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This study examines whether common directors are guilty of contagion of corporate frauds from the customer side and, if so, how contagion occurs. Moreover, it explores a way to mitigate it, which is the increased digital orientation of firms.

Secondary data analysis is applied in this paper. We extract supply chain relations from the China Stock Market and Account Research (CSMAR) database as well as corporate fraud data from the same database and the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). Digital orientations are estimated through text analysis. Poisson regression is conducted to examine the moderating effect of common directors and the moderated moderating effect of the firms’ digital orientations.

By analysing the 2,096 downstream relations from 2000 to 2021 in China, the study reveals that corporate frauds are contagious through supply chains, while only customers’ misconduct can contagion to upstream firms. The presence of common directors strengthens such supply chain contagion. Additionally, the digital orientation can mitigate the positive moderating effect of common directors on supply chain contagion.

This study highlights the importance of understanding supply chain contagion through corporate fraud by (1) emphasising the existence of the contagion effects of corporate frauds; (2) understanding the potential channel in the process of contagion; (3) considering how digital orientation can mitigate this contagion and (4) recognising that the effect of contagion comes only from the downstream, not from the upstream.

The purpose of this paper is to test the structural properties of a stakeholder research model of focal company business sustainability and the associated consideration of upstream, downstream, market and societal stakeholders.

Based on two industrial business samples in Norway and Spain, partial least squares– structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to empirically test a research model consisting of five stakeholder constructs.

The model was tested in Norway and validated in Spain. An analysis of the path coefficients and levels of significance shows that all relationships in the research model were significant and meaningful.

This paper develops a model that explains and predicts company considerations of other stakeholders in the business sustainability efforts within supply chains (both upstream and downstream) and also beyond in the market and society.

The results of this study can guide companies in structuring, planning and implementing business sustainability in their supply chains, the marketplace and the society. It can also provide a foundation for monitoring and follow-up assessment of corporate decision-making.

This study contributes to supply chain management (SCM) and stakeholder theory to establish a framework for business sustainability with respect to company stakeholders in supply chains.

This paper aims to provide guidance on how midstream social marketing can be used to understand and address wicked problems through adopting a collaborative systems integration approach conceptualised from a macromarketing perspective.

Rothschild’s motivation, opportunity and ability (MOA) framework is applied in this study to understand veterinarians as midstream microactors in the macrosystem of wicked animal welfare issues. Focus group and individual interview data from veterinarians were analysed through the lens of the MOA framework to understand veterinarians’ as midstream microactors within a systems continuum.

The MOA of veterinarians to engage downstream targets – cat owners – in behaviour change are identified. Fresh insights reveal the challenges and barriers to simply focusing on veterinarians as the key microactor required to address the wicked problem of cat overpopulation. Challenges identified include the cost of sterilisation to both owners and veterinary practices, alongside vying beliefs about the capacity of individual veterinarians to persuade owners about the benefits of sterilisation to improve animal welfare. Additionally, insight into veterinarians’ perceptions of upstream strategies to address the problem – in terms of marketing, education and law – expose further complications on where regulation and law enforcement can be integrated in future social marketing strategies to address the cat overpopulation problem.

The application of the MOA framework improves understanding of the concept and practice of midstream social marketing. It provides a practical and strategic tool that social marketers can apply when approaching behaviour change that leverages midstream actors as part of the social change solution.

Research and theorisation in this paper demonstrates an alternative pathway to address wicked problems via a collaborative systems integration approach conceptualised from a macromarketing perspective. Effective long-term change relies on understanding and coordinating a broad macrosystem of interconnected actors along a downstream, midstream and upstream continuum. This starts by understanding the microactions of individual actors within the macrosystem.

The use of mobile wireless data services continues to increase worldwide. New fourth‐generation (4G) wireless networks can deliver data rates exceeding 2 Mbps. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework of 4G mobile applications that utilize such high data rates and run on small form‐factor devices.

The author reviews existing literature of mobile applications development and proposes using network‐related characteristics to create a conceptual framework of these applications.

Combining traffic symmetry and latency yields a 2×3 framework with six categories that characterize current and emerging 4G mobile applications, such as augmented reality, mobile social networking and m‐health.

With the advent of high‐speed 4G networks, completely new mobile applications can be developed to leverage such high data rates, and a framework of such development efforts is highly desirable.

The framework is developed based on a perspective of technical characteristics because these characteristics intrinsically constrain the kinds of broadband mobile applications that can be developed. The framework should be useful in exploring opportunities of mobile application development and guiding future research in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the egocentric network-based strategies used by upstream firms to ensure their own resilience when the disruptions originate with downstream partners.

The paper adopts a case study approach as this is well-suited to the investigation of a complex phenomenon from multiple perspectives.

The study finds that the egocentric networks of upstream firms participating in the supply network of a retailer could ensure their own resilience even after the sudden demise of the downstream entity.

The study addresses the lack of adequate empirical research examining resilience from the perspectives of multiple entities in a supply network. It is also one of the few papers to address resilience from the perspective of upstream players in the context of a disruption originating with downstream partners. The findings suggest that the lack of visibility in relation to the financial health of more powerful downstream partners could be problematic from a supplier’s perspective. It identifies well-developed egocentric networks as being essential for minimizing consequences of limited downstream visibility and the impact on social capital.

The objective of the present research is to explore the construct of perceived sequential service quality in service‐encounter chains.

The study is based on a qualitative approach. Based on two case studies in the Swedish automotive and retail industries, the research applies a six‐dimensional, dual‐perspective construct of sequential service quality. The theoretical framework is derived from the constructs of service quality and service encounter.

The case studies do not indicate any dramatic differences in perceptions of the sequential service‐quality construct – despite the differences that exist between the industries. Although these industries are thus generically different, sequential service quality in service‐encounter chains is recognized as being important in both industries. It is contended that the six‐dimensional construct employed in the present study contributes to the exploration and conceptualization of sequential service quality in service‐encounter chains both from an upstream‐downstream and from a downstream‐upstream perspective. Although some minor differences exist, the overall conclusion is that the construct is valid and useful in understanding and exploring these important issues.

Research and practice needs to extend well beyond single interactive constructs of service quality. The research approach introduced here – of sequential service quality in service‐encounter chains – contributes to an extended research agenda.

The approach might be fruitful in a number of areas for both researchers and practitioners that go beyond the boundaries of the currently accepted constructs and applications of service quality.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the following questions: Are supply chains global or regional? What are the performance implications for firms?

This paper classifies 183 large North American firms into home‐region oriented, host‐region oriented, bi‐regional, and global firms by using geographic distributions of their upstream and downstream activities. The performance implications of the regional supply chains of a broader set of 273 firms by using Tobin's Q and data on intra‐regional sales or assets are further evaluated.

It is found that the evidence to support the regional nature of supply chains – that is, over 85 percent of firms in our sample – have their supply chains within North America. The paper also finds that a regional focus of firms in terms of sales contributes to improved performance as measured by Tobin's Q.

The regionalization perspective proposed by Rugman and Verbeke to develop and test the regional nature of supply chains is applied.

In today's globalized business environment, growing supply chain complexity (SCC) is arguably a major threat to the firm's business continuity with an adverse impact on the firm's competitive advantage and business performance. Researchers, though, investigated the impact of SCC drivers on a firm's operational performance, but the key question “Which supply chain complexity drivers severely impact the supply chain performance (SCP)?” remains largely unanswered from empirical research. The present study aims to decompose the SCC into four major constituting sub-categories (upstream, operational, downstream and external) to explore the causal impact of SCC drivers on SCP in direct and mediated manner.

The indicators applied for measuring constructs in the “Measurement model” are obtained from existing literature to increase the validity and reliability of the model. First, a pilot survey involving 25 SC managers from various manufacturing firms was conducted for indicator refinement and content validation. Second, the large-scale response data were collected through extensive surveys. This research explores the causality by testing the hypothesis applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on the responses received from 246 firms.

The study investigates the impact of SCC drivers on SCP through direct and mediation effect. The results indicate that upstream and operational SCC drivers play a mediating role in managing SCP. The findings reveal that upstream and operational SCC drivers adversely impact the SCP. Furthermore, the impact of downstream complexity on SCP is moderated through operational complexity drivers. The result explains the theoretical relation among SCC drivers supported by empirical validity.

The outcome offers practical relevance to supply chain (SC) managers in SCC and SCP management. Knowing the effect of SCC drivers among themselves and on SCP will facilitate the SC managers in devising the right strategies. The study provides a framework for prioritizing the resource in addressing the SCC issues among many.

The study addresses the apparent gap in the literature by modeling the impact of SCC drivers on SCP, which remained largely unexplored. First, it contributes to developing complex relationships among SCC drivers. Second, the direct and mediated causal effect of the SCC drivers individually and combinedly on SCP are explicated.

This paper seeks to describe a conceptualisation of the multiple facets of the bullwhip effect between stocking levels within and between value chains and value systems.

The paper provides a conceptual discussion of the bullwhip effect. It is refined and re‐defined.

The bullwhip effect has usually been explored between inter‐organisational stocking levels. Recently, it has also been explored within intra‐organisational stocking levels. A broader descriptive framework is introduced, one that positions the bullwhip effect construct in intra‐ and inter‐organisational, as well as intra‐ and inter‐channel, stocking levels in and between value chains and value systems.

A research agenda is provided that goes beyond current definitional boundaries and state‐of‐the‐art research of the bullwhip effect.

The refined and re‐defined bullwhip effect is of interest to practitioners. It considers inter‐organisational and intra‐organisational stocking levels. In addition, it considers intra‐ and inter‐channel stocking levels. It is of great concern to achieve best practices in business.

The principal contributions are – a dynamics model of the bullwhip effect construct; a principle of stocking level variability; a typology of stocking level variability; a framework that describes different levels of analysis of the bullwhip effect; and a re‐definition of the bullwhip effect construct – within or between value chains and value systems.

This paper aims to investigate the characteristics of demand and supply in relation to the real-world supply chain strategies of local urban fresh food supply chains (FFSC). It generates insights into how a range of strategies is adopted by urban retailer businesses in attempting to cater for the particular requirements of food-literate urban consumers and small-scale local growers.

Using a multiple case study method, 12 urban local fresh food retailers in Sydney were studied and interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Local fresh produce has characteristics of both functional and innovative products. Retailers with strong upstream and downstream collaborations adopt hybrid strategies for increased time efficiency and product variety. The dominance of strategies for time efficiency in downstream activities is aimed at maximising the product’s freshness and taste, while product range improvement strategies mean innovative retailers are working with growers to introduce new product types and offering new recipes to consumers that encourage a wider use of products. Urban retailers of local fresh produce leverage on their relationships with upstream and downstream supply chain entities in implementing hybrid strategies.

Policymakers will make use of the new knowledge generated about the real enablers of contemporary urban food systems in designing developmental policies; findings will inform urban FFSC retailers about how harmonious relationships can be leveraged for sustainability.

The study generates new knowledge on the implementation of a leagile approach by studying the adoption of innovative hybrid strategies by urban local FFSCs in relations to demand and supply characteristics and the utilization of strong vertical relationships in a short supply chain.