Search results

The objective of this study is to investigate how country risk, different political actions from the government and bureaucratic behavior influence the activities in industry supply chains (SCs) in emerging markets. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of these external stakeholders’ elements to the demand-side and supply-side drivers and barriers for improving competitiveness of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry in the way of analyzing supply chain. Considering the phenomenon of recent change in the RMG business environment and the competitiveness issues this study uses the principles of stakeholder and resource dependence theory and aims to find out some factors which influence to make an efficient supply chain for improving competitiveness. The RMG industry of Bangladesh is the case application of this study. Following a positivist paradigm, this study adopts a two phase sequential mixed-method research design consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. Qualitative field study is then carried out to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. A survey is carried out with sample of top and middle level executives of different garment companies of Dhaka city in Bangladesh and the collected quantitative data are analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling. The findings support eight hypotheses. From the analysis the external stakeholders’ elements like bureaucratic behavior and country risk have significant influence to the barriers. From the internal stakeholders’ point of view the manufacturers’ and buyers’ drivers have significant influence on the competitiveness. Therefore, stakeholders need to take proper action to reduce the barriers and increase the drivers, as the drivers have positive influence to improve competitiveness.

This study has both theoretical and practical contributions. This study represents an important contribution to the theory by integrating two theoretical perceptions to identify factors of the RMG industry’s SC that affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. This research study contributes to the understanding of both external and internal stakeholders of national and international perspectives in the RMG (textile and clothing) business. It combines the insights of stakeholder and resource dependence theories along with the concept of the SC in improving effectiveness. In a practical sense, this study certainly contributes to the Bangladeshi RMG industry. In accordance with the desire of the RMG manufacturers, the research has shown that some influential constructs of the RMG industry’s SC affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. The outcome of the study is useful for various stakeholders of the Bangladeshi RMG industry sector ranging from the government to various private organizations. The applications of this study are extendable through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

The purpose of our study is to investigate how a manufacturing plant’s internal operations along with its network of connections (upstream and downstream) can have an impact on its recovery time from a disruption. The authors also examine the inverse-U impact of complexity. Finally, the authors test the moderating role that business continuity management plans (BCP) at the plant level have on recovery time.

To test our hypotheses, the authors partnered with Resilinc Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based provider of supply chain risk management solutions to identify focal firms’ suppliers, customers and plant-level data including information on parts, manufacturing activities, bill of materials, alternate sites and formal business continuity plans. The authors employed censored data regression technique (Tobit).

Several important findings reveal that the plant’s internal operations and network connections impact recovery time. Specifically, the number of parts manufactured at the plant as well as the number of internal plant processes significantly increase disruption recovery time. In addition, the number of supply chains (upstream and downstream) involving the plant as well as the echelon distance of the plant from its original equipment manufacturer significantly increase recovery time. The authors also find that there exists an inverted-U relationship between complexity and recovery time. Finally, the authors find partial support that BCP will have a negative moderating effect between complexity and recovery time.

This research highlights gaps in the literature related to supply chain disruption and recovery. There is a need for more accurate methods to measure recovery time, more research on recovery at the supply chain site level and further analysis of the impact of supply chain complexity on recovery time.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of supply chain quality management (SCQM) and to propose a research model that considers the impact of SCQM practices on firm performance.

Based on a comprehensive literature review, SCQM most relevant practices were analyzed and selected. These practices were categorized into four dimensions: upstream (supplier assessment, supplier quality management (QM)), downstream sides of a supply chain (customer focus), internal process (product/service design, process management and logistics) and support practices (top management support, human resource management, information and supply chain integration). The measurement instrument of firm performance was also developed, including three aspects: operational performance, customer satisfaction and financial performance.

An innovative conceptual framework that provides a comprehensive picture covering core dimensions of SCQM and various aspects of firm performance was proposed. This conceptual framework can be used as “a guideline” for theory building and measurement instrument development of SCQM and firm performance. More importantly, on the road to gain a further insight, an extensive structural model that identifies direct and indirect relationships between SCQM and firm performance was also developed. Practitioners/managers can apply this model as “a road map” for implementing SCQM practices.

It is necessary to test the rationality of these models by using empirical studies in different contexts.

The integration of quality and supply chain management still remains limited in the literature. Therefore, it is necessary to have a more focussed approach in assessing QM issues within the internal and external supply chain contexts. This study concentrates on the practices which improve quality aspects of the supply chain, known as SCQM practices. Proposed research models in this paper not only fill out the voids in the literature, but also contribute with conceptual frameworks for theory building in SCQM and firm performance. The authors also expect that this research can offer a useful guidance for measuring and implementing SCQM practices as well as facilitate further studies in this field.

This study aims to investigate digitalization as a performance driver in supply chains, especially the role of data analytics in the digitalization of procurement. The study investigates how digital procurement capabilities are linked to data analytics capabilities and supply chain operational performance and how this links to business success.

Using operational and dynamic capabilities as foundations for data analytics capabilities, this paper studied the digital procurement capabilities and proposed the conceptual model and hypotheses for empirical testing. The collected industry survey data and structural equation method are then applied to test the hypotheses.

The study confirms positive and significant relationships among digital procurement capabilities, data analytics capabilities and supply chain performance. Digital procurement capabilities mediate the positive relationship between external data analytics capabilities and supply chain performance.

This study has some limitations that should be addressed. The empirical study was based on survey data from a questionnaire that was probably challenging for some respondent companies with low levels of digital procurement and data analytics. Also, it is necessary to adopt secondary data to measure business performance in future studies which reduces the effect of subjective bias.

From the managerial point of view, the findings highlight the importance of gaining knowledge from gathered data and digitalized processes. Managers must focus on data utilization capabilities to improve the operational performance expected from the digitalization of supply chain activities. In addition, managers need to consider exploiting of data through new creative approaches as part of standardized operations.

The present study contributes to existing knowledge by investigating the mediating role of data analytics capabilities between the digitalization of procurement and supply chain performance. The findings support a positive relationship between the data analytics capabilities and supply chain performance in digital upstream supply chain procurement processes. The present study also clarifies the impact and role of data analytics capabilities in digital supply chain development and success.

To study how supply chain decision makers gather, process and use the available internal and external information when facing supply chain disruptions.

The paper reviews relevant supply chain literature to build an information management model for disruption management. Afterwards, three case studies in the vehicle assembly sector, namely cars, trucks and aircraft wings, bring the empirical insights to the information management model.

This research characterises the phases of disruption management and identifies the information companies use to recover from a variety of disruptive events. It presents an information management model to enhance supply chain visibility and support disruption management at the operational level. Moreover, it arrives at two design propositions to help companies in the redesign of their disruption discovery and recovery processes.

This research studies how companies manage operational disruptions. The proposed information management model allows to provide visibility to support the disruption management process. Also, based on the analysis of the disruptions occurring at the operational level we propose a conceptual model to support decision makers in the recovery from daily disruptive events.

This research empirically analyzes gaps in performance among development stages of integration in supply chain management (SCM). The used variables are integration such as internal and external and performance such as cost and service. The population is international freight forwarders in the Republic of Korea and the sample frame is the membership list of the Korean International Freight Forwarders Association. The used methodology in this research is various: Cronbach’s alpha, factor analysis, cluster analysis, analysis of variance and post hoc analysis. It is important to ascertain the position in which they are included and the position is concerned with internal integration and external integration because the aim of this research is to ascertain where the forwarders are in development stages of integration. According to prior research, development stages of integration are regarded as the flow from internal to external. However, this research suggests that development stages of integration do not explain the flow of the stages but explain the strategic choice concerned with their current decision-making.

This paper aims to examine the impacts of relational capital on supply chain quality integration (SCQI) and operational performance from the holistic perspective of the entire supply chain.

Structural equation modeling with LISREL was used to test the conceptual model based on data collected from 308 companies in China.

The results indicate that with the exception of internal relational capital not having a significant impact on customer quality integration, supplier, internal and customer relational capital have positive impacts on supplier, internal and customer quality integration, which consequently improve operational performance. The results also show that internal relational capital has positive impacts on supplier and customer relational capital, and internal quality integration has positive impacts on supplier and customer quality integration.

The results provide important managerial insights for the improvement of operational performance through the development of relational capital and the implementation of SCQI practices throughout the supply chain.

The authors contribute to the relational capital and supply chain quality management literature by exploring the effectiveness of relational capital in improving SCQI and operational performance from the holistic perspective of the entire supply chain. The findings enrich the knowledge of SCQI management from the perspective of relational capital.

Using the assumptions of the resource-based view, relational view and swift, even flow theories and the overarching principles of supply chain management, the study aims to test the role of information technology (IT) capability (cross-functional application, supply chain application and data consistency) in enabling supply chain integration (SCI; internal, customer and supplier integration) and the impact of SCI on firm's operational performance in terms of quality, delivery, production cost, inventory level, customer service and product-mix flexibility.

The structural equation modeling approach is used to test theoretical predictions underlying the relationship among dimensions of IT capability, SCI and operational performance based on data obtained from senior executives of 108 large manufacturing firms listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The results suggest that IT capability has positive impact on SCI, except for data consistency, which is found to have negative impact on internal integration. The results further indicate that SCI, especially customer integration, has positive and significant impact on all operational performance indicators.

The findings inform future initiatives associated with the SCI improvement via specific IT capabilities. When undertaking such initiatives, managers are advised to consider the differential impact of the following IT capabilities on SCI: cross-functional applications, supply chain applications, and data consistency capability.

The study makes an empirical contribution to the body of knowledge by demonstrating the value of the multidimensional representation and analysis of IT capability, SCI, and operational performance given a differential and even opposed influence by some of the dimensions in specific business contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how companies approach the management of cyber and information risks in their supply chain, what initiatives they adopt to this aim, and to what extent along the supply chain. In fact, the increasing level of connectivity is transforming supply chains, and it creates new opportunities but also new risks in the cyber space. Hence, cyber supply chain risk management (CSCRM) is emerging as a new management construct. The ultimate aim is to help organizations in understanding and improving the CSCRM process and cyber resilience in their supply chains.

This research relied on a qualitative approach based on a comparative case study analysis involving five large multinational companies with headquarters, or branches, in the UK.

Results highlight the importance for CSCRM to shift the viewpoint from the traditional focus on companies’ internal information technology (IT) infrastructure, able to “firewall themselves” only, to the whole supply chain with a cross-functional approach; initiatives for CSCRM are mainly adopted to “respond” and “recover” without a well-rounded approach to supply chain resilience for a long-term capacity to adapt to changes according to an evolutionary approach. Initiatives are adopted at a firm/dyadic level, and a network perspective is missing.

This paper extends the current theory on cyber and information risks in supply chains, as a combination of supply chain risk management and resilience, and information risk management. It provides an analysis and classification of cyber and information risks, sources of risks and initiatives to managing them according to a supply chain perspective, along with an investigation of their adoption across the supply chain. It also studies how the concept of resilience has been deployed in the CSCRM process by companies. By laying the first empirical foundations of the subject, this study stimulates further research on the challenges and drivers of initiatives and coordination mechanisms for CSCRM at a supply chain network level.

Results invite companies to break the “silos” of their activities in CSCRM, embracing the whole supply chain network for better resilience. The adoption of IT security initiatives should be combined with organisational ones and extended beyond the dyad. Where applicable, initiatives should be bi-directional to involve supply chain partners, remove the typical isolation in the CSCRM process and leverage the value of information. Decisions on investments in CSCRM should involve also supply chain managers according to a holistic approach.

A supply chain perspective in the existing scientific contributions is missing in the management of cyber and information risk. This is one of the first empirical studies dealing with this interdisciplinary subject, focusing on risks that are now very high in the companies’ agenda, but still overlooked. It contributes to theory on information risk because it addresses cyber and information risks in massively connected supply chains through a holistic approach that includes technology, people and processes at an extended level that goes beyond the dyad.

This study aims to indicate the advantages of using cloud computing services, including the ways in which firms use cloud-based services to achieve accessibility, better communication, flexibility and effective provision of services. However, little evidence has been obtained related to the effectiveness of applying cloud computing services to supply management chains.

In this study, a sample of 223 top 1,000 manufacturing firms in Taiwan that had implemented cloud-based supply chain management systems (CSCMs) was surveyed to determine what kind of internal resources in these companies were allocated to this implementation effort, how collaborative relationships were established in the existing supply chain to help make the transitions successful, how well their systems are working now that they have been implemented and whether these new systems have improved cycle time performance and the overall performance of their organizations. The study also examines the interrelationships among these variables.

The results reveal that, from the perspective of the managers who were surveyed, an effective allocation of internal organizational resources does have a positive, strong effect on external CSCM conditions. They also showed that when the relationship between internal and external resources is well constructed, the result is that CSCM improves supply chain management cycle time performance, which, in turn, leads to positive organizational performance.

The study reports some useful insights from the managers of CSCM systems related to how the execution of CSCM solutions can improve cycle time and organizational performance by enhancing internal organizational management and joint collaboration among supply chain partners. The findings from this survey will be useful to managers who are considering creating cloud-based supply management systems in the future.