This paper examines how organizations connect internal and external processes to enable an agile response to continuous change. Drawing on life cycle theory, a hypothetical model is developed ...regarding the independent and combinative effects of internal and external process connectivity on supply chain agility and the moderating effect of product and supply complexity. The model is tested using hierarchical regression analysis based on survey data from 143 managers at German manufacturing firms. Our findings suggest that internal and external process connectivity have a positive effect on supply chain agility independently and collectively, with complexity having a moderating effect in particular instances. The findings build on prior research regarding the process-related enablers of supply chain agility; research that has yet to clearly differentiate between internal and external processes or uses the terms interchangeably. The theoretical contribution of the paper rests on its extension of life cycle theory to the supply chain.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the antecedents of dynamic supply chain capabilities (DSCCs). The authors test entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and supply chain learning orientation ...(SCLO) as two antecedents of DSCCs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses structural equation modelling to test a hypothetical model. Data are gathered from a survey of 275 operations managers in Pakistan’s turbulent manufacturing industry.
Findings
The findings suggest that the weaker direct effects of EO, in comparison to the indirect effects, indicate that an SCLO mediates the relationship between EO and DSCCs.
Research limitations/implications
It is widely accepted that firms do not compete with each other, instead, it is end-to-end supply chains that fight for market dominance. Many scholars use the dynamic capabilities view to understand supply chain level competition. However, the dynamic capabilities view is firm-centric in its examination of how companies transform internal resources to compete in the external environment. The theoretical contribution of this paper is a roadmap of how to build dynamic, supply-chain level and capabilities by determining the key antecedents. This paper explains that DSCCs emerge when buyers and suppliers share strategic orientations. Firms with an EO and the ability to learn with supply chain partners are well-positioned to develop DSCCs. This provides a new angle to theory testing by indicating that dynamic capabilities are enabled by an EO and an ability to learn with supply chain partners.
Practical implications
Managers are given the building blocks of DSCCs, starting with fostering an entrepreneurially-oriented mindset in the company and then learning with supply chain partners. Entrepreneurially-oriented managers are encouraged to take risks and co-develop innovative ideas with suppliers during the supply chain learning process.
Originality/value
This study is one of the earliest efforts to determine the strategic orientations that antecede the emergence of DSCCs.
The purpose of this paper is to understand how companies can transition to a sustainable sales and operations planning process to improve economic, environmental, and social performance. Data are ...collected from a survey of 120 managers in China's manufacturing sector and analyzed using partial least square‐based structural equation modeling. Drawing on life cycle theory and stakeholder theory, we argue that the conventional sales and operations planning (S&OP) process is internally focused and myopic, which over time leads to path dependencies and structural inertia. We find that firms can break free from this structural inertia by engaging external stakeholder groups that challenge the status quo and prompt organizational change. The paper contributes to theory by combining the key tenets of life cycle theory and stakeholder theory to explain how companies can transition to a sustainable S&OP process.
Purpose> The purpose of this article is to discuss the theme of managing operations and supply chains in the so-called “new normal”. It reflects the themes emerging from recent research and how these ...might be conceptualized. Design/methodology/approach> The article reviews research presented at the EurOMA 2021 conference and eight papers subsequently developed into full journal papers. It considers conceptual themes contained in these papers and how they reflect recent turbulent events in the external business environment. Findings> The article notes the themes of resilience in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, environmental sustainability, especially climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals, and the significance of digital technologies. Additional themes relating to inter-organizational relationships, complexity and manager cognition are also considered. In order to provide useful insights for future disruptions, general concepts on epistemology and responsiveness are described. Originality/value> The article discusses general principles across cutting-edge research in operations and supply chain management, to support improved performance to add economic and social value.
This paper uses grounded theory to develop and deepen our understanding of eco-innovation. It presents, through a series of four propositions, a three-stage supply network typology to help scholars ...and managers consider how best to develop these innovations. This typology was constructed by reviewing existing sustainability frameworks that argued that innovation was a key factor in sustainability. Moreover we found little consideration given on how to discover and develop eco-innovations. The literature proposes that a firm with strong ties with a few strategic suppliers will benefit from the knowledge and technology that spills over from suppliers to the firm during the new product development process. In contrast, the network literature explains that the creation of multiple weak ties to non-strategic suppliers may increase opportunities for identifying innovation. The network literature further suggests a third and potentially more promising route: building weak ties to suppliers that bridge ‘structural holes’ in the network. We suggest that strong ties with strategic suppliers will lead to the development of incremental eco-innovations while weak ties with multiple suppliers and with suppliers that bridge structural holes will tend to lead to radical eco-innovations. Finally, we suggest that once eco-innovations are developed they should be embedded in the operational processes of other suppliers to increase the sustainability performance of the focal firm.
•We develop a three stage supply network typology for developing eco-innovations.•Strong ties to strategic suppliers lead to incremental eco-innovations.•Weak ties to multiple suppliers lead to radical eco-innovations.•Weak ties to suppliers bridging structural holes lead to radical eco-innovations.•Embedding eco-innovation in supplier operations improves sustainability performance.
Existing studies on disaster relief operations pay limited attention to acts of spontaneous volunteerism by local citizens in the aftermath of disasters. The purpose of this paper is to explore how ...social preferences motivate citizens to help during post-disaster situations; above and beyond their own self-regarding interests. The paper begins by synthesising the literature on social preferences from the field of behavioural economics and social psychology with the discourse surrounding behavioural operations management and humanitarian operations management. By doing so, we identify the motivators, enablers and barriers of local citizen response during disaster relief operations. These factors inform a theoretical framework of the social preferences motivating spontaneous volunteerism in post-disaster situations. We evidence facets of the framework using archival and unstructured data retrieved from Twitter feeds generated by local citizens during the floods that hit Chennai, India in 2015. Our model highlights the importance of individual-level action during disaster relief operations and the enabling role of social media as a coordination mechanism for such efforts.
This paper seeks answers to the question: what are the key factors that enable the scaling of additive manufacturing (AM) from rapid prototyping to high‐volume production? Using a longitudinal case ...study, we collected primary and secondary data to trace the AM scaling journey of AeroCo, a highly innovative aerospace firm. Based on the case findings, we position AM as a whole system technology because it can print components for a wide range of subsystems in a complex final product. Scaling AM requires a significant realignment of existing, and often deeply entrenched, new technology, and product development processes. To achieve this alignment, AeroCo formed institutional alliances with the UK government and universities to establish university technology centers, which facilitated early stage ideation and “catapult” centers, which enabled high‐volume testing in factory‐like facilities. The case reveals how multiple functions needed to integrate, including research and development, product design, and future programs, to ensure that design changes cascaded from one subsystem to another, and that new technologies were linked to a future product to create a final product pull. These findings inform a managerial framework for additive manufacturing scaling that is generalizable to other digital technologies used in the design and production of complex final products, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, smart factories, and cyber physical production systems. Our framework contributes to innovation thought and practice by explaining how new product development processes and organizational structures change under the effect of digital technologies.
Purpose This study aims to answer the question: What dynamic capabilities do diverse humanitarian organizations have? Design/methodology/approach We examine this question through the lens of dynamic ...capabilities with sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capacities. The research team interviewed 15 individuals from 12 humanitarian organizations that had (a) different geographic scopes (global versus local) and (b) different missions (emergency response versus long-term development aid). We also gathered data from secondary sources, including standard operating procedures, company websites, and news databases (Factiva, Reuters and Bloomberg). Findings The findings identify the operational and dynamic capabilities of global and local humanitarian organizations while distinguishing between their mission to provide long-term development aid or emergency relief. (1) The global organizations, with their beneficiary responsiveness, reconfigured their sensing and seizing capacities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by pivoting quickly to local procurement or regional supply chains. The long-term development organizations pivoted to multi-year supplier agreements with fixed pricing to counter price uncertainty and accessed social capital with government bodies. In contrast, emergency response organizations developed end-to-end supply chain visibility to sense changes in supply and demand. (2) Local humanitarian organizations developed the capacity to sense demand and supply changes to reconfigure based on their experiential learning working with the local community. The long-term-development local organizations used un-owned and scalable relief infrastructure to seize opportunities to rebuild affected areas. In contrast, emergency response organizations developed their capacity to seize opportunities to provide aid stemming from their decentralized decision-making, a lack of structured procedures, and the authority for increased expenditure. Originality/value We propose a theoretical framework to identify humanitarian organizations' operational and dynamic capabilities, distinguishing between global and local organizations and their emergency response and long-term aid missions.
The purpose of this paper is to examine how managers can develop ‘parallel’ supply chains to overcome the efficiency/flexibility trade‐offs of offshored versus reshored/nearshored production. Primary ...evidence is gathered from 22 field interviews with eight companies from multiple countries, all operating in the textile and apparel industry. The interview data is triangulated using a cross‐industry focus group with 28 participants and secondary sources including company annual reports and website information. The study contributes to organizational ambidexterity theory by identifying how companies embed structural ambidexterity in their supply chains, and in so doing create ‘parallel supply chains’. Our findings show that companies partition their production in terms of width (meaning that specific product lines were relocated) and depth (meaning that specific production activities were relocated). Companies then use a mix of offshored production facilities to manufacture low‐margin, long‐lead‐time products as well as reshored/nearshored production facilities to make high‐margin, quick‐response items. The ability to swap production volumes between parallel supply chains enables supply chain ambidexterity, which in turn allows companies to exploit efficiency and flexibility benefits simultaneously. Managers are provided with an empirically informed, step‐by‐step framework for developing structural ambidexterity and building parallel supply chains.
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