Selection of planned supply initiatives: the role of senior management expertise

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the selection of planned supply initiatives and the role of senior management expertise. The drivers that influence the selection of particular supply initiatives by firms are of major interest to both practitioners and academics, as choices indicate priorities for resources, potential performance gaps and needs for future research. Moreover, theory indicates that senior management expertise and firm‐level resources might influence the likelihood of selecting particular initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – A synthesis of the literature supported the development of a five‐dimensional framework of major supply initiatives. Logistic regression was conducted with data from a survey of chief purchasing officers at large North American firms. The impact of firm‐level resources and senior management expertise, including background and experience, was assessed for the selection of supply initiatives. Findings – After controlling for general industry‐level factors, both firm resources and senior management expertise were found to systematically affect the likelihood of a firm planning to pursue particular initiatives. First, hiring senior management from outside the firm decreased the likelihood that network‐based initiatives were planned, while senior management who last worked in supply were found to be negatively related to planned supply strategy initiatives. Second, firms with greater use of e‐business technologies favored additional investment in supply networks. Research limitations/implications – This research focused on large firms in developed countries, and additional research is needed to explore the generalizability to small and medium‐sized enterprises and less‐developed countries. Moreover, additional work is needed to explore trade‐offs between planned and emergent initiatives, as only the former were empirically assessed. Originality/value – Senior management expertise has received relatively little attention in prior research, yet was found to be a significant factor influencing strategic, process and network‐related supply initiatives. Moreover, the framework of supply initiatives provides a basis for assessing and benchmarking firm‐level supply chain strategy and investment patterns. Finally, empirical evidence emerged that both firm and individual‐level factors influenced the probability of selecting particular initiatives

Corporate ethical identity as determinant of firm performance : a test of the mediating role of stakeholder satisfaction

In this article, we empirically assess the impact of the Corporate Ethical Identity (CEI) on the firm's financial performance. Drawing on formulation of both normative and instrumental stakeholder theory, we argue that firms with a strong ethical identity achieve greater degree of stakeholder satisfaction, which in turn, positively influence the firms' financial performance. We further analyze two different dimensions of the CEI of firms: corporate revealed ethics and corporate applied ethics. Our results indicate that while revealed ethics has informational worth and enhance shareholder value, applied ethics has a positive impact through the improvement of stakeholder satisfaction. However, revealed ethics by itself (i.e. decoupled from ethical initiatives) is not sufficient to boost economic performance

Sustainability as corporate culture of a brand for superior performance

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in the Journal of World Business. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier B.V.Sustainability research highlights new challenges and opportunities for businesses. This paper reviews the literature to understand the ability of sustainable green initiatives when practiced as a corporate culture to individually create new opportunities for operations, management and marketing. According to current research, business opportunities exclusively available to different functions of a firm can drive its performance. The role of marketing in the achievement of superior performance by virtue of sustainability practices is also explained by the existing literature. Branding literature, however, fails to explain the influence of a brand on sustainability-driven opportunities available to a firm for superior performance. The objective of this study is to explore if a brand can strengthen the ability of sustainability-based green initiatives of managers to drive opportunities available to a firm for superior performance. A conceptual framework grounded in the triple bottom line theory is presented based on the assumption that brand as a stimulating factor can accelerate the conversion of opportunities available to a business into superior performance. Academic and managerial perspectives have been used to draw upon the implications of the model. Both practitioners and academic researchers will benefit from future research on this topic

Developing the wider role of business in society: the experience of Microsoft in developing training and supporting employability.

The purpose of this paper is to describe Microsoft's activities in encouraging employability and to show how these activities provide strategic advantage

Small and Medium sized Enterprises’ Collaborative Buyer-Supplier Relationships: Boundary Spanning Individual Perspectives

Boundary-spanning individuals (BSIs) play a critical role in supply chain management, especially in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) where interactions with buyers and suppliers can depend heavily on just a few individuals. This study, utilizing data from Korean manufacturing-sector SMEs, explores whether cooperative social value orientations of SMEs’ BSIs influence the effects of collaborative buyer-supplier initiatives. The results suggested that the performance implication of decision-sharing initiative increases when BSIs have a high level of cooperative social value orientation. However, it also negatively moderates the relationship between risk/benefit sharing (involving financial losses or gains) and performance suggesting possible negative side-effects. However, we found that such orientation also negatively moderates the relationship between risk/benefit sharing (involving direct financial losses or gains) and relationship performance suggesting possible negative side-effects

Using cross-functional, cross-firm teams to co-create value: The role of financial measures

Increasingly, the involvement of representatives from all major business functions in cross-functional, crossfirmteams is being viewed as a means to develop and maintain profitable business-to-business relationships.However, if the measurements of the value co-created in these relationships with customers and suppliers donot incorporate the financial outcomes of joint cross-functional initiatives, managers can be led to makedecisions that jeopardize the long-term profitability of the two firms. In this paper, the authors explore thedifferences in value co-creation when a company is linked to key customers and key suppliers through crossfunctionalteams and when it is not. Using a case study approach, the authors measured value co-creation infinancial terms and describe how managers changed their behaviors toward customers and suppliers whenthey were able to compare the value that was being co-created in each relationship. In each pair ofrelationships, one involved cross-functional teams and the other did not. The results indicate that crossfunctional,cross-firm involvement leads to increased value co-creation. The research suggests that marketingscholars and managers should emphasize the use of cross-functional teams that involve all major functions tomanage relationships with key customers, and should incorporate financial measures in the evaluation ofrelationship performance

Creating Shared Value: A How-to Guide for the New Corporate (R)evolution

Creating Shared Value (CSV) requires comprehensive and sustained efforts across a corporation. Drawing heavily on real-life examples, this report identifies ten key building blocks that together form a blueprint for translating CSV into action, and explores how companies can get started on that process

Sustainable supply chain management needs sustainable logistics services. The strategic role played by logistics service providers

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to examine the concept of sustainable service co-creation in triadic business relationships in logistics and supply chain management. More companies seek to develop sustainable solutions that would not be sustainable exclusively for themselves but for the supply chain they belong to. In doing that – especially when dealing with services – they may need the external support from logistics service providers (LSPs). This paper aims to explore the innovative initiatives undertaken by LSPs in triadic relationship management with their customers and suppliers while co-creating sustainable services along the supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – To investigate the research question, a systematic literature review and empirical exploratory investigation through case study will be conducted adopting the qualitative methodology, to explore trends and evolving paradigms. Findings – A literature review conducted in this paper enriches existing literature through an integration of sustainability in a viable system approach and logistics service provision, in particular, it investigates the ways in which sustainability is achieved. It is assumed that the triadic relationship among an LSP and its customers and suppliers requires significant modifications in collaboration and an innovative approach in operating procedures. Research limitations/implications – This paper is an exploratory study and limited in its scope to an example of a relationship that focuses mainly on three actors: the supplier, the LSP and the customer. However, it could be extended in terms of numbers of case studies investigated. Practical implications – The implications arising from the literature and the empirical research offer a range of current sustainable practices in the services sector. This could be a starting point for other research and company activities. Originality/value – There is little research that addresses the issue of sustainability and logistics service providers simultaneously, hence the present paper is meant to fill the gap by providing a foundation which actors of different supply chains could use as a benchmark. This study gives evidence of how logistics services may contribute to sustainable development. Key words – sustainable supply chain management, logistics service providers, viable system approach, co-creation, business relationship managemen

The interplay of strategic and internal green marketing orientation on competitive advantage

This paper seeks to clarify and refine the relationship between strategic and internal green marketing and firm competitiveness. Despite the significance of corporate environmental strategy to firms adopting a triple-bottom line performance evaluation, there is insufficient focus on strategic green marketing and its impact on a firm’s competitiveness. This study fills the gap by providing a comprehensive view of strategic green marketing and its impact on competitive advantage. Findings also reveal the moderating role of internal green marketing actions towards the development of a sustained competitive advantage. Specifically, the findings build on contemporary green marketing literature suggesting that a significant interplay between strategy and people exists which enhances the creation of competitive advantage. This in turn increases financial performance. Finally, this research uses an updated approach to build on current literature concerning the drivers and outcomes of strategic green marketing. This provides managers with nuanced insights about environmentally-driven competitive advantage

When corporate social responsibility matters: An empirical investigation of contingencies

Rather than re-examine the question of whether doing good generally helps a company to do well, this study draws on contingency theory to empirically examine when doing good helps a company do as well as possible. Using panel data, we examine the effects of industry life cycle, munificence, and instability on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Our findings indicate that life cycle has a significant impact on the CSR-CFP relationship, as does industry instability. These findings suggest that CSR helps the bottom line considerably – if it is applied at the right time