The logistics implications of emerging business models

The network structure has expanded the nature of organisational economics from a limited perspective, based upon economies of scale (within which the firm became volume oriented striving to achieve its minimum cost/volume position on its long-run average cost curve (Chandler: 1962), to a ‘collective’ perspective based upon a notion of dispersed operations (i e, the complete range of value creation, production, delivery and service provision). It is no longer sufficient to be the lowest cost provider in a market but rather it is now essential to be the most effective and efficient solution provider: end-user markets are product-service dominated. These may be PRODUCT-service markets, however in the New Economy many industrial markets are product-SERVICE markets: the customers are aware of product application performance but are often more influenced by service-maintenance availability rather low prices, hence the approach by major manufacturers of such products as aero-engines which are priced by the hour of serviceable use. To be effective it is essential that suppliers and customers understand each other’s expectations (value drivers) and costs (value driver response costs). The complexities of markets encourage a network approach, one in which “solutions” to customers’ “problems” may take on a PRODUCT-service format or (increasingly) a product-SERVICE offer and the solutions will cross a number of international borders as well as a number of intra and inter-organisational boundaries during the process

Foreign R&D Centres in India: An Analysis of their Size, Structure and Implications

The study measures the contribution of MNCs to the generation of innovations from India. The focus is on innovations that are carried out in foreign R&D Centres. After having mapped out the size of this sector, the study develops a way of classifying them into two categories on the basis of their actual record with respect to performance of innovations. Further we survey the policies that are available in India to promote FDI in R&D services. The study also identify the characteristics of these foreign R&D centres in terms of a number of indicators like their, size, domain expertise, physical location and then it distils out the interaction of these centres with India’s National System of Innovation. The latter is carried out through a primary survey. The contribution of this study is an identification of the size of foreign R&D Centres in India from official sources of data and its actual working. The study has thus a number of pointers for public policy for promoting this activity so that it is beneficial to the host economy of India.

The effects of outsourcing practices conducted by organisations in Nairobi

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between outsourcing and development in Nairobi. The key research question for this study is what are the impacts of outsourcing practices conducted by organisations in Nairobi? Data were obtained from questionnaires distributed in December 2010. A total of 85 profit-making firms in Nairobi with a sample of 165 management employees were selected for this study. The empirical findings obtained relate to four outsourcing theories. Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) Theory focuses on the cost savings that result from outsourcing. Agency Outsourcing Theory centres on outsourcing firms hiring agents to achieve productivity. Hiring agents may result in permanent staff being retrenched and additional outsourcing personnel being contracted and job creation and/or job loss results. Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) emphasises the importance of an outsourcing provider conforming to quality management principles. Resource Based Theory (RBT) proposes that organisations need a collection of resources and capabilities to execute outsourcing successfully. Findings further suggested that outsourcing can yield positive and/or negative outcomes depending on risks encountered, the business environment, company policies, function/s to be outsourced, and the competence and commitment of an outsourcing vendor. To further enhance the positive impact of outsourcing three improvements need to be executed: formulation of standard policies, price regulations, and commitment of outsourcing firms in adhering to set contract deadlines. It is suggested that the following would allow organisations to gain more from outsourcing in the future: the adoption of international/offshore outsourcing practices, more commitment by outsourcing consultants, the standardisation of charges for outsourcing contracts, and the use of new technology that would improve how outsourcing is conducted. It is concluded that the positive impacts of outsourcing would foster development to some extent while the possible negative impact of outsourcing would impede development

The Electronic Silk Road: How the Web Binds the World in Commerce

On the ancient Silk Road, treasure-laden caravans made their arduous way through deserts and mountain passes, establishing trade between Asia and the civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean. Today’s electronic Silk Roads ferry information across continents, enabling individuals and corporations anywhere to provide or receive services without obtaining a visa. But the legal infrastructure for such trade is yet rudimentary and uncertain. If an event in cyberspace occurs at once everywhere and nowhere, what law applies? How can consumers be protected when engaging with companies across the world? In this accessible book, cyber-law expert Anupam Chander provides the first thorough discussion of the law that relates to global Internet commerce. Addressing up-to-the-minute examples, such as Google’s struggles with China, the Pirate Bay’s skirmishes with Hollywood, and the outsourcing of services to India, the author insightfully analyzes the difficulties of regulating Internet trade. Chander then lays out a framework for future policies, showing how countries can dismantle barriers while still protecting consumer interests

International Purchasing Offices: An empirical research

International Purchasing Offices (IPOs) play an increasingly important role in the management of international sourcing activities, both in developed and emerging economies. We performed a systematic literature review on IPOs. This allowed us to identify and summarize the main research streams and to highlight some weaknesses (e.g., methodological issues and lacking theoretical foundations) and gaps. We concluded that few significant studies have been devoted to IPOs and proposed some directions for future research organized into three questions: (1) Does an IPO add value to the company? (2) How are the IPOs set up, how do they work, and how do they develop? and (3) What is the role of the IPOs within the global sourcing organisational structure? We conducted an exploratory multiple case study research to face with the second and third questions pursuing three main aims: (1) to propose a typology of IPOs and highlight the relationship between strategy and structure in a global purchasing context; (2) to study IPO macro-organisational structures (i.e., organisational archetypes) and their evolution over time; and (3) to study IPO micro-organisational structures (e.g., individual tasks, activities, and capabilities) and their evolution over time. We identified three types or clusters of IPOs along four dimensions (i.e., motives for sourcing from China, global purchasing strategy for China, IPO structure and IPO followership) and presented a causal model and associated propositions to explain how an IPO may become more strategic for its parent company. We then proposed a dynamic evolution model, consisting of five stages differentiated by number, depth, and breadth of roles, in which IPOs could leapfrog some stages, re-trench (move back to lower stages) and be potentially withdrawn. Finally, we highlighted some resources/capabilities required by IPOs; we proposed a typology of IPO micro-organisational evolutionary behaviours; and we recognized three contingent factors that jointly affect these behaviours (i.e., the architectural and technological complexity of the sourced items, annual volume sourced abroad, and experience in the foreign context)