal of firms experience a disconnect between demand creation and supply fulfillment.
Originality/value
Through a systematic, comprehensive review of multi-disciplinary literature, the paper explores the role of demand management in achieving SCA.
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Marlos Rocha de Freitas, Márcio Lopes Pimenta, Per Hilletofth, Daniel Jugend and Pedro Carlos Oprime
The purpose of this study is to investigate how cross-functional integration supports the execution of the demand-side processes and its effects on both the demand and supply-side…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate how cross-functional integration supports the execution of the demand-side processes and its effects on both the demand and supply-side processes.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was conducted including a Brazilian multinational manufacturer in the automobile industry and some of its suppliers and dealers. 17 interviews were conducted. A theoretical framework is proposed containing five basic elements, they are: characteristics of the demand/supply processes; involved functions; integration factors; context influencers and impacts of integration on demand and supply processes.
Findings
The findings present three demand-side processes (Product Launch, Marketing and Sales and Demand Planning) that demonstrated a greater need for cross-functional integration in the studied case, mainly through informal integration factors.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical results of this study have methodological limitations due to the use of the case study method. Future research should analyze the effects of other context influencers (e.g. natural catastrophes, civil wars and low level of unemployment) on cross-functional integration.
Practical implications
The results highlight that joint planning, willingness to work together, team spirit, adequate communication and cross-functional meetings helped the studied organizations to achieve competitive advantages and improve their performance.
Originality/value
This study provides a theoretical framework that helped to improve the understanding of the interrelationships between demand management constructs and cross-functional integration factors. There are indications that a political–economic crisis has stimulated the existence of a willingness to work together and group spirit among employees who remain in the organization after mass dismissals. This climate of cooperation helped to increase the agility and resilience of the studied supply chain, which is currently affected by a changing market.
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Josip Marić, Mirjana Pejić Bach and Shivam Gupta
The purpose of this study is to disclose ontology of DSI as a novel concept in servitization community, explore the research context and themes (i.e. technological and industrial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to disclose ontology of DSI as a novel concept in servitization community, explore the research context and themes (i.e. technological and industrial sectors) where DSI emerges, unveil methodological complexities of the research on digital servitization and DSI and provide guidelines for future research avenues regarding DSI.
Design/methodology/approach
Bearing in mind the relative novelty of DSI as a concept in servitization literature, the authors adopted a systematic literature review approach to identify 111 peer-reviewed articles published in English language and available in business and management disciplines via scholar databases (Scopus). The analysis of literature discloses descriptive and thematic insights regarding digital servitization and DSI.
Findings
The study provides valuable insights from the descriptive and thematic analyses where classification of articles per publication year, citations, methodology/type of the paper, geographical location of data collection, as well as industrial sector and technological contexts are discussed. Moreover, the unique value of this study is observed through its specific focus on the characteristics of DSI-related literature.
Originality/value
The study is among the first of its kind to provide extensive descriptive and thematic insights on the available literature dealing with digital servitization and DSI, mapping out prior research across a wide spectrum of publication outlets and illustrating the chronological evolution of research on digital servitization and DSI.
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Jamie Burton, Victoria Mary Story, Judy Zolkiewski and Nazifa Nisha
Digital Service innovation (DSI) plays a fundamental role in the successful transition from product manufacturer or traditional service provider to a provider of digitally-enabled…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital Service innovation (DSI) plays a fundamental role in the successful transition from product manufacturer or traditional service provider to a provider of digitally-enabled service solutions. Multiple impediments make managing this transformation using digital technologies difficult for firms, their customers and wider ecosystems. Extant knowledge of these digital technology impediments requires synthesizing and mapping.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted. DSI tools and terminology are synthesized via thematic analysis. Subsequently, impediments to DSI for servitization (covering barriers, challenges and tensions) faced by actors across three key innovation phases: strategic planning, design planning and implementation, and four interaction levels (Micro, Meso, Macro-environment, Macro-ecosystem) are mapped via template analysis.
Findings
Six impediment categories (external environmental factors, internal firm factors, capabilities, business models and processes, value creation and interaction) encompassing 28 unique impediment types to DSI during servitization are identified. A framework enabling impediment comparison across innovation phases and ecosystem/network interaction levels, revealing that the majority of barriers can be framed as “challenges” was developed.
Originality/value
Whilst literature is emerging relating to digital servitization, there is a lack of research on the role DSI plays in facilitating digital servitization and no comprehensive study of DSI impediments exists. Additionally, consensus around the cross-disciplinary terminologies used is lacking. This study is a structured attempt to map the domain, summarizing the terms, identifying and clarifying impediment categories and providing recommendations for researchers and managers in tackling the latter.
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Jesper Kristensen and Patrik Jonsson
The purpose of this paper is to describe and categorise how current literature contributes to sales and operations planning (S&OP) research on how contextual variables affect S&OP…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and categorise how current literature contributes to sales and operations planning (S&OP) research on how contextual variables affect S&OP design and to frame future areas for context-based S&OP research.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used was a systematic literature review. Studies for review were obtained through a keyword search of five relevant databases, manual searches of relevant journals and snowballing of citations in relevant papers. In total, 571 papers published between 2000 and 2017 were assessed, and 68 papers were included in the review.
Findings
The review found that S&OP design depends on industry, dynamic complexity, detail complexity and organisational characteristics. The findings of the literature review suggest that future research should study the roles of industry, complexity, system and process and organisational characteristics in S&OP design.
Research limitations/implications
The findings revealed several gaps in the literature on context-dependent S&OP design. To address these gaps, an agenda for future S&OP contingency research is developed.
Practical implications
The findings revealed which contextual areas and specific S&OP design issues must be considered when designing and implementing S&OP.
Originality/value
This study focussed on identifying relevant research on S&OP design by analysing the contribution of literature to a research framework inspired by contingency-based research of operations and supply chain management.
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Tian Wang, Yangyang Liang and Zhong Zheng
The purpose of this paper is to investigate manufacturer encroachment and distributor encroachment in a three-echelon supply chain consisting of an upside manufacturer, an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate manufacturer encroachment and distributor encroachment in a three-echelon supply chain consisting of an upside manufacturer, an intermediate distributor and a downside retailer.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors use the optimization theory to mathematize the proposed question and build a model. First, the authors consider sequential quantity decisions, where the encroacher decides on the direct selling quantity after determining the retailer's order quantity. Second, the authors relax this sequential decision process assumption by reconsidering a circumstance in which quantity decisions are decided simultaneously.
Findings
In contrast to previous studies, this study shows that in three-echelon supply chains, the upside firm is more likely to encroach compared with the downside firm. The “bright side” of encroachment exists for all players only when the encroachment cost is at a moderate level. However, in manufacturer encroachment under simultaneous quantity decisions, the “bright side” skips the distributor but benefits the retailer directly as the encroachment cost increases from zero to a certain level. The main reason lies in that the distributor loses its pricing power because the end-market has been disturbed by the simultaneous quantity decisions. A comparison of the results of sequential and simultaneous quantity decisions reveals the merit of simultaneous quantity decisions. The authors find that the intermediate role (the distributor in our model) in three-echelon supply chains may benefit more from simultaneous quantity decisions. That is, the distributor may achieve a better profit even in a market with intensified competition.
Originality/value
The findings of this paper contribute to the marketing science literature on encroachment. The majority of existing literature has focused on manufacturer encroachment in two-echelon supply chains. This paper innovatively investigates and compares manufacturer encroachment and distributor encroachment in a three-echelon supply chain.
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Harri Lorentz, Juuso Töyli, Tomi Solakivi and Lauri Ojala
The purpose of this paper is to find out the current SCM skill development priorities in manufacturing firms and how the structural properties of the supply chain translate into…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find out the current SCM skill development priorities in manufacturing firms and how the structural properties of the supply chain translate into demand for SCM skills in manufacturing firms.
Design/methodology/approach
An internet survey was designed and conducted. The responses of 154 manufacturing companies operating in Finland were analysed through descriptive statistics and regression analyses.
Findings
The supply chain management skills with an inter‐organisational focus tend to have a higher development priority than the skills with an intra‐organisational focus. The top five skills for development are: demand forecasting and supply planning; sourcing and supplier management; customer and distribution channel management; production planning and control; and information systems for logistics and production planning. Structural properties of the supply chain seem to have an effect on skills that are related to supply chain design and information flow infrastructure, i.e. the ability to locate the various nodes in the network, and to connect and coordinate their respective activities in the face of often uncertain demand.
Research limitations/implications
The results are based on survey research with a limited sample size and geographic coverage with bias towards large firms. The research scope is further limited to investigating the influence of structural properties of the supply chain, leaving opportunities for further research on the demand for SCM skills.
Originality/value
The authors report original findings that provide input to the development processes of training programmes and university curricula, related to supply chain management. They also initiate theory development on the determinants of demand for SCM skills.
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Mingke Ouyang, Jianfei Li, Bei Li, Kun Tang and Fuhua Huang
In the new retail era, the supply chain synergy produced by quality integration has become the new direction of service supply chain research. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
In the new retail era, the supply chain synergy produced by quality integration has become the new direction of service supply chain research. The purpose of this paper is to study how to promote the sustainable development of the retail service supply chain (RSSC) by comparing and analyzing the optimal quality behavior, optimal returns, and the combination of conditions and strategies of the participating members of the RSSC.
Design/methodology/approach
From the perspective of quality function development and service quality concern, this paper considers RSSC as a two-level supply chain structure composed of functional service provider and retail service integrator. In this paper, a dynamic optimization model of quality input-cooperation-coordination of RSSC is proposed under two quality cooperation modes of decentralization and integration. This paper adopts the differential game method to compare and analyze the optimal quality behavior, optimal income, forming conditions and strategic combination of the participating members of the RSSC in different situations.
Findings
(1) Compared with quality dispersion, quality integration has more significant Pareto improvement effect on quality behavior and optimal revenue of RSSC. (2) In the case of quality integration, the optimal revenue obtained by the service sharing model is generally better than that obtained by the retail alliance collaboration model. (3) Benefit distribution ratio and quality cost allocation determine the optimal quality behavior of participating members of the RSSC, and also become the key factors for participating members to choose the collaborative mode in the case of quality integration.
Originality/value
Based on the quality function development of RSSC, this paper introduces the concept of steady service quality, and discusses the relationship between the quality cooperation stability and the mode selection of RSSC. This provides a theoretical basis for how to build a RSSC with efficient operation and stable quality.
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