aus Istanbul, Türkei

This thesis is the final product of my PhD studies at the Department of Quality Sciences of TU Berlin. This whole process has been an invaluable experience enabling me to learn and grow, both personally and academically. I am grateful to many people for their help, guidance, encouragement, inspiration, friendship, and patience throughout the course of this study. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Herrmann, my advisor, for his professionalism, wisdom, kindness, patience, trust, and also for the encouragement of initiative and freedom of thought. I come out of from this experience so much richer and stronger in many ways. I am grateful to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Straube, my co-advisor, for his interest in my thesis and valuable comments and suggestions. I thank Prof. Dr. Dietrich Manzey, the chair of the advisory committee, for his support and interest in my studies. I am indebted to Prof. Dr. Mehmet Tanyaş at the Department of International Logistics of the Okan University for his continuous support not only during this study but also through my whole academic life. I feel privileged to have met and worked with him. I want to thank all the supply chain professionals who contributed to this study by taking the time to complete the survey questionnaire. I especially thank (in alphabetical order