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1 – 10 of over 1000Helena Kahiluoto, Hanna Mäkinen and Janne Kaseva
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theory and practice of supply chain management in terms of how an organisation should structure its supply base to be resilient…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theory and practice of supply chain management in terms of how an organisation should structure its supply base to be resilient to supply uncertainties and disruptions. An empirical assessment of supplier response diversity is demonstrated, and the following research question posed: Is response diversity of suppliers positively associated with supply chain resilience, more positively than mere supplier diversity is?
Design/Methodology/Approach
Resilience is operationalised as the maintenance of sales of two food products in 27 southern Finnish retail stores during two distinct disruptions. Response diversity is operationalised as 1) diversity in the personnel sizes of slaughterhouse suppliers of pork under domestic strikes and as 2) evenness in the proportions of imports and domestic supply of food oil under global price volatility. A five-step quantitative assessment is performed.
Findings
Response diversity is positively related to the maintenance of sales, more positively than diversity of individual suppliers is.
Research limitations/Implications
Response diversity is an advancement to the theory of supply chain resilience and supply base management, and access to big data increases practical potential.
Practical implications
Empirical assessments of response diversity of suppliers provide buyer companies an effective means to enhance their supply base management for resilience.
Social implications
The proposed approach is useful for teaching and for authorities to enhance food security.
Originality/value
This first assessment of response diversity of supply chain operations presents an important advancement in the theory and practice of supply base management for resilience.
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Veronica Vitali, Claudia Bazzani, Annamaria Gimigliano, Marco Cristani, Diego Begalli and Gloria Menegaz
This study proposes a literature review and, based on the findings, the authors develop a conceptual framework, attempting to explain how technology may influence visitor behavior…
Abstract
Purpose
This study proposes a literature review and, based on the findings, the authors develop a conceptual framework, attempting to explain how technology may influence visitor behavior and eventually trade show performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The present research explores the role of visitors in the trade show context. The analysis specifically focuses on the variables that influence visitors’ participation at business-to-business trade shows and how their satisfaction and perception can be related to exhibition performance. The authors also take into consideration technological trends that prior to COVID-19 pandemics were slowly emerging in the trade show industry.
Findings
The findings highlight a continuity between pre-, at and postexhibition phases. Visitors’ behavior represents a signal of how a trade show is perceived as postexhibition purchases and next visit emerge as signals of an exhibition evaluation in relation to visitors’ perception. Besides being urgent tools for the continuity of the sector due to the pandemics, emerging technological trends can be key elements in understanding visitors’ behavior and in boosting their interest and loyalty toward trade shows.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a conceptual model including top notch and innovative technological trends to improve the understandment of visitors’ behavior. Both practitioners in companies and academics might find the study useful, given the digital uplift generated by the pandemics.
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Markus Vanharanta and Phoebe Wong
The purpose of this paper is to ease the methodological application of critical realist multilevel research in business marketing. Although there has been plenty of theoretical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to ease the methodological application of critical realist multilevel research in business marketing. Although there has been plenty of theoretical contributions in this field, it is not always clear how critical realism can be best applied in business marketing settings. Accordingly, this paper addresses this gap in literature. Also, this paper addresses the calls for a multilevel conceptualization for resilience, based on the critical realist laminated systems.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper, which uses pre-existing literature to develop a critical realist methodological approach for the purposes of multilevel business marketing research. The contribution is based on literature by combining pre-existing ideas in a new way in the context of business marketing.
Findings
This paper makes a methodological contribution by introducing the critical realist “laminated systems” to business marketing as a multilevel research approach. Furthermore, the authors conceptualize a specific laminated model, the Laminated Interactional Model (LIM), that is designed for the purpose of business marketing research. The LIM is a methodological tool that conceptualizes business marketing based on six levels of analysis, easing the methodological application of critical realism in business marketing settings. In addition, to provide an example, the authors apply the LIM to the literature on resilience, providing a multilevel conceptualization. This is a timely contribution, as resilience has emerged as a central concept addressing interorganizational survival during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originality/value
This paper makes three main contributions to business marketing. First, this paper provides a methodological contribution by introducing the critical realist notion of “laminated systems” to business marketing. Second, this paper conceptualizes a specific laminated model for business marketing, namely, the LIM. Third, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper will apply critical realism and the LIM to the notion of resilience, addressing the calls for multilevel conceptualizations.
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Kim Janssens, Cees J. Gelderman and Jordy Petersen
The main purpose of this research is exploring the tipping points for a radical shift in supplier (dis)satisfaction. This study identifies triggers and links them to consequences…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this research is exploring the tipping points for a radical shift in supplier (dis)satisfaction. This study identifies triggers and links them to consequences for the buyer–supplier relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) was used to interview Dutch supplier representatives in the infrastructure sector, resulting in rich descriptions of 29 critical incidents, extracting first-hand information.
Findings
Safety issues, technical disputes and recruitment of supplier’s technical staff have been identified as tipping points for suppliers to become dissatisfied. Implementing performance-based contracting is another critical incident that caused irritation and disappointment. On a more operational level, dissatisfaction was provoked by tender errors and price discussions with the buyer. This study also identified tipping points by which dissatisfied suppliers abruptly turned into satisfied suppliers. The effect of a solution-oriented buyer intervention appears to be most powerful if this behaviour transcends prior expectations.
Practical implications
Consequences of misunderstandings and discussion between supplier and buyer may be manageable or repairable, depending on the causes and triggers that influenced a supplier’s dissatisfaction. An early warning system could prove its worth, so that buyers are not faced with unpleasant surprises.
Originality/value
Despite the growing number of studies, processes of how antecedents lead to supplier (dis)satisfaction are not well understood. Antecedents are predominantly investigated by cross-sectional survey data, giving little insights into micro-processes and actual interaction between buyers and suppliers. Although CIT has been applied in many disciplines, the technique is hardly used within the context of purchasing and supply management research.
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Yasin Sahhar, Raymond Loohuis and Jörg Henseler
The purpose of this study is to identify the practices used by service providers to manage the customer service experience (CSE) across multiple phases of the customer journey in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the practices used by service providers to manage the customer service experience (CSE) across multiple phases of the customer journey in a business-to-business (B2B) setting.
Design/methodology/approach
This study comprises an ethnography that investigates in real time, from a dyadic perspective, and the CSE management practices at two service providers operating in knowledge-intensive service industries over a period of eight months. Analytically, the study concentrates on critical events that occurred in phases of the customer journey that in some way alter CSE, thus making it necessary for service providers to act to keep their customers satisfied.
Findings
The study uncovers four types of service provider practices that vary based on the mode of organization (ad hoc or regular) and the mode of engagement (reactive or proactive) and based on whether they restore or bolster CSE, including the recurrence of these practices in the customer journey. These practices are conveniently presented in a circumplex typology of CSE management across five phases in the customer journey.
Research limitations/implications
This paper advances the research in CSE management throughout the customer journey in the B2B context by showing that CSE management is dynamic, recurrent and multifaceted in the sense that it requires different modes of organization and engagement, notably during interaction with customers, in different phases of the customer journey.
Practical implications
The circumplex typology acts as a tool for service providers, helping them to redesign their CSE management practices in ongoing service and dialogical processes to keep their customers more engaged and satisfied.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to infuse a dyadic stance into the ongoing discussion of CSE management practices in B2B, in which studies to date have deployed only provider or customer perspectives. In proposing a microlevel view, the study identifies service providers' CSE management practices in multiple customer journey phases, especially when the situation becomes critical.
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This integrative literature review aims to explore themes within higher education that may be applicable to leadership education including: descriptions of trauma, trauma-informed…
Abstract
Purpose
This integrative literature review aims to explore themes within higher education that may be applicable to leadership education including: descriptions of trauma, trauma-informed practices and trauma-informed practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
Integrative, systematic literature review.
Findings
The results suggest that trauma and trauma-informed practices may have a place in leadership education pedagogy.
Originality/value
There is no work being done in trauma informed practice in leadership education. This study provides future direction for both research and practice.
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Tiina Henttu-Aho, Janne T. Järvinen and Erkki M. Lassila
This paper empirically demonstrates the major organizational events of a rolling forecasting process and the roles of controllers therein. In particular, this study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper empirically demonstrates the major organizational events of a rolling forecasting process and the roles of controllers therein. In particular, this study aims to investigate how the understanding of a “realistic forecast” is translated and questioned by various mediators in the rolling forecasting process and how it affects the quality of planning as the ultimate accuracy of forecasts is seen as important.
Design/methodology/approach
This study follows an actor-network theory (ANT) approach and maps the key points of translation in the rolling forecasting process by inspecting the roles of mediators. This qualitative case study is based on interviews with controllers and managers involved in the forecasting process in a single manufacturing company.
Findings
The paper identified two episodes of translation in the forecasting process, in which the forecast partially stabilized to create room for managerial discussion and debate. The abilities of controllers to infiltrate various functional groups and calculative practices appeared to be one way to control the accuracy of forecasting, although this was built on a façade of neutrality.
Originality/value
Prior literature identifies the aims of interactive planning processes as being to improve the quality of planning. The authors apply ANT to better understand the nature of mediators in constructing an entity called a “realistic rolling forecast”.
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The objective of this research is to explore integration and transition activities in large industrial projects. The purpose is to (a) obtain a better understanding of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this research is to explore integration and transition activities in large industrial projects. The purpose is to (a) obtain a better understanding of the integration and transition activities between the project front-end (FE) and project initiation phases (PIPs), (b) explore what, how and when these integrations and transitions occur, and (c) explore what the integration and transition activities mean to project practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research design methodology is followed, based on interviews using open-ended questions. An expert panel is used to provide responses to questions pertaining to the integration and transition between the project FE and PIP. The research is focused on managing large projects in the South African electrical engineering industrial projects industry. A literature review combined with empirical analysis reflects the importance of integrating and transitioning in project business.
Findings
The findings provide guidance to researchers and practitioners on integration and transition mechanisms, how and when these occur. It highlights the benefits of integration and transition activities. Important lessons for researchers and practitioners are provided together with areas for future research.
Originality/value
This is an interpretative analysis of expert opinion. Expert panel members are experienced at senior decision-making level, and their expertise was accessed based on experience, education and knowledge. This extensive experience is shared in this paper providing insights into their opinions, experiences, success and failures. These inputs together with the literature review provide interesting implications for both a theoretical foundation as well as practical implications for practitioners.
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Christian Dragin-Jensen, Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, Vilde Hannevik Lien, Luiza Ossowska, Dorota Janiszewska, Dariusz Kloskowski and Marianna Strzelecka
This study highlights areas of key importance for building event resilience and provides best-practice industry examples that foster innovative, adaptable and transformative event…
Abstract
Purpose
This study highlights areas of key importance for building event resilience and provides best-practice industry examples that foster innovative, adaptable and transformative event environments, which are areas of high academic and managerial relevance in times of uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a multicase study research design that draws on interviews with the leaders of four event organizations in Denmark and Norway: (1) the Steinkjer Festival, (2) Run Alone Denmark, (3) FC Midtjylland and (4) the Bergen International Festival.
Findings
The events demonstrated the critical necessity of understanding innovation and its contribution to resilience in the event sector, particularly in times of uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These organizations achieved success by continuously fostering innovative environments before COVID-19 by being value-driven and customer-centric organizations. Digital technologies were not used as makeshift solutions but rather to enhance event attendees' experiential platforms and expand each event's business potential.
Practical implications
The paper answers the call for event and festival research during the COVID-19 pandemic to explore the importance of understanding failure, crisis, innovation and recovery.
Originality/value
The paper's contributions to event management research are (1) adding to the ongoing discussion about building a resilient event sector in times of uncertainty, (2) screening how event organizers achieve innovation in their organizations and (3) providing insights on future requirements for events in a post-COVID world.
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Alessandro Creazza, Claudia Colicchia, Salvatore Spiezia and Fabrizio Dallari
The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of supply chain managers regarding the elements that make up cyber supply chain risk management (CSCRM) and the related…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of supply chain managers regarding the elements that make up cyber supply chain risk management (CSCRM) and the related level of alignment, to understand how organizations can deploy a CSCRM strategy that goes beyond the technical, internal functioning of single companies and moves beyond the dyad, to create a better alignment that can ultimately lead to improved cyber supply chain resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory survey in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry involving over 100 organizations in Italy was conducted. Results were analysed through one-way analysis of variance, to appraise the differences in the perceptions of the various actors of the FMCG supply chain (Manufacturers, Logistics Service Providers, Retailers).
Findings
While a certain degree of alignment of the perceptions across the FMCG supply chain exists, the study found that Logistics Service Providers can play a crucial role as orchestrators of the CSCRM process towards a more “supply chain-oriented” response to cyber threats and risk events. The research also highlights the necessity to see people as key elements for improving cyber resilience in the supply chain.
Research limitations/implications
Through a vertical analysis of a supply chain, the study extends the existing theory on CSCRM, which contains isolated case studies. It also contributes to extending the current theory with the proposal of the paradigm of Logistics Service Providers as orchestrators of the CSCRM process. The study combines different classifications of CSCRM initiatives and embraces theories external to the supply chain literature.
Practical implications
Through the empirical analysis, this study helps practitioners in streamlining the design of cyber security strategies and actions that span across the supply chain for better alignment. This could mean more coordination of efforts and more targeted/accurate investments in CSCRM initiatives. The study invites practitioners to ponder the perceived relevance of the human factor as a source of risk and the perceived importance of countermeasures aimed at mitigating risk events stemming from that source.
Originality/value
By focusing on an entire supply chain, this is one of the first studies on CSCRM that goes beyond the dyad. Its originality also lies in its use of the investigations of perceptions along the supply chain as pillars for the alignment of CSCRM strategies and mitigation initiatives. This original perspective allows for discovering the role of Logistics Service Providers in driving the alignment of the efforts towards better outcomes of the CSCRM process.
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