Barry Shore and A.R. Venkatachalam
Competitive advantage is often determined by the effectiveness of an organization's supply chain, and as a result, the evaluation and selection of suppliers has become an…
Abstract
Competitive advantage is often determined by the effectiveness of an organization's supply chain, and as a result, the evaluation and selection of suppliers has become an increasingly important management activity. But the evaluation process is complex. The data that must be considered are both technical and social/organizational. Much of the data are difficult to obtain and ambiguous or vague to interpret. In addition, the dynamic global environment of changing exchange rates, economic conditions, and technical infrastructure, demand that the pool of potential suppliers be re‐evaluated periodically. Nonetheless, a rational process of evaluation must exist to select the most appropriate suppliers. This paper addresses one dimension of the evaluation process, the information sharing capability of potential supply chain partners. It is an especially important dimension since information technology is necessary to horizontally integrate geographically dispersed operations. Fuzzy logic, a subset of artificial intelligence, together with analytical hierarchy process is used to model this process and rank potential suppliers. It is an appropriate methodology to use for this application and has the potential to be used with other supply chain design decisions since it explicitly handles vague, ambiguous, and imprecise data.
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Veera Pandiyan Kaliani Sundram, Prem Chhetri and Atika Shamsul Bahrin
This paper presents the concerns in manufacturing supply chain. Further this study investigates the role of information technology (IT) and information sharing (IS) in…
Abstract
This paper presents the concerns in manufacturing supply chain. Further this study investigates the role of information technology (IT) and information sharing (IS) in manufacturing supply chain and determines its impact towards supply chain integration (SCI), supply chain performance (SCP), and manufacturing firm performance (FP) in Malaysia. The theoretical framework was proposed for the study on the basis of existing literature. The study administered a survey questionnaire to collect data from manufacturing firms in Malaysia with 112 respondents. A multiple regression analysis is conducted to establish the relationship between IT, IS, SCI, and FP. The study finds that IT and sharing has significant positive effect towards and performance. Firms that use IT and practice IS across partners in the supply chain are more likely to integrate their internal and external value chain for better performance both within and across the manufacturing firms in the supply chain. This study can be of interest to the manufacturing industry as well as other industry practitioners interested in improving the performance of the organization and supply chain in total. For supply chain practitioners, this results indicate that the firms should adopt IT and IS practices to strategically improve SCI. This in turn will also improve the supply chain network and firm’s performance. This study employs a newly developed framework which depicts the causal relationship between IT, IS, SCI, Supply Chain Performance, and FP in Malaysia. Furthermore, it closes a gap in existing literature by examining the effect IT and communication (ICT) practices toward manufacturing firms’ performance and SCP in a single setting. In addition, the current study attempted to construct a model which would estimate and interpret SCP and FP simultaneously, and to evaluate this model in an empirical fashion.
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Abedalqader Rababah, Homa Molavi and Shayan Farhang Doust
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of financial leverage impact on customer satisfaction and marketing costs including research and development (R&D) and advertisement…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of financial leverage impact on customer satisfaction and marketing costs including research and development (R&D) and advertisement costs. Furthermore, the authors aim to investigate whether customer satisfaction as well as financial distress moderates the effect of financial leverage impact on customer satisfaction and marketing costs including R&D and advertisement costs.
Design/methodology/approach
The statistical population of this study consists of listed companies on the Tehran Stock Exchange manually obtained from different industries in 2017. Multivariate regression based on data compilation methodology is used to test research hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that financial leverage is negatively and significantly associated with customer satisfaction and this negative relationship is more pronounced in companies with lower sale growth. Furthermore, the authors' results suggest that customer satisfaction negatively (positively) and significantly affects firm value in companies with lower (higher)-financial leverage. The authors also demonstrate that there is no significant relationship between financial leverage caused by financial flexibility and firm value caused by customer's satisfaction (CS). The authors' findings also suggest that financial distress significantly affects the relationship between financial leverage and customer satisfaction. Finally, the authors' find that financial leverage significantly affects firms' R&D and advertisement costs.
Research limitations/implications
Since the fundamental institutional assumptions underpinning the Western and even East Asia financial models are not valid in the institutional environment of Iran, the authors' findings could provide substantial implications for the authors' understanding of the relationship between finance and R&D costs and contribute substantially to customer satisfaction and firm value literature as well. The sample country of the present paper has recently experienced a spate of financial collapses that somewhat contributes, indirectly, to financial distress incurred by the Iranian firms. Moreover, R&D costs are growing among the Iranian quoted firms.
Originality/value
Since the fundamental institutional assumptions underpinning the Western and even East Asia financial models are not valid in the institutional environment of Iran, the authors' findings could provide substantial implications for our understanding of the relationship between finance and R&D costs and contribute substantially to customer satisfaction and firm value literature as well. The sample country of the present paper has recently experienced a spate of financial collapses that somewhat contributes, indirectly, to financial distress incurred by the Iranian firms. Moreover, R&D costs are growing among the Iranian quoted firms.
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Lyn S. Amine and Peter Magnusson
Global counterfeiting is escalating despite resistance by many parties. We identify three groups of stakeholders who have vested interests in either resisting or promoting…
Abstract
Global counterfeiting is escalating despite resistance by many parties. We identify three groups of stakeholders who have vested interests in either resisting or promoting counterfeiting. Among resistors to counterfeiting are national governments, international policymakers, and corporate intellectual property owners; among promoters are the counterfeiters themselves and many consumers. We argue that current supply‐side resistance approaches alone are inadequate; attention is also needed to resisting consumer promoters on the demand‐side of the market. Drawing from a review of the literature, we develop a new analytical framework which depicts complex interfaces between IP owners and consumers. A second framework presents actionable marketing strategies targeted to different consumer segments.
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Amelia S. Carr and Hale Kaynak
The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding of supplier development theory by investigating the relationships among communication methods, information sharing within a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding of supplier development theory by investigating the relationships among communication methods, information sharing within a firm, information sharing between firms, and support aimed at supplier development and the effects these relationships have on firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a random sample of 231 firms are used to test hypothesized relationships by employing structural equation modeling.
Findings
The main findings indicate that traditional communication methods, information sharing within a firm, and information sharing between firms, and supplier development are significant factors for improving a buyer's performance though their indirect and direct effects on firm performance vary.
Research limitations/implications
The model tested in this study should be reinvestigated by employing better developed measures of advanced communication methods. Furthermore, when investigating the relationship between supplier development and firm performance, future studies should include mode of supplier development approach – reactive versus proactive – as a variable.
Practical implications
The findings of this study provide insights into what makes supplier development activities effective for practitioners.
Originality/value
Although communication/information sharing has emerged in previously published studies as a critical factor in developing suppliers, an integrated research model that investigates the relationships among communication media, information sharing, supplier development activities, and buying firms' performance has not been offered. This is the gap filled by this study.
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Chou-Kang Chiu, Chieh-Peng Lin, Yuan-Hui Tsai and Siew-Fong Teh
The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of knowledge sharing from the perspectives of broaden-and-build theory and expectancy theory. Its research purpose is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of knowledge sharing from the perspectives of broaden-and-build theory and expectancy theory. Its research purpose is to understand how knowledge sharing is driven by such predictors as optimism, pessimism, and positive affect through their complex interactions with collectivism or power distance. In the proposed model of this study, knowledge sharing relates to optimism and pessimism via the partial mediation of positive affect. At the same time, the influence of optimism, pessimism, and positive affect on knowledge sharing are moderated by the national culture of collectivism and power distance, respectively.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s hypotheses were empirically tested using data from high-tech firms across Taiwan and Malaysia. Of the 550 questionnaires provided to the research participants, 397 usable questionnaires were collected (total response rate of 72.18 percent), with 237 usable questionnaires from Taiwanese employees and 160 usable questionnaires from Malaysian employees. The data from Taiwan and Malaysia were pooled and analyzed using: confirmatory factor analysis for verifying data validity, independent sample t-tests for verifying the consistency with previous literature regarding cultural differences, and hierarchical regression analysis for testing relational and moderating effects.
Findings
This study demonstrates the integrated application of the broaden-and-build theory and expectancy theory for understanding optimism, pessimism, and positive affect in the development of knowledge sharing. The test results confirm that positive affect partially mediates the relationship between optimism and knowledge sharing and fully mediates the relationship between pessimism and knowledge sharing. Moreover, collectivism and power distance have significant moderating effects on most of the model paths between knowledge sharing and its predictors except for the relationship between pessimism and knowledge sharing.
Originality/value
This study extends the expectancy theory to justify how optimistic and pessimistic expectations are stable traits that dominate the way employees share their knowledge sharing. This study shows how collectivism and power distance of Hofstede’s cultural framework can be blended with the broaden-and-build theory and expectancy theory to jointly explain knowledge sharing. Besides, this study provides additional support to the adaptation theory of well-being that suggests psychosocial interventions, which manage to enhance well-being by leveraging positive affect, hold the promise of reducing stressful symptoms and boosting psychological resources among employees.
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Morteza Ghobakhloo, Mohammad Sadegh Sabouri, Tang Sai Hong and Khosro Amirizadeh
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model to analyze the relationships between three aspects of technical electronic commerce (EC)‐based information system (IS…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model to analyze the relationships between three aspects of technical electronic commerce (EC)‐based information system (IS) resources; the supply chain process integration; and business value.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is consistent with the perspective on IS‐enabled organizational capabilities and resource based view of the firm. A questionnaire‐based survey was conducted to collect data from 214 supply chain, logistics, or procurement/purchasing managers of leading manufacturing firms.
Findings
The findings suggest that supply chain process integration, a key EC‐enabled organizational capability, can enhance business value. We found that this capability serve as a catalyst in transforming technical EC‐based IS resources (technical quality of EC applications, EC advancements, and EC alignment) into higher value for a firm.
Research limitations/implications
Among other limitations, this paper does not address human IS resources as the other potential determinants of firm's supply chain capabilities. Moreover, this study relies on cross‐sectional data.
Practical implications
The results suggest that supply chain process integration is an important intermediate organizational capability through which value of EC‐based IS resources can be materialized. The technical aspects of EC‐based IS resources need to be developed to effectively form supply chain capabilities.
Originality/value
The paper is perhaps one of the first to show theoretically and empirically how firms, in particular in developing countries, can generate business value from EC‐enabled supply chain process integration; also it broadens the scope of EC alignment in relation to process integration and business value to the entire supply chain.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a good insight into the use of fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (fuzzy AHP) approach that is a multi‐criteria decision‐making methodology…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a good insight into the use of fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (fuzzy AHP) approach that is a multi‐criteria decision‐making methodology in evaluating the benefits of information‐sharing decision problems.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the integration of AHP with the fuzzy synthetic extent analysis method (fuzzy AHP) is proposed in evaluating the benefits of information‐sharing decision problems as a framework to guide managers.
Findings
Findings demonstrate that the customer requirement and operational information alternatives are the preferred key decisions, which all supply chain partners might agree to share with one another. Further, it can also be concluded that the planning and financial information alternatives have almost the same importance.
Research limitations/implications
Fuzzy AHP is a highly complex methodology and requires more numerical calculations in assessing composite priorities than the traditional AHP and hence it increases the effort. In addition, fuzzy methodology could be extended with the other multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) methods such as Analytical Network Process (ANP), TOPSIS, ELECTRE and DEA techniques in solving such a problem.
Originality/value
There is a lack of research in the literature to deal directly with the uncertainty of human judgements in evaluating the benefits of various information‐sharing decisions in a supply chain. Therefore, fuzzy AHP is an appropriate methodology to select the various types of information and has the ability to be used as a decision‐making analysis tool since it handles uncertain and imprecise data. In addition, the paper is especially of interest to managers as they make decisions on which types of information they should share with their supply chain partners.
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Min Zhang, Kulwant S. Pawar, Janat Shah and Peeyush Mehta
Many pharmaceutical companies outsource their research and development and manufacturing operations to value chain partners. Effective evaluation of outsourcees' capabilities and…
Abstract
Purpose
Many pharmaceutical companies outsource their research and development and manufacturing operations to value chain partners. Effective evaluation of outsourcees' capabilities and relationship management are often central for outsourcers to secure sustainable competitive advantage. This study aims to investigate how to evaluate outsourcees and manage outsourcing relationships in the pharmaceutical industry based on the theory of dynamic capability (DC).
Design/methodology/approach
The investigation used an exploratory multiple case study approach. The data collection, spanning a period of 12 months, entailed a multinational pharmaceutical company (PharmCo) with its headquarters in Europe, and four contract research and manufacturing organizations from China and India.
Findings
The results show that PharmCo evaluates its outsourcing partners based on their dynamic capabilities, which include processes (project deliverables, communication, and accuracy of costs), positions (financial assets, number of scientists, spectrum of services, and geographical presence), and paths (past experiences). The findings indicate that a pharmaceutical company outsources to partners with high operational capabilities, whereas it builds fully integrated outsourcing relationships only with those that have high dynamic capabilities.
Practical implications
Findings from this study provide guidelines for practitioners in manufacturing industries to efficiently and effectively evaluate and manage outsourcees to deal with the challenges and risks associated with strategic outsourcing.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the role of DC in outsourcee evaluation and outsourcing relationship management in the pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, the paper illustrates how to conceptualize and measure the DC as a multi-dimensional construct. The analysis also indicates that partners' dynamic and operational capabilities play different roles in outsourcing relationship management.
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Joakim Kembro and Kostas Selviaridis
– This paper aims to empirically explore demand-related information sharing in the extended supply chain.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to empirically explore demand-related information sharing in the extended supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a single, embedded case design, a range of methods are used to collect data from companies representing three different supply chain tiers, including focal company, first-tier suppliers and first-tier customers. The collected data are analysed through the theoretical lens of interdependence.
Findings
The findings indicate that the supply chain actors adapt information sharing to the pooled, serial or reciprocal type of interdependence. Information sharing is thus increased with key dyadic partners representing, for example, unique offerings and high market shares as percentage of total expenditure/sales. The study also unearths several barriers to information sharing beyond dyadic ties, including problems related to dis-aggregated, misinterpreted and/or incomplete information.
Research limitations/implications
The study empirically contributes to the existing literature by exploring information sharing in the extended supply chain and by suggesting different approaches to information sharing depending on the type and intensity of interdependence between supply chain partners. Further, the paper contributes to the existing literature on barriers of information sharing in supply chains by identifying barriers specific to multi-tier information sharing. “Meta-information” (i.e. information about the shared information) is needed to overcome some of the barriers of sharing information in cases of weak, pooled interdependencies in the supply chain.
Practical implications
Similar to previous empirical research, this exploratory study indicates that companies, in general, refrain from sharing information beyond dyadic ties. Supply chain managers would instead mostly focus on stronger, reciprocal interdependencies and emphasise dyadic information sharing. To further guide managers, a demand profiling framework considering market share and demand uncertainty is presented. It may be interesting to engage in multi-tier information sharing in particular cases where strong interdependence exists between three or more partners.
Originality/value
This study contributes to existing research on information sharing in supply chains by empirically studying information sharing in an extended supply chain, applying interdependence theory as its analytical framework and unearthing several barriers that are specific to multi-tier information sharing.