Search results

The purpose of this paper is to understand the concept of supply chain capital, which is formed through managing knowledge in supply chains on a long‐term basis.

The development of a conceptual model describing supply chain capital is achieved through extensive literature review, past research carried out by the authors, and past experiences of the authors within the construction industry.

The paper develops a conceptual model that provides a link between construction organisations and their learning activities as part of a project supply chain, resulting in creation of a learning organisation and a learning supply chain. The model shows that the learning supply chains consist of learning organisations which would create supply chain capital in order to promote innovation and creativity by managing knowledge in supply chains on a long‐term basis.

In addition to the establishment of the model, the paper suggests that the learning organisations would also establish a virtual knowledge transfer among themselves and the supply chains in which they are involved. The paper also suggests that, as unit of competition changes from organisation verses organisation to chain verses chain under supply chain management, supply chain capital will become increasingly important for sustaining competition within the construction industry. Therefore, supply chain capitals are to be created through managing knowledge in supply chains on a long‐term basis, using the proposed conceptual model. The model also facilitates innovation and creativity, essentially required to thrive in the downturned business environment of today in many countries in different parts of the world.

The paper's authors are the first to come up with the term “supply chain capital” in the research domain and to have developed the conceptual model for the construction industry.

This chapter explores the reconstruction of the illy’s coffee supply chain in Brazil. The original supply chain was disrupted by fluctuating prices and inefficiencies and renovated based on network relationships between the focal company and the coffee growers. It describes the peculiar experience of illycaffe (an international coffee roaster based in Italy) in building social capital into its supply chain and resulting in a more sustainable network.

The chapter summarizes the development of different types of social capital and applies the concepts to understand illy’s journey towards quality and supply chain sustainability. The research design is consistent with theory elaboration from a single case study.

The chapter applies social capital theory to food commodity supply chains. The evolution to a more reliable and sustainable supply chain for illy’s Arabica coffee in Brazil suggests that supply chain relationships are a crucial asset for the focal firm, the local communities, and society at large. Results also show that developing such relationships might lead to better product quality, supply chain sustainability, and improved supply base capabilities.

The findings of this chapter contribute to the definition of a relational governance model for global food commodity supply chains. From a research standpoint, the empirical setting allows analyses of antecedents and consequences of different social capital components in the food supply chain. In addition, the case may help executives understand how to leverage supply chain relationships and identify a path to product quality and supply chain sustainability.

This study examines the direct and indirect effects of social capital on supply chain performance via supply chain quality integration (SCQI), which refers to integrating supply chain partners from the perspective of quality management. It also examines the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in the link between social capital and SCQI and determines the conditional indirect effect of social capital on supply chain performance via SCQI.

Data were collected using a time-lagged research design through a self-administered survey of supply chain professionals in manufacturing firms in Pakistan. Hayes’ PROCESS Macro was used to test the hypotheses.

The results show a positive relationship between social capital and supply chain performance. SCQI partially mediates the relationship between social capital and supply chain performance. Environmental uncertainty significantly moderates that relationship in such a way that firms that operate under high environmental uncertainty are more likely to use their social capital to develop SCQI than firms that operate under low environmental uncertainty.

The study has practical implications for managers who seek to implement SCQI practices using social capital. Leveraging social capital across the supply chain fosters strong connections and a quality-oriented approach across the supply chain, and improves overall performance. Managers can use the power of social capital to navigate environmental uncertainty.

This study’s originality lies in its drawing on the dynamic capability theory and contingency theory and integrating the dispersed scholarly work on social capital, SCQI, and supply chain performance under the boundary condition of environmental uncertainty.

This study aims to focus on the optimal green R&D of a capital-constrained supply chain under different channel power structures as well as the impact of capital constraint, financing cost, channel power structure and cost-reducing efficiency on green R&D and supply chain profitability.

A two-echelon supply chain is considered. The upstream firm engages in green R&D but has capital constraints that can be overcome by external financing. Green R&D is beneficial to reduce production costs and increase consumer demand. Based on whether or not the upstream firm is capital constrained and dominates the supply chain, four models are developed.

Capital constraints significantly lower green R&D and supply chain profitability. Transferring leadership from the upstream to the downstream firms leads to higher green R&D levels and downstream firm profitability, whereas the upstream firm's profitability is increased (decreased) if green R&D investment efficiency is high (low) enough. Greater financing costs reduce green R&D and downstream firm profitability; however, the upstream firm's profitability under the model in which it functions as the follower increases if the initial capital is sufficient. More importantly, empirical analysis based on practice data is used to verify the theoretical results reported above.

This study reveals how upstream firms in supply chains decide green R&D decisions in situations with capital constraints, providing managers and governments with an understanding of the impact of capital constraint, channel power structure, financing cost and cost-reducing efficiency on supply chain green R&D and profitability.

The major contributions are the exploration of supply chain green R&D by taking into consideration channel power structures and cost-reducing efficiency and the validation of theoretical results using practice data.

The study explores manufacturers' supply chain social capital (SCSC) (structural social capital and relational social capital) and supply chain performance, respectively, as drivers and outcome of green supply chain management practices (GSCMPs). Additionally, the study explores the direct relationship between SCSC and supply chain performance of manufacturers.

The author develops and tests a research model grounded in the resource-based view and the natural resource-based view theory using survey data from 100 manufacturing firms operating in Ghana. The measurement model and hypothesized paths were examined using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The findings revealed that relational social capital of manufacturers has a positive and significant relationship with supply chain performance, but structural social capital does not. Additionally, manufacturers' structural social capital and relational social capital were found to have a positive and significant relationship with GSCMPs. Lastly, GSCMPs were found to have a positive and significant relationship with supply chain performance.

The study contributes to the limited literature demonstrating the contribution of intangible relational assets, specifically SCSC, toward GSCMPs implementation.

This study aims to investigate how relational capital derived by the buyer and supplier from the buyer-LSP and supplier-LSP dyads affects buyer-supplier adaptability and their relational performance.

Drawing upon the tenets of Social Capital Theory and Relational View, the authors performed exploratory research using a survey of 350 supply chain triads. Based on these data, the authors used Structural Equation Modeling to estimate the Higher Component Model (HCM) and test the research hypotheses.

The research results indicate that relational capital derived by the supplier from the supplier-LSP dyad has a strong and positive impact on buyer-supplier adaptability. On the other hand, relational capital derived by the buyer from the buyer-LSP dyad has no significant impact on buyer-supplier adaptability. The results also demonstrate that the effect of buyer-supplier adaptability on buyer-supplier relational performance is strong and positive. The obtained findings also suggest that buyer-supplier adaptability acts as a partial mediator between relational capital derived by buyer/supplier from the links with LSP and relational performance.

The study has some limitations that guide directions for future research. First, along with relational capital, it might be worthwhile to also investigate the impact of structural and cognitive capital in supply chain triads to test whether and how these two dimensions of social capital contribute to buyer-supplier adaptability. It could be also interesting to include the LSP’s perception of relational capital in the model to shift the analysis from the organizational to the interorganizational level.

Given the increasing interest in complex structures of supply chains, this study investigates how one dyad affects other dyads in supply chain triads. Specifically, the study develops and empirically tests the construct of relational capital derived from the links with LSPs, and views adaptability as the result of two interacting parties.

This paper examines the nexus between supply chain social capital (relational social capital and structural social capital), supply chain responsiveness (operations system responsiveness and supplier network responsiveness) and firm performance. Additionally, the study examines the mediating role of supply chain responsiveness on the relationship between supply chain social capital and firm performance.

The authors test their hypotheses on a sample of 120 firms operating in Ghana. The measurement model and hypothesized paths were assessed using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The findings revealed that structural social capital had a significant direct effect on firm performance, but relational social capital did not. It was also revealed that both relational and structural social capital have significant effects on operations system responsiveness and supplier network responsiveness. Additionally, operations system responsiveness fully mediated the effect of relational social capital on firm performance and partially mediated the effect of structural social capital on firm performance. Supplier network responsiveness, on the other hand, partially mediated the effect of both relational and structural social capital on firm performance.

This study contributes to the limited literature on supply chain social capital by unearthing the mechanisms through which supply chain social capital enhances firm performance. Specifically, the study demonstrates the intervening role of operations system responsiveness and supplier network responsiveness in the supply chain social capital–firm performance link.

Drawing upon social capital theory, this research aims to explore the influence of three dimensions of green intellectual capital (GIC) (i.e. green human capital [GHC], green structural capital and green relational capital) on green supply chain integration (GSCI) (i.e. green supplier, internal and customer integration), and the mediating effect of supply chain transformational leadership (SCTL).

To verify the hypothesized relationships, the authors conduct hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping method with two-waved survey data collected from 317 Chinese manufacturing firms.

The findings suggest that both green structural and relational capital positively influence three dimensions of GSCI, while GHC only positively affects green internal and customer integration. In addition, SCTL mediates the impacts of green structural and relational capital on three dimensions of GSCI and mediates the impacts of GHC on green supplier and internal integration.

This research contributes to the GSCI literature and practice by deeming GIC as an intangible resource that can enhance GSCI and revealing the mediating role of SCTL.

This paper aims to examine the effects of green supply chain management (GSCM) on environmental and operational performances with a perspective of social capital accumulation in the supply chain. The roles of structural capital and relational social capital in GSCM were empirically explored.

A research model was developed to investigate the effects of GSCM on a supplier’s environmental and operational performances through structural and relational social capitals. Using an exploratory factor analysis, the study identified the structural and relational dimensions of social capital and the environmental and operational performance dimensions of supplier’s performance. The hypotheses were tested on data of 207 responses collected from supplying firms in South Korea, using structural equation modeling.

The paper finds that GSCM contributes to the environmental and operational performance improvements of the supply chain through social capital accumulation. Relational capital, in particular, plays a more important pivoting role in the relationships between GSCM and environmental and operational performances.

The findings of this paper provide useful insights about how supply chain members should integrate environmental issues into supply chain management practices that would enhance social capital accumulation to foster stronger operational and environmental performances throughout the entire supply chain.

This research is one of the few studies that explore the effects of GSCM on performance by explicitly considering social capital as an important intervening variable. By applying social capital theory, this study provides theoretical underpinning for furthering the GSCM literature.

Drawing on social capital theory, we extend the concept of supply chain capital to examine whether structural and relational capital can strengthen the complementary capabilities of suppliers and enhance their performance.

The empirical study was conducted on 161 precision mold equipment suppliers. To evaluate the mediated moderation model of supply chain capital, we applied multiple linear regression to test our hypotheses.

We found that both structural and relational capital positively affect the complementary capabilities of suppliers and that these capabilities mediate the relationship between supply chain capital and supplier performance. Furthermore, structural capital positively and significantly moderates the mediating effect on the relationship between complementary capabilities and supplier performance.

This study provides suggestions for suppliers that are equipped with sufficient structural and relational capital to effectively enhance their complementary capabilities. By considering the interaction between structural capital and complementary capabilities, suppliers can effectively improve their performance.

This novel research develops a theoretical model to examine the antecedents and consequences of supplier complementary capabilities. We contribute to a new line of research on supply chain capital, which aims to explore how it affects the complementary capabilities of suppliers by examining a practical supply chain activity setting.