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1 – 10 of 32Aswin Alora and Himanshu Gupta
The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritise supply chain finance (SCF) adoption enablers and develop a novel comprehensive framework to select supplier firms based on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritise supply chain finance (SCF) adoption enablers and develop a novel comprehensive framework to select supplier firms based on their SCF adoption capability.
Design/methodology/approach
The study deploys a three-phase method to identify and prioritise SCF adoption enablers, followed by developing a model to select suppliers according to their SCF adoption capability. An extensive literature review, followed by a Delphi approach-based expert interview, has been used to finalise the enablers. Using the Best Worst Method and the VIsekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje technique, a supplier selection model has been developed in the context of a case company.
Findings
The financial health and technological advancement variables received the top priority, followed by collaborative efficiency, whereas the human resources and organisational variables received the slightest significance. A supplier selection framework has also been developed by using the adoption capability of these factors by the supplier partners. In this study’s model, Supplier 4 exhibited better SCF adoption capability and received the top priority.
Research limitations/implications
Manufacturing supply chains in a developing country are the scope of the current study. Extensive future studies are required to derive a global consensus.
Practical implications
The proposed framework of this study can be used to select supplier firms based on their SCF adoption capability. Policymakers can emphasise the most critical enablers of SCF adoption to assist small supplier firms to be a part of the advanced global supply chains.
Originality/value
The current study established a novel comprehensive framework for supplier selection based on the Supply Chain Finance adoption capability of MSME supplier firms.
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Monia Spagnolo, Valentina Ndou, Davide Giribaldi and Valentina Arena
In the current scenario, cybersecurity issues have emerged to be a major challenge for firms to deal with. The increased use of technologies has increased radically the volume and…
Abstract
In the current scenario, cybersecurity issues have emerged to be a major challenge for firms to deal with. The increased use of technologies has increased radically the volume and typology of information produced, exchanged, and managed by firms thus creating conditions for cybersecurity incidents or information breaches. In this situation, it becomes paramount for firms to recognize cybersecurity risks and be prepared to prevent them through the implementation of approaches and technologies able to ensure a high level of protection.
In this chapter, we provide a framework for analyzing and managing cybersecurity risks. We employed a case study strategy to understand how the risk analysis process is carried out within an Information Security company. The study and observations obtained from this case study have permitted to define a framework useful for SME to deal with cybersecurity issues.
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Daniela Corsaro and Grazia Murtarelli
Scholars have affirmed that a conceptualization of value co-creation in business relationships should reflect the nature and characteristics of interactional processes that occur…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholars have affirmed that a conceptualization of value co-creation in business relationships should reflect the nature and characteristics of interactional processes that occur in use. The advent of sales and marketing technologies, however, is changing the nature and dynamics of interactions. New trends in digitalization have played a significant role in emphasizing and facilitating the occurrence of business-to- business (B2B) collaborative or sharing economy. The B2B sharing economy and value co-creation are closely intertwined, as businesses harness the power of shared resources and collaboration to generate value in diverse ways. This study highlights the importance of going beyond value co-creation in studying B2B collaborative economy, unpacking the interconnected value processes that influence value co-creation. It also aims at showing the activities that characterize multiple joint value spheres among actors.
Design/methodology/approach
The study consists of 49 qualitative interviews with managers operating in different industries.
Findings
The paper shows that when considering digital B2B contexts, five joint value spheres in business relationships should be considered: a value co-creation, a value appropriation, a value communication, a value measurement and a value representation sphere. Each one is characterized by specific activities that are relevant from a managerial point of view.
Originality/value
This study highlights that value co-creation has often been over stressed when discussing business interactions, also with the advent of new technologies. Rather, this study offers a more comprehensive view of value co-creation that includes different value processes occurring in joint value spheres. These further processes are relevant because failure and success in business relationships within the B2B sharing economy are often dependent from activities outside the value co-creation process, which strongly affect it. Such knowledge will also open up new research venues and opportunities to better contribute to the practice of value management in business relationships.
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Ying Ye, Kwok Hung Lau and Leon Teo
This study aims to explore how green supply chain management (GSCM) strategies can be effectively implemented for business supply chain operations, relationship management and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how green supply chain management (GSCM) strategies can be effectively implemented for business supply chain operations, relationship management and product design to gain green competitive advantages.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory in-depth case study was conducted with one of the largest Chinese electronics manufacturers that is considered a leading GSCM adopter in the industry, to understand how the company adopts green supply chain practices across its multiple product lines.
Findings
The findings show that businesses can build different green focuses across GSCM elements of green operation, green relationship management and green product design to form diverse hybrid strategic solutions. They include green control, lean, leagile, agile and clean innovation while taking consideration of supply chain type and product lifespan. A taxonomy of four key GSCM strategic combinations is proposed based on the findings. The strategies align with green demand and supply chain characteristics balancing a series of business competitive objectives in terms of reducing pollution and waste, improving green cost efficiency, enhancing green demand innovation and building green service effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
This study lends insight into the strategic alignment relationships between product supply chain types and approaches to GSCM.
Practical implications
The findings of this study can support industry practitioners in formulating aligned GSCM strategies based on product types to achieve optimal results.
Social implications
Optimised green supply chain design, operations and relationship management incorporating product attributes can help further minimise negative impacts of business activities on the environment.
Originality/value
This research provides a systematic understanding of how product supply chain types can influence GSCM strategy formulation. It gives a holistic picture of how hybrid choices of strategies with green supply chain operations, relationship management and product design can be formulated based on product and supply chain characteristics.
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Hannele Suvanto and Merja Lähdesmäki
In this paper, the authors integrate the psychological ownership theory with the concept of commitment to contribute to the discussion on agricultural supply chain management. The…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors integrate the psychological ownership theory with the concept of commitment to contribute to the discussion on agricultural supply chain management. The purpose of this study is to examine how farmers experience their commitment to the business relationship with the processor and how this is conveyed through the routes of psychological ownership.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data are based on 14 in-depth face-to-face Finnish farmer interviews. To understand the farmers’ routes to psychological ownership, the critical incidents technique was used.
Findings
According to the three routes to psychological ownership – control, profound knowledge and self-investment – the authors argue that farmers mainly consider their routes to be more or less blocked because of the asymmetrical power and information distribution in the business relationship with the processor. Furthermore, based on farmers’ perceptions of psychological ownership, the authors provide a farmer typology that reflects in the farmers’ willingness to commit to the business relationship. The identified types are named as satisfied, captives and leavers.
Originality/value
By integrating the theory of psychological ownership with the concept of commitment, this study provides a more robust understanding of how farmers experience their commitment to the business relationship, thus, contributing to the literature on supply chain management in the agri-food business context. Implementation of these findings can help business partners to proactively improve their business relationships through the perceived level of commitment and to deal with critical incidents influencing the effectiveness of the whole chain.
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Ismail Golgeci, Yusuf Kurt, Ksenia Vashchillo-Mollett, René Chester Goduscheit, Ahmad Arslan and Volkan Yeniaras
Research examining the joint role of serial acquisitions and subsidiary autonomy in holistic value provision within servitizing industrial firms is scarce. Thus, this paper aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Research examining the joint role of serial acquisitions and subsidiary autonomy in holistic value provision within servitizing industrial firms is scarce. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the role of serial acquisition and subsidiary autonomy in providing value within servitizing industrial networks.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual framework is developed based on the case study of a large Swedish industrial group specializing in selling industrial products and providing industrial solutions to business customers through its numerous subsidiaries.
Findings
The analysis of 14 interviews with the five subsidiaries and seven customer firms and secondary data reveals interesting findings concerning the role of serial niche acquisition strategy and subsidiary autonomy in customer value provision in servitizing organizations. In particular, the authors find that the role of acquisitions in industrial firms extends beyond growth to customer sensing and proximity. Likewise, the authors find that subsidiary autonomy facilitates value provision to customers in industrial networks.
Originality/value
The paper provides a more nuanced understanding of how serial acquisitions and subsidiary autonomy are intertwined and jointly affect industrial firms’ value provision activities amidst the servitization transition in an intraorganizational network.
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Chomsorn Tangdenchai and Asda Chintakananda
This study aims to examine the relationships among senior managers’ reports of bribery practices, ethical awareness and firm productivity in Thailand. Bribery pervasiveness is…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationships among senior managers’ reports of bribery practices, ethical awareness and firm productivity in Thailand. Bribery pervasiveness is examined as moderating the relationship between bribery practices and ethical awareness. Ethical awareness is examined as a mediating effect of bribery practices and managerial perceptions of firm productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a mixed-method approach consisting of interviews with more than 20 senior managers and surveys collected from more than 200 senior managers in Thailand’s manufacturing and construction industries. Hierarchical regression is used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Senior managers report that their firms are more likely to flout ethical principles when they perceive that their industries feature widespread bribery practices. However, the tests fail to support the hypothesis that the flouting of ethical principles leads to less productivity.
Originality/value
This study contributes to transaction cost economics theory by extending the concept of illegal transaction cost minimization to managerial perceptions of firm productivity. This study also integrates research on bribery rationalization by considering how managerial rationalization and justification of bribery practices impact managerial perceptions of firm productivity and ethical awareness. This research provides managers with an understanding of how attitudes toward ethical conduct and unethical actions impact perceptions of firm productivity.
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Raunaque Mujeeb Quaiser and Praveen Ranjan Srivastava
This research aims to identify the key factors affecting Outbound Open Innovation between Startups and Big organizations using the multiple criteria decision-making analysis…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to identify the key factors affecting Outbound Open Innovation between Startups and Big organizations using the multiple criteria decision-making analysis (MCDM) approach. The MCDM technique ranks the four key factors identified from the literature study that can help to improve collaboration opportunities with Startups.
Design/methodology/approach
Identification of key factors affecting Outbound Open Innovation between Startups and big organizations based on extant literature. A questionnaire is prepared based on these four identified key factors to gather views of the startup's employees, from the designer level to the startup's founder. MCDM techniques are used to evaluate the questionnaire. The ensemble technique is used to rank the key factors coming from three different MCDM methods.
Findings
The findings from the MCDM approach and Ensemble techniques give insight to the big organizations to facilitate outbound Open Innovation effectively. It also provides insight into the requirements of the startups and the kind of support they seek from the big organizations. The ranking can help the big organization close the gaps and make an informed decision to increase the effectiveness of the collaborations and boost innovation.
Originality/value
This is a unique research work where the MCDM approach is used to identify the ranking of key factors affecting outbound open innovation between startups and big organizations. The MCDM technique is followed by the ensemble method to rationalize the findings. Technology Relevance ranks highest, followed by Innovation Ecosystem, Organization commitment and Knowledge Sharing.
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Bai Liu, Tao Ju, Jiarui Lu and Hing Kai Chan
This research investigates whether focal firms employ strategic supply chain information disclosure, focusing on the concealment of supplier and customer identities, as part of…
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigates whether focal firms employ strategic supply chain information disclosure, focusing on the concealment of supplier and customer identities, as part of their supply chain environmental risk management strategies (supplier sustainability risk and customer loss risk, respectively).
Design/methodology/approach
Using a panel dataset of Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2019 and utilizing the suppliers’ environmental punishment of peer firms (peer events) as an exogenous shock and employing ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation, this study conducts a regression analysis to test how focal firms disclose the identities of their suppliers and customers.
Findings
Our results indicate that focal firms prefer to hide the identities of their suppliers and customers following the environmental punishment of peer firms’ suppliers. In addition, supplier concentration weakens the effect of withholding supplier identities, whereas customer concentration strengthens the effect of hiding customer identities. Mechanism analysis shows that firms hide supplier identities to avoid their reputation being affected and hide customer identities to prevent the deterioration of customers’ reputations and thus impact their market share.
Originality/value
Our study reveals that reputation spillover is another crucial factor in supply chain transparency. It is also pioneering in applying the anonymity theory to explain focal firms’ information disclosure strategy in supply chains.
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This paper intends to analyze a social enterprise as a case example of fulfilling social missions and achieving financial profitability at the same time. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper intends to analyze a social enterprise as a case example of fulfilling social missions and achieving financial profitability at the same time. This paper aims to illustrate a business partnership that helps to bridge the gap in business and employment opportunities between megacities and suburban areas and examine value-creating activities that generate healthy income stream for the business.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper follows a quantitative methodology in the form of case study. The data are collected through interviews, personal observation and document analysis; direct quotes from interviewees are used to describe the phenomenon. Value chain framework is adopted to analyze company activities and deduce key success factors as well as value creations of the company.
Findings
The case demonstrates that social enterprises can be self-sustained financially, which would help them to better fulfill their social missions. Financial profitability can be achieved through good management of production, marketing and sales activities. Besides, value creation achieved through activities in the value chain is not only for customers but also for suppliers – a beneficiary within the social impact created by the case company.
Practical implications
The case demonstrates the necessity of establishing strong alliance with suppliers and customers in ensuring business success, which implies that leaders need to equip themselves with good business skills. Entrepreneurship support should include educational and training assistance besides the usual legal and financial support.
Social implications
The case provides an exemplary partnership model that helps social enterprises to achieve financial security and social mission at the same time. This model can be applied anywhere in the world to create benefits for vulnerable communities.
Originality/value
The case study contributes to the limited understanding of social entrepreneurship in Vietnam, and demonstrates a social innovation in business partnership that helps to diminish the inequality of income and employment opportunities between suburban areas and big cities.
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