Supply chain knowledge management: A conceptual framework

The supply chain literature still largely focuses on asset, alphanumeric data and information (in the form of documents and files) elements of exchange between supply chain partners, despite the fact that increased integration and collaboration clearly require development of more complex elements of expertise and knowledge. In this respect, this paper recognizes the knowledge management (KM) literature as a potential source of new insights to add conceptual depth and understanding to managing 21st century supply chains. Specific KM theories and constructs are identified as potentially contributing to theory and practice in supply chain contexts. An overall framework for supply chain knowledge management is developed, along with literature-based definitions of supply chain knowledge transfer, competence and maturity constructs. The "knowledge lens" theory building approach is applied to import these perspectives into supply chain domains, with efforts to maintain conceptual consistency across the two literature streams.Knowledge Management; Supply Chains; Conceptual Framework;

Re-reengineering the dream: agility as competitive adaptability

Organizational adaptation and transformative change management in technology-based organizations is explored in the context of collaborative alliances. A Re-reengineering approach is outlined in which a new Competitive Adaptability Five-Influences Analysis approach under conditions of collaborative alliance, is described as an alternative to Porter’s Five-Forces Competitive Rivalry Analysis model. Whilst continuous change in technology and the associated effects of technology shock (Dedola & Neri, 2006; Christiano, Eichenbaum & Vigfusson, 2003) are not new constructs, the reality of the industrial age was and is a continuing reduction in timeline for relevance and lifetime for a specific technology and the related skills and expertise base required for its effective implementation. This, combined with increasing pressures for innovation (Tidd & Bessant, 2013) and at times severe impacts from both local and global economic environments (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2011) raises serious challenges for contemporary management teams seeking to strategically position a company and its technology base advantageously, relative to its suppliers, competitors and customers, as well as in predictive readiness for future technological change and opportunistic adaptation. In effect, the life-cycle of a technology has become typically one of disruptive change and rapid adjustment, followed by a plateau as a particular technology or process captures and holds its position against minor challenges, eventually to be displaced by yet another alternative (Bower & Christensen, 1995)

In search of the drivers of high growth in manufacturing SMEs

Though considerable attention in the extant literature has been devoted to growth and performance of firms, there is a dearth of research on high growth firms. Furthermore, the majority of literature in this area focuses on large firms while research on high growth small firms is underdeveloped. This paper investigates the drivers of high growth in manufacturing SMEs. Following a number of focus group interviews with six managing directors of manufacturing firms, a number of drivers of high growth were identified and investigated in a sample of 207 manufacturing SMEs. The results of this study indicate that high growth firms place a greater emphasis on external drivers such as strategic orientation, their operating environment and the use of e-commerce compared with firms having static or declining sales. The analysis shows that high growth firms compete largely on the basis of price. While high growth firms have increased their sales by over 30% during the past three years or longer, it is questionable if manufacturing firms can sustain their competitive advantage without recourse to greater research and development, and innovation in the longer term

Competency Implications of Changing Human Resource Roles

[Excerpt] The present study examines which competencies will be necessary to perform key human resource roles over the next decade at Eastman Kodak Company. This project was a critical component of an ongoing quality process to improve organizational capability. The results establish a platform that will enable Kodak to better assess, plan, develop, and measure the capability of human resource staff

Leveraging Open-standard Interorganizational Information Systems for Process Adaptability and Alignment: An Empirical Analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the value creation mechanisms of open-standard inter-organizational information system (OSIOS), which is a key technology to achieve Industry 4.0. Specifically, this study investigates how the internal assimilation and external diffusion of OSIOS help manufactures facilitate process adaptability and alignment in supply chain network.Design/methodology/approachA survey instrument was designed and administrated to collect data for this research. Using three-stage least squares estimation, the authors empirically tested a number of hypothesized relationships based on a sample of 308 manufacturing firms in China.FindingsThe results of the study show that OSIOS can perform as value creation mechanisms to enable process adaptability and alignment. In addition, the impact of OSIOS internal assimilation is inversely U-shaped where the positive effect on process adaptability will become negative after an extremum point is reached.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights on how OSIOS can improve supply chain integration and thus promote the achievement of industry 4.0. By revealing a U-shaped relationship between OSIOS assimilation and process adaptability, this study fills previous research gap by advancing the understanding on the value creation mechanisms of information systems deployment

Facilitating Meaningful Change Within U.S. Law Schools

Despite the widely recognized challenges and complaints facing U.S. legal education, very little is understood about how law schools can adapt faster and better. This Article uses institutional theory, behavioral economics, and psychology to explain why change has proven so difficult for U.S. law schools. Next, using institutional entrepreneurship, the Article explains the theoretical steps necessary to overcome the institutional resistance to change. The Article then discusses the characteristics of opportunities that are most likely to better meet the needs of law students while also providing sustainable benefits to the individually innovating law schools. Using management theory, the Article then proposes a seven-step change process model to enable individual law schools to systematically overcome institutional resistance, formulate unique strategies, and actually achieve meaningful change

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

Exploring the Interaction Effects Between Human Resource Systems and Resource Orchestration on Firm Outcomes

Firms that leverage the interaction of HR systems with resource orchestration are better able to respond to increasing globalization and the inherent complexities and dynamism of operating in these environments. In this paper, we theorize how firms leverage this interaction to influence organizational level outcomes, specifically firm financial performance and organizational learning. In doing so, we both examine how human capital is viewed and answer calls within the literature on how resources are combined to influence firm outcomes. Our work follows Sirmon et al. (2007) framework and spans departmental boundaries making it both relevant and practical to all business disciplines and fields

Singapore as an innovative city in East Asia : an explorative study of the perspectives of innovative industries

The city-state of Singapore has achieved rapid economic development in the past by its positioning as an efficient business hub in Asia. To remain competitive in the global knowledge economy, however, Singapore needs to move beyond efficiency by developing a strong"innovative"edge as well. This paper examines the challenges that Singapore faces in seeking to do so through an explorative survey of 40 firms from three innovative sectors: high-tech manufacturing industries, knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), and creative content industries. Overall, while the survey confirms Singapore's continuing competitive strength in efficiency infrastructure, it also finds a favorable perception of Singapore as an innovative city. Indeed, many of the industry actors indicated that an efficient business infrastructure is a prerequisite for locating their innovative activities in Singapore, suggesting that the relationship between innovation and efficiency is complementary, rather than substitutional. While the study found that intellectual property and its protection are widely recognized by actors in all three sectors, interesting differences exist. In particular, intellectual property protection appears to be of greater concern to the high-tech research and development-intensive manufacturing sector and the creative contents sector than to the KIBS sector. Another interesting difference is that while competition in high-tech innovation tends to be global, competition in creative content tends to have a stronger local or regional dimension. Public policy in East Asia has traditionally emphasized the development of technological innovation capabilities in the manufacturing sector. In light of the findings, public policymakers may need to be more sensitive to the nuanced differences in policies needed to promote the new creative content industries and the associated supporting KIBS.ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies

Digital Strategy Formulation: An Investigation with Design Sprints and Deep Learning

Since the invention of transistors, digital technologies have continued to have a profound impact on the global economy. Relentless performance improvements combined with convergence of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, internet of things, and cloud computing has led to a surge in scale and importance as a source for competitive advantage. However, in 2019, only around 16% of companies managed to realize a significant improvement in business performance from digital transformation (DT). The challenges that organizations face in succeeding at DT can be traced back to strategy formulation and execution. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop insights and tools to enhance the understanding and practice of digital strategy formulation. A comprehensive review of the literature demonstrated that DT, as an emerging body of knowledge, is lacking an in-depth and applied investigation of digital strategy formulation. The main knowledge gaps are: (1) a lack of guidance on digital strategy formulation process activities and outcomes; (2) limited consideration of the iterative nature of digital strategy formulation and validation; and (3) limited empirical investigation of digital strategy archetypes to guide the formulation process. Addressing this research gap was accomplished over three stages. First, an in-depth exploratory case study was conducted by investigating digital strategy formulation process with active participation research over six months. This investigation identified key process activities and highlighted the role of roadmapping in integrating the outcomes. Second, the findings were supplemented with literature review to design a conceptual framework for agile roadmapping to facilitate the digital strategy formulation process. This framework was then tested and calibrated over three pilot studies with companies across Europe attempting to start their DT journey. Finally, deep learning and natural language processing techniques were employed to empirically investigate the digital strategy of Fortune 500 companies from earnings call transcripts. This empirical investigation identified four digital strategy archetypes that are being employed by companies across various sectors. The findings from this research contribute to a better understanding of digital strategy formulation. It was identified that digital strategy formulation is an ongoing search process for an adequate strategic response to the DT of the economy. Specifically, incorporating agility into the formulation process is an effective way of managing the associated uncertainty of DT. Moreover, the findings demonstrated that proactively iterating between strategy formulation and validation can accelerate the realization of the emergent digital strategy. The proposed framework and the digital strategy archetypes provide a baseline for DT professionals toward a more robust digital strategy formulation.Ministry of Education - United Arab Emirate