Search results

This study empirically investigates how ambidextrous innovations and their balancing affect the supply chain financing performance (SCFP) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), based on signaling theory. Moreover, this study explores the moderating effect of the breadth and depth of digital technology deployment on the relationship between ambidextrous innovations and the SCFP of SMEs.

A mixed-methods design is used, including a qualitative study and a quantitative study. Qualitative data have been collected from six multi-cases in different industries. Questionnaire data have been collected from 259 SMEs in China, and a multiple regression model is used to verify the research hypotheses.

The findings indicate that, in supply chain financing, both exploitative innovation and exploratory innovation are helpful in improving the SCFP of SMEs. For resource-constrained SMEs, a relative balance between exploitative innovation and exploratory innovation can help improve SCFP. The breadth of digital technology deployment can strengthen the relationship between exploitative innovation and SCFP, while the depth of digital technology deployment can weaken the relationship between exploratory innovation and SCFP. In addition, increasing the depth of digital technology deployment strengthens the positive correlation between the relative balance of ambidextrous innovations and SCFP.

To effectively obtain supply chain financing, SMEs can either concentrate their limited resources on a single type of innovation or use relative balance strategies to simultaneously pursue two innovations. In addition, in the process of obtaining supply chain financing by ambidextrous innovations, SMEs should appropriately deploy digital technologies.

This study first deconstructs the impact mechanism of ambidextrous innovation capabilities on SCFP based on signaling theory, and then discusses the balancing effect of ambidextrous innovations on SCFP in the cases of resource-constrained SMEs. This study also goes further and finds the negative moderating effect of digital technology deployment in the process of supply chain financing.

In industrial and business-to-business (B2B) marketing research, a business network ecosystem is an important antecedent of small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) performance. The purpose of this study is to clarify the direct and indirect effects of ecosystem network health on SMEs’ credit quality.

The data is collected from a survey of operations managers and financial managers of 282 SMEs in China. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses, and latent moderated structural equations are used to estimate the moderating effect model.

This research indicates that ecosystem network health can directly affect SMEs’ credit quality and have an indirect impact on credit quality through value co-creation capability. In addition, better informal institutional arrangements in the ecosystem can amplify the positive effects of network health and value co-creation capability on SMEs’ credit quality.

From an ecosystem perspective, it is necessary to bring the ecosystem characteristics into business scenario and explore their impacts on SMEs’ financing behaviors. This study contributes to B2B marketing research in terms of investigating the role played by ecosystem characteristics and value co-creation capability.

This paper examines how weak ties and strong ties in the supply chain network influence the financing performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the mediation of information sharing and innovation capability.

Questionnaires were administered to 208 financial managers responsible for supply chain finance in SMEs in China. Data analysis techniques used included multiple regression analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.

The authors found that weak ties had a more substantial impact on the financing performance of SMEs than strong ties did. Information sharing and innovation capability played a mediating role between weak and strong ties and the financing performance of SMEs. In addition, information sharing and innovation capability complement each other and jointly influence the financing performance of SMEs.

SMEs are suggested to actively embed themselves in the supply chain network to increase financing opportunities and reduce financing costs. The authors also recommend SMEs to enhance the level of their information sharing in the supply chain network and take advantage of their network ties to access and adopt new technology from other organisations and conduct collaborative innovation with partner institutions.

The paper extends the authors’ understanding of supply chain finance by exploring the intrinsic mechanism of how various constructs (weak ties, strong ties, information sharing and innovation capability) in the supply chain network have an impact on the financing performance of SMEs. In particular, the authors explore the under-researched mediating effect of information sharing and innovation capability on the relationship between network ties and the financing performance of SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of FinTech companies in SCF. The application of digital technology in supply chain activities has facilitated the evolution of supply chain finance (SCF) to a new level. However, how financial technology (FinTech) companies promote this evolution has not been thoroughly examined.

This research used the multiple-case study approach and social network analysis method to explore how FinTech companies influence SCF networks.

The results reveal that FinTech companies play the crucial role of a signaling intermediary by facilitating interactions among relevant parties, accelerating the flow of information and reducing information asymmetry arising from data smog. Moreover, FinTech companies make SCF information networks more equitable and promote the performance of SCF.

This study deepens the conversation at the nexus of signal theory and SCF and provides managerial implications for alleviating information asymmetry between borrowers and lenders to solve the difficulty and high-cost problems of obtaining financing of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

This study examines the role of financial service providers (FSPs) in assessing the supply chain credit of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and how they help SMEs obtain supply chain finance (SCF) through an established digital platform using big data analytics (BDA).

This study conducted data mining analysis on the archival data of China's FSPs in the mobile production industry from 2015 to 2018, using neural networks in the first stage and multiple regression in the second stage.

The findings suggest that digital platforms sponsored by FSPs have a discriminative effect based on implicit BDA on identifying the quality and potential risks of borrowers. The results also show that tailored information utilised by FSPs has a supportive effect based on explicit BDA in helping SMEs obtain financing.

This study contributes to the emergent research on BDA in supply chain management by extending the contextual research on information signalling and platform theory in SCF. Furthermore, it examines the distinctive financing decision models of FSPs and provides a solution that addresses the information deficiency and overload of both lenders and borrowers and plays a certain reference role in alleviating the financing problems of SMEs.

Based on natural-resource-based view (NRBV), the purpose of this paper is to clarify the dimensions of green procurement and the mechanisms involved in the relationship between green procurement and firm performance.

Secondary data were to measure all the variables in 206 Chinese A-share companies’ annual reports, social responsibility reports, environmental reports, and sustainability reports, which were published by Guotai Junan Securities Co., Ltd and Wind Information Co., Ltd.

The results indicate that although both product-based and process-based green procurement have a positive effect on firm performance, these Chinese companies focus on the impact of product-based green procurement on their operational efficiency as well as the moderating role played by stakeholder satisfaction.

Although studies on green procurement have increased in recent years, issues such as how to measure green purchasing behaviors and how green procurement affects firms’ operational and financial performance are still unexplored. Based on previous literature, two dimensions have been defined for green procurement in this study to develop corresponding measurements, namely, product-based green procurement and process-based green procurement. Besides, this study considers operational efficiency as the mediator and stakeholder satisfaction as the moderator when constructing a new conceptual model to illustrate the relationship between green procurement and firm performance.

Despite their crucial role in sustaining national economies, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are beset by the constraint of financing at better conditions. The purpose of this paper is to compare supply chain finance (SCF) solutions provided by commercial banks and financial service providers (FSPs) that help SMEs access financing.

This study looks at multiple case studies using in-depth interviews with focal firms (lenders) to answer the research questions. In-depth interviews were conducted with three Chinese FSPs and three commercial banks providing working capital to the same SMEs. The unit of analysis is SCF solutions that have made the companies competitive in the industry.

The case studies show that the acquisition of transaction information and business credit in SCF can reduce ex ante information asymmetry. SCF utilizing receivable transfers, closed-loop business, relational embeddedness, and a combination of outcome control and behavioral control can also reduce ex post information asymmetry. For these reasons, compared with commercial bank-dominated SCF, SCF adopted by FSPs in the supply chain can better reduce information asymmetry.

This study contributes to the emerging literature exploring the impact of SCF on SMEs accessing financing. In particular, this study provides supply chain management and operations insights on SCF and their consequent influence. Previous research has focused on the direct dyadic relationship between lenders and borrowers while neglecting supply chain effects. Uniquely, this study explores the different ways commercial banks and FSPs implement SCF solutions.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the linkages between strategic interaction and relationship value, with a variety of co-creating value strategies as conceptual mediators.

This study reports on a field survey conducted in the Chinese manufacturing industry. A total of 180 questionnaires were sent to customers of service providers, and 120 valid responses were received, representing a response rate of 66.7 per cent. The data were then analyzed by using a number of statistical tools.

The results suggest that strategic interaction leads to a positive effect on the relationship value without any regard to the size of the customer. However, the mediating effect of product-based service is more significant for large-size customers, whereas the mediating effect of integrated managerial service is more significant for medium- and small-size customers.

This study explores how value might be created in a business-to-business context in a service supply chain from a relationship marketing perspective. It distinguishes product-based service and integrated managerial service as co-creating value strategies and further clarifies the different mechanisms underlying their relationships with strategic interaction between service supplier and customer. In particular, this study suggests that although strategic interaction may yield superior relationship value, the size of the customers will determine what kind of co-creating strategies would be preferred.

This paper aims to explore how innovation capability and market response capability of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) affect their supply chain financing performance (SCFP) through supply chain financing solutions (SCFS) adoption. At the same time, the mechanism by which supply chain financing reduces information asymmetry before (ex-ante) and after (ex-post) SCFS adoption to promote SCFP is also inquired.

Drawing on enterprise competence theory, this paper proposes a theoretical model and tests it using survey data from a sample of 218 SMEs in China. Multiple regression analysis is employed to test the hypothesis.

The study finds that: (1) SMEs' innovation capability and market response capability positively affect SCFP. (2) SMEs' innovation capability and market response capability exert significantly positive effects on SCFS adoption. (3) SCFS adoption plays a mediating role between SME capabilities and SCFP. (4) Supply chain integration (SCI) and information technology application have no moderating effects on the relationship between SME capabilities and SCFS adoption. Finally, (5) SCI and information technology application have positive moderating effects on the relationship between SCFS adoption and SCFP.

Based on enterprise competence theory, this study sheds light on the internal mechanism through which SMEs' capabilities affect SCFP by introducing SCFS adoption and explores the role of situational factors in SCF in reducing ex-ante and ex-post information asymmetry. This study provides an innovative theoretical perspective on supply chain financing and enriches the existing research.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the two kinds of supply chain quality management (SCQM) capabilities: intra-SCQM and inter-SCQM, and explore the effect of intra- and inter-food SCQM on food safety and quality, and the effect of food SCQM on domestic and export performance through food certification and corporate reputation.

Secondary data on food selling or processing firms in Western China were collected to test all the hypotheses. The data were then analyzed using the statistical technique of stepwise regression and inference was drawn based on the result.

Through utilizing secondary data sources, it is found that intra-SCQM promotes sales in domestics market with mediating role of corporate reputation, while the realization of overseas performance depend both on intra- and inter-SCQM with mediating role of food certification.

The paper study on food supply chain quality problem, the suggested approaches can be easily realized by agro-food companies to achieve international competitiveness by implementing both intra- and inter-SCQM. Meanwhile to Chinese domestic companies, it is important to strengthen inter-SCQM and food certification in order to achieve competitive advantage.

Review of literature indicated that there is a dearth of open literature that discusses food safety from the perspective of inter- and intra-organizational management. Furthermore, it was also observed that there has been no study that has taken the safety signaling perspective. The current research tires to shed some light on this important, but sparely discussed issue.