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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/01443579810192772. When citing the article, please cite: Gregory N. Stock, Noel P. Greis, John D. Kasarda, (1998), “Logistics, strategy and structure: A conceptual framework”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 18 Iss: 1, pp. 37 - 52.

Advanced processing technologies, managerial practices, and information systems have merged as vital elements of modern day production. It has been argued that these changes in practice and technology have yielded a strategic manufacturing environ‐ment in the 1990s which is very different from that which existed in the 1970s and 1980s. Examines and documents these changes through the findings of a study in the US power tool industry of the effectiveness of the product‐process matrix in explaining the operations strategies of firms over the period 1970‐1990. Utilizes data from a detailed literature‐based survey, from on‐site interviews with executives and tours of manufacturing plants in the industry to explore the strategies followed over time by main and niche power tool firms competing in the US market. Shows that, while the Hayes and Wheelwright product‐process model captures many aspects of strategic operations decisions through 1980, changes have dramatically altered the competitive landscape and that many of the trade‐offs central to the model are no longer central to the articulation and formulation of operations strategy.

Presents a framework for explaining the relationship between strategy, structure, and logistics in the context of a changing environment. In response to new competitive pressures, a manufacturing enterprise is emerging in which resources may now be dispersed worldwide. As distances between production facilities and pressures for fast delivery increase, the coordination of these dispersed manufacturing resources becomes a critical activity. Argues that logistics is well‐positioned to assume a unique role in bridging strategy and structure in the new manufacturing environment. Develops a new model of the strategy‐structure relationship that recognizes the integral role that logistics will play in creating the “fit” necessary to achieve competitive success. The framework suggests that performance will be higher when the firm’s strategy and structure are consistent with the strengths inherent in the firm’s logistics choices.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive conceptual model for the impact of hospital-supplier integration on the overall performance of healthcare organisations. It also investigates the moderating role of lean practices between hospital-supplier integration and hospital performance.

Data were collected from 498 public and private hospitals in Saudi Arabia using a survey. Structural equation modelling was used for data analysis.

The results indicate that hospital-supplier integration has a positive impact on the hospital performance. These effects are even more notable when adopting lean practices in the hospitals.

The data were collected from one developing country, namely Saudi Arabia. Thus, the findings may be relevant to the Saudi context but not those of other developing countries. Second, the data were collected from the hospitals’ end but not from the suppliers, so the latter’s perspectives on the themes covered here are not known. Future research may investigate the validity of the model in various developing countries whose healthcare systems have different characteristics, and the relationships between hospitals and their suppliers may follow different governance models.

The developed model and results will help hospitals in the Saudi health system to make better decisions on managing their logistics and supply partners.

This study extends the current research by developing a model that highlights the impact of hospital-supplier integration on the overall performance of healthcare organisations and tests this model to confirm its validity. To the authors’ knowledge, this study would be one of the first that uses both lean thinking and relational view of competitive advantage theory combined to examine the moderating role of lean practices on the inter-organisational relationships in Saudi Arabia.