Managing supply chain knowledge-based linkages for improving operational performance

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the role of internal and external knowledgebased linkages across the supply chain in achieving better operational performance. It investigates how knowledge is accumulated, shared, and applied to create organization-specific knowledge resources that increase and sustain the organization's competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses a single case study with multiple, embedded units of analysis, and the social network analysis (SNA) to demonstrate the impact of internal and external knowledge-based linkages across multiple tiers in the supply chain on the organizational operational performance. The focal company of the case study is an Italian manufacturer supplying rubber components to European automotive enterprises. Findings: With the aid of the SNA, the internal knowledge-based linkages can be mapped and visualized. We found that the most central nodes having the most connections with other nodes in the linkages are the most crucial members in terms of knowledge exploration and exploitation within the organization. We also revealed that the effective management of external knowledge-based linkages, such as buyer company, competitors, university, suppliers, and subcontractors, can help improve the operational performance. Research limitations/implications: First, our hypothesis was tested on a single case. The analysis of multiple case studies using SNA would provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between the knowledge-based linkages at all levels of the supply chain and the integration of knowledge. Second, the static nature of knowledge flows was studied in this research. Future research could also consider ongoing monitoring of dynamic linkages and the dynamic characteristic of knowledge flows. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, the phrase 'knowledge-based linkages' has not been used in the literature and there is lack of investigation on the relationship between the management of internal and external knowledge-based linkages and the operational performance. To bridge the knowledge gap, this paper will show the importance of understanding the composition and characteristics of knowledge-based linkages and their knowledge nodes. In addition, this paper will show that effective management of knowledge-based linkages leads to the creation of new knowledge and improves organizations' operational performance.

Implementation of supply chain management theory in practice:a questionnaire survey in the United Kingdom

Purpose: The purpose of the research described in this paper is to disentangle the rhetoric from the reality in relation to supply chain management (SCM) adoption in practice. There is significant evidence of a divergence between theory and practice in the field of SCM. Research Approach: The authors’ review of the extant SCM literature highlighted a lack of replication studies in SCM, leading to the concept of refined replication being developed. The authors conducted a refined replication of the work of Sweeney et al. (2015) where a new SCM definitional construct – the Four Fundamentals – was proposed. The work presented in this article refines the previous study but adopts the same three-phase approach: focussed interviews, a questionnaire survey, and focus groups. This article covers the second phase of the refined replication study and describes an integrated research design of a questionnaire research to be undertaken in Britain. Findings and Originality: The article presents an integrated research design of a questionnaire research with emphases on the refined replication of previous work of Sweeney et al. (2015) carried out in Ireland and adapting it to the British context. Research Impact: The authors introduce the concept of refined replication in SCM research. This allows previous research to be built upon in order to test understanding of SCM theory and its practical implementation - based on the Four Fundamentals construct - among SCM professionals in Britain. Practical Impact: The article presents the integrated research design of a questionnaire research that may be used in similar studies.

A Capability Maturity Model to Assess Supply Chain Performance

In an overcapacity world, where the customers can choose from many similar products to satisfy their needs, enterprises are looking for new approaches and tools that can help them not only to maintain, but also to increase their competitive edge. Innovation, flexibility, quality, and service excellence are required to, at the very least, survive the on-going transition that industry is experiencing from mass production to mass customization. In order to help these enterprises, this research develops a Supply Chain Capability Maturity Model named S(CM)2. The Supply Chain Capability Maturity Model is intended to model, analyze, and improve the supply chain management operations of an enterprise. The Supply Chain Capability Maturity Model provides a clear roadmap for enterprise improvement, covering multiple views and abstraction levels of the supply chain, and provides tools to aid the firm in making improvements. The principal research tool applied is the Delphi method, which systematically gathered the knowledge and experience of eighty eight experts in Mexico. The model is validated using a case study and interviews with experts in supply chain management. The resulting contribution is a holistic model of the supply chain integrating multiple perspectives, and providing a systematic procedure for the improvement of a company’s supply chain operations.

Novel Formulation and Efficient Solution Strategy for Strategic Optimization of an Industrial Chemical Supply Chain Under Demand Uncertainty

This paper is concerned with strategic optimization of a typical industrial chemical supply chain, which involves a material purchase and transportation network, several manufacturing plants with on-site material and product inventories, a product transportation network and several regional markets. In order to address large uncertainties in customer demands at the different regional markets, a novel robust scenario formulation, which has been developed by the authors recently, is tailored and applied for the strategic optimization. Case study results show that the robust scenario formulation works well for this real industrial supply chain system, and it outperforms the deterministic formulation and the classical scenario-based stochastic programming formulation by generating better expected economic performance and solutions that are guaranteed to be feasible for all uncertainty realizations. The robust scenario problem exhibits a decomposable structure that can be taken advantage of by Benders decomposition for efficient solution, so the application of Benders decomposition to the solution of the strategic optimization is also discussed. The case study results show that Benders decomposition can reduce the solution time by almost an order of magnitude when the number of scenarios in the problem is large.

Islamic Infrastructure Finance and Sustainable Development Goals

This was a very interesting discussion with the pioneers of Islamic finance regarding infrastructure finance and the sustainable development goals.

Supply Chain Resilience? Definition of concept and its formative elements.

The objective of this paper is to conceptualize Supply Chain Resilience (SCRes) and identify which supply chain capabilities can support the containment of disruptions and how these capabilities affect SCRes. Through a systematic and structured review of literature, this paper provides insights into the conceptualization and research methodological background of the SCM field. A total of one hundred and thirty four carefully selected refereed journal articles were systematically analyzed leading to the introduction of a novel definition for SCRes, which the authors view as the as “the ability to proactively plan and design the Supply Chain network for anticipating unexpected disruptive (negative) events, respond adaptively to disruptions while maintaining control over structure and function and transcending to a post-event robust state of operations, if possible, more favorable than the one prior to the event, thus gaining competitive advantage”. Finally, a critical examination of existing conceptual frameworks for understanding the relationships between the SCRes concept and its identified formative elements, is taking place.

The Role of ‘Edutainment’ in Education for Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Strategies Game (SSG) is being developed as ‘edutainment’ in response to the need to understand sustainable futures and advocate sustainability within workplaces in Higher Education. SSG seeks to both deliver experiential teaching and learning for business sustainability and enhance students’ learning experiences within Worcester Business School. This paper presents findings from action research undertaken to formally investigate two aspects of SSG within edutainment for ESD: firstly, it explores the value students obtain from game playing as an approach to sustainability learning. Secondly, it establishes students’ suggestions for evolutions to SSG, e.g. game design and additional features such as social media interventions or legal challenges, to increase its value as a tool for teaching and learning. Informal feedback following sessions playing SSG suggests games generally generate positive effects on students’ learning. Students highlighted SSG offered an enjoyable alternative approach to learning and could drive changes to sustainability thinking. Introducing such gameplay offers the potential to engage participants in collaborative behaviours and encourage consideration of profitability through strategies which carry less impact on the environment; vital to create a sustainable future. This paper presents qualitative evidence from game players that can enhance SSG as a tool to further improve students’ learning experience and its value as edutainment rather than entertainment within ESD.

Sostenibilità della Supply Chain e indici di misurazione delle performance

Il presente elaborato si propone di analizzare la tematica della sostenibilità nella gestione della Supply Chain, con particolare attenzione alla misurazione delle performance attraverso indicatori KPI e modelli multidimensionali. Nella prima sezione, dopo un’introduzione sul tema dello sviluppo sostenibile, si offre una descrizione dello scenario attuale e degli approcci alla sostenibilità, evidenziandone i principi guida e le sfide future, mentre in seguito vengono analizzate le pressioni esercitate dagli stakeholder per l’implementazione di pratiche sostenibili. La seconda porzione dell’elaborato è incentrata sull’introduzione della sostenibilità nel Supply Chain Management, caratterizzandone l’evoluzione dalla tradizionale gestione della catena di fornitura e mettendone in luce opportunità e barriere. Successivamente, la terza parte si propone di entrare nel dettaglio in merito alle pratiche adottabili nella filiera finalizzate all’implementazione di un management sostenibile, proponendo un modello concettuale per l’analisi delle varie attività, dalla progettazione di prodotto fino alla logistica inversa. Un’ulteriore tematica approfondita è rappresentata dall’impatto di queste pratiche sostenibili sulle performance economiche aziendali, proponendo diversi approcci. Nell’ultima sezione dell’elaborato il focus è incentrato sulla misurazione delle performance di sostenibilità, dove ne vengono indagate opportunità e difficoltà, proponendo in seguito un modello teorico. Contestualmente vengono quindi esposti diversi KPI e modelli multidimensionali, i quali, con modalità e prospettive diverse, contribuiscono alla misurazione delle prestazioni di sostenibilità: in particolare viene fatto riferimento agli indici caratteristici del GRI e all’utilizzo combinato della balanced scorecard e dell’analytic hierarchy process.

Supply Chain Adaptation of Finnish Companies in Chinese Institutional Environment

Within the last few decades of operations and supply chain management, the field has seen the rise of so called best practices, methods that will help supply chains obtain their business goals and gain a competitive edge. These methods were thought to be universal. This however is not always the case, as the surrounding business environment could have a significant impact on what will be effective in gaining competitive edge. Contingency theory states that the success of a supply chain is determined by both internal capabilities, as well as external context aligning. This creates a strategic fit, which is a major determinant of success. In order for supply chains to reach this strategic fit, they must adapt. As China has seen rapid growth and over the last few decades become one of the major economies of the world, Western companies have tried to establish themselves there, only to find that the Chinese market is extremely difficult to operate in. The aim of this thesis was to investigate from contingency theory perspective, what are the institutional factors that affect supply chain management of Finnish companies operating in China, and how do Finnish companies adapt their supply chains to better fit the Chinese institutional environment. A theoretical model was created for this thesis, in which supply chains possess resources, which can be combined in a meaningful manner to create capabilities. Both resources and capabilities are affected by the surrounding institutional environment, which forces supply chains to adapt in order to find a better strategic fit. A total of six Finnish managers from three large and three small companies operating in China were interviewed. The results indicated that the Chinese business environment is significantly different, than that of Finland or Western countries in general. Three institutional factors were identified: Confucian though, fast-paced business environment, and managing labor force. These three institutional factors made the relationship and delivery capabilities particularly important, as well as human resources, reputation, physical resources and technological resources. In conclusion, it was discovered that the Chinese institutional environment is heavily affected by Confucian thought, as well as the rapid market growth. These are the two most important institutional factors that shape the Chinese market. If supply chains wish to be successful in China, adaptation regarding these two institutional factors should yield good results.

Conservation narratives in Peru: envisioning biodiversity in sustainable development

In the mega-diverse country Peru, a resource intensive development model collides with the interest of conserving biodiversity. Peruvian biodiversity experts have developed different lines of argumentation as to how to integrate conservation into the sustainable development of their country. Applying grounded theory, I define five groups of conservation narratives based on the analysis of 72 qualitative interviews with experts working in areas of biodiversity conservation. I have labeled them: biodiversity protectionists, biodiversity traditionalists, biodiversity localists, biodiversity pragmatists, and biodiversity capitalists. These groups are each discussed in connection with what they have to say about biodiversity in relation to human life, valuation and knowledge systems, participation and leadership, substitutability of natural capital, and its predominant political strategy. In a second step, a comparative analysis of the dominant and diverging political perspectives is made. I argue that by deconstructing underlying premises and ideologies, common ground and possible opportunities for collaboration can be identified. Moreover, although the presented results can serve as a discussion scaffold to organize conservation debates in Peru, this example demonstrates how the terms biodiversity and sustainability are operationalized in conservation narratives.

Merging Paradigms: A framework for meeting the goals of sustainable development and corporate sustainability for cruise industry firms

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06