Ilkka Ritola, Harold Krikke and Marjolein C.J. Caniëls
Product returns information gives firms an opportunity for continuous strategic adaptation by allowing them to understand the reasons for product returns, learning from them and…
Abstract
Purpose
Product returns information gives firms an opportunity for continuous strategic adaptation by allowing them to understand the reasons for product returns, learning from them and improving their products and processes accordingly. By applying the Dynamic Capabilities (DCs) view in the context of closed-loop supply chains (CLSC), this study explores how firms can continuously learn from product returns information.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a qualitative Delphi study-inspired approach. Experts from industry and academia are interviewed in two interview rounds. First round of interviews are based on extant research, while the second round allows the experts to elaborate and correct the results.
Findings
This study culminates into a conceptual model for incremental learning from product returns information. The results indicate incremental learning from product returns can potentially lead to a competitive advantage. Additionally, the authors identify the sources of information, capabilities along with their microfoundations and the manifestations of product return information. Three propositions are formulated embedding the findings in DC theory.
Research limitations/implications
This study supports extant literature in confirming the value of product returns information and opens concrete avenues for research by providing several propositions.
Practical implications
This research elucidates the practices, processes and resources required for firms to utilize product returns information for continuous strategic adaptation. Practitioners can use these results while implementing continuous learning practices in their organizations.
Originality/value
This study presents the first systematic framework for incremental learning from product returns information. The authors apply the DC framework to a new functional domain, namely CLSC management and product returns management. Furthermore, the authors offer a concrete example of how organizational learning and DC intersect, thus advancing DC theoretical knowledge.
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Quan Zhu, Harold Krikke and Marjolein C.J. Caniëls
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how inter-organizational learning (including supply chain learning and imitation prevention) mediates the relationships between supply…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how inter-organizational learning (including supply chain learning and imitation prevention) mediates the relationships between supply chain integration (SCI) and two dimensions of focal firm performance (i.e. customer service performance and innovation performance).
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional approach was adopted with primary data collected through a survey in China. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with partial least-squares estimations.
Findings
The findings verify that inter-organizational learning mediates the relationship between SCI and focal firm performance. The results of sub-group model analysis illustrate that both powerful and weak focal firms benefit from inter-organizational learning, but in different ways.
Research limitations/implications
The responses were all from young executives who had four years’ work experience on average. Top-level executives may provide more comprehensive and accurate input for similar future research.
Practical implications
The results suggest that successfully integrating the supply chain to create customer value requires both supply chain learning and imitation prevention.
Originality/value
This paper responds to calls for an inter-disciplinary research between supply chain management and inter-organizational learning by taking into account supply chain learning and imitation prevention as links between SCI and both customer service performance for current success and innovation performance for future prosperity.
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Quan Zhu, Harold Krikke and Marjolein C.J. Caniëls
Supply chain risks specifically refer to risks that transmit among supply chain members, thus they should be understood and managed as a whole for an end-to-end supply chain. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Supply chain risks specifically refer to risks that transmit among supply chain members, thus they should be understood and managed as a whole for an end-to-end supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to review literature of integrated supply chain risk management (ISCRM) that connects supply chain integration (SCI) with supply chain risk management.
Design/methodology/approach
The systematic literature review methodology was used to select and categorize articles between 1998 and 2015 in peer-reviewed journals. A contingency analysis was further applied to detect association patterns and links between category items.
Findings
Through a systematic literature review, the research has clearly analyzed risk sources, scopes and dimensions of SCI, and scopes and dimensions of performance in the field of ISCRM. Furthermore, by applying the contingency analysis, the paper has proposed future research directions that are based on the extant literature findings.
Originality/value
The identified insights, gaps, and future research directions will encourage researchers as well as managers to drive the development of ISCRM.
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Quan Zhu, Harold Krikke, Marjolein C.J. Caniëls and Yacan Wang
Rare but high impact (R-HI) disruptions, which are caused by legal changes, socio-technical accidents, or natural disasters, are becoming more frequent and have strong short-term…
Abstract
Purpose
Rare but high impact (R-HI) disruptions, which are caused by legal changes, socio-technical accidents, or natural disasters, are becoming more frequent and have strong short-term and long-term impacts on performance. Meanwhile, the short-term perspective of managers leads to adoption of mitigation strategies with lower investments and immediate performance improvement. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights on supply chain collaboration (SCC) to establish so-called twin-objective strategy to help both risk mitigation (through moderation effects) and performance improvement (through a direct positive impact). Moreover, power position will be considered as the control variable.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional approach was adopted with primary data collected through a survey in China. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with partial least squares estimations. A sub-group model analysis was applied to test the effect of the control variable.
Findings
The findings verify that SCC has both a direct positive impact on performance and moderation effects on the relationships between sources of R-HI disruptions and performance. The results of sub-group model analysis illustrate that both powerful and weak focal firms benefit from SCC, but in different ways.
Originality/value
The study shows that the allocation of gains from collaborative advantage should be added to the theory-building of relational view. Meanwhile, the research extends the focal firm’s context to its supply chain’s context so that classic contingency theory can be extended to adequately explain supply chain management phenomena.
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Quan Zhu, Harold Krikke and Marjolein Caniëls
The purpose of this paper is to investigate different combinations of collaboration strategies to deal with different types of supply chain disruptions, find the best combination…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate different combinations of collaboration strategies to deal with different types of supply chain disruptions, find the best combination, and provide targeting suggestions for investments.
Design/methodology/approach
A system dynamics simulation is applied to study a supply chain with three tiers: a producer, a logistics service provider (LSP), and a retailer. There are three types of disruptions to simulate: a producer capacity disruption, an LSP capacity disruption, and a demand disruption. As each tier has the option to choose whether or not to collaborate with the other two tiers, eight (2×2×2) scenarios are generated to represent different combinations of collaboration strategies.
Findings
For a producer capacity disruption, both the producer and the LSP should collaborate by providing their surge capacities, while the retailer does not have to collaborate. For an LSP capacity disruption, the producer should not provide its surge capacity, while the LSP should do so; the retailer does not have to collaborate. For a demand disruption, both the producer and the LSP should not provide their surge capacities, while the retailer should not collaborate but play shortage gaming. Targeting suggestions for investments are provided.
Originality/value
Through system dynamics modeling, this study allows the discussion of surge capacity to help supply chain partners and the discussion of shortage gaming when products are oversupplied, in a disruption recovery system over time.
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Yacan Wang, Vincent Wiegerinck, Harold Krikke and Hongdan Zhang
The paper aims to explore the reasons underlying the key assumption in the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) literature that consumers' purchase intention is lower for…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore the reasons underlying the key assumption in the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) literature that consumers' purchase intention is lower for remanufactured products than for new products. It aims to complement the predominantly operation-focused CLSC research by examining consumers' perception of and behavior relating to remanufactured products.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical model is developed by integrating the concepts of perceived benefits and product knowledge with the theory of planned behavior and the theory of perceived risk. Then the model is examined through an empirical study in the Chinese automobile spare parts industry involving 288 respondents and using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results indicate that purchase intention is directly influenced by purchase attitude followed by perceived behavioral control and indirectly influenced by perceived risk, perceived benefit and product knowledge via attitude. Therefore, effective measures to promote consumers' purchase intention rely on coordinated policies built on multiple pillars instead of single factors.
Originality/value
This is one of the first empirical studies to explore the factors that underpin consumers' purchase intention regarding remanufactured products. The results can be used to validate the key assumptions in operational models and foster new research in the context of CLSCs.
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Faisal Rasool, Marco Greco, Gustavo Morales-Alonso and Ruth Carrasco-Gallego
This study aims to examine and understand the impact of reverse logistics adoption on firms' digitalization and collaboration activities. Specifically, leveraging the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine and understand the impact of reverse logistics adoption on firms' digitalization and collaboration activities. Specifically, leveraging the knowledge-based view, this study examines how adopting sustainable logistic practices (reverse logistics) prepares firms to embrace digitalization and encourages them to collaborate with other organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used longitudinal survey data from two waves (2017 and 2019) from the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research. The authors used the negative binomial regression analyses to test the impact of reverse logistics adoption on the digitalization and inter-organizational collaboration dependent count variables.
Findings
The study's findings highlight the usefulness of reverse logistics in enabling digitalization and inter-organizational collaboration. The results show that the firms investing in sustainable supply chains will be better positioned to nurture digitalization and inter-organizational collaboration.
Practical implications
For resource-bound managers, this study provides an important insight into prioritizing activities by highlighting how reverse logistics can facilitate digitalization and collaboration. The study demonstrates that the knowledge generated by reverse logistics adoption can be an essential pillar and enabler toward achieving firms' digitalization and collaboration goals.
Originality/value
The study is among the first to examine the effect of reverse logistics adoption on firm activities that are not strictly associated with the circular economy (digitalization and collaboration). Utilizing the knowledge-based view, this study reports on the additional benefits of reverse logistics implementation previously not discussed in the literature.