An assessment of supply chain and innovation management practices in the manufacturing industries in Turkey

This paper aims at assessing the supply chain and innovation management in the manufacturing industries in Turkey on an empirical basis. The assessments presented are based on parts of the data and information collected through the execution of the Competitive Strategies and Best Practices Benchmarking Questionnaire in 82 companies from four sectors of the manufacturing industries in Turkey. Results of these sectoral benchmarking studies reported elsewhere indicate the need of adopting product differentiation particularly through more knowledge intensive products as the dominant competitive strategy and also the need for improvement in various areas of supply chain as well as innovation management. In this paper, these issues are analysed through the survey results and some conclusions are drawn. Several policy measures applicable in near future are suggested for improving the areas found in need of improvement

Strategies for sustainable socio-economic development and mechanisms their implementation in the global dimension

The authors of the book have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to effectively use modern approaches to developing and implementation strategies of sustainable socio-economic development in order to increase efficiency and competitiveness of economic entities. Basic research focuses on economic diagnostics of socio-economic potential and financial results of economic entities, transition period in the economy of individual countries and ensuring their competitiveness, assessment of educational processes and knowledge management. The research results have been implemented in the different models and strategies of supply and logistics management, development of non-profit organizations, competitiveness of tourism and transport, financing strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises, cross-border cooperation. The results of the study can be used in decision-making at the level the economic entities in different areas of activity and organizational-legal forms of ownership, ministries and departments that promote of development the economic entities on the basis of models and strategies for sustainable socio-economic development. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in modern concepts and mechanisms for management of sustainable socio-economic development of economic entities in the condition of global economic transformations and challenges

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

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

Regulatory reform, competition, and innovation - a case study of the Mexican road freight industry

Discussions of competition and regulatory reform typically focus on price and quantity effects. But improving certain infrastructure services can also stimulate entry, and competition in user industries downstream, allowing new firms to enter, incumbent users to offer new products, and rivalry to intensify. The authors present a case study of how innovations in road freight services affect selected downstream users of those services after regulatory reform. After a period of rigid regulation, and heavy government interference, Mexico in 1989 developed a new policy framework for road transport, with free entry, and market-based price setting. The result: faster, more reliable trucking has allowed user companies to offer new, previously unavailable products, and to reach new areas with existing products. Cheaper, more customer-responsive trucking services have allowed logistical innovations in user firms, and some user firms have decided not to keep their own fleets of trucks, but to outsource trucking services on the open market, thereby converting fixed costs to variable costs. For one fertilizer company, the benefits of reform included a ten percent improvement in operating margin. Successful reform requires careful planning and execution, and political support at high levels. Regulatory reform also profoundly changes the sectoral institution formerly responsible for the regulation. Enough resources should be provided to help organizations in the reformed industry make the transition to the post-reform environment - helping with such tasks as defining the organization's new role, and facilitating the redeployment of staff. The national competition agency can help greatly in laying the groundwork for reform by making a compelling case for the reform's expected benefits. After reform, the competition agency should also help with enforcement, to ensure that the cozy, cartel-like behavior stimulated by tight entry restrictions does not persist. In Mexico, three strong interventions were required to discipline attempted anti-competitive practices in the trucking industry in the years following reform.Common Carriers Industry,Environmental Economics&Policies,Roads&Highways,Transport and Trade Logistics,Banks&Banking Reform,Roads&Highways,Transport and Trade Logistics,Common Carriers Industry,ICT Policy and Strategies,Environmental Economics&Policies

Towards collaborative supply chains

This paper discusses collaborative supply chains. It was presented at the 16th international conference of the european operations management association in 2009

Transport in an Integrating Europe: Sustainable Development and Cohesion

The process of European integration, and particularly the enlargement of the EU, has substantial consequences for transport. Transport, and particularly freight transport, has recently been growing faster than GDP. Thus, despite the increasing concerns about the environmental impact of transport and increasing attempts to regulate transport through a more sensitive price mechanism in many countries, what may be termed the transport intensity of the economy has been increasing. This is not just about the impact on traffic levels, but affects the whole relationship between transport and the economy. Changing transport costs impact differentially on different sectors and different regions according not just to the traditional measures of value to weight ratios, but also according to the competitive structure of an industry in a particular location. Increasing transport intensity could be considered a surprising outcome in the first instance. Generally the mass of goods has been falling and the growth of electronic communication could be seen as a substitute for much physical transport. Both of these factors would imply a falling transport content of most production. However, the falling cost of transport may lead to the substitution of transport for other more expensive factors of production. Individuals' preferences for variety see them using cheaper transport as a means of widening access to more destinations. At the same time rising incomes lead to a preference for a greater variety of goods. Given the importance of scale economies in manufacturing production, this implies the need to source these goods from a greater variety of locations, hence the growth of intra-industry trade. Technical advances in transport have reduced transport costs substantially, but in a world of increasing returns firms need to exploit differences in input costs in different locations. The removal of the transport cost constraint on integration may thus lead to an increase in spatial specialisation and concentration which itself induces an increased demand for transport. Understanding these relationships between transport and the economy is critical to achieving a more sustainable European transport system, and to the process of cohesion in the European economy, Attempts to curb transport growth which do not also consider the impact on the structure of production and markets may produce a less sustainable system. On the other hand, moves to ensure the correct pricing of transport services are an essential input to efficient decision making about the optimal location for production and the optimal allocation of resources between different products and services. In this paper we explore some of the dynamics of this system, highlighting the way in which the modelling of the transport system needs to interact with that of the rest of the economy.

Effects of innovation types on firm performance

Innovation is broadly seen as an essential component of competitiveness, embedded in the organizational structures, processes, products, and services within a firm. The objective of this paper is to explore the effects of the organizational, process, product, and marketing innovations on the different aspects of firm performance, including innovative, production, market, and financial performances, based on an empirical study covering 184 manufacturing firms in Turkey. A theoretical framework is empirically tested identifying the relationships amid innovations and firm performance through an integrated innovation-performance analysis. The results reveal the positive effects of innovations on firm performance in manufacturing industries

Effects of innovation types on firm performance

Innovation is broadly seen as an essential component of competitiveness, embedded in the organizational structures, processes, products, and services within a firm. The objective of this paper is to explore the effects of the organizational, process, product, and marketing innovations on the different aspects of firm performance, including innovative, production, market, and financial performances, based on an empirical study covering 184 manufacturing firms in Turkey. A theoretical framework is empirically tested identifying the relationships amid innovations and firm performance through an integrated innovation-performance analysis. The results reveal the positive effects of innovations on firm performance in manufacturing industries