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A good image can help strengthen sales and enhance a company's ability to obtain financing. It is vital to keep one's corporate image from becoming outdated.

Presents a model for announcing major, negatively perceived, top‐down changes such as layoffs and reorganizations was developed based on the extant literature. The appropriateness of the model was then tested by analysing 15 cases in which a major change was announced. The model presented here, based on the literature and 15 case analyses, serves as an initial step in developing an effective and efficient strategy for announcing major organizational changes.

With new technology being introduced at an ever increasing rate, the need for training and retraining is growing at an extraordinary pace. It has been estimated that employers will have to retrain office workers five to eight times during their careers in the near future. This demand for training is presenting tremendous financial demands on organisations. It is not uncommon for training budgets to reach millions of dollars in larger organisations.

A prescriptive model for announcing layoffs is presented. The model is based on a thorough literature review and indepth case analysis of eight companies which announced layoffs. Based on the model, ten recommendations for effective layoff announcements are presented and discussed. Because the cases′ analysis revealed that most strategies relating to the announcements were superficial, the major recommendation is to develop a thorough strategy. This model should help to develop an appropriate strategy. The nature of the layoff and organizational dynamics are first considered in this model. Other variables considered are the source of the announcement, the channel used to present the message, the timing of the announcement and the message itself.

This study aims to focus on the impact of supply chain (SC) integration, demand forecasting and supplier performance on patient responsiveness at public hospitals through the mediating role of SC flexibility.

To measure the above stated correlation, a Likert scale with five points and 23 items was used and structural equation modeling was applied. The scale was applied to public hospitals. Statistical software programs (SPSS 18 and LISREL 8.8) were used to analyze the data. The analysis of reported statistics is based on a sample of 129 logistics and SC specialists at public hospitals in the cities representing different regions of Turkey.

The research hypotheses are supported as a result of the analysis. The research reveals that SC flexibility has a mediation effect between SC integration, demand forecasting, supplier performance and patient responsiveness.

The increasing number of population, geopolitical position, migration waves, man-made and natural disasters lead Turkish health-care industry to have effective SC plans to satisfy the patients’ needs successfully and reduce the effects of these fatal events. In this sense, SC flexibility is an important factor for health-care industry in responding changing patient demands. At this juncture, the main point is to bring required resources together in the right place and at the right time. Otherwise, health-care institutions cannot serve the affected people because of the non-availability of supply. To achieve it, public health-care institutions should give more importance to the SC principles.

Success in SC flexibility in health care can directly affect patient welfare. Thus, focusing on the patient responsiveness is an important aim of the health-care industry. However, it was determined that less attention has been given to understanding patient satisfaction as a result of SC operations. The results indicate that patient responsiveness improvement should be included into strategic plans, and SC efforts should be used as a means of satisfying patient needs quickly. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the mentioned relationships at public hospitals. Findings of this paper will have a significant contribution for researchers and health-care professionals in understanding the impact of SC to patient responsiveness.

Supply managers must manage many risks in their increasingly competitive environments. Traditionally this meant buffering against uncertainties, which sub‐optimized operational performance. Risk management can be a more effective approach to deal with these uncertainties by identifying potential losses. This conceptual study proposes that situational factors‐ degree of product technology, security needs, the relative importance of the supplier, and the purchasers’ prior experience with the situation should be taken into consideration when determining the level of risk management in the supply chain. Doing so can avoid unforeseen losses and lead to better anticipation of risks.

Recently, focus in strategic sourcing (SS) has shifted from the exchange of tangible goods toward the exchange of intangibles, such as specialized skills, knowledge, and processes. The purpose of this paper is to aim to delineate the domain of, and operationally test, strategic sourcing orientation (SSO); a management philosophy directed at identifying and meeting the needs and goals of SS.

Using a mixed-methods research design and underpinned by a service dominant logic (SDL) inspired resource-based view (RBV), the authors first use the qualitative input of 41 top sourcing executives in four focus groups to derive four first-order “orientations” (learning, performance, planning, and relational-process) that were found to reflect SSO. Second, the authors propose a theoretically grounded operationalization of SSO derived from the qualitative data and extant literature. A sample of 174 top sourcing executives was used to test the proposed SSO and its impact on SS reputation, supplier management, and performance outcomes.

The results indicate strong support for the theorized SSO and its impact on SS reputation and supplier management, and, consequently, on performance outcomes.

While many firms encourage a culture to enable SS to realize enhanced performance, research has failed to provide a holistic account of this orientation. This study employs a mixed-methods research design to conceptualize and operationalize such orientation.

This study aims to understand how restaurant dependence and autonomy within the supply chain influence market responsiveness. An examination of influences related to improving market responsiveness was also conducted by investigating the moderating roles of information technology adoption and trust.

Hierarchical regression models were developed to test the hypothesized relationships. In particular, data were obtained from only independent restaurant owners and managers because of their ability to select and determine their own suppliers.

Results revealed that restaurant autonomy from suppliers has a more positive effect on market responsiveness than supplier dependence. The moderating test results revealed that information technology adoption significantly improved the relationships between restaurant dependence and market responsiveness, while exhibiting no significant moderating effect. Restaurant trust in suppliers significantly improved the positive effect of autonomy upon market responsiveness; however, it had no significant moderating effect on this link.

This study was conducted to identify what types of supplier relationships should be pursued to improve the independent restaurant’s ability to effectively respond to market conditions. The findings regarding the moderating effects of information technology adoption and trust provided clear evidence that buyer–supply relationship strategies should be developed in consideration of those distinguishable characteristics unique to the operations and environment of independent restaurants.

Findings can be applied to developing desirable relationships with suppliers characterized by restaurant dependence or autonomy and contribute to improving managerial actions for independent restaurants involving adopting information technology and building trust.

In the last decade there have been dramatic impacts on, and changes within, the field of purchasing/supply management. Given supply management's new strategic role, this research seeks to examine the key skills and knowledge necessary for firms to improve in order to maximize the purchasing function's contribution to the organization. The research also aims to identifies the major shifts in supply management that have occurred in the last decade.

A qualitative study was conducted with a series of focus group meetings with 54 executives across the USA in order to construct theoretical relationships with which to develop a grounded theory of supply management skills evolution in a changing business environment.

The implications from this research indicate that supply management professionals will assume a more strategic role in the future. The data indicate that there are strong trends underlying this movement. These include the need for building strategic relationships, focusing on total cost and strategic cost reduction, yet collaborating and integrating with suppliers. While in the past these efforts may have appeared to be contradictory, with proper strategic planning they can be complementary.

Supply managers of the future need to acquire strategic skills that add value and enable effective alignment with key business functions at a senior decision‐making level. Additional research is needed in the area to determine how best to recruit and train managers in these skills to move forward.

Procurement is often perceived as a tactical rather than a strategic function. Such perceptions result from the way procurement is usually defined as beginning after a need has been identified. Procurement thus focuses on tactical decisions involving means rather than on strategic decisions involving ends. For procurement to become strategic, procurement professionals must be recognized as having legitimate leadership roles in determining organizational ends. The paper presents two conceptual frameworks to move procurement in this direction. The first-pragmatism-resolves the dichotomy between ends and means. The second-a conservator model of agency leadership-highlights the importance of promoting and maintaining public procurement's institutional integrity. Together, these may equip procurement professionals to adopt leadership roles in strategic organizational decision making.