The task environment, resource commitment and reverse logistics performance: evidence from the Taiwanese high-tech sector

The purpose of the study was to construct a model in order to understand the empirical effects of the task environment on reverse logistics resource commitment and the resulting performance. The Taiwanese computer, communication, and consumer electronics (3C) manufacturing and retail industries were investigated by questionnaire administration. Structural equation modelling was employed to model relationships among the latent constructs of the task environment, resource commitment, and environmental and economic performances. From 349 valid responses, it was found that the task environment has a positive and significant influence on resource commitment. In turn, resource commitment positively and significantly influences the economic and environmental performances of reverse logistics separately. Additionally, environmental performance significantly and positively influences economic performance, thus showing that it pays to be green. Under a climate of increasingly strict international regulations, governmental legislation and the increase in consumer environmentalism, firms are advised to appropriately reappraise their RL resource commitments

Defining Next Generation Supply Chain Sustainability

The importance of understanding supply chain sustainability is being realized by increasingly more people, including corporate managers, investors, policy makers, customers and other stakeholders. A lot of practitioners and academic researchers have addressed this issue in past few years. However, most of their studies lack systematic thinking and are not quantifiable. Thus, a systematic and quantifiable model which incorporates economic, environmental and social factors is needed. In our study, a systematic and quantifiable risk assessment model based on the concept of “Triple Bottom Line” is developed in order to solve supply chain sustainability problem from risk assessment perspectiveMaster of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110983/1/276-Defining Next Generation Supply Chain Sustainability_2015.pd

The role of market orientation in developing and sustaining market relationships: an empirical study in Taiwan.

Significant work has taken place in the development of our understanding of business dyadic relationships but much work remains to be done in determining the antecedents, particularly our understanding of cultural contexts. This research aims to add to the debate about what counts in developing a long-term orientation in channel relationships by investigating the role of the concept of market orientation; it explores the possible interface existing between the marketing concept and development of channel relationships. The context is relationships between distributors and suppliers in Taiwan. This study examines the relationship literature from a social exchange theoretical perspective and conducts multiple-case in-depth interviews at the dyadic ends to develop an integrated research model for analysing potential effects of market orientation on the relationship factors influencing long-term oriented relationship building. Quantitative mixed-mode questionnaire surveys were undertaken to test the research model and hypotheses drawn from the model. Data were collected from 158 distributors from four selected business sectors, including both commodity and noncommodity ones. The results confirm the applicability of the marketing concept to an eastern country: Taiwan, and provide empirical evidence that adoption of the marketing concept can be a strategy for stimulating and sustaining long-term oriented channel relationships while mediated by a number of relationship constructs. Communication and shared value are highlighted as the primary mediators while satisfaction signals an inclination to continue a relationship. Market orientation is found to exert significant direct effects on communication and shared value and indirect effects on the other relationship components: trust, cooperation, commitment, conflict and satisfaction, which all contribute to a continuing relationship

ISM analysis of CPFR implementation barriers

Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) as an interconnection scheme between organizations has been shown to have significant benefits. Since its inception in the 1990s, its uptake has been lower than originally predicted. This paper identifies the major barriers and their interrelationships in CPFR implementations with a focus on high-tech industries. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) is used with a group of CPFR experts from industry/academia and Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée àun Classement (MICMAC) analysis to identify the driving and dependence powers. The paper identified 45 CPFR barriers and classifies them into four categories based on expert opinion, with only 13 of these determined to be significant. The results indicate that in terms of categories, managerial barriers are a significant root cause for both process and cultural barriers and CPFR implementation difficulties. It also indicates that although the importance of information technology to launch collaborative schemes has been addressed by many scholars, technology alone is not the complete solution for successful CPFR implementation. The paper has significant practical implications for organizations as it identifies the main CPFR barriers and their causal relationships. This will help firms in the process of CPFR strategy development particularly for mitigation strategies for dominant barriers

Adopting emerging integration technologies in organisations

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.A review of the innovation and diffusion literature indicates a considerable amount of research, where attention is given to a range of features which may support integration technologies adoption. However, some literature suggests that the findings derived from the study of large enterprises cannot be generalised and applied in SMEs due to the distinct characteristics of SMEs. Although the adoption of integration technologies is recognised as being different between large and small companies, the literature on its adoption by SMEs remains limited. Nevertheless, in existing work, there is a lack of studies emphasising the reasons why SMEs and large companies take the decision to adopt integration technologies, focusing specifically on the different factors. This thesis therefore identifies the significant differences in the way that SMEs and large companies approach integration technologies, based on the existing literature, theoretical diffusion theories, and resource-based theory. In doing so, the parameters that can be used to explain the adoption of integration technologies in SMEs and large firms are identified, as nature of organisations, company size, integration needs, adoption factors for SMEs and large organisations, and time. Additionally, adoption factors are found and classified into three categories: adoption factors explicit to SMEs, adoption factors explicit to large organisations, and common factors. Based on this, a conceptual model is introduced to explain the different factors that influence adoption between SMEs and large organisations. The empirical contexts of the research are one project on integration technologies adoption, and four case studies on a large firm and three SMEs, which are analysed using an interpretive and qualitative research approach. The evidence suggests that the empirical data complement the identified dimensions nature of organisations, integration needs, company size and time. The empirical data also confirm that the current integration technologies adoption factors reported in the literature can be classified into common factors, factors explicit to SMEs, and factors explicit to large firms, to support a more comprehensive view of this area. An additional factor perceived future prospect has been considered as an influence on adoption in large organisations. The findings of this research can be useful to guide analysts and researchers in determining critical aspects of the complex issues involved for integration technologies adoption, and lead to suggestions for further valid research

Logistics service providers (LSPs) evaluation and selection: Literature review and framework development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight to the outsourcing decision-making through investigating if the old evaluation/selection criteria and methods still fit with current business priorities or not and, therefore, to identify the appropriate criteria and methods to develop a new selection framework. Since the economic recession of 2008, logistics outsourcing decisions have become more prominent to avoid high fixed costs and heavy investment requirements and to achieve competitive advantages. Design/methodology/approach – This is a focused literature review prepared after analyzing 56 articles related to the logistics service provider (LSP) evaluation and selection methods and criteria during 2008-2013. The academic articles are analyzed based on research focus/area, evaluation and selection methodology/methods and evaluation and selection criteria. Then reviewed result is compared with previous literature studies for the periods (1991-2008) to identify any possible shifts. Findings – The review reveals that: several problems in current LSPs literature have been identified; the reviewed papers can be categorized into seven groups, the usage and importance of evaluation and selection criteria fluctuate during different periods; 12 crucial criteria have been identified, increasing the importance of specific selection methods and the integrated models and fuzzy logic in logistics literature. Then, a comprehensive LSPs’ evaluation and selection framework has been developed. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this is the first focused logistics outsourcing study that reviews the 2008-2013 period in detail, comparing results with previous literature studies, identifies current LSPs literature problems/gaps, new trends and shifts in the way that LSPs are evaluated and selected, identifies crucial selection criteria and proposes a new holistic LSPs evaluation and selection framework. In addition, it identifies important issues for future research. Keywords Supplier or partner selection, Evaluation and selection methods and criteria, Logistics outsourcing, Logistics service provider, LSP framewor

The choice of technological innovation modes: a multiple case study in the green lighting industry in China

JEL: M1，O3Since the beginning of the 21st century, the human living environment has been increasingly facing serious challenges. Energy-saving and environmental protection has become the theme of the era. Worldwide governments and enterprises work on the effective policies and measures that are jointly committed to the use and development of clean energy. In the 12th “Five-Year Plan” (i.e. The National Economic and Social Development Plan between 2011 and 2015) the Chinese government makes it clear that the energy saving and environmental protection industries will be the priority for its development. The green lighting industry is the new wave of energy saving and environmental protection industry. Due to its long industrial chain and comparatively less capital investment, the industry has attracted a large number of start-ups. According to statistics, the majority of enterprises in the industry were established less than ten years. The emerging entrepreneurial enterprises play an important role in the green lighting industry. However, the technology of green lighting is not mature yet. The competition of the industry is highly strong due to the fast changing market and demanding performance of the products. Against this backdrop, it is an inevitable requirement to strengthen and emphasize technological innovation. Based on the reality of green lighting industry, this thesis aims to develop models of technological innovation for entrepreneurial enterprises facing resource and capability constraints. Taking Grand Technology Co. Ltd, Kingsun Optoelectronic Co. Ltd and Sanan Photoelectrical Co. Ltd as the cases for the study, we focus our research on the competition environment of green lighting industry and identify the characteristics of entrepreneurial enterprises and technological innovation models. We then construct a theoretical framework for the selection of technological innovation of entrepreneurial enterprises with resource and capability constraints. The research adopts a multiple case study method to study representative companies of green lighting industry and finds the differences in the innovative selection under different resource and capability constraints.Desde o início do século XXI que o meio ambiente tem vindo a enfrentar desafios cada vez mais difíceis e que a necessidade de proteção ambiental se tornou no tema da época designadamente através da poupança de energia. Os governos e as empresas de todo o mundo trabalham no sentido da promoção de políticas e medidas destinadas à utilização e desenvolvimento de energias limpas e, no seu 12º Plano Quinquenal (i.e. o Plano Nacional de Desenvolvimento Económico e Social para o quinquénio 2011 - 2015), o governo chinês torna bem claro que será dada prioridade ao desenvolvimento de indústrias no ramo da poupança de energia e proteção ambiental. Neste âmbito insere-se a indústria da iluminação verde pelo seu impacto na poupança de energia. Nos últimos dez anos esta indústria tem atraído um número elevado de empresas nascentes devido à extensão da sua cadeia industrial e às necessidades de investimento relativamente reduzidas pelo que são empresas no seu estádio empreendedor que desempenham um papel importante na indústria da iluminação verde. Contudo, a tecnologia não está ainda suficientemente madura e a concorrência é muito intensa devido à elevada dinâmica do mercado e às crescentes exigências quanto ao desempenho dos produtos sendo inevitável reforçar e enfatizar a necessidade de inovação tecnológica. Baseando-se na realidade que a indústria da iluminação verde apresenta, esta tese pretende analisar e propor modelos de inovação tecnológica para empresas empreendedoras que se confrontam com escassez de recursos e de competências. Para tal foram estudados os casos das empresas Grand Technology Co. Ltd, Kingsun Optoelectronic Co. Ltd e Sanan Photoelectrical Co. Ltd procurando-se identificar e analisar as características destas empresas e os seus modelos de inovação. Através desse estudo procurou-se depois apresentar um modelo teórico para a seleção de inovação tecnológica por parte de empresas que se debatem com restrições de recursos e competências. Esta tese adopta o método do estudo de caso múltiplo e, focalizando-se em empresas representativas do fenómeno a analisar, foi possível encontrar diferenças no modo de seleção da inovação tecnológica em função das restrições de recursos e competências de cada empresa

Assessment of Systemic Greenness: A Case Study of Tyre Manufacturing Unit

In this paper, we develop an assessment framework to evaluate the systemic greenness of a tyre manufacturing unit by capturing the interactions between the green practices implemented. By reviewing the existing literature, we propose a stakeholder-based green practices framework comprising of operation strategy practices, process practices, employee practices, regulatory practices, customer practices, competition practices, social practices, and supplier practices. The empirical data on the interactions of green practices between and within stakeholders are collected by conducting a detailed case study of a large radial tyre manufacturing unit in India. We use graph-theoretic approach to incorporate the interactions between different green practices and assess the systemic greenness of the case organisation. Based on the systemic greenness attained, we rank the green practices within stakeholders and also between the stakeholders. We conduct scenario analysis to develop a systemic greenness index and a scale to assist practitioners in evaluating and benchmarking the greenness performance. We also discuss implications for theory and practice along with the inherent limitations