RISKS MANAGEMENT. A PROPENSITY SCORE APPLICATION

Risk management is relatively unexplored in Romania. Although Romanian specialists dwell on theoretical aspects such as the risks classification and the important distinction between risks and uncertainty the practical relevance of the matter is outside existing studies. Present paper uses a dataset of consumer data to build a propensity scorecard based on relevant quantitative modeling.risk management, cantitative management

RISKS MANAGEMENT. A PROPENSITY SCORE APPLICATION

Risk management is relatively unexplored in Romania. Although Romanian specialists dwell on theoretical aspects such as the risks classification and the important distinction between risks and uncertainty the practical relevance of the matter is outside existing studies. Present paper uses a dataset of consumer data to build a propensity scorecard based on relevant quantitative modeling

NIVELUL DE SERVIRE A CLIENTILOR DIN PERSPECTICA LOGISTICII

Although most senior manager agree that customer service is important, they find it difficult to explain exactly what it is and does. However we have identified three facets of customer service: customer service as (1) an activity, (2) performance level and (3) management philosophy. Corroborating these dimensions, this paper argues that excellent customer service is to add value for all members of the supply chain. The need for viewing logistical requirements across time can be illustrated using the product life-cycle framework The paper identifies the three facets of customer service: availability of goods, operational performance and service quality. The paper concludes that in order to implement a basic service platform, it is necessary to specify the level of basic service commitment to customers and performance at a level above basic service represent extra commitment justified by the unique business situation.life-cycle of products, logistics, client service

A CONFIRMATORY APPROACH TO MEASURING RISKS IN SUPPLY CHAINS

In order to achieve the desired performances and the increased value added to the final consumer, organizations need not only to integrate their core businesses and align them to business strategy but also to handle disturbances in their environment. Existing literature on supply chain management underlines the need for adequate risks management in supply chains. Supply chain risks, if not managed properly do have a negative impact on business performance (Shah, 2009, Florian, 2013, Hendricks and Singhal, 2005). Supply chain risks management (SCRM) emerged as a response to the increasing volatility in today’s global supply chain environment. We first review the existing theoretical framework for identification of risks in the supply chains. There is general agreement on the general framework for coping with risks in the context of supply chain. Thus SCRM involves (a) risks identification, (b) assessment, (c) mitigation and (d) responsiveness (Wagner and Neshat, 2012).Also it is generally accepted that supply chain integration and lean management are the main strategy for reducing uncertainty whereas agile supply chains and quantitative modeling are the main solutions to coping uncertainty. The empirical researchfocuses on measuring risks in supply chains. We propose a confirmatory factor analysis of the measurement model of risks in supply chains. Existing literature on confirmatory factor analysis agrees that this technique provides extensive possibilities to analyze the complexity of the relationships among the variables. Results show that all estimated coefficients corresponding to indicator variables are statistically significant and have the desired positive sign. Also all the estimated variances and covariances among latent variables are statistically significant. Our proposed research methodology reveals the advantages of a confirmatory factor analysis over an exploratory principal component analysis in the context of risks management in supply chains. Moreover, as Sodhi and Tang (2012) reveals, more than half of papers in existing SCRM literature are either conceptual or qualitative empirical (case studies). Our proposed quantitative methodology contributes to reducing the above mentioned gap, providing results that can be used for statistical inferences and for enhancing the efficiency of the managerial decisional process

AN EXPLORATORY APPROACH TO INTEGRATION OF BUSINESS PRACTICES IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Literature on supply chain management focuses increasingly on the topic of supply chain integration. Morash and Bowersox (1989) show that integration links relationships, activities, functions, processes and locations. Integration links a firm with its customers, suppliers and other channel members. The empirical research brings supporting evidence on the theory that organizations achieve the desired competitive advantage only by focusing on one strategy – either collaborative closeness or operational excellence. Wang, Tai and Wei (2006) have developed a virtual integration theory in supply chains. According to them supply chain integration makes the chain agile, allowing a flexible and timely response to disturbances in the environment. Integration, show the above mentioned authors, involves (a) collaborative operation execution, (b) collaborative process planning & control and (c) supplier responsiveness. Collaborative operation execution and planning & control are operationalized through modern IT solutions linking partners throughout the supply chain. Supplier responsiveness reflects the extent to which a supplier meets customer requirements. Evidence shows that the greater the environmental volatility, the greater will be the extent of virtual integration in a supply chain. In the process of creating new value for consumers, the overall output in the supply chain is maximized through collaboration among supply chain members and integration of the key business processes. After reviewing the literature on supply chain integration, present paper proposes an exploratory analysis of the measurement model corresponding to logistics integration. A Romanian dataset of 21 firms from various industries, covering all levels of a supply chain, from production to commerce is used to conduct a principal factor analysis to test for (a) content validity, (b) substantive validity, (c) uni-dimensionality and (d) reliability of scales used to measure integration in supply chains. Also the principal component analysis is used to forecast both dependent and independent variables subsequently used in an OLS estimation of the relationship between supply chain integration and performances in Romanian supply chains. Results support the conclusion that Romanian supply chains focus on a strategy of operational excellence

AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION. EVIDENCE FROM ROMANIA

In order to achieve the desired performances and the increased value added to the final consumer, organizations need not only to integrate their core businesses and align them to business strategy but also to develop essential entrepreneurial competences. After presenting the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and their specificity in a supply chain, we propose an empirical research using a working dataset of 64 firms from various industries to analyze the Romanian entrepreneurial supply chains. Structural equations are employed to estimate the complex relationships between organizational performances and entrepreneurial orientation in supply chains at national level. Results show that entrepreneurial orientation influences organizational competences only in the framework of the supply chain management strategic approach to operational excellence

ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPLY CHAINS. EVIDENCE FROM ROMANIA

In its early stage of development the entrepreneurial theory focused on start-up firms and their role in the national economic development and growth process. In the past decades its focus has shifted towards the entrepreneurship within corporations or corporate entrepreneurship. Today CE is focusing not just on the economic value addition, but also on the environmental and social value an organization creates. Moreover, the social network approach to entrepreneurship resulted in the emergence of the concept of entrepreneurial supply chain, which extends the entrepreneurship from the organizational level to the level of supply chain. Following the review of existing literature on entrepreneurial supply chains we employ an empirical research based on a national sample of 64 Romanian companies from various industries to analyse the characteristics of entrepreneurial supply chains in Romania. Research methodology employs structural equations modelling. Structural analysis is used to estimate the relationship between entrepreneurial competences in the context of supply chains and organizational performances. We argue that developing competences that are specific to supply chains is paramount to organizational success in an environment characterized by increased uncertainty and propose a scale for measuring these competences. Subsequent structural equations analyzes refines it, allowing management a better understanding of the specificity of entrepreneurial competences in Romanian supply chains. Empirical findings show that entrepreneurial competences are positively impacting the performances in national supply chains. According to analysis of the measurement scale of the relational capital, the management of Romanian ESC fails to ensure the customers integration necessary to maximize performances in supply chains. We consider that building effective ESC requires: (a) seeking customers’ inputs to identify their needs and expectations, (b) disseminating customers’ needs throughout the workforce and (c) implementing effective mechanism for resolving customers’ complaints. Moreover, analysis of the measurement scale corresponding to organizational performances reveals that management fails to account for shareholders’ interest, focusing its performance endeavors on profits, costs and sales. We consider that achieving the full benefits of ESC requires management to reach a balance between the interests of different categories of stakeholders. A successful transformation of Romanian supply chains in entrepreneurial one necessitate value added to all stakeholders, including customers and shareholders. Not ultimately, we underline that understanding the importance of ESC for organizational performance provides the management an impetus towards fostering the changes necessary to advance from a traditional supply chain to an entrepreneurial one. Our research provides management with insights into the measures and steps necessary to achieve the full potential of entrepreneurial supply chains. Besides policy implications for management, w

Forecasting in Business

There is little managementliterature on forecasting at national level and scarcepractical issues. We are told only that there are severalforecasting methods and that forecasting is a tool ofstrategic management. After addressing several claimsabout forecasting made in management literature, thispaper presents several forecasting methods used inoperational management

The cost of job loss in a transition economy. Evidence from Ukraine

The first part of the paper presents the costsfor displaced workers as they are depicted in thewestern labor economics literature and the possibleimplication of the transition on them. The second partof the paper follows Lehman ET all (2005) in order toidentify the incidence and costs of displacement inUkraine. Using ULMS (2003), I have found thataround one third of the displaced find re-employmentimmediately while the majority continues into longterm non-employment. The main cost for displacedworkers in Ukraine is the income loss due to long nonemploymentspells experienced by the average workerafter layoff