Mehmet Chakkol, Max Finne, Jawwad Z. Raja and Mark Johnson
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) often lead to significant changes in the focal supply networks, hence disrupting firm-level relationships. Little is known about the supply network…
Abstract
Purpose
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) often lead to significant changes in the focal supply networks, hence disrupting firm-level relationships. Little is known about the supply network implications of M&As, which can be a major issue, especially for firms acquiring competitors that share suppliers, customers and associated resources. Using social capital as a theoretical lens, this research aims to investigate the implications of an acquisition on supply network relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The acquisition of a large truck manufacturer by its competitor is investigated using an exploratory case study methodology. A total of 24 interviews were conducted across ten companies in the focal supply network with an analysis of financial data.
Findings
The findings from the study provide evidence that firms seeking to acquire such relationships cannot directly buy the social capital embedded within those relationships. They identify pre-acquisition characteristics and post-integration factors to understand how the supply network as a whole draws on the structural, cognitive and relational dimensions of social capital to address discrepancies in the merging network.
Originality/value
This study depicts an empirically grounded, theory-based account of a post-acquisition supply network integration process, showing how an M&A can drastically impact customer and supplier network relationships. The main contribution of this paper lies in extending our understanding of how social capital cannot be simply transferred from one organisation to another during an M&A. Rather, this work illustrates how social capital in supply networks is transformed by considering the pre- and post-acquisition social capital dynamics of the merging networks.
Details
Keywords
Mehmet Chakkol, Kostas Selviaridis and Max Finne
Inter-organisational collaboration is becoming increasingly important in complex projects; some project customers even formally require evidence of collaborative competence from…
Abstract
Purpose
Inter-organisational collaboration is becoming increasingly important in complex projects; some project customers even formally require evidence of collaborative competence from potential providers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the governance of collaboration and the ways in which it is enacted in practice for complex projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a qualitative analysis of 29 semi-structured interviews, primary data from meetings and events supported by secondary data, including standards and industry-specific contract templates.
Findings
The paper identifies how collaboration can be effectively governed in complex projects through the emerging role of the collaboration standard and its impact on contractual and relational governance mechanisms. The standard sets higher-level institutional guidelines that affect the way in which collaboration is governed in complex projects. It helps formalise informal relational practices whilst also providing guidelines for building flexibility in contracts by including coordination- and adaptation-oriented provisions conducive to collaboration.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates the emerging role of the collaboration standard and its influence on contractual and relational mechanisms deployed in complex projects. It shows how the standard can formalise and codify informal collaborative practices and help transfer related learning across projects, thereby contributing towards the dual requirement for standardisation and flexibility in project settings.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to take a professional service operation (PSO) perspective to reconceptualise a persistent pedagogical dilemma of teaching large classes into a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to take a professional service operation (PSO) perspective to reconceptualise a persistent pedagogical dilemma of teaching large classes into a process design challenge. This enables developing a solution that reduces labour intensity and improves the customisation of teaching.
Design/methodology/approach
This work is based on a single-case analysis of an undergraduate operations management course taught at a UK-based global top-50 business school. The research process follows the design science approach where a prior course design is analysed and a redesign is presented, refined and tested using data on student satisfaction.
Findings
The course redesign is based on the flipped learning pedagogy, and uses a combination of process analysis and educational science perspectives. The redesign seems to provide the benefits to students without increasing labour intensity. The developed six-step systematic approach should reduce the labour intensity of university-level teaching operations, while providing additional possibilities for customisable in-class active learning.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical findings from the single-case design cannot be directly generalised to other contexts. However, the developed six-step systematic approach for redesigning the university-level teaching process should be applicable to other teaching operations to drive value creation and improve processes.
Originality/value
This study shows how the resource-constrained value creation of teaching operations can be improved systematically using process analysis perspectives. The work also scrutinises the flipped learning pedagogy from a PSO perspective and shows its benefits for improving teaching operations compared to traditional lecturing.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to explore servitization in the context of the service supply chain, particularly the effects of the relationship between the subsystem supplier and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore servitization in the context of the service supply chain, particularly the effects of the relationship between the subsystem supplier and the end user on the supplier's as well as on the supply chain's ability to provide industrial services. In addition, it aims to present a solution to overcome the challenges of lack of this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study incorporating an explorative design science approach identifies a theoretically novel and practically relevant problem in the field of service supply chain management. The study combines empirical data collection; systematic conceptualization of means and ends; evaluation of proposed solutions in iterative‐ and action‐oriented cycles; and theoretical explanation of the observed phenomena and outcomes.
Findings
By establishing a triadic operational model with an integrator and end user, the subsystem supplier can servitize within a supply chain in which the end user relationship is controlled by the integrator. This enables the combining of critical service provision capabilities: supplier's maintenance‐related capabilities and integrator's end user access.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is needed to determine the importance of managing the transition to subsystem suppliers in different types of industrial service supply chains. Because these observations and proposals are based on a single case study, the authors cannot draw conclusions as to how they apply to manufacturers in different problem situations.
Practical implications
The paper presents a decision‐making procedure that describes how a subsystem supplier opting for cooperation in the service supply chain can formulate a coherent set of triadic operational models with intermediaries and end users.
Originality/value
The paper shows how servitization takes place on supply chain level.
Details
Keywords
Juho Soinio, Kari Tanskanen and Max Finne
This work aims to combine the perspectives of logistics‐service providers (LSPs) and small and medium‐sized enterprises (SME) in the development of value‐added logistics services…
Abstract
Purpose
This work aims to combine the perspectives of logistics‐service providers (LSPs) and small and medium‐sized enterprises (SME) in the development of value‐added logistics services. The purpose was to create a theory‐based and initially tested framework that could help both service providers and SMEs identify new opportunities for developing their logistics.
Design/methodology/approach
The research followed design‐science methodology and was carried out via semi‐structured interviews within the case company (a large Finnish LSP), its customers, and experts from the area of logistics services. Data on companies offering value‐added logistics services were also used in the research. The focus of the research was on advanced value‐added logistics services.
Findings
The paper presents a framework for categorizing logistics services for SMEs and proposes new logistics‐service models for SME customers. Altogether, three service models are proposed to bridge the gap between LSP and SME customers. In particular, the consulting‐oriented approach seemed to be appropriate for the SMEs. The other two models, 3PL with planning and Outsourced Chief Logistics Officer, require more effort from both parties.
Research limitations/implications
The paper presents a theoretical framework for categorizing logistics services and discusses the strategic options for an LSP to expand its service portfolio. However, further empirical research related to logistics‐service design is needed to develop the framework further and to improve its external validity.
Practical implications
This work offers insights that support LSPs to develop their service offerings to better match the needs of SMEs, and also allow managers of SMEs to better utilize the available LSP competence and services.
Originality/value
The existing research in the area of value‐added logistics services has mainly focused on either the customer perspective or the service‐provider perspective. The dyad combining these perspectives has been largely neglected. Furthermore, studies in this area have been on large enterprises as opposed to SMEs. This work fills this gap by designing value‐added logistics‐service models that combine SME needs with LSP capabilities.
Details
Keywords
Levente Szász, Krisztina Demeter, Harry Boer and Yang Cheng
Following the identified need for more explicit contextual studies in servitization research, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between and among…
Abstract
Purpose
Following the identified need for more explicit contextual studies in servitization research, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between and among economic context, service provision and service return, including the service paradox.
Design/methodology/approach
Firm-level and macroeconomic (country competitiveness) data are combined to operationalize the constructs considered in the study. Structural equation modeling and cluster analysis are used to investigate the direct relationships between economic context, service provision and service return, and the negative association between the development of economic context and the service paradox.
Findings
The analyses confirm the general assumption that service provision has a positive direct effect on service return. Economic context seems to have no direct effect on service return and, contrary to what was expected, it has a negative impact on the intensity of service provision. Thus, service provision fully mediates the negative impact of context on service return. Finally, the service paradox occurs more frequently in less-developed economic contexts, where the probability of a relatively low service return coupled with high service provision is significantly higher.
Practical implications
The study identifies five key elements of economic context that have to be incorporated into the strategic decision-making process regarding product-related services offered by manufacturers.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the contextual research of services offered by manufacturers. Subject to future empirical testing, it is proposed that a more favorable economic context offers more possibilities for manufacturers to cooperate with other business actors to provide services.
Details
Keywords
Lingcheng Kong, Ling Liang, Jianhong Xu, Weisi Zhang and Weijun Zhu
Although the wind power industry has been booming in China during the last decade, the development of wind turbine aftermarket service is still lagging behind, which seriously…
Abstract
Purpose
Although the wind power industry has been booming in China during the last decade, the development of wind turbine aftermarket service is still lagging behind, which seriously affects the operational efficiency of wind farms. If wind turbine manufacturers get involved in the aftermarket, the service pricing policy will impact the profits of both the manufacturer and the wind farm. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss an optimal service pricing strategy in the wind turbine aftermarket and design a method to improve electricity generation efficiency through service contract design. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to decide the maintenance quantity and channel effort level, the authors design a normal Stackelberg game and an efficiency value-added revenue-sharing contract and discuss two kinds of revenue increment sharing models under situations, in which the supply chain’s leaders are the wind farm and the wind turbine manufacturer, respectively.
Findings
The results show that in either case, there exist optimal power generation revenue-sharing ratios that can maximize profit. At the same time, the authors outline an optimal service pricing policy, maintenance demand policy and channel service effort-level policy. The results summarize the influences of wind aftermarket services on wind farms’ and wind turbine manufacturers’ profit, which provides managerial insights into the process of manufacturing servitization.
Practical implications
The manufacturer’s channel effort level will influence the power generation increments very much, so the authors have developed a mechanism to stimulate the manufacturer improving the efficiency of aftermarket services.
Originality/value
Taking the power generation increment revenue as the profit increment function, the authors discuss the influence of service price on the profit increment of the wind farm and the wind turbine manufacturer and also consider the influence of service price on the wind farms maintenance quantity and wind turbine manufacturers channel effort level.
Details
Keywords
Oscar F. Bustinza, Ferran Vendrell-Herrero, Philip Davies and Glenn Parry
Responding to calls for deeper analysis of the conceptual foundations of service infusion in manufacturing, this paper examines the underlying assumptions that: (i) manufacturing…
Abstract
Purpose
Responding to calls for deeper analysis of the conceptual foundations of service infusion in manufacturing, this paper examines the underlying assumptions that: (i) manufacturing firms incorporating services follow a pathway, moving from pure-product to pure-service offerings, and (ii) profits increase linearly with this process. We propose that these assumptions are inconsistent with the premises of behavioural and learning theories.
Design/methodology/approach
Machine learning algorithms are applied to test whether a successive process, from a basic to a more advanced offering, creates optimal performance. The data were gathered through two surveys administered to USA manufacturing firms in 2021 and 2023. The first included a training sample comprising 225 firms, whilst the second encompassed a testing sample of 105 firms.
Findings
Analysis shows that following the base-intermediate-advanced services pathway is not the best predictor of optimal performance. Developing advanced services and then later adding less complex offerings supports better performance.
Practical implications
Manufacturing firms follow heterogeneous pathways in their service development journey. Non-servitised firms need to carefully consider their contextual conditions when selecting their initial service offering. Starting with a single service offering appears to be a superior strategy over providing multiple services.
Originality/value
The machine learning approach is novel to the field and captures the key conditions for manufacturers to successfully servitise. Insight is derived from the adoption and implementation year datasets for 17 types of services described in previous qualitative studies. The methods proposed can be extended to assess other process-based models in related management fields (e.g., sand cone).