Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of supply chain lead‐time averages and variability on an organization's financial performance.

The “executive” list for manufacturers, consisting of 1,264 individuals of the Institute of Supply Management provided the study's sampling frame, with surveys sent to 402 firms and responses obtained from 210 firms. The empirical model is tested using LISREL.

The results show that as variance in supply chain lead‐times increases, the financial performance of the organization decreases. Of equal significance, the results show that average supply chain lead‐times have no direct impact on financial performance. The results also indicate that demand uncertainty associates with greater supply chain lead‐time variance and that production technology routineness associates with lower supply chain lead‐time variance. Product complexity and organizational size have no impact on supply chain lead‐time variance or supply chain lead‐time average.

The research is an initial effort to understand variance in supply chain systems. An ongoing challenge in this area is operationalization of measures and data collection techniques that go beyond a single firm and examine a network of organizations cooperating in a value‐added supply chain.

The results suggest that managing the variance in a supply chain system may be more important to an organization's financial performance than managing averages.

This is particularly significant since organizations often act contrary to these findings, focusing scarce resources on reducing average lead‐times rather than on reducing variability in supply chain lead‐times.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between internal process improvement investments, applied channel logistics knowledge, and financial performance for make‐to‐order (MTO) and make‐to‐stock (MTS) manufacturers. This study takes the position that knowledge, specifically tacit or applied knowledge, may serve as a key indicator of organizational performance. In this study, the tacit knowledge exhibited in intentional logistics integration activities is captured in the construct applied channel logistics knowledge.

A structural equation model, controlling for firm size and demand uncertainty, is used to examine these relationships. A sampling frame of 1,264 senior manufacturing “executives” provided 222 usable surveys representing 210 firms.

The results show that for MTO firms, higher investments in internal process improvement relate to higher applied channel logistics knowledge, whereas for MTS firms, the relationship does not hold, and this difference is significant. In addition, the results indicate a positive relationship between internal process improvement investment and financial performance for MTO firms, whereas again the relationship does not hold for MTS firms. Both MTO and MTS firms show increased financial performance when applied channel logistics knowledge increases, although the increase in financial performance is significantly greater for MTO firms.

Historically, the success of integration strategies has been postulated to be equally effective for MTO and MTS firms, a “one‐size‐fits‐all” approach to improving system effectiveness. However, given the inherent differences in these manufacturing strategies, this speculation deserves further investigation and serves as the focus of this research. The use of the tacit knowledge construct applied channel logistics knowledge is also unique and of value in understanding supply chain relationships.

Looks at different aspects of competitiveness emerging from this year′s new books – the international race for supremacy, the contribution of logistics towards commercial success, and benchmarking vis‐a‐vis both the company and the customer.

This chapter discusses how attachment theory, a theory that provides insight into the processes through which psychological and emotional bonds are developed in relationships, can be useful for understanding mentoring relationships. We develop a conceptual model emphasizing how attachment-related constructs and their relationships with mentors’ and protégés’ behaviors and emotions influence each phase of a mentoring relationship. Recognizing reciprocity in the mentoring process, the model also explains how the interpersonal dynamics of the mentor–protégé relationship influence the benefits gained by both partners. Propositions for future research on mentoring relationships are provided. We contend that examining mentoring through the lens of attachment theory can increase our understanding of the underlying factors or mechanisms that determine individuals’ involvement in mentoring relationships and differentiate successful from unsuccessful mentoring relationships. The research and practical implications are discussed.

Despite anecdotal evidence of the performance implications of just‐in‐time (JIT) implementation, little empirical research has been conducted. Examines total system JIT’s empirical relationships with a variety of performance outcomes. Total system JIT encompasses JIT purchasing, JIT production, and JIT selling. In a mail survey of 200 logistics executives, total system JIT was found to be: inversely related to weeks of inventory (inclusive of inbound, in‐process, and outbound); inversely related to the number of layers in various functional areas (e.g. marketing); and positively related to three different indicators of financial performance (ROI, profits, and ROS). Results, managerial implications, and further research are discussed.

This empirical research investigates the effect of product standardisation on logistics in a cross‐section of United States manufacturers. Relying on contingency theory, the effect of product standardisation on the structure of logistics within the organisation, logistical strategy and logistical system flexibility are examined. In comparison to manufacturers that standardise output, those which customise output were found to consolidate fewer logistics activities centrally within a single department, to be less formalised, to update their logistics strategic plan more frequently and to display greater logistical flexibility.

The purpose of this paper is to utilize middle-range theorizing to examine whether a US manufacturer can leverage supply chain orientation (SCO) to garner responsiveness from a global supplier. To capture the interplay of macro-level institutional environments, the authors examine the moderating effect of institutional distance on the SCO–supplier responsiveness relationship.

Primary survey data collected from US manufacturers are utilized to measure SCO and supplier responsiveness. Two secondary data sets (EIU and GLOBE) capture formal and informal distance at the institutional level and are used to test the moderating effect of institutional distance.

The research finds that SCO can facilitate global supplier responsiveness. A post hoc exploratory analysis reveals a three-way interaction, where the SCO–supplier responsiveness relationship is strengthened when formal and informal institutions are either very similar or very different.

The research offers a more nuanced understanding of manufacturer–supplier relationships in global supply chains by demonstrating how country-level (macro) characteristics can influence firm-level (micro) supply chain phenomena. It extends research on SCO by illustrating how institutional distance interacts with a manufacturer’s ability to leverage SCO to enable supplier responsiveness.

Manufacturers should increase their attentiveness to institutional distance. When both formal and informal distances are different (i.e. high distance), SCO can create a powerful lever to improve global supplier responsiveness. Likewise, when formal and informal institutions are similar (i.e. low distance), SCO reinforces joint efforts and collaboration to create additive benefits, whereby suppliers are incentivized to be responsive to unexpected environmental changes.

This research addresses the growing call for more empirical studies that examine how country-level institutions influence firm-level phenomena. It also utilizes secondary data to serve as a proxy for formal and informal institutional distance.

Challenges the idea of an unconditional and positive influence of knowledge on performance without regard to environmental uncertainty. Focuses on applied process knowledge spanning the supply chain (i.e. considers supplier, internal, and customer sources). A survey of 208 manufacturing firms found the association between applied process knowledge and firm market performance is positive and statistically significant when demand unpredictability is high (but not when low); statistically significant when product churning (uncertainty) is high (but not when low); and not moderated by core production or logistics process change. Firm size and production technology were also controlled. Firms that can determine the moderating effect of the different types of environmental uncertainty they face upon their knowledge‐performance relationship will perform better in terms of market performance indicators.

Examines empirically which of a range of variables affect managers′ perceptions of the management information system (MIS) designed to support logistics. The results suggest that the adoption of computer software, the use of specific informational control devices and some aspects of logistics organisation have an effect in both smaller and larger firms. Other variables, such as the title and tenure of the senior logistics executive, do not systematically predict variance in managers′ perceptions of logistics MIS.