An integrated core competence evaluation framework for portfolio management in the oil industry

Drawing upon resource-based theory, this paper presents a core competence evaluation framework for managing the competence portfolio of an oil company. It introduces a network typology to illustrate how to form different types of strategic alliance relations with partnering firms to manage and grow the competence portfolio. A framework is tested using a case study approach involving face-to-face structured interviews. We identified purchasing, refining and sales and marketing as strong candidates to be the core competencies. However, despite the company's core business of refining oil, the core competencies were identified to be their research and development and performance management (PM) capabilities. We further provide a procedure to determine different kinds of physical, intellectual and cultural resources making a dominant impact on company's competence portfolio. In addition, we provide a comprehensive set of guidelines on how to develop core competence further by forging a partnership alliance choosing an appropriate network topology

Evolution of Supply Chain Collaboration: Implications for the Role of Knowledge

Increasingly, research across many disciplines has recognized the shortcomings of the traditional “integration prescription” for inter-organizational knowledge management. This research conducts several simulation experiments to study the effects of different rates of product change, different demand environments, and different economies of scale on the level of integration between firms at different levels in the supply chain. The underlying paradigm shifts from a static, steady state view to a dynamic, complex adaptive systems and knowledge-based view of supply chain networks. Several research propositions are presented that use the role of knowledge in the supply chain to provide predictive power for how supply chain collaborations or integration should evolve. Suggestions and implications are suggested for managerial and research purposes

Roles played by relational trust in strategic alliances

In this paper we develop the concept of relational quality as a proxy for relational trust. Exploration of data from 67 alliances confirms that relational quality is composed of three elements: initial conditions, partner interactions, and external events. We offer propositions on the relative importance of each of these elements depending on the different roles relational trust may play in strategic alliances: the role of a control mechanism, of a governance mechanism, or as an enabler of high risk initiativesManagement; Strategy

The impact of business process outsourcing on firm performance and the influence of governance : a long term study in the German banking industry

Does BPO pay off at the firm-level? Although there are several studies which analyze the potential benefits of BPO, there is a virtual absence of research papers on BPO outcomes. Based on an analysis of 137 Business process outsourcing (BPO) ventures at 254 German banks in a period between 1994 and 2005, we found that the outsourcer's financial performance in terms of profitability and cost efficiency was increased significantly compared to industry peers without BPO. The increase stems not from workforce reductions but rather from increased employee productivity. Further, we show how BPO governance ensures BPO success: individually negotiated outsourcing contracts help to improve cost efficiency and profitability measures. Relational governance based on trust has only positive effects on profitability. Keywords: Business Process Outsourcing, firm performance, firm characteristics, banking, German banks, governance JEL Classifications: G21, L14, L21, L2

A Conceptual Framework of Reverse Logistics Impact on Firm Performance

This study aims to examine the reverse logistics factors that impact upon firm performance. We review reverse logistics factors under three research streams: (a) resource-based view of the firm, including: Firm strategy, Operations management, and Customer loyalty (b) relational theory, including: Supply chain efficiency, Supply chain collaboration, and institutional theory, including: Government support and Cultural alignment. We measured firm performance with 5 measures: profitability, cost, innovativeness, perceived competitive advantage, and perceived customer satisfaction. We discuss implications for research, policy and practice

Relational quality: A dynamic framework for assessing the role of trust in strategic alliances

The organizational literature has always posited that «trust» plays a key role in economic exchanges, particularly when one or another party is subject to the risk of opportunistic behaviour, incomplete monitoring, or when moral hazard problems arise. These conditions are almost always present in the case of alliances and joint ventures between independent parties. This paper explores the concept of «relational quality» in one such inter-organizational form ­dyadic alliances­ where past experience and the shadow of the future play an important role. Relational quality is important, as it affects the extent to which partners substitute reliance on trust for more formal control mechanisms. Building on theory, case studies and survey data, we develop a framework for thinking about trust in dynamic and practical terms. We define three elements affecting relational quality in alliances: the initial conditions surrounding the exchange, the cumulative experiences of the parties with each other's behaviours as they interact, and the impact that external events have on perceptions of behaviour and attitudes of the parties about each other's trustworthiness. We use data on a sample of alliances with one Spanish partner to explore the relative impact of these elements and develop a more precise set of propositions from this framework. The paper should guide further work towards quantifying the role of trust as a control mechanism in the performance of strategic alliances.Alliances; economic exchanges; joint ventures;

Inter-firm Relationships and Performance Factors in the Australian Beef Supply Chain: Implications for the Stakeholders

Recent study by Meat & Livestock Australia revealed that cost competitiveness and market development issues in supply chain are the major factors for a long term decline of the Australian Beef industry. This study, based on the explanation of transaction cost theory argues that competitive performance of an industry depends on improving cost efficiency across the whole of supply chain, the underlying value chain, and the relationship among the stakeholders in the industry. With a main objective to investigate the underlying factors of developing competent inter-firm relationship that influence the supply chain performance and competitiveness, this study presents details of a survey carried out and tests the hypothesis that inter-organizational relationships in supply chain and its antecedents have impact on the performance of Australian beef industry and thus have impact on the competitiveness of the industry. Data were collected through a telephone survey of 315 firms in the beef industry from the states of Western Australia and Queensland. The sample respondents were categorized as input suppliers, beef-cattle producers, processors, retailers/exporters, and wholesalers. The data were analysed using the partial least square based structural equation modelling. PLS analysis reveals that ‘Transaction Climate’ is the strongest determinants of developing a competent relationship, while negotiation power, presence of industry competitors, and the degree of vertical coordination significantly influence the relationship strength. Findings also demonstrate that relationship strength is the most prevalent source of performance and competitiveness, while SC performance highly positively influences the Competitiveness of beef industry. Thus this study identifies significant antecedents and consequences of Supply Chain Performance in Australian beef industry, which are strategic and extremely important information for beef producers, processors, retailers, and other stakeholders for appropriate planning and benchmarking.Beef Supply Chain, Agribusiness Management, Supply Chain Management, Agribusiness,

Defining the dimensions of engineering asset procurement: towards an integrated model

Procuring engineering asset management is a critical activity of all types of government, with optimal approaches to procurement still in need of identification. This paper advances a novel approach of exploring the procurement of engineering assets across a number of dimensions: Project rules, organisational interaction rules and complexity. The dimensions of project rules are held to include cost, quality and time. The dimensions of organisational interaction rules are held to be collaboration, competition and control. Complexity is seen as in the project itself, in the interaction between organisations or in the business environment. Taken together these dimensions seem salient for any type of engineering asset, and provide a useful way of conceptualising procurement arrangements of these assets

Product market relationships and cost of bank loans: evidence from strategic alliances

This paper examines the effects of strategic alliances on non-financial firms’ bank loan financing. We construct several measures to capture firms’ alliance activities using the frequency of alliance activities, the prominence of the alliance partner and the relative networking position in the overall alliance network. We find that firms with active alliance involvement experience a lower cost of debt from banks. We also document that allying with a prestigious partner (ie S&P 500 firms) can provide an endorsement effect and benefit the borrowers by reducing the price of bank loans. Moreover, a borrowing firm positioned at the centre of an alliance network enjoys a lower cost of bank loans. Finally, we find that borrowing firms with alliance experience are less likely to use collateral and covenants in their loan contracts.cost of bank loans; strategic alliances; product market relationships