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Article
Publication date: 7 June 2021

Melek Akın Ateş and Huriye Memiş

This paper aims to empirically examine the moderating role of strategic purchasing on the relationship between supply base complexity (SBC) and purchasing performance.

1113

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to empirically examine the moderating role of strategic purchasing on the relationship between supply base complexity (SBC) and purchasing performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from 209 firms listed in the Capital Top 500 Firms of Turkey. Measurement properties were assessed via confirmatory factor analysis, and the conceptual model was tested via hierarchical regression analysis. A supplementary analysis based on 14 semi-structured interviews was conducted to provide further insights on the survey findings.

Findings

Regarding structural SBC, the results suggest that horizontal complexity and supplier interaction improve purchasing performance, but only in firms with high strategic purchasing. By contrast, spatial complexity reduces purchasing performance in firms with high strategic purchasing, while supplier differentiation does not have any effect. Regarding dynamic SBC, the results show that both delivery complexity and supplier instability reduce purchasing performance when firms have low strategic purchasing. Interviews further suggest that firms with high strategic purchasing leverage the positive effects and mitigate the negative effects of SBC by having a long-term focus, considering multiple performance criteria and adopting advanced purchasing practices.

Practical implications

In contrast to what is widely posited in the existing literature, the nuanced findings of this study reveal that complexity is not always detrimental. The results suggest that practitioners should aim for high levels of strategic purchasing to suppress the negative effects of SBC while leveraging its benefits.

Originality/value

By investigating the contingency role of strategic purchasing, this study provides novel insights into the under-investigated issue of how to best “manage” SBC.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 41 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Shivam Gupta, Sameer Kumar, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Cyril Foropon and Charu Chandra

Cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) enables an organization to pay for the services they need and removes the need to maintain information technology infrastructure…

3584

Abstract

Purpose

Cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) enables an organization to pay for the services they need and removes the need to maintain information technology infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the role of cloud-based ERP services on the performance of an organization. Here, the performance is categorized as supply chain performance and organizational performance that comprises of financial performance and marketing performance. Contingent resource-based view (RBV) theory was used to develop a theoretical framework in which supply base complexity (SBC) acts as a moderating variable on the relationship between cloud ERP and the performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Contingent RBV theory is used to explain the relationship between all identified variables in this paper. Partial least squares (PLS) based on structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to empirically test our theoretical framework.

Findings

The PLS-SEM analysis of 154 respondents supports the contingent RBV theory. Six hypotheses – out of the eight hypotheses formulated in this paper – are supported by data.

Research limitations/implications

Given this study was conducted in India where the potential of cloud ERP has not been fully implemented yet, the results may reflect more of perceived usefulness of this technology. The authors have attempted to understand the effect of SBC as a moderator in the relationship between cloud ERP and organizational performance which may not be the only moderator affecting this relationship among other potential moderators.

Originality/value

This paper empirically validates the theoretical framework based on the contingent RBV theory as it mitigates the static nature of the resource-based view approach suggested in the seminal article of Barney (1991).

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Shirish Jeble, Rameshwar Dubey, Stephen J. Childe, Thanos Papadopoulos, David Roubaud and Anand Prakash

The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model to explain the impact of big data and predictive analytics (BDPA) on sustainable business development goal of the…

5672

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model to explain the impact of big data and predictive analytics (BDPA) on sustainable business development goal of the organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have developed the theoretical model using resource-based view logic and contingency theory. The model was further tested using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) following Peng and Lai (2012) arguments. The authors gathered 205 responses using survey-based instrument for PLS-SEM.

Findings

The statistical results suggest that out of four research hypotheses, the authors found support for three hypotheses (H1-H3) and the authors did not find support for H4. Although the authors did not find support for H4 (moderating role of supply base complexity (SBC)), however, in future the relationship between BDPA, SBC and sustainable supply chain performance measures remain interesting research questions for further studies.

Originality/value

This study makes some original contribution to the operations and supply chain management literature. The authors provide theory-driven and empirically proven results which extend previous studies which have focused on single performance measures (i.e. economic or environmental). Hence, by studying the impact of BDPA on three performance measures the authors have attempted to answer some of the unresolved questions. The authors also offer numerous guidance to the practitioners and policy makers, based on empirical results.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 March 2023

Sini Laari, Harri Lorentz, Patrik Jonsson and Roger Lindau

Drawing on information processing theory, the linkage between buffering and bridging and the ability on the part of procurement to resolve demand–supply imbalances is…

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Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on information processing theory, the linkage between buffering and bridging and the ability on the part of procurement to resolve demand–supply imbalances is investigated, as well as contexts in which these strategies may be particularly useful or detrimental. Buffering may be achieved through demand change or redundancy, while bridging may be achieved by the means of collaboration or monitoring.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a hierarchical regression analysis of a survey of 150 Finnish and Swedish procurement and sales and operations planning professionals, each responding from the perspective of their own area of supply responsibility.

Findings

Both the demand change and redundancy varieties of buffering are associated with procurement's ability to resolve demand–supply imbalances without delivery disruptions, but not with cost-efficient resolution. Bridging is associated with the cost-efficient resolution of imbalances: while collaboration offers benefits, monitoring seems to make things worse. Dynamism diminishes, while the co-management of procurement in S&OP improves procurement's ability to resolve demand–supply imbalances. The most potent strategy for tackling problematic contexts appears to be buffering via demand change.

Practical implications

The results highlight the importance of procurement in the S&OP process and suggest tactical measures that can be taken to resolve and reduce the effects of supply and demand imbalances.

Originality/value

The results contribute to the procurement and S&OP literature by increasing knowledge regarding the role and integration of procurement to the crucial process of balancing demand and supply operations.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 43 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 June 2023

Ziwei Yang, Wenjin Hu, Jinan Shao, Yongyi Shou and Qile He

The highly uncertain and turbulent environments nowadays intensify the paradoxical effects of supply base concentration (SBC) on improving cost efficiency while increasing…

Abstract

Purpose

The highly uncertain and turbulent environments nowadays intensify the paradoxical effects of supply base concentration (SBC) on improving cost efficiency while increasing idiosyncratic risk (IR). Digitalization is regarded as a remedy for this paradox, yet digitization's potentially curative effect has not been empirically tested. Leveraging the lenses of paradox theory and information processing theory (IPT), this study explores how two distinct dimensions of digitalization, i.e. digitalization intensity (DI) and digitalization breadth (DB), reconcile the paradoxical effects of SBC.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a panel dataset of 1,238 Chinese manufacturing firms in the period of 2012–2020, this study utilizes fixed-effects regression models to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The authors discover that SBC enhances a firm's cost efficiency but induces greater IR. More importantly, there is evidence that DI restrains the amplifying effect of SBC on IR. However, DB weakens the enhancing effect of SBC on cost efficiency and aggravates the SBC's exacerbating effect on IR.

Originality/value

This study advances the understanding of the paradoxical effects of SBC on cost efficiency and IR from a paradox theory perspective. More importantly, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the authors' study is the first to untangle the differential roles of DI and DB in reconciling the paradox of SBC. This study also provides practitioners with nuanced insights into how the practitioners should use appropriate tactics to deploy digital technologies effectively.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 43 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2017

Veronica L. Thomas and Christina Saenger

The purpose of this paper is to examine the conflict between consumers’ need to spread word-of-mouth about brands to express identity and the motivation to protect identity-linked…

1512

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the conflict between consumers’ need to spread word-of-mouth about brands to express identity and the motivation to protect identity-linked brands from outside adoption that could dilute the brand’s symbolic associations. Current studies examine the interactive effects of self-brand connection (SBC) and consumer need for uniqueness (cNFU) on intentions to engage in brand-promoting and brand-protecting word-of-mouth behavior to in-group and out-group recipients.

Design/methodology/approach

Experimental scenario stimulus-based survey research was conducted, including scales measuring intentions to engage in promoting and protecting word-of-mouth, SBC and cNFU. Data for four studies were collected via online surveys and were analyzed using Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS macro and the Johnson–Neyman technique in SPSS 21.0.

Findings

The results of four studies demonstrate that the interaction between SBC and cNFU tempers intentions to engage in brand-promoting word-of-mouth and amplifies intentions to engage in brand-protecting word-of-mouth, when the recipient of the word-of-mouth communication is an out-group, but not an in-group, member.

Originality/value

This work exposes the conflict between identity-expression and fear-of-imitation by demonstrating that consumers’ tempered intentions to spread brand-promoting word-of-mouth and amplified intentions to spread brand-protective word-of-mouth are deliberate strategic mechanisms used to protect brand meaning. In doing so, this research exposes cNFU as a factor that influences self-brand-connected consumers to engage in a negative brand behavior and qualifies work in identity-expressive word-of-mouth that suggests that self-presentational concerns lead consumers to avoid spreading negatively valenced word-of-mouth about identity-linked brands.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2005

Thomas J. Housel and Sarah K. Nelson

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of an analytic methodology (knowledge valuation analysis, i.e. KVA), based on complexity and information theory, that is capable…

3071

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of an analytic methodology (knowledge valuation analysis, i.e. KVA), based on complexity and information theory, that is capable of quantifying value creation by corporate intellectual capital. It aims to use a real‐world case to demonstrate this methodology within a consulting context.

Design/methodology/approach

The fundamental assumptions and theoretical constructs underlying KVA are summarized. The history of the concept, a case application, limitations, and implications for the methodology are presented.

Findings

Although well‐known financial analytic tools were used to justify IT investment proposals, none provided a satisfying result because none offered an unambiguous way to tie IT performance to value creation. KVA provided a means to count the amount of corporate knowledge, in equivalent units, required to produce the outputs of client core processes. This enabled stakeholders to assign revenue streams to IT, develop IT ROIs, and decide with clarity where to invest.

Practical implications

When stakeholders can assign revenue streams to sub‐corporate processes, they have a new context for making IC investment decisions. “Cost centers” and decisions based on cost containment can be replaced. Concepts such as a knowledge market, the knowledge asset pricing model, k‐betas, and a sub‐corporate equities market can be developed and applied. Some of the limitations related to real options analysis can be resolved.

Originality/value

This paper introduces an approach to measuring corporate intellectual capital that solves some long‐standing IC valuation problems.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 March 2010

Louwrens J. Butler and Glen Bright

This paper aims to examine the structure of the control strategy that is being deployed on the control of the mobile materials handling platform, from the higher level onboard…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the structure of the control strategy that is being deployed on the control of the mobile materials handling platform, from the higher level onboard interface software to the low‐level control system that is tasked with the dynamic stability of the platform.

Design/methodology/approach

The application of the principle of the inverted pendulum in mobile robotics has only recently been made possible by advances in the technology of electronics. A mobile materials handling platform has been designed and built for use in manufacturing systems of the future. The principle of the inverted pendulum has been incorporated into the design. This means that the platform is able to maintain dynamic stability during specific periods of operation. The mechatronic engineering approach was adopted in the design of the platform, which produced an integrated embedded system.

Findings

Open source software being implemented onboard the platform for interfacing between the platform and remote client computers is found to be easily customisable according to the requirements of one's application. A solution to the problem of nonholonomic motion constraints that concern any differential drive mobile robot was found in a nonlinear state transformation algorithm. The algorithm was implemented on an intermediate level between the interface software and the low‐level control system. The low‐level feedback control system was designed using a linear quadratic regulator design method. Simulations of this control system showed that it was robust enough to reject predetermined disturbances in system characteristics.

Originality/value

The application of a mobile platform specifically designed for materials handling based on the principle of the inverted pendulum has not been attempted to date.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 November 2023

Chenchen Yang, Lu Chen and Qiong Xia

The development of digital technology has provided technical support to various industries. Specifically, Internet-based freight platforms can ensure the high-quality development…

Abstract

Purpose

The development of digital technology has provided technical support to various industries. Specifically, Internet-based freight platforms can ensure the high-quality development of the logistics industry. Online freight platforms can use cargo transportation insurance to improve their service capabilities, promote their differentiated development, create products with platform characteristics and increase their core competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a generalised linear model to fit the claim probability and claim intensity data and analyses freight insurance pricing based on the freight insurance claim data of a freight platform in China.

Findings

Considering traditional pricing risk factors, this study adds two risk factors to fit the claim probability data, that is, the purchase behaviour of freight insurance customers and road density. The two variables can significantly influence the claim probability, and the model fitting outcomes obtained with the logit connection function are excellent. In addition, this study examines the model results under various distribution types for the fitting of the claim intensity data. The fitting outcomes under a gamma distribution are superior to those under the other distribution types, as measured by the Akaike information criterion.

Originality/value

With actual data from an online freight platform in China, this study empirically proves that a generalised linear model is superior to traditional pricing methods for freight insurance. This study constructs a generalised linear pricing model considering the unique features of the freight industry and determines that the transportation distance, cargo weight and road density have a significant influence on the claim probability and claim intensity.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 123 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 October 2017

Zongwei Luo, Angappa Gunasekaran, Rameshwar Dubey, Stephen J. Childe and Thanos Papadopoulos

A low-carbon economy is the pressing need of the hour. Despite several efforts taken by the government and large corporations, there is still research to be conducted exploring…

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Abstract

Purpose

A low-carbon economy is the pressing need of the hour. Despite several efforts taken by the government and large corporations, there is still research to be conducted exploring the role of top management commitment in translating external pressures into responses that help to build low-carbon emissions in supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have grounded their framework in institutional theory, agency theory and contingency theory. On the basis of existing literature, four hypotheses were drawn. To test these hypotheses, a questionnaire was developed and pre-tested. Finally, statistical analyses were performed to test the research hypotheses using 176 samples gathered using a pre-tested questionnaire following Dillman’s (2007) total design test method.

Findings

The results suggest that coercive pressures and mimetic pressures under the mediating effect of top management commitment have a significant influence on organizational response to low-carbon emissions. The authors further note that supply base complexity has moderating effects on the link between top management commitment and organizational response towards low-carbon emissions.

Originality/value

This study offers valuable insights to those managers and environmental consultants who view supply base complexity as a limitation. However, the results indicate that supply base complexity may help to enhance the effectiveness of the top management commitment on organizational response towards low-carbon emissions.

Details

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, vol. 9 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-8692

Keywords

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