International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management最新文献

Purpose

Despite the proliferation of cyberthreats upon the supply chain (SC) at large, knowledge on SC cybersecurity is scarce and predominantly conceptual or descriptive. Addressing this gap, this research examines the effect of SC cyber risk management strategies on integration decisions for cybersecurity (with suppliers, customers, and internally) to enhance the SC’s cyber resilience and robustness.

Design/methodology/approach

A research model grounded in the supply chain risk management (SCRM) literature, with roots in the Dynamic Capabilities View and the Relational View, was developed. Survey responses of 388 SC managers at US manufacturers were obtained to test the model.

Findings

An impact of SC cyber risk management strategies on internal cyber integration was detected, which in turn impacted external cyber integration with both suppliers and customers. Further, a positive effect of internal and customer cyber integration on both cyber resilience and robustness was found, while cyber integration with suppliers impacted neither.

Practical implications

Industry practitioners may adapt certain risk management and integration strategies to enhance the cybersecurity posture of their SCs.

Originality/value

This research bridges between the established domain of SCRM and the emergent field of SC cybersecurity by forming and testing novel relationships between SCRM-rooted constructs tailored to an SC cyber risks context.

Purpose

Contradictory sustainability priorities and perspectives among supply chain actors in greening transportation can be challenging. Several of these contradictions can be described as paradoxes (i.e. interests that are logical in themselves, but become irrational when perceived together). The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of paradoxical tensions hampering the greening of transportation in transport buyer–supplier dyads.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study method targeting greening transportation in two transport buyer–supplier dyads was applied, followed by an analysis with a point-of-departure in paradox theory.

Findings

Tensions related to performing, belonging, learning and organizing paradoxes in greening transportation were identified. These tensions arise as a consequence of actions, perspectives and other tensions, within three identified loci in individual companies and in dyads.

Research limitations/implications

By identifying examples of tensions through the lens of paradoxes in a particular setting, this study provides an increased understanding of why the transition toward green transportation goes slow, despite the high ambitions of involved actors. The suggested framework provides a novel contribution to the literature that further increases the understanding of tensions, by providing additional insights into where tensions arise and how actions, perspectives and tensions in one place of a locus spectrum can disseminate along that spectrum.

Originality/value

This study is original because it applies paradox theory and the four categories of performing, belonging, learning and organizing within the field of greening transportation, and in particular as a lens to study interactions between different actors.

Purpose

Electrification is a promising solution for decarbonising the road freight transport system, but it is challenging to understand its impact on the system. The purpose of this research is to provide a system-level understanding of how electrification impacts the road freight transport system. The goal is to develop a model that illustrates the system and its dynamics, emphasising the importance of understanding these dynamics in order to comprehend the effects of electrification.

Design/methodology/approach

The main methodological contribution of the study is the combination of the multi-layer model with system dynamics methodology. A mixed methods approach is used, including group model building, impact analysis, and literature analysis.

Findings

The study presents a conceptual multi-layer dynamic model, illustrating the complex causal relationships between variables in the different layers and how electrification impacts the system. It distinguishes between direct and induced impacts, along with potential policy interventions. Moreover, two causal loop diagrams (CLDs) provide practical insights: one explores factors influencing electric truck attractiveness, and the other illustrates the trade-off between battery size and fast charging infrastructure for electric trucks.

Originality/value

The study provides stakeholders, particularly policymakers, with a system-level understanding of the different impacts of electrification and their ripple effects. This understanding is crucial for making strategic decisions and steering the transition towards a sustainable road freight transport system.

Purpose

This research analyzes online consumer reviews and ratings to assess e-retail order fulfillment performance. The study aims to (1) identify consumer journey touchpoints in the order fulfillment process and (2) determine their relative importance for the consumer experience.

Design/methodology/approach

Text mining and analytics were employed to examine over 100 m online purchase orders, along with associated consumer reviews and ratings from Amazon US. Using natural language processing techniques, the corpus of reviews was structured to pinpoint touchpoints related to order fulfillment. Reviews were then classified according to their stance (either positive or negative) toward these touchpoints. Finally, the classes were correlated with consumer rating, measured by the number of stars, to determine the relative importance of each touchpoint.

Findings

The study reveals 12 touchpoints within the order fulfillment process, which are split into three groups: delivery, packaging and returns. These touchpoints significantly influence star ratings: positive experiences elevate them, while negative ones reduce them. The findings provide a quantifiable measure of these effects, articulated in terms of star ratings, which directly reflect the influence of experiences on consumer evaluations.

Research limitations/implications

The dataset utilized in this study is from the US market, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other markets. Moreover, the novel methodology used to map and quantify customer journey touchpoints requires further refinement.

Practical implications

In e-retail and logistics, comprehending touchpoints in the order fulfillment process is pivotal. This understanding helps improve consumer interactions and enhance satisfaction. Such insights not only drive higher conversion rates but also guide informed managerial decisions, particularly in service development.

Originality/value

Drawing upon consumer-generated data, this research identifies a cohesive set of touchpoints within the order fulfillment process and quantitatively evaluates their influence on consumer experience using star ratings as a metric.

Purpose

Supply chain (SC) professionals are increasingly working alongside business partners of diverse backgrounds, which has been argued to engender both innovation and creativity but also found as potentially detrimental to SC relationships and performance. To reconcile these views, this study explores two mechanisms – supplementary (similarity) and complementary fits – at the surface (observable traits) and deep (unobservable characteristics) levels and their impact on a focal firm representative’s perception of a SC partner’s trustworthiness.

Design/methodology/approach

Model was tested using survey data from 285 managers involved in interorganizational SC relationships.

Findings

Results indicate that a focal firm representative’s perception of supplementary and complementary fits with a SC partner positively impacts their perception of the partner’s trustworthiness. However, the effects of similarity at both surface and deep levels and complementarity weaken each other.

Practical implications

Understanding the mechanisms of diversity in SC relationships is crucial for fostering trustworthiness and achieving organizational objectives. Firms should evaluate both supplementary and complementary fits when hiring or assigning roles. Embracing a complementary fit not only promotes diversity but also mitigates the negative impact of similarity bias, ultimately strengthening trustworthiness within the organization's SC ecosystem.

Originality/value

By simultaneously examining individual and combined effects of two unique mechanisms of supplementarity and complementarity at the surface and deep levels, this study sheds light on inconsistent findings of the effects of diversity in the SCM literature.

Purpose

In this paper, we investigate the coevolution of the supply network and procurement strategies in the context of semiconductors and electronics for the automotive industry over 3 decades. We aim to explain how procurement strategy interrelates with changes in supply network structure and what the implications of a hub-centric structure network structure are for procurement in supply.

Design/methodology/approach

We collected in-depth primary and secondary data that stretched back to 1996 from a leading automotive European original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and its network. Using social network analysis (SNA), we identified OEMs’ procurement focus and mapped the evolution of the supply network, the links in the network, and the environmental forces impacting the strategies and the network.

Findings

Our findings describe the supply network for semiconductor and electronic components to the automotive industry. The findings suggest that a focus on cost can lead to a Tier 1-centric network structure with many tiers that can fail to assure supply or capture innovation when the external environment is marked by high uncertainty. In such situations, increasing complexity by creating more links in the network can improve transparency and contribute to supply assurance and innovation.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that managers should consider the role of the supply network in selecting their strategy to attain objectives of cost, innovation, and supply assurance.

Originality/value

This paper presents empirical-based insights into the automotive semiconductor and electronic component supply chain (SC), the unexpected implications of hub-centric supply networks, and the use of SNA in the SC in context.

Purpose

Franchising contributes significantly to national economies but is overlooked in supply chain literature. This study aims to contribute to the franchising and supply chain literature by examining how the digitisation of the franchising supply chain improves firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A single longitudinal case study approach was selected to investigate how a leading coffee brand digitised its franchising supply chain. Resource constraints theory and agency theory provide the theoretical framework. Data collection included both qualitative and quantitative data. Over two years, chronological, supply chain and thematic analyses and interpretation uncovered important findings and developed four research propositions.

Findings

Findings show that digitisation can impact performance in eight areas: Resource management, Resource constraints, Efficiency, Business-to-Business (B2B)/Business-To-Customer (B2C) links, Rapid expansion, Risk mitigation, Information asymmetries and Faster supply chain responses. Four digital technologies (advanced analytics, Internet of Things, Autonomous Mobile Robots and B2B e-shop) impacted three franchisor functions (Machine maintenance, Inventory management, Franchisee and end-customer relations). The study develops four research propositions on how digitisation impacts performance in terms of (1) resource monitoring and control, (2) learning and knowledge creation, (3) coordination and collaboration and (4) competition.

Originality/value

Franchising supply chains have been overlooked in the literature; this study provides insights into using resource constraints theory and agency theory complementarily to explain supply chain digitisation and provides actionable practical implications for selecting, implementing and continuously improving Industry 4.0 technologies in franchising supply chains.

Purpose

This paper aims to explain and demonstrate how the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) and Honey’s Content Analysis (HCA) can make new contributions to the field of Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM). The proposition involves integrating these complementary analyses to fortify the rigor of qualitative research and establish robust data analysis protocols to identify the main attributes of interviewees regarding a phenomenon while understanding in their perspective how these attributes impact the desired analysis outcome.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses examples with rich empirical data from 40 interviewees across two organizations. The examples use a protocol that allows the grouping of meanings from different knowledgeable individuals and capturing relevant constructs related to an outcome.

Findings

The combination of RGT and HCA permits researchers to effectively identify and analyze the constructs individuals and groups utilize to comprehend the subject matter under investigation. Consequently, these techniques present a structured means to conduct grounded theory investigations and interpretive research, thereby enabling the iterative development of the preliminary conceptual models necessary for OSCM field advancement.

Originality/value

We present two examples in which the protocol is applied to the field of OSCM. These examples illustrate that the techniques provide valuable opportunities for OSCM research, particularly for addressing the limitations related to sample size. Ultimately, RGT and HCA complement quantitative methodologies by uncovering nuanced variations and micro-foundations within firm- and network-level phenomena, offering insights essential for advancing our understanding of OSCM dynamics in specific contexts.

Purpose

Digital platforms transform supply chains. However, no unified theoretical understanding of digital platforms exists. Thus, the underlying research aims at investigating platform theories for supply chain management tasks.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct a systematic literature review to identify relevant theories in the context of digital platforms and synthesize the respective findings for supply chain management tasks.

Findings

In total, 43 papers and 41 different relevant theories are identified. The most prominent theories are the resource-based view, transaction cost economics, internalization theory and the dynamic capabilities approach. Digital platforms alter and change the boundary decisions of firms. Therefore, they have various implications for supply chain management tasks such as make-or-buy decisions or the orchestration of resources to sustain a competitive advantage.

Practical implications

The identified supply chain theories as well as platform theories and their overlap provide a meaningful starting point for discussing and developing new and platform-based supply chain management approaches in the B2B domain.

Originality/value

The conducted systematic literature review provides a first starting point for building a holistic theoretical approach to digital platforms in supply chains. Thus, the paper contributes a missing link for discussing digital platforms and their theoretical foundations for supply chain management tasks.

Purpose

Extant research documents the cost benefits of group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to member hospitals, but understudies concerns about the market dominance of a few large GPOs and the relatively weakened buyer power of hospitals in the US healthcare product supply chain. To fill the gap in the literature, this study investigates whether GPO size and a hospital’s relative power to its GPO affect the hospital’s supply expenses, and whether and how system membership moderates the power–performance link.

Design/methodology/approach

For this study, we collect the panel data from various secondary sources on GPO–hospital dyads, which include the seven largest GPOs and their 2,590 unique acute care hospital members in 51 states over the period of 2009–2017. To address the endogeneity issue associated with simultaneity, we establish a one-year time lag between dependent and independent variables and analyzed the 15,527 hospital-year observations using the time-series regression with fixed-effect.

Findings

We find that a hospital’s relative power to its GPO is the most critical factor to reduce its supply cost while GPO size has no effects. We also find that a nonsystem hospital achieves greater cost savings by leveraging its relative power to its GPO while a system hospital gains no benefits.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to address the paradox of GPO size and a hospital’s relative power and the moderating role of system membership for the hospital’s purchasing efficiency using a large nation-wide dataset of US hospitals–GPO dyads.