Analyzing potential effects of implementing Green Supply Chain Management practices: A case study of the buyer-supplier relationship between Equinor ASA and Simon Møkster Shipping AS

Master's thesis Industrial Economics and Technology Management IND590 - University of Agder 2019Green supply chain management is receiving a growing attention from both academia and practitioners, as a response to environmental concerns and an increasing synonymous between business operation and supply chain management. This concept is highly relevant for industriesthat extensively impact the environment. Where operators in the Norwegian petroleum industry is becoming aware of the environmental impact in their supply chain, especially within themarine fleet.This thesis will therefore focus on a central practice to implement the concept: cooperationwith suppliers for environmental objectives. The objectiveis to analyze how contract management may positively influence thispractice, withanemphasize on the contracts. A literature review was initiated to develop an understanding of the research field and key aspects, and to iteratively construct the research model. The study was empirically driven, where a case study research was conducted based on the buyer-supplier relationship between Equinor and Simon Møkster Shipping. Empirical data was collected and analyzed from a total of seven participants, divided between the case companies.Findings indicatedthat the standard contracting option: time-charter, resultsin a conflict of interest, especially with the increasing focus on energy efficiency. The supplier’slack of reasoning for collaborative efforts, appears to derive from an inefficient allocation of benefits. Time-charter contracts was therefore analyzed based on the applicability for energy efficiency, where empirical findings directedthe attention towards the strategic fit of performance-based contracts. A conceptual change corroborates with this interest, where collaborative efforts for greening appears to be strengthen, as it potentially aligns their objectivesand ties performance to an incentive structure. Enablers and operational barriers were further investigated,where the complex supply chain of petroleum was discovered as one ofthe key aspects. Hence,it would be demanding tochallengethe standard and easily managed time-charter contracts, but at the same time increasingly important in an industry highly vulnerable to environmental concerns. The practicein focus is perceived as an antecedent for further implementation of green supply chain management and would therefore be part of a proactive response to a topical demand

Are Multinational Enterprises More Productive? A Test of the Selection Hypothesis

This paper investigates whether differences in productivity explain why some Japanese manufacturing firms sell only in the domestic market, while others serve foreign markets, either through exports, overseas production, outsourcing or licensing. Using firm level data, it is shown empirically that the productivity of multinational firms differs significantly from that of firms that sell only in the domestic market. It shows therefore that the heterogeneous productivity levels explain the channels of multinational enterprises.FDI, exports, outsourcing, licensing, TFP

A Review of Supply Chain Data Mining Publications

The use of data mining in supply chains is growing, and covers almost all aspects of supply chain management. A framework of supply chain analytics is used to classify data mining publications reported in supply chain management academic literature. Scholarly articles were identified using SCOPUS and EBSCO Business search engines. Articles were classified by supply chain function. Additional papers reflecting technology, to include RFID use and text analysis were separately reviewed. The paper concludes with discussion of potential research issues and outlook for future development

Supplier selection with Shannon entropy and fuzzy TOPSIS in the context of supply chain risk management

Supplier selection is the process of finding the right suppliers, at the right price, at the right time, in the right quantities, and with the right quality. The aim of this paper, is supplier selection in the context of supply chain risk management. Thus nine criteria of quality, on time delivery and performance history and six risks in the supply chain including supply risk, demand risk, manufacturing risk, logistics risk, information risk and environmental risk considered for evaluating suppliers. Shannon entropy is used for weighing criteria and fuzzy TOPSIS is applied for ranking suppliers. Findings show that, in the spare parts supplier selection problem, demand risk is the most important factor

State-Owned Enterprise Reform

This United Nations Policy Note on State-Owned Enterprise Reform provides practical guidance on alternative policies to reform SOEs and manage natural resource rents. This Policy Note has been developed in cooperation with UN agencies, and has been officially reviewed by distinguished academics/ development specialists such as Jose Antonio Ocampo, Jomo K.S. and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz.state-owned enterprises, management natural resource rents, development planning

Productive Development Policies in Trinidad and Tobago: A Critical Review

Even as Trinidad and Tobago seeks productive diversification away from the energy sector, the process underlying the country’s productive development policies (PDP) is in a state of transition from state-directed industrial policy to a newer approach with extensive private-public participation. This study explores the main characteristics of four PDPs in Trinidad and Tobago and reviews them following the related literature (e.g., Rodríguez-Clare, 2005a and 2005b, and Melo and Rodríguez-Clare, 2006). The four PDPs are: a) The process towards the Promotion of Clusters; b) the PDPs for the Tourism industry; c) the classical PDPs for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and; d) the Free Trade Zone as a policy designed to compensate for the failure of the State.Industrial policy, Productive development policies, Diversification, Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago

The relative importance of home and host innovation systems in the internationalisation of MNE R&D: a patent citation analysis

host innovation systems, internationalisation, MNE, R&D

The role of codified sources of knowledge in innovation: empirical evidence from Dutch manufacturing

This paper explores ongoing debates about the role that codified forms of knowledge play in fostering firms' and countries' innovative performance. It aims to provide an empirical exploration of the use of codified sources of information for innovation at the sectoral level. Despite considerable interest in David and Foray's (1995) work on the codification of knowledge and the changing nature of innovation due to the use of information and communication technologies, there are relatively few empirical studies that probe the role of codified sources of information in the innovation process. Our goal is to assess 'how' important codified sources of information are for innovation for different sectors and to the innovation system in general. We explore the relationship between the use of codified sources by individual firms and increases in the 'distributional power' of an innovation system, a key component in David and Foray's codification argument. We then link the use of codified sources to different innovative strategies and characteristics of innovation at the firm level. The data used for the analysis is based on The Netherlands Community Innovation Survey (II) for the manufacturing sector. The data set covers 1997 firms in 11 major industries.Innovation, knowledge, manufacturing industries, codification

Sustainable and agile manufacturing outsourcing partner selection: a literature review

[EN] Outsourcing to third party to manage non-core activities helps the firm to focus on core activities. Manufacturing firms are outsourcing product development, manufacturing, logistics, customer care etc. to enhance production capacity and flexibility, and to reduce operational costs, which in turn can improve profitability and competitive advantage of the enterprise. Sustainability in operations and supply chain is gaining momentum due to increased global environmental concern, pressures from consumers and communities, and enforced regulations. Volatile and uncertain business environment necessitates the adoption of agility and flexibility to effectively manage manufacturing and supply chain. Globalisation has made the market very competitive and hence manufacturing firms are adopting manufacturing outsourcing to third parties. Selecting a sustainable and agile manufacturing outsourcing partner (MPS) is crucial as it will improve sustainability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the supply chain and competitive advantage to the firm. Detailed literature review on sustainable and agile manufacturing outsourcing partner selection has been carried out from EBSCO data base and Goggle scholar. Selection criteria used are classified into agile, operational, economic, environmental and social. The techniques use are mostly multi criteria decision making methods (MCDM) while few have adopted programming techniques. Discussion, implication and the scope of future work is also provided.Akhtar, M. (2022). Sustainable and agile manufacturing outsourcing partner selection: a literature review. International Journal of Production Management and Engineering. 10(2):143-158. https://doi.org/10.4995/ijpme.2022.1680714315810