Search results

Supply chain literature highlights that environmental uncertainty (EU) encourages firms to integrate their business strategies and develop strategic flexibility (SF). The authors’ use the dynamic capability view (DCV) to explain why the EU motivates firms to develop SF and integrate business strategies for better supply chain coordination (SCC) and enhanced performance. This study tests the role of SCC as a mediator between (1) business strategy integration (BSI) and operational performance, and (2) SF and operational performance. The study also measures the contingent effect of structural constructs on the relationship between EU, BSI and SF.

Data of 356 firms drawn from the continuous innovation network (CINet) are used in this paper. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the direct, indirect and moderation hypotheses.

The paper finds that EU enhances SF and BSI. Further, BSI has a significant positive impact on SCC that drives operational performance. The paper also finds that SF has no direct impact on SCC rather it affects SCC through BSI. SCC mediates the relationship between (1) SF and operational performance, and (2) BSI and operational performance. The organization's structural factors including connectedness and formalization moderate the effect of EU on BSI and SF.

The paper extends debate at the interface of supply chain risk and strategy literature and provides a specific understanding of the “external-internal-external” mechanism in the context of the turbulent business environment. This mechanism helps to understand why and under what structural conditions EU (external) leads to BSI and SF (internal). Further, BSI and SF (internal) help firms to manage SCC (external) effectively that in turn improve operational performance.

This study draws on the systems perspective to study the individual and combined interaction effect of lean management (LM) and sustainability management (SM) on the organization's triple bottom line (TBL) performance.

The study employs structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses using data from the sixth version of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS VI).

The study finds that LM is positively related to all dimensions of the TBL performance. In contrast, SM is positively related to social and environmental performance and negatively related to economic performance. Finally, by finding that the interaction between LM and (SM) is positive for social and environmental performance, this study not only confirms that LM is an enabler for sustainability, but it also supports that the two paradigms are mutually compatible and reinforcing.

The findings imply that practitioners pursuing both LM and SM should leverage their mutual positive effects and balance the unintended effects of implementing isolated bundles by implementing them together as a complete socio-technical system. Their combined impact on the TBL performance will outweigh the sum of their individual effects in the case of isolated implementations.

In contrast with the extant literature, this study proposes that LM and SM make parts of one system as opposed to one correlated with the other or having a positive causal effect on the other. Taking an integrated systems approach, the study empirically verifies the “mutual compatibility” of the lean and sustainability paradigms argument, with regard to their effect on the TBL performance.

This paper aims to investigate the role of organizational and technological enablers and their arrangement and alignment with the external environment to facilitate supply chain integration (SCI), which consequently improves operational performance.

The paper uses a structural equation modeling approach and the data from 307 manufacturing firms from the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey version VI for hypotheses testing.

The findings of the study reveal that (1) the alignment and particular arrangement of the sociotechnical organizational factors enable the SCI of a firm, (2) suitable organizational arrangements help in leveraging SCI under environmental pressures, and (3) SCI leverages the relationship between sociotechnical organizational factors and operational performance of the firm.

This paper informs managers that SCI leverages the operational performance of firms under heightened environmental pressures. Developing suitable manufacturing technologies infrastructure followed by organizational practices aligned with the manufacturing technologies make it easier to realize SCI.

This study explores the interaction of technological, organizational, and environmental factors as driving and enabling factors that help achieve SCI. Firms that develop an open and collaborative environment and use communication and integrative technologies to complement their work practices better cope with external pressures. These modern forms of working and the use of technologies facilitate SCI and leverage it effectively to positively impact firm performance.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze research methodologies and publication trends across geographical regions in the field of supply chain innovation (SCI) and provide a discussion of future research in the SCI.

Using a content analysis approach, this paper investigates 26 years of SCI research based on a sample of 473 journal articles published in 77 peer-reviewed international journals.

There has been an increasing focus on empirical quantitative research design as compared to empirical qualitative, conceptual quantitative and conceptual qualitative designs in the field of SCI. Continued research interest in SCI from all parts of the world including North America, Europe and Asia illustrates the importance of SCI in the broader field of management.

The inclusion of a large number of journals provides greater confidence in the identified trends. However, as the top-tier journals publish only the most rigorous studies, considering all journals as equally weighted will give rise to a mixed pool of studies. Identifying trends from this mixed pool may provide more comprehensiveness at the cost of inclusion of non-core journals of the field.

The current study builds a holistic view of the methodological progress made so far in the field of SCI.

Lean (TQM and JIT) and agile manufacturing (AM) are viewed as strategic capabilities that can help firms to meet diverse set of market demands. However, the question whether lean manufacturing and AM are complementary or competing capabilities is still open to discussion. This research proposes an integrated research framework that draws on complementary theory, theory of systems, and concept of fit to examine this question regarding these two strategic capabilities.

Data are collected from 248 apparel exporting firms, and the proposed model is evaluated using structural equation modeling.

Results show that lean manufacturing, AM, and supporting management and infrastructural practices have positive and complementary effects on firm's performance. Further, results depict that lean manufacturing and AM complementarity is a complete organizational synergistic phenomenon, and piecemeal implementation of these initiatives may lead to suboptimal or unsatisfactory results. Results also indicate that there is no significant direct (correlated and uncorrelated) relationship of management, infrastructure, lean manufacturing, and AM practices with firm's performance and support that lean manufacturing and AM are not competing paradigms.

This research is based on cross-sectional data from one industry. Future research should collect data from diverse sectors in different countries.

This study provides a key insight for manufacturing managers that piecemeal implementation of lean manufacturing and AM does not yield optimal outcomes. In addition, study suggests that lean manufacturing and AM complementarity builds on strong foundation of strategic management and internal and external infrastructure. Therefore, managers should focus on development of skilled and empowered human resources, technological advancements, and learning and virtually integrated organizations for effective implementation of lean manufacturing and AM.

Proposed framework is one of the first, if not the first, that seeks to resolve the question: whether lean manufacturing and AM are complementary or competing capabilities. Complementary effects of lean manufacturing and AM along with management, internal infrastructure, and common external infrastructure practices have positive impact on performance. This study also segregated infrastructure practices into internal and common external infrastructure practices.

This article aims to evaluate published food cold chain (FCC) literature against risk management and supply chain sustainability concepts.

The article uses the theory refinement logic proposed by Seuring et al. (2021) to analyze the contents of FCC management-related literature published over the past 20 years. A sample of 116 articles was gathered using Web of Science and subsequently analyzed. The respective articles were then systematically coded against the frameworks of Beske and Seuring (2014) and Vlajic et al. (2012), which focused on building sustainable and robust supply chains, respectively.

The literature review revealed that debates around managing contemporary sources of disruptions/vulnerability and making FCCs more sustainable and resilient are gradually developing. However, an overarching risk management perspective along with incorporating social and environmental dimensions in managing FCCs still needs the adequate attention of the respective research community.

The deductive internal logic of theory refinement approach used in this paper could have been further strengthened by using additional frameworks. This limitation, however, opens avenues for further research. The findings of the paper will stimulate the interest of future researchers to work on expanding our understanding related to sustainability and risk management in FCCs.

The paper is the first attempt to organize published FCC literature along dimensions of supply chain sustainability and risk management. The paper thus provides the respective researchers with a foundation that will help them adopt a focused approach to addressing the research gaps.

Small farmers, being the primary producers of crops, are the key players in the food supply chain. Yet, they remain the most marginalized in the value chain. The marginalization of small farmers can affect food sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to identify opportunities for bringing more value to small farmers in an agricultural value chain.

This paper makes use of action research, studying the potato value chain, in a developing agricultural country Pakistan. The authors conducted an in-depth study of 37 farmers in four regions, each being a large potato growing ecosystem. The study examined the end-to-end decision-making processes, sources of input (both physical and information), cultivation and sales practices, cost structure, productivity and profitability of the farmers in potato farming.

Large variations exist in the crop yield, cost structure and profitability of farmers within each of and among the four regions due to differences in cultivation practices and approach to sales. There is a significant potential to lower costs, increase yield and enhance overall profitability by using the existing better processes. By addressing the issues faced by small farmers their profits can be potentially doubled. The paper also discusses potential means of recrafting and streamlining the value chain to bring more value to small farmers.

The paper provides a detailed account of how different interventions can increase the value for small farmers. Since the current food supply chain and sustainability are under stress, worldwide, the findings of this study have implications for farmers as well as policy makers.

The literature on streamlining the agricultural value chain and enhancing the share of small farmers is scarce. Improving the value chain and reducing the marginalization of small farmers is an essential step toward increasing food sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to use institutional theory to develop the constructs of institutional pressures for social compliance and argue for a positive relationship between institutional pressures and Supplier Social Compliance Management System (SSCMS). Moreover, the authors theorize that the impact of institutional pressures on SSCMS is moderated by the supplier’s organizational culture. This is done in a particularly salient context, which is apparel manufacturing in a developing country.

The hypothesized model is tested using data of 164 suppliers from the apparel manufacturing sector. PLS-based structural equation modeling is used to test the direct and multi-group moderation hypotheses.

Empirical examination provides evidence that institutional pressures have a positive impact on supplier social compliance and the types of organizational culture have varied moderation effects.

This research is based on cross-sectional data from one industry. Future research should collect data from diverse sectors in different countries.

The findings suggest that consistent pressures from various stakeholders can increase supplier social compliance. In addition, the partial evidence for moderation effect of organizational culture indicates that supplier’s internal value system’s alignment with social compliance pressures plays an important role in determining how supplier acts on social compliance initiatives.

The issue of suppliers’ adoption of social compliance management systems has become prominent as a consequence of the shifting of manufacturing to developing countries. However, comprehensive frameworks explaining antecedents of adoption of SSCMS using large-scale empirical data are limited. In addition, findings on the relationship between supplier social sustainability practices and their antecedents are inconsistent.

Supply chain strategy is widely recognized as being a crucial component of a broader corporate strategy. However, the relationships between a firm’s strategic supply chain focus, the tactical orientation of its suppliers, and the firm’s performance, are less well understood. Much of what is known is also based on developed country contexts. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine relationships between a buying firm’s supply chain strategy and operational dimensions of its suppliers in a developing country context.

A structural equation model is developed and tested using empirical data drawn from 296 organizations in India and Pakistan.

The results demonstrate a positive relationship between a firm’s strategic supply chain focus (lean and responsiveness) and key supplier practices (quality, cost effectiveness, delivery, and flexibility), which in turn have a positive impact on firm performance (operational, quality and market, and financial).

The study paper offers supply chain managers in developing markets with insights that can shape effective supplier selection and management and lead to positive performance outcomes.

The results provide insights into supply chain strategy, and empirically validate the importance of the alignment between strategy and the ability of suppliers to execute in a corresponding manner. It also offers evidence of the impact of the buyer-supplier interface in a developing market context.