Néstor F. Ayala, Paolo Gaiardelli, Giuditta Pezzotta, Marie Anne Le Dain and Alejandro G. Frank
The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of different forms of service supplier involvement on the service business dimensions necessary for servitisation and on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of different forms of service supplier involvement on the service business dimensions necessary for servitisation and on the resulting servitisation performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Three different configurations of service supplier involvement are considered in this study: black box (service design and execution driven by the service supplier), grey box (joint service design) and white box (service design driven by the product firm). The study analyses their contribution by means of a cross-sectional quantitative survey with 104 Brazilian and Italian firms using multivariate analysis of variance.
Findings
Companies that adopted the grey box configuration presented the best results in servitisation. White and black box may offer different benefits depending on the service business dimension that the company chooses to emphasise.
Originality/value
The results show which type of service supplier involvement is more effective for servitisation. The empirical data demonstrate that a joint service design (grey box involvement) is the best approach, but the paper discusses limitations for its implementation and alternatives regarding the two other types of service supplier involvement. The findings contribute to the discussion on the role of service suppliers in servitisation and provide empirical evidence to support operations managers in deciding on how to organise their service supply chain when aiming for servitisation.
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Valéry Merminod, Marie Anne Le Dain and Alejandro Germán Frank
This paper aims to propose that knowing in practice can be used as a mechanism to enhance social exchange in collaborative new product development (NPD) with suppliers to reduce…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose that knowing in practice can be used as a mechanism to enhance social exchange in collaborative new product development (NPD) with suppliers to reduce glitches. Practic00es of inter-organizational knowing should consider the levels of supplier involvement adopted.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper studies two opposite situations of supplier involvement in NPD projects, namely, white and black box configurations. This paper adopts a qualitative comparative analysis method to identify necessary and sufficient configurations of knowing in practice in 36 projects from 3 different companies.
Findings
Social exchange is important even when the NPD collaboration is based on contractual relationships as in white and grey box collaborations. There are different combinations of practices for inter-organizational knowing that can limit glitches in each supplier configuration. This paper proposes a theoretical model that explains these relationships and contributions to the reduction of glitches.
Originality/value
This paper combines social exchange theory with knowing in practice in the supplier involvement context. The theoretical model contributes to the understanding of knowing in practice in white and black box configurations.
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Lamiae Benhayoun, Marie-Anne Le-Dain, Tarik Saikouk, Holger Schiele and Richard Calvi
Buying firms involve suppliers early in New Product Development (NPD) projects to benefit from their capabilities. The authors investigate the joint impact on project performance…
Abstract
Purpose
Buying firms involve suppliers early in New Product Development (NPD) projects to benefit from their capabilities. The authors investigate the joint impact on project performance improvement, of the social capital established throughout the project, and the strategic preferred buyer/supplier statuses awarded prior to the project, from the buyer's perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a conceptual model underlining the complementary contribution to project performance of social capital dimensions and of preferred partners' statuses resulting from social exchange expectations. The model is analyzed with Partial Least Squares using 80 responses of purchasers and R&D managers involved in collaborative NPD projects with suppliers.
Findings
The relational capital built during the project has a positive central role, with a direct impact on NPD project performance and mediating effects through cognitive and structural capitals. The preferred partners' statuses have strong direct impacts on performance, and mediating effects that do not completely supplant the social capital's contribution.
Practical implications
The implications for the efficient management of supplier involvement are twofold. First, the authors encourage strategic investments of buying firms to acquire preferred buyer's status and to support preferred supplier programs. Second, the authors alert them on the importance of establishing trust and shared cognition during the project.
Originality/value
This study captures NPD project performance from the social angle of buyer–supplier relationship management. It demonstrates the complementarity of relationship management at the strategic and operational levels, before and during the project unfolding.
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Lamiae Benhayoun, Néstor Fabián Ayala and Marie-Anne Le Dain
We investigate the impact of Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) for SMEs embedded in Collaborative Networks (CNs) on innovation performance, considering the network stages and the…
Abstract
Purpose
We investigate the impact of Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) for SMEs embedded in Collaborative Networks (CNs) on innovation performance, considering the network stages and the influence of partnership quality.
Design/methodology/approach
We use a mixed methodology consisting of a qualitative than a quantitative phase. The first stage relies on an in-depth literature review and 22 interviews with 17 manufacturing SMEs having operated in collaborative innovation projects to characterize the potential and realized ACAP of such SMEs in the creation and operation stages of a CN. The second phase aims at testing four hypotheses through a hierarchical regression based on 74 responses to a survey involving SMEs with prior CN experience.
Findings
Our results explain how an SME’s ACAP in the creation stage affects its ACAP in the operation stage. We also demonstrate that this latter capability contributes positively to innovation performance in the CN. Furthermore, partnership quality was found to have counterproductive effects regarding potential ACAP.
Practical implications
We provide manufacturing SMEs with guidance to deploy ACAP throughout their collaborative experience and overcome the potential pitfalls of good partnership quality.
Originality/value
We operationalize ACAP of manufacturing SMEs to contribute to mutual innovation goals in CNs and uncover its properties. We explain how this dynamic capability accumulates over the CN stages to result in higher innovation performance and show how it helps in striking a balance between the “dark” and “virtuous” sides of partnership quality.