Supply risk mitigation and its impact on operational performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises: A social capital approach

Supply risk has become a key concern for manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because of its frequent occurrence and profound impact on SME performance. As such, it is imperative to understand how SMEs can alleviate this hazard. While previous studies have identified various supply risk mitigation measures for big firms, little corresponding research has been done for SMEs especially from an empirical perspective. Underpinned by the Social Capital Theory and the Theory of Swift, Even Flow, this study investigates how SMEs can leverage social capital gained via networking with their key suppliers and with peers located within a geographical cluster to mitigate supply risk, thereby improving operational performance. Through a literature review, a framework that posits the direct and indirect effects of buyer-supplier social capital, cluster social capital, supplier integration, and cluster cooperation on supply risk of SMEs and consequently their operational performance is developed. To test the framework and the hypotheses, a questionnaire survey is used to gather data from apparel-manufacturing SMEs in Bangladesh. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire are developed based on a rigorous process of content validity. In total, 487 complete responses are collected from the respondents for analysis using structural equation modelling. Analysis of the collected data reveals that supply risk, in the form of variations in upstream supply characteristics such as quality, quantity, lead time or overall requirements, can considerably weaken the ability of SMEs to meet customer needs and substantially undermine their operational performance. Buyer-supplier social capital plays a crucial role in enabling SMEs to mitigate their supply risk directly and indirectly through enhancing supplier integrative practices, such as exchange of information and resources, joint actions and flexible arrangements. It also transmits the impact of cluster social capital and assists in mitigating supply risk. Similarly, cluster social capital can mitigate supply risk of SMEs indirectly through promoting cooperative practices among peers and improving social capital with key suppliers. The results also confirm that both supplier integration and cluster cooperation can mitigate supply risk directly. Apart from the direct impacts, their mediating roles in the relationships between social capital and supply risk are also confirmed. This study contributes to both knowledge and practices. For academic contribution, it establishes and validates a risk mitigation model focusing on SMEs, which are less studied in the current supply risk literature. The findings affirm the feasibility and importance of leveraging social capital resources to mitigate supply risk in the case of SMEs. The observations that cluster social capital serves as a bridge to connect with key suppliers, and different types of social capital of SMEs have different levels of reliance on network integration or cooperation to impact on supply risk, are some unique contributions. The study also extends the scope of supply risk literature by considering the factors impacting on supply risk and its effect on operational performance in a single framework. The study uses the theoretical lens of the Social Capital Theory and the Theory of Swift, Even Flow to conceptualise the relationships among network resources, supply risk and operational performance. It is the first attempt to apply these two theories in a survey-based risk mitigation model focusing on SMEs, thereby extending the applications of the theories. For practical contribution, the findings of the study also provide insight for SME practitioners and policy makers to effectively exploit this risk mitigation approach. They can assist practitioners and policy makers in identifying practices for the development and implementation of supply risk mitigation strategies to enhance operational performance

Development of a framework for enhancing resilience in the UK food and drink manufacturing sector

This thesis presents research undertaken to understand and enhance resilience in the UK Food and Drink Manufacturing Sector. It focuses on the development of a conceptual framework which establishes how specific vulnerabilities link to individual mitigation strategies available to the sector and the impact of such strategies on wider sustainability. The research in this thesis is divided into four main parts. The first part consists of three complementary review chapters exploring resilience as a theoretical concept, resilience in the UK Food and Drink Manufacturing sector and existing methods used to study and/or enhance resilience. The second part of the thesis begins by describing how the pragmatic philosophy and abductive stance underpinning the research, in combination with review findings, helped to determine the research techniques used in this work, which included the systematic review process and the mixed methods case study. Next, the research facilitating a novel conceptual framework describing how real-time vulnerabilities can be identified and mitigated in a way that is complimentary to the wider sustainability of the organisation is discussed. [Continues.

Resilience of healthcare and education networks and their interactions following major earthquakes

2021 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Healthcare and education systems have been identified by various national and international organizations as the main pillars of communities' stability. Ensuring the continuation of vital community services such as healthcare and education is critical for minimizing social losses after extreme events. A shortage of healthcare services could have catastrophic short-term and long-term effects on a community including an increase in morbidity and mortality, as well as population outmigration. Moreover, a shortage or lack of facilities for K-12 education, including elementary, middle, and high schools could impact a wide range of the community's population and could lead to impact population outmigration. Despite their importance to communities, there are a lack of comprehensive models that can be used to quantify recovery of functionalities of healthcare systems and schools following natural disasters. In addition to capturing the recovery of functionality, understanding the correlation between these main social services institutions is critical to determining the welfare of communities following natural disasters. Although hospitals and schools are key indicators of the stability of community social services, no studies to date have been conducted to determine the level of interdependence between hospitals and schools and their collective influence on their recoveries following extreme events. In this study, comprehensive frameworks are devised for estimating the losses, functionality, and recovery of healthcare and educational services following earthquakes. Success trees and semi-Markov stochastic models coupled with dynamic optimization are used to develop socio-technical models that describe functionalities and restorations of the facilities providing these services, by integrating the physical infrastructure, the supplies, and the people who operate and use these facilities. New frameworks are proposed to simulate processes such as patient demand on hospitals, hospitals' interaction, student enrollment, and school administration as well as different decisions and mitigation strategies applied by hospitals and schools while considering the disturbance imposed by earthquake events on these processes. The complex interaction between healthcare and education networks is captured using a new agent-based model which has been developed in the context of the communities' physical, social, and economic sectors that affect overall recovery. This model is employed to simulate the functional processes within each facility while optimizing their recovery trajectories after earthquake occurrence. The results highlight significant interdependencies between hospitals and schools, including direct and indirect relationships, suggesting the need for collective coupling of their recovery to achieve full functionality of either of the two systems following natural disasters. Recognizing this high level of interdependence, a social services stability index is then established which can be used by policymakers and community leaders to quantify the impact of healthcare and educational services on community resilience and social services stability

Common Law Duty

This article addresses the implications of retail competition in public utility industries, particularly electricity, for utility service obligations. After tracing the history of the common law duty to serve applicable to public utilities, the efficiency of utility service obligations in the context of rate regulation is explored. Retail competition, many suggest, poses a threat to utility service obligations. However, regulators can minimize the inefficiency of traditional utility service obligations without sacrificing the benefits of retail competition if they pay attention to the structural efficiency of competitive retail markets. The article advocates imposition of basic service obligations on the DisCo and voluntary procurement of power supply financed through a systems benefits charge in the context of PoolCo retail competition model. In addition, the implications of competition in distribution markets on service obligation financing are explored

Information security risk management in the South African small, medium and micro enterprise environment

The small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) environment of South Africa contributes 42% to the national gross domestic product. This is a high number for a largely under-regulated environment. The corporate governance and IT governance standards that apply to South African companies are not feasible for SMMEs, and neither are they enforced, although 80% of failures of SMMEs are attributable to lack of enterprise management skill. The first objective of this dissertation is to examine the South African SMME, and in so doing determine whether local regulatory standards can be used for this unique enterprise formation. The second objective of this dissertation is to determine whether international methodologies for information security risk management, as an inclusive of IT governance, may be used in the unique local SMME formation. The result of these two objectives creates a gap in a typical information security risk management methodology that is suitable for the South African regulatory and economic environment for SMMEs. A model has been created as a possible answer for filling the gap. The dissertation includes the Peculium Model, which answers the regulatory and economic requirements that resulted from the second objective. The Model allows the small enterprise a simple but effective method for managing risks to its information assets, with the control of corporate governance and IT governance included in its framework. The Model answers the methods for identifying and assessing risk in a tradition-based but feasible new qualitative technique.Labuschagne, L., Prof

The Common Law Duty to Serve and Protection of Consumers in an Age of Competitive Retail Public Utility Restructuring

People like young Montray Cadet and his family will increasingly face the possibility of shut-off and limited access to utility services, such as telecommunications, natural gas, and electricity, as these industries-traditionally subject to obligations to serve customers-are deregulated. Already, the natural gas industry\u27s introduction of retail competition in states like New York has been alleged to adversely affect the quality of and access to gas, essential to many New Yorkers for heating, and has led to the filing of a lawsuit against the state by consumer advocates. Can vigorous retail competition of the type public utility deregulation envisions coexist with extraordinary obligations to serve customers? If so, at what costs? Who will bear these costs? These questions are central to an emerging law and economic analysis known as the jurisprudence of network industries, which is of paramount importance as regulators and courts implement competition in traditional public utility industries. Yet, to date there has been little analysis of how customer service obligations in public utility law will be affected at the dawn of the new competitive era brought about by deregulation

Strategies to Mitigate Negative Results of Supply Chain Disruption

Supply chains are considered the foundation of the global economy, and businesses with global supply chains usually encounter at least 1 disruption annually. Mitigating the negative impact of disruptions is critical to supply chain managers, as disruptions can negatively impact organizational profitability and performance. Grounded in the resource dependence theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies organizational and supply chain managers use to mitigate negative results from supply chain disruption. Participants were 4 supply chain managers working in 2 different international organizations located in Jordan, who used effective strategies to mitigate supply chain disruptions. Data collection involved semistructured interviews and a review of organizational documents. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and 2 main themes emerged: Developing relationships and collaboration and strategy to identify supply chain disruption. The implications for positive social change include the potential for organizational and supply chain managers to mitigate negative results of supply chain disruptions and improve organizational performance. Sustaining organizational performance promotes the well-being of employees, families, communities, and the economy, which can result in customer satisfaction, business growth, and stable employment