Search results

The purpose of this article is to introduce a framework for internet supported inter‐organizational product development, which enables companies to efficiently configure their development processes according to their needs.

Three ideal types of partner integration are identified and specific design guidelines for each type are proposed. Current approaches for product development collaboration are analysed. Based on their shortcomings the main approach of this paper evolves. Additionally the main results of interviews with experts are used to develop and introduce a framework which has been tested partially in the shipbuilding industry.

The paper identifies three types of partner integration and proposes specific design guidelines.

The framework introduced in this paper provides guidance for future research in the area of product development collaboration.

The framework further supports managers in designing efficient and effective inter‐organizational product development collaboration by choosing the appropriate level of partner integration.

The paper presents a practical and usable framework for internet supported inter‐organizational product development collaboration. The main focus is on designing the partnership interaction.

Currently, automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) aim at developing Internet‐based methods to redesign their relationships with the suppliers. The majority of the manufacturers believe this to be a possibility to improve the relationships to their suppliers, especially regarding transparent cost‐structures. Suppliers on the other hand are very skeptical about methods in this area. Their fears of rising price pressure and potential losses of know‐how and competitive advantages are high. This article examines how strategic sourcing can be supported by Internet‐based methods. Thus, it tries to answer the question how the relationship between OEMs and suppliers will develop regarding the sourcing of complex material: will the Internet‐based relationships enhance collaboration or increase competition? An empirical study within the German automotive industry shows that the views of suppliers and OEMs differ substantially regarding the benefits and risks of an Internet‐based support of strategic sourcing. Hence, it seems that non‐technological problems are the main obstacles in the transition of these methods. It is evident that suppliers generally fear increased transparency within their structures in many different areas.

The purpose of the paper is to analyse empirically the causal relationships between quality management, service quality and business success in German logistics companies.

The paper develops a measurement instrument of logistics service quality by combining conceptual approaches from service marketing with quality indicators from operations management. This measure is verified through factor analysis on a sample of 229 German logistics providers. Relationships between logistics service quality, quality management and business success are investigated in a structural equation model.

The results support measuring logistics service quality by the three dimensions: service potential, process and outcome. The effect of quality management on these constructs is confirmed. Likewise, the positive effect of service quality on business success is confirmed, with the notable exception of outcome quality.

This research only involves German logistics service providers. Further studies in other countries are needed to generalise the results.

Logistics service providers should devote more attention to quality management than they currently do. To enhance quality, they should focus their efforts on service potential and the service process. The paper offers them a way to measure these quality dimensions.

Research into logistics services has so far been mostly descriptive. The present study is the first to validate empirically a measure of logistics service quality and relate it to other phenomena. The relationship between quality management, service quality and business success found by structural modelling helps to understand the role of quality in logistics services.

Regulatory pressure, consumer awareness, and the quest for competitive advantage place sustainable products in today’s decision-making spotlight. The purpose of this paper is to explore supply chain dynamics as they relate to sustainable product programs and to empirically develop a framework to align efforts across the supply chain to bring sustainable products to market.

Grounded in systems design, stakeholder theory, and the theory of planned behavior, the authors conduct an inductive empirical study of 28 European and US companies.

The authors make three contributions. First, the authors identify six dimensions of product sustainability, which map to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s sustainability scope model. Second, the authors model relational dynamics using systems diagrams to provide a framework that: first, communicates a common understanding of product sustainability; and second, facilitates tradeoff analysis. Third, the authors elaborate behaviors needed to reduce ambiguity and compliance costs.

Managers can use the framework to assess product sustainability and evaluate tradeoffs across product dimensions and supply chain participants. Using this insight, managers can design sustainable product programs that engage supply chain participants.

By identifying dimensions, defining costs, and uncovering tradeoffs, managers can more effectively implement sustainable product programs.

The framework provides a much needed source of clarity to mitigate role ambiguity, reduce compliance costs, and promote collaborative behavior in bringing sustainable products to market.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had severe effects on economies worldwide and, in particular, on public institutions that must keep their operations running while supply chains are interrupted. The purpose of this study is to examine how public institutions act during a pandemic to ensure the security of supply.

The distinct focus is if, why and how public institutions have adopted additive manufacturing (AM) – a production technology colloquially known as three-dimensional printing in which a product is created by joining raw material layer by layer based on a digital model (computer-aided design [CAD] file) of the product – in reaction to supply disruptions caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. For this purpose, four cases within the context of the pandemic supply disruption are used as the units of analysis.

The findings are twofold: public institutions reacted, on the one hand, with a behavioral solution approach, trying to solve the supply disruption with new or changed forms of cooperation and collaboration. On the other hand, public institutions used a technical solution approach (TSA) as a supply disruption response and intensified their use of AM.

This research derives an implications model that focuses on the TSA. Considering the ex ante and ex post phases of the disruption, several effects of AM on resilience are identified. The most relevant is the long-term learning effect (i.e. AM data created during this disruption might also help in a new disruption).

Practitioners who act under extreme pressure and uncertainty are informed by cases that have managed to close bottleneck situations with either a behavioral or TSA. Specific strategies are given for how public buyers could use AM within a pandemic situation to mitigate supply bottlenecks, such as increasing their robustness by localizing sourcing and increasing agility by combining traditional and additive supply sources. Additionally, insights are provided into how public organizations can increase their level of preparedness by including disruption paragraphs, establishing CAD databases, in contract clauses and keeping reserve contracts with AM service providers.

This research contrasts behavioral and technical solution concepts for a pandemic in the public sector. Thus, it provides insights into the relative benefits of AM and causes and effect with regard to how AM affects supply robustness and agility.

The use of fibre optic sensors is a relatively new development but the future applications are enormous

The purpose of this paper is to assess the likelihood of successfully introducing constitutional changes to the definition of marriage in Germany.

The paper examines the values underpinning the German constitution through academic writing and case law.

Fundamental change is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future, despite EU case law.

Incremental changes have taken place in all countries. These have begun in the workplace and spread to more fundamental areas such as challenges to marriage definitions in many countries. In a conservative country such as Germany the fact that even the highest constitutional court has come close to opening the door to change can be interpreted to mean the wait will not be too long.

The paper provides a comparative analysis that will highlight the types of arguments that have been successfully pushed through the courts as well as persuading political actors to enact positive legislation.