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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the concept of supply chain collaboration and to provide an overall framework that can be used as a conceptual landmark for further empirical research. In addition, the concept is explored in the context of agri‐food industry and particularities are identified. Finally, the paper submits empirical evidence from an exploratory case study in the agri‐food industry, at the grower‐processor interface, and information regarding the way the concept is actually applied in small medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) is presented.

The paper employed case study research by conducting in‐depth interviews in the two companies.

Supply chain collaboration concept is of significant importance for the agri‐food industry however, some constraints arise due to the nature of industry's products, and the specific structure of the sector. Subsequently, collaboration in the supply chain is often limited to operational issues and to logistics‐related activities.

Research is limited to a single case study and further qualitative testing of the conceptual model is needed in order to adjust the model before large scale testing.

Case study findings may be transferable to other similar dual relationships at the grower‐processor interface. Weaker parts in asymmetric relationships have opportunities to improve their position, altering the dependence balance, by achieving product/process excellence.

The paper provides evidence regarding the applicability of the supply chain collaboration concept in the agri‐food industry. It takes into consideration not relationships between big multinational companies, but SMEs.

The establishment of an integrated Partner Relationship Management (PRM) system can potentially address several aspects of channel collaboration in a digital environment and offers a wide range of benefits to the members of the logistics networks. In this paper, a logistics partnerships typology is suggested related to the channel management in a virtual environment. Fur ther more, the basic components and an architectural platform of an integrated E‐Logistics PRM solution are designed. The proposed integrated e‐Logistics PRM solution offers a systematic process for ensuring that specific partnerships criteria are developed and managed in the most beneficial way.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a growing technology impacting several business fields. The agricultural sector is facing several challenges, which may be supported by the use of such a new advanced technology. The aim of the paper is to map the state-of-the-art of AI applications in agriculture, their advantages, barriers, implications and the ability to lead to new business models, depicting a future research agenda.

A structured literature review has been conducted, and 37 contributions have been analyzed and coded using a detailed research framework.

Findings underline the multiple uses and advantages of AI in agriculture and the potential impacts for farmers and entrepreneurs, even from a sustainability perspective. Several applications and algorithms are being developed and tested, but many barriers arise, starting from the lack of understanding by farmers and the need for global investments. A collaboration between scholars and practitioners is advocated to share best practices and lead to practical solutions and policies. The promising topic of new business models is still under-investigated and deserves more attention from scholars and practitioners.

The paper reports the state-of-the-art of AI in agriculture and its impact on the development of new business models. Several new research avenues have been identified.

This article aims to explore the impact of supply chain integration on the financial performance of Swedish manufacturing firms.

The literature review provided the foundation for the development of the survey instrument and hypotheses for the study. In addition, the survey instrument was tested by the experts in the field and modified before it was sent to the managers in the survey group.

The findings show that supply chain integration at any level is beneficial to the financial well being of the firm. Companies with total supply chain integration reported the highest level of financial performance.

Data were collected from Swedish manufacturing firms without regard to the size of the firm. The results show that supply chain integration is beneficial at any level.

The findings will assist managers with decisions regarding supply chain integration and its role as a critical factor in improving the financial performance of manufacturing companies.

Limited empirical studies have been conducted in this area, especially in Sweden. This study provides insight for manufacturing managers with regard to the importance of supply chain management and the competitive nature of business in the global market.

This article seeks to present a decision support model for improving supply chain performance. The model aims to provide a holistic view of the supply chain as an integrated system by analyzing inventory options to facilitate the decision‐making process by business partners in the system.

In recent years, organizations have focused on incorporating both internal and external business activities of their supply chain into an integrated system. The goal of integration of all supply chain activities is to maximize total systems performance while minimizing costs. Literature review and professional experience in the field provided the foundation for the model development in this research.

The article demonstrates the usefulness of a decision support model in analyzing and developing a cooperative environment among supply chain members in order to reduce the cost of inventory as well as the cost of goods sold. The effects of utilizing such tools as just‐in‐time and electronic business systems are illustrated and discussed.

The proposed model demonstrates disadvantages of individual optimization in an integrated supply chain system as well as the advantages of collaboration of supply chain members in finding the minimum cost. The model uses one manufacturer with multiple retailers and distributors. Future research in this area could expand the model to allow multiple manufacturers.

The decision support model allows decision makers along the supply chain to employ a series of what‐if analyses to evaluate different scenarios with regard to lowering the cost of products reaching the consumer.

The model developed in this paper provides the foundation for future research as well as support for decision making when various decision makers are involved.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between integrative technologies and the corporation's ability to remain or gain a competitive advantage in today's fast‐paced global economy.

The authors' professional experience, extensive literature review, and personal communications on the subject provided the foundation for this research.

The global business environment requires corporations to use a variety of information and communications technologies in order to coordinate and control all activities in its global operations. In order to be competitive, firms are implementing new technologies such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), ERP II, and radio frequency identification to reduce the cost of doing business by improving operational efficiencies, establish better relationship with their business partners, as well as effectiveness by quickly responding to changes in the marketplace. Challenges and benefits of implementing these technologies by both manufacturing and service organizations are explored and examined in this paper.

Low‐cost and differentiation strategies require corporations to integrate information and communications technologies to streamline processes both within the firm and between business associates. A considerable amount of time and capital is required for acquisition and implementation of the new technology but the return on the investment is significant in the long run. Top management participation, change in management, and employee training are critical success factors in successful utilization of technology.

The paper provides useful information with regards to the importance of technology in sustaining or gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Cause-related B2B marketing programs involve sponsoring organisations working with B2B suppliers with the help of non-profit organisations (NPOs) on practises relating to environmental friendliness, workforce diversity, human rights, safety, philanthropy and business ethics. The study aims to identify the combinatory factors driving the adoption of Digital B2B platforms for managing cause-related B2B marketing programs.

The study adopts an innovative approach of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on data collated from top corporations in India supporting cause-related B2B marketing programs. Sponsoring organisations and NPO dyads (i.e. survey both) filled out an email survey on 264 cause-related B2B marketing programs.

The study establishes that the combination of technological, organisational and environmental factors would lead to the adoption of Digital B2B platforms in managing cause-related B2B marketing programs. The study identifies six combinations of these factors for adopting Digital B2B platforms within and across sponsoring organisations and NPOs.

The study findings would aid cause-related B2B marketers in developing Digital B2B platforms’ capabilities by understanding the different combinations of factors driving adoption. Digital B2B platforms’ capabilities can improve market performance if developed as core competencies.

The study findings would enable improvements in the implementation and performance of cause-related B2B marketing programs. Better management of cause-related B2B marketing programs would help increase beneficiary coverage and the realisation of societal goals.

To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to apply the TOE framework in conjunction with complexity theory to explain the diffusion of adoption of Digital B2B platforms for managing cause-related B2B marketing programs.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a validated measurement model and typology for chain digitisation maturity, defined as the degree of interorganisational collaboration through ICT.

Through a literature (meta) study, 22 existing maturity models are found and analysed, on the basis of which an integrated framework is developed. This framework is subsequently applied to interorganisational collaboration within the Dutch retail sector (i.e. retailers and their wholesalers, manufacturers, customers, and trade organisations). The measurement model is tested by determining the chain digitisation level of 24 different retail sub‐sectors (branches) through desk research, interviews, and surveys. Data are collected at the level of the branch, mainly through representatives of trade organisations.

The framework (i.e. measurement model) appears to be applicable to describing the Dutch retail sector and comparing its branches, providing both expected and new insights. The typology supports the vision of the combination of two dimensions: the level of technology and the level of organisation.

The framework has been applied to the (Dutch) retail sector only. It seems suitable for application to other sectors as well.

The empirical application provides an extended view of the current situation of the (Dutch) retail sector with regard to chain digitisation. On this basis, a roadmap can be derived to support the adoption and deployment of chain digitisation among retail organisations.

The framework for chain digitisation and the derived typology are of value to the SCM research community, as they are specifically developed and tested at the level of interorganisational chains.

The study aims to investigate the time for social media posts and reviews in order to determine the best timing to ensure maximum outreach and interactions from users. The study intends to analytically investigate a company's Facebook and Instagram pages to get meaningful insights for effective post management.

“Great Deal Tires” company’s Facebook and Instagram business pages were taken as the case study and patterns and analytical insights for different posts using Facebook and Instagram analytics were identified. The study categorically selected posts from Facebook pages and Instagram pages that were posted at different times and assessed on their impact.

According to the study, Tuesday and Wednesday have higher engagement on the Great Deal Tires Facebook page, while Friday has higher engagement on Instagram. The study also provided valuable insights into post content and timing in order to increase the marketing impact of the posts.

The study provides an analytical framework for analyzing post and review timing on various company business pages, allowing marketers to initiate more user visits and interactions.

The purpose of this research is to empirically investigate the role of firm size in the use of e‐procurement applications that vary in their ability to facilitate supply chain integration.

The sample was drawn from members of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Purchasing professionals employed in 33 different industries completed a self‐administered questionnaire.

A total of 128 useable surveys were received. The data revealed a significant relationship between firm size and e‐procurement application. Specifically, larger firms were more likely to use integrative types of e‐procurement.

The study was limited in that it excluded purchasing professionals employed in the service sector. In addition, it only focused on the relationship between a single variable and e‐procurement application.

This research provides support for studies that suggest that firm size is related to IT use. In addition, it tests the framework developed in a previous research study conducted on supply chain IT. Finally, previous research has linked supply chain process integration with operational agility, lower costs, superior product/service design, and enhanced profitability. The findings of this research might prompt decision‐makers to ask themselves if their firms forgo such potential benefits when integrative forms of e‐procurement are not used.

This research contributes to the understanding of an emerging phenomenon by investigating firm size as an explanatory variable in the e‐procurement application decision. In addition, evidence is still lacking with regard to the prevalence of actual implementation of e‐procurement in firms. This study examines actual usage of 13 different e‐procurement applications across various industries. Finally, this research focuses on the use of e‐procurement in achieving integration. This is important to practitioners, as effective supply chain integration has been linked to enhanced business performance.