Mohammed Abu Jahed, Mohammed Quaddus, Nallan C. Suresh, Mohammad Asif Salam and Eijaz Ahmed Khan
This study investigates supply chain management (SCM) practices in a specific fast fashion apparel (FFA) industry. The impacts of SCM practices on competitive advantage (CA) are…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates supply chain management (SCM) practices in a specific fast fashion apparel (FFA) industry. The impacts of SCM practices on competitive advantage (CA) are investigated via mediating roles of supply chain agility (SCA) and partnership quality (PQ). Resource advantage (R-A) theory, in addition to resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capability theories, is used as theoretical underpinning.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method approach is adopted: a qualitative field study and survey research. Data from 296 apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh are analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, involving reflective and formative, first- and second-order constructs and mediation tests using the Hayes PROCESS macro.
Findings
Both SCM practices and PQ significantly affect SCA. SCM practices are found to directly enhance CA, but, counterintuitively, only marginally. Only through mediations of SCA and PQ do SCM practices enhance CA significantly. This is a departure from past research that has postulated direct effects between SCM practices and CA.
Research limitations/implications
This research is confined to the FFA industry and one national setting, Bangladesh. The data analyzed is also cross-sectional, with customary limitations on the temporal dimension.
Practical implications
SCM practices contribute to CA, but only through the mediation of PQ and SCA. This is an important directive to practitioners. Also, the second-order reflective measures for each construct indicate the specific SCM practices needed to maximize CA.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on SCM practices in FFA industry, specifically the mediating roles of PQ and SCA, resulting in new, more nuanced findings that are important in dynamic business settings, driven by new theoretical perspectives incorporating R-A theory, which has hardly been utilized before in SCM research.
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Soomin Park, Michael J. Braunscheidel and Nallan C. Suresh
The study presents a conceptual model of a firm's supply chain agility (FSCA) as a formative construct formed by sensing and responding capabilities. Both construct validity and…
Abstract
Purpose
The study presents a conceptual model of a firm's supply chain agility (FSCA) as a formative construct formed by sensing and responding capabilities. Both construct validity and predictive validity of the model are tested by investigating nuanced effects of FSCA on business performance. The study aims to empirically validate the sensing-responding theoretical framework of Overby et al. (2006) and extend the emergent stream on sensing-responding frameworks for supply chain agility.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey research is employed. Data are analysed using partial least squares technique and mediation tests by Hayes PROCESS macro.
Findings
FSCA is established as a revised construct formed by the distinct capabilities of sensing and responding. The efficacy of utilizing FSCA as a formative 2nd order construct was established. In addition, FSCA is shown to affect business performance through mediations of cost efficiency and customer effectiveness, establishing its predictive validity.
Originality/value
This study contributes significantly to the literature on supply chain agility in terms of both theory and practice for cultivating supply chain agility. Drawing on resource-based view and resource-advantage theories, as reformulation of supply chain agility as a formative construct of sensing and responding capabilities, this research opens up new lines of inquiry on agility.
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Torsten Doering, Nallan C. Suresh and Dennis Krumwiede
Longitudinal investigations are often suggested but rarely used in operations and supply chain management (OSCM), mainly due to the difficulty of obtaining data. There is a silver…
Abstract
Purpose
Longitudinal investigations are often suggested but rarely used in operations and supply chain management (OSCM), mainly due to the difficulty of obtaining data. There is a silver lining in the form of existing large-scale and planned repeated cross-sectional (RCS) data sets, an approach commonly used in sociology and political sciences. This study aims to review all relevant RCS surveys with a focus on OSCM, as well as data and methods to motivate longitudinal research and to study trends at the plant, industry and geographic levels.
Design/methodology/approach
A comparison of RCS, panel and hybrid surveys is presented. Existing RCS data sets in the OSCM discipline and their features are discussed. In total, 30 years of Global Manufacturing Research Group data are used to explore the applicability of analytical methods at the plant and aggregate level and in the form of multilevel modeling.
Findings
RCS analysis is a viable alternative to overcome the confines associated with panel data. The structure of the existing data sets restricts quantitative analysis due to survey and sampling issues. Opportunities surrounding RCS analysis are illustrated, and survey design recommendations are provided.
Practical implications
The longitudinal aspect of RCS surveys can answer new and untested research questions through repeated random sampling in focused topic areas. Planned RCS surveys can benefit from the provided recommendations.
Originality/value
RCS research designs are generally overlooked in OSCM. This study provides an analysis of RCS data sets and future survey recommendations.
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Jeong Hoon Choi, Sangdo Choi and Nallan C. Suresh
The objective of this study is to explore the structural attributes of the pharmaceutical industry before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to explore the structural attributes of the pharmaceutical industry before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the relationship between inventory and firm performance and developing a taxonomy of pharmaceutical firms based on the earns-turns matrix.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the inventory–firm performance linkage, considering both total inventory and its discrete inventory components in pharmaceutical firms. In addition, this research develops a new taxonomy of pharmaceutical firms based on the earns-turns matrix. A large panel dataset of firms in the US pharmaceutical industry was collected for the period 2000–2019.
Findings
The results reveal that strategic groups identified based on this taxonomy show different levels of profitability and inventory turns in the earns-turns matrix. Most pharmaceutical firms moved from the low-right to the top-left section in the earns-turns matrix, indicating that these firms have generally pursued profitability rather than effective inventory management.
Research limitations/implications
This study explores the structural attributes of the pharmaceutical industry using the earns-turns matrix. This two-dimensional analysis may not, however, capture the full complexity of inventory–firm performance dynamics.
Practical implications
The mapping of strategic groups on the earns-turns matrix provides a useful tool for visual representations of the dynamics of strategic groups in terms of financial performance and inventory management performance. Practitioners can use the earns-turns matrix to benchmark their firm's position against their competitors.
Originality/value
This study broadens the scope of operations management research by introducing the earns-turns matrix as an empirical validation tool for operational and strategic management theories. This study emphasizes the effectiveness of the earns-turns matrix in analyzing strategic groups of pharmaceutical firms.
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Girish Shambu, Nallan C. Suresh and C. Carl Pegels
The performance of cellular manufacturing (CM) systems has been rigorously investigated during the last two decades. The findings from these studies need to be systematically…
Abstract
The performance of cellular manufacturing (CM) systems has been rigorously investigated during the last two decades. The findings from these studies need to be systematically tabulated, given that they span a wide range of systems and experimental conditions. Some of the findings have also not been in agreement with the prescriptive literature on group technology (GT). No such survey of research exists to date. Attempts to fill the void by providing a taxonomy that categorizes these studies into simulation‐based, analytical and empirical studies. Also discusses past work in the context of various experimental factors and conditions, such as system configurations assumed, setup and operation times, scheduling rules, lot sizes and performance measures used. Summarizes major findings from each stream of literature from the point of view of both researchers and practitioners.
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Minkyun Kim, Nallan C Suresh and Canan Kocabasoglu-Hillmer
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships among strategic sourcing, e-procurement and firm performance, along with the moderating effects of business…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships among strategic sourcing, e-procurement and firm performance, along with the moderating effects of business characteristics and environmental factors on these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
This empirical investigation relies on structured survey responses from 137 managers of US manufacturing firms. The partial least squares-based structural equation modeling approach is used for data analysis.
Findings
The research results confirm that both strategic sourcing and e-procurement have a positive effect on firm performance. In addition, e-procurement is also found to have a positive impact on strategic sourcing. In addition, the research results suggest that business characteristics and the environment, especially the degree of competition, market turbulence, firm size and stage in product life cycle moderate these relationships significantly. The positive effects of strategic sourcing and e-procurement on firm performance are particularly enhanced under the right conditions.
Originality/value
This research is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to provide insights into the joint effects of strategic sourcing and e-procurement, and how business characteristics and the environment affect their roles on firm performance. In addition, firm performance is evaluated as a multi-dimensional construct involving financial, operational and supply chain aspects, with the measurements consisting of several second-order constructs. The study makes both theoretical and practical contributions.
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Michael J. Braunscheidel, James W. Hamister, Nallan C. Suresh and Harold Star
The purpose of this paper is, first, to utilize institutional theory to assess motivation for the adoption of Six Sigma. Second, to examine the role of an organization's…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is, first, to utilize institutional theory to assess motivation for the adoption of Six Sigma. Second, to examine the role of an organization's innovation implementation climate and the fit between the innovation considered and the values of the organization's members on the implementation of Six Sigma. Third, to study the impact that the adoption and implementation of Six Sigma has on organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Methods advocated in case study research were employed in the conduct of seven case studies. The research protocol consisted of identifying organizations in a variety of manufacturing industries, and conducting focused interviews with a minimum of three respondents in each company in order to improve validity.
Findings
This paper suggests that institutional theory proves to be an effective means by which to examine the adoption of Six Sigma. In addition, support for innovation implementation model suggested by Klein and Sorra is found. Each of the studied firms reported performance improvements as a result of the adoption and implementation of Six Sigma.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to a better understanding of Six Sigma adoption, implementation, and implementation effectiveness of Six Sigma by exploring how it is applied in different manufacturing contexts.
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Raj Aggarwal, J. Edward and Louise E. Mellen
Justifying new manufacturing technology is usually very difficult since the most important benefits are often strategic and difficult to quantify. Traditional capital budgeting…
Abstract
Justifying new manufacturing technology is usually very difficult since the most important benefits are often strategic and difficult to quantify. Traditional capital budgeting procedures that rely on return measures based on direct cost savings and incremental future cash flows do not normally capture the strategic benefits of higher quality, faster responses to wider ranges of customer needs, and the options for future growth made available by flexible manufacturing technology. Adding to these limitations is the difficulty of using traditional cost accounting systems to generate the information necessary for justifying new manufacturing investments. This paper reviews these problems and recommends procedures useful for assessing investments in flexible manufacturing technology.
Chung‐Yean Chiang, Canan Kocabasoglu‐Hillmer and Nallan Suresh
The purpose of this paper is to investigate two potentially key drivers of a firm's supply chain agility, namely strategic sourcing and firm's strategic flexibility. Despite some…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate two potentially key drivers of a firm's supply chain agility, namely strategic sourcing and firm's strategic flexibility. Despite some theoretical and conceptual works suggesting that some elements of these two constructs may relate to agility, this has not yet been assessed together empirically. This study aims to address this gap in the literature.
Design/methodology/approach
This study involves an empirical investigation of a theory‐based model based on the competence‐capability framework, and a dynamic capabilities theoretical perspective, where the internal competencies of strategic sourcing and firm's strategic flexibility relate to the dynamic capability of the firm's supply chain agility. This investigation also includes the testing of a possible mediation effect of firm's strategic flexibility on the relationship between strategic sourcing and the firm's supply chain agility. The model is tested utilizing data from 144 US manufacturing firms via partial least square methodology.
Findings
The results of the empirical study indicated that both strategic sourcing and firm's strategic flexibility were significantly related to the firm's supply chain agility. In addition, while a full mediation effect was not found on the part of strategic flexibility, there was evidence for partial mediation.
Research limitations/implications
Given that the data are from specific US industries, the generalizability of current findings to other industries or countries may require additional investigation.
Originality/value
Given the attention paid to agility in terms of its importance to responding to business uncertainty, and more recently, as an important capability in managing supply chain disruption risks, this paper investigates how strategic sourcing and flexibility can contribute to agility.
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Liang Chen, Scott C. Ellis and Nallan Suresh
The purpose of this paper is to apply expectancy theory to advance a conceptual framework which identifies factors that motivate and affect the adoption of supplier development…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply expectancy theory to advance a conceptual framework which identifies factors that motivate and affect the adoption of supplier development (SD) activities.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a comprehensive literature review to identify salient contributions and conceptual gaps within prior SD studies. These conceptual gaps motivate the use of expectancy theory and the broader management literature to develop a conceptual framework of SD adoption.
Findings
The study results in the development of a two-stage conceptual framework in which two behavioral constructs – SD expectancy and valence – play an important role in mediating the effects of activity-, firm-, interfirm-, and environment-level factors on the adoption of SD activities. Accordingly, the authors advance 11 testable propositions that underlie the logical development of the framework.
Research limitations/implications
The application of expectancy theory facilitates the integration of constructs culled from disparate theories into a cohesive conceptual framework. Highlighting the central role of motivational force, the conceptual development provides a behavioral explanation for the indirect effects of activity-, firm-, interfirm-, and environment-level factors on SD adoption.
Practical implications
The authors advance a set of factors associated with three successive stages of the SD planning process – partner selection, activity selection, and scope selection – that managers should consider when adopting a SD activity.
Originality/value
In contrast to prior research, which largely draws from economic or strategic theories, the authors employ a behavioral approach to advance a novel set of factors that influence SD adoption.