How firms are using networking decisions to achieve strategic objectives: Building theories from four case studies

Many research studies in OM literature have investigated how different kinds of focal firm decisions regarding business vertical relationships (i.e. with both suppliers and buyers) can positively affect firm’s operations performance and thus improve its competitive position. In this paper we extend this genre of study by also considering business horizontal relationships (i.e with competitors and firms that own complementary capabilities) and by considering the impact of business relationships not only on focal firm’s operations performance but also on its resources endowment. We present four cases that describe what are the strategic manager intents (in term of operations performance and resource endowment) when make decisions about both vertical and horizontal business relationships (i.e. networking strategy). Using theory building through case studies, we identify four archetypes of networking strategy. Each type of networking strategy is a unique configuration of the set of networking decisions adopted and the set of strategic objectives pursued

IT Multisourcing Management : A Qualitative Study from the Vendor's Perspective

IT multisourcing is an outsourcing method that combines services of various different vendors in a single technology focused undertaking. This study investigates the benefits and disadvantages that an IT multisourcing setting presents to the vendor from a management perspective. As vendors are responding to client needs, studying their experiences can present valuable information for managing IT multisourcing projects for client companies and their decision makers. The study aims to gather as much information of multisourcing from the vendors’ perspective, but due to the main focus in previously conducted research articles being on the client’s side, there is a gap in research to be filled. This study aims to fill the gap by interviewing eight IT industry experts with experience from IT outsourcing and multisourcing projects. As multisourcing describes a situation where one client contracts two or more independent vendors on a single IT project or undertaking, it is also a situation where the different tasks assigned to vendors have some impact on each other. This is true in most cases, even though the vendors may operate independently from each other. It has been shown that multisourcing is only efficient when vendors are communicating with each other. This study also focuses on examining the communication and cooperation activities of the various operators in a multisourcing setting. Through examination of a selection of most ocmmonly used models in IT multisourcing, the thesis aims to expand the knowledge on what the benefits and disadvantages of IT multisourcing are as well as what the management challenges in these settings are with an emphasis on the vendor's view point

The Outsourcing of Apparel and Textiles: Manufacturing Site Selection

The outsourcing of American manufacturing to the international sector historically utilizes supply chain/logistics analysis (lowest-cost supplier and transportation networks) as the primary method in site selection. This approach stems from Alfred Weber's (1929) location theory, compared to the neoclassical Heckscher-Ohlin theory that focuses on the exploitation of location endowments such as natural resources, capital and labor (Harrington and Warf, 1995). Since established transportation networks are more efficient than in times past, site selection may rely more on the cultural characteristics of the outsourced labor market than on transportation costs. The objective of this research is to determine whether the Weberian or the Heckscher-Ohlin factor model is relevant in today's outsourcing practices. An empirical case study evaluates why some outsourced production initially placed with contractors proximal to the United States was later transferred to contractor locations a greater distance away - arguably, costing more to the producer and consumer. Data collection takes place through quantitative and qualitative surveys of twenty-five outsourcing professionals. Three cultural characteristics are considered: 1) time sensitivity, 2) on-time delivery, and 3) the establishment of long-term relationships between the foreign contractor and the U.S. manufacturer. The research will demonstrate that apparel outsourcing site selection is broader than supply chain/logistics/cost analysis and contributes a qualitative perspective to business practices. It responds to previous research that apparel manufacturers have a preference for contractors at close distance. If cultural considerations influence site selection, then some locations are preferred over others that do not possess similar traits, regardless of distance

Towards a theory of information systems outsourcing risk

Information systems outsourcing risks are a vital component in the decision and management process associated to the provision of information systems and technology services by a provider to a customer. Although there is a rich literature on information systems outsourcing risks, the accumulated knowledge on this area is fragmented. In view of this situation, an argument is put forward on the usefulness of having a theory that integrates the various constructs related to information systems outsourcing risks. This study aims to contribute towards the synthesis of that theory, by proposing a conceptual scheme for interpreting the literature and presenting a preliminary version of a catalog of information systems outsourcing risks. Proposals for subsequent work towards the generation of the theory of information systems outsourcing risk are suggested

Ethics and taxation : a cross-national comparison of UK and Turkish firms

This paper investigates responses to tax related ethical issues facing busines

[Editorial] Improving supply chain performance through management capabilities

This editorial piece introduces the novelty of the special issue call for papers and lists the various topics suggested in the call for papers. The summary of accepted review papers is presented in terms of novelty, findings, and limitations. The review papers are classified as per supply chain management capability model, and finally, the editorial piece opens up further research directions to academics and practitioners

Relocation of business services into Central and Eastern Europe: (evidence from trade and location statistics)

Relocation of business service offshoring-related activities measured by foreign direct investments and exports in services have grown rapidly after the Millennium in the new EU member states of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Besides Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), trade statistics support the assumption that an expanding export in business and in ICT services has been associated with relocation of shared services centres created by FDI in the six new member states (NMS). The service export data collected between 1996/2002 and 2012 gives a good proxy to identify those segments of service trade, which are considered to be offshorable. The paper examines the additional location factors selecting Central and Eastern European locations and summarises the effect of crisis on this industry. It concludes that the sector has demonstrated market resilience in the NMS and continued to expand rapidly

Sustainability and economic governance: Reconfiguring cocoa-chocolate production networks in Indonesia

The concept of sustainability has recently become integrated into mainstream commercial spheres of cocoa-chocolate industries, whilst the concept remains elusive and debateable in the political sphere. The sustainability initiatives attempt to improve both farm management and farmer livelihoods by voluntarily integrating certification schemes (e.g., RA, Utzcertified, and Fairtrade) along with other initiatives. Exploring the implications of the sustainability initiatives beyond vertical industrial governance, this study contributes to the extant literature on GVCS/GPNs and provides an understanding of the extension of sustainability concept into horizontal extrafirm bargaining strategies. This study highlights the increasing industrial-centred power beyond a reorganisation of industrial activities of two case studies, Mars and Nestlé. The initiatives have resulted an increase vertical coordination with the upstream cocoa production networks, as the schemes become an instrument to minimise the supply risks. Also, the horizontal engagement through public private partnerships has created a negotiation space with extrafirm actors, yet the state participation in sustainability (keberlanjutan) discourse appeared to support local industrialists and the transnational firms to secure cocoa supply. Sustainability has strengthened the firm position in the upstream production networks, but the local actors and farmers continue struggle to overcome increasing market barriers and uneven competition. Eventually, the initiatives emphasize the economic interests, but at the expense of the cheaper productive capital supplied by the smallholder farmers and creating new processes of uneven development

Sustainability and economic governance: Reconfiguring cocoa-chocolate production networks in Indonesia

The concept of sustainability has recently become integrated into mainstream commercial spheres of cocoa-chocolate industries, whilst the concept remains elusive and debateable in the political sphere. The sustainability initiatives attempt to improve both farm management and farmer livelihoods by voluntarily integrating certification schemes (e.g., RA, Utzcertified, and Fairtrade) along with other initiatives. Exploring the implications of the sustainability initiatives beyond vertical industrial governance, this study contributes to the extant literature on GVCS/GPNs and provides an understanding of the extension of sustainability concept into horizontal extrafirm bargaining strategies. This study highlights the increasing industrial-centred power beyond a reorganisation of industrial activities of two case studies, Mars and Nestlé. The initiatives have resulted an increase vertical coordination with the upstream cocoa production networks, as the schemes become an instrument to minimise the supply risks. Also, the horizontal engagement through public private partnerships has created a negotiation space with extrafirm actors, yet the state participation in sustainability (keberlanjutan) discourse appeared to support local industrialists and the transnational firms to secure cocoa supply. Sustainability has strengthened the firm position in the upstream production networks, but the local actors and farmers continue struggle to overcome increasing market barriers and uneven competition. Eventually, the initiatives emphasize the economic interests, but at the expense of the cheaper productive capital supplied by the smallholder farmers and creating new processes of uneven development

Strategic Alignment In Mergers And Acquisitions: Theorizing IS Integration Decision making.

This paper focuses on IS integration decisions made during mergers and acquisitions from a strategic-alignment lens. The objectives of this study are to: (1) examine business-IS alignment as reflected in IS integration decisions in a merger context and (2) identify factors that shape IS integration decisions in a merger context. We study these issues in three oil and gas mergers from pre-merger announcement to three to four years after merger announcement. Our contributions are three-fold. We show that firms are somewhat misaligned in the early post-merger period, and come into alignment only two to three years after the merger. We find that business-IS alignment was a minor concern for the new organizations in pre-merger and early post-merger phases. Other factors such as acquirer-target power struggles, prior merger experience, and overarching synergy goals drove much of the initial integration decision making. Only late in the post-merger do the merged organizations revisit their systems to bring them into alignment with the business needs