Plurality in environmental supply chain mechanisms: differential effects on triple bottom line outcomes

Purpose: The environmental management of supply chains has become increasingly relevant in the recent era. Extant research proposes two main forms of mechanisms – collaboration and evaluation – for environmental supply chain management. Despite the wide use of these mechanisms and the empirical insight into the fact that they could be adopted simultaneously, it is unknown if, and, at which levels, environmental collaboration (EC) and environmental evaluation (EE) could be complementary or substitutionary in nature. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to gain a clear understanding into the plural forms of these mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach: The transaction cost economics and relational exchange theory are used to ground the research hypotheses. The results are based on survey data collected from 145 US manufacturing firms. The authors employ polynomial regression as well as the response surface methodology to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings: The results suggest that EC and EE can have an intriguing effect depending on the outcome measure. Specifically, the authors find the effects in the economic and the environmental/social domains to be significantly different. Originality/value: While scholars acknowledge that collaboration and evaluation could act as complements, extant research does not propose and test models that specifically capture complementary and substitutionary nature of these mechanisms. Accordingly, the study makes the first attempt to empirically test for the effects of the simultaneous pursuit of EC and EE

Understanding the emergence of redistributed manufacturing: an ambidexterity perspective

The purpose of this paper is to extend operations management theory concerning efficiency and flexibility trade-offs to the emergent phenomenon of redistributed manufacturing (RDM). The study adopts a multiple case design including five small and five large pharmaceutical firms. By synthesising the research findings and extant literature we propose organisations can gain the efficiency benefits of centralised manufacturing and the flexibility advantages of RDM by building an ambidexterity capability. To build such a capability, large firms can structurally partition their manufacturing and supply management functions, with one sub-unit managing centralised production and the other RDM. Small and medium enterprises can build an ambidexterity capability by creating the right organisational context, one in which a multi-skilled workforce switches between efficient and flexible tasks. This paper contributes to theory by explaining the emergence of RDM using an organisational ambidexterity lens, laying the groundwork for new theory development in the field. The paper contributes to managerial thinking by providing practical examples of how managers can build an ambidexterity capability to realise flexibility and efficiency advantages

A framework for the adoption of redistributed manufacturing in pharmaceutical supply chains

This paper explores the adoption of redistributed manufacturing strategies by UK pharmaceutical firms. A multiple case study of six firms is coupled with expert opinion from academics in the fields of innovation, life sciences, pharmaceuticals and additive manufacturing. A triangulated data collection strategy is used including twenty-five semi-structured interviews, eight focus groups and primary documentation. Drawing on adoption theory we identify the enablers of and barriers to the adoption of redistributed manufacturing strategies. The findings suggest that redistributed manufacturing will not replace existing supply chain configurations but instead complement them. Several potential niche applications for redistributed manufacturing are identifie

Stopping conflict minerals with the OECD guidance for responsible mineral supply chains: status quo in Europe

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DRIVING NPD PERFORMANCE IN HIGH-TECH SMES THROUGH IT AMBIDEXTERITY: UNVEILING THE INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP DECISION-MAKING STYLES

The scarcity of IT resources and technological advancements in high-tech small and medium enterprises (SMEs) require leaders to embed IT ambidexterity – simultaneous pursuit of IT exploitation and IT exploration activities – into their organization’s strategy, which could be challenging. To better understand how leaders enable IT ambidexterity, this study focuses on the leadership decision-making style (directive decision-making and participative decision-making) as a key driving factor. Moreover, we examine how and when leadership decision-making styles are most effective in enacting IT ambidexterity by considering new product development (NPD) team diversity and shared vision as two important contingencies. Finally, we test the role of IT ambidexterity in improving NPD performance. We analyse our research model using survey data from 292 high-tech SMEs. Our findings suggest that both decision-making styles enable IT ambidexterity, however, participative decision-making style is more effective in highly diverse NPD teams and directive decision-making style should be preferred when shared vision is a dominant factor among NPD team members. Our results also show that IT ambidexterity significantly enhances NPD performance. We discuss our contribution to information systems (IS) and ambidexterity research and provide implications for practice

Future challenges for pharmaceutical supply chains

The pharmaceutical industry is facing an era of fundamental transformation, with new products, markets, and regulations requiring changes to governance, risk and supply chain management. These represent both threats and opportunities to the industry, for those who are able to harness developments. Through the provision of example scenarios, this report aims to provide pharmaceutical supply chain managers with the necessary information to help them find the right strategic solutions for their companies over the next ten years. Based on a thorough review of current practical and academic literature, the research team identified twelve future key developments with the potential to impact pharmaceutical supply chains over the next ten years (2015-2025). Based on assessments by 30 European pharmaceutical managers, the report provides analysis of the probability and impact of each development on pharmaceutical supply chains. It scopes the extent to which pharmaceutical supply chain managers welcome and feel able to influence each development. The authors of the report are Prof. Dr. Constantin Blome, University of Sussex, UK and GSK Vaccines Chaired Professor at Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, as well as Martin Schleper and Hannes Hofmann from EBS University, Germany

Archetypes of sourcing decision-making: the influence of contextual factors on consensus, argumentation and cabal

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop taxonomy of sourcing decision-making (SDM) archetypes and explore how different contextual factors influence these archetypes when global sourcing of complex components is considered a viable option. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study approach with five in-depth cases is employed. In total, 19 interviews as well as publicly available and internal data from large buying firms headquartered in Austria and Germany were collected and analyzed. Findings The results reveal three different SDM archetypes which are described in detail (i.e. “consensus,” “argumentation” and “cabal”). Furthermore, it is found that these archetypes are mainly influenced by three contextual factors: sourcing maturity, product complexity and leadership style. The final model comprises six propositions which illustrate how these contextual factors determine companies’ SDM archetypes. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to theory development at the intersection of organizational buying behavior and the (global) SDM literature. Thereby, it answers the call for more rigorous investigation of the influence of contextual factors on SDM processes. Practical implications The findings enable practitioners to better understand and consequently manage SDM processes and their outcomes. By supporting decision-makers in identifying SDM archetypes, this study allows sourcing managers and teams to make better decisions by avoiding problems that occur in situations in which the preferred decision-making type would result in suboptimal decisions. Originality/value The study provides a first step toward taxonomy of SDM archetypes and is among the first that explores their underlying contextual factors

Antecedents of green supplier championing and greenwashing: an empirical study on leadership and ethical incentives

Buying firms are increasingly confronted with compliance scandals in their upstream supply chain, for which they are held accountable by their stakeholders. Purely symbolic practices, typically referred to as greenwashing, as well as substantive practices, such as green supplier championing, are thus receiving widespread attention in business practices and academia alike. In this study, we reveal the impact of two opposing leadership dimensions following the concepts of ethical and transactional leadership as antecedents for green supplier championing and greenwashing. We particularly address whether these antecedents have a complementary or a counterproductive effect on green supplier championing and greenwashing. Furthermore, we investigate the complementary impact of incentives and the two leadership styles on achieving sustainability behavior. The resulting model is tested using a path analysis based on a data set of 118 firms located in Germany. We find support for the positive impact of ethical leadership on green supplier championing but also a non-significant negative impact on greenwashing. Greenwashing is significantly impacted by leadership styles reflecting obedience to authority, and further moderated by ethical incentives. Interestingly, ethical incentives do not moderate the impact of ethical leadership on green supplier championing. Finally, we discuss implications for theory and business practice

Dynamic supply chain capabilities: how market sensing, supply chain agility and adaptability affect supply chain ambidexterity

Purpose: This paper positions market sensing, supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability as a coherent cluster of dynamic supply chain capabilities. The purpose of the paper is to understand how dynamic supply chain capabilities interrelate and their effect on supply chain ambidexterity. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a survey of Pakistani manufacturing firms, a theoretically-derived model was tested in a structural equation model. Findings: The results of the study show that a market-sensing capability is an antecedent of supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability. Furthermore, supply chain agility, directly, and supply chain adaptability, indirectly, affect supply chain ambidexterity. Supply chain agility therefore mediates the relationship between supply chain adaptability and supply chain ambidexterity. Originality/value: The contribution of this study lies in: (1) identifying dynamic capability clusters relevant for achieving supply chain ambidexterity;(2) evaluating performance implications of dynamic capabilities in the supply chain, specifically supply chain agility and adaptability; and (3) proposing a unique measurement of supply chain ambidexterity in the light supply chain theory, and empirically evaluating the relationship between dynamic capabilities and supply chain ambidexterity

Supply chain integration capabilities, green design strategy and performance: a comparative study in the auto industry

Purpose – This paper examines how supply chain integration capabilities inform green design strategy adoption and whether green design strategy can lead to higher levels of environmental and economic performance. Design/methodology/approach – A survey-based approach was used to empirically test the study hypotheses. Based on 216 usable responses collected from automakers around the globe, we compared the results from two different data groups (i.e., Chinese firms vs. Western firms) using the structural equation modeling approach. Findings – In the Chinese context, both internal and external supply chain integration capabilities are significantly related to the successful adoption of a green design strategy. However, the relationships are not significant in Western context. Green design is found to positively impact environmental performance in both contexts; however, no significant relationship is revealed between green design and economic performance in either context. Finally, environmental performance was found to have a significant and positive impact on economic performance in both contexts. Research limitations/implications – The cross-sectional survey design that was focused only on the auto industry may affect the inferences of causality and generalizability of this study. Practical implications – Managers should understand their specific organizational context first, and then strategically develop their external and internal supply chain integration capabilities in order to maximize their green design efforts for improved environmental performance. Companies can be certain that the more gains made in environmental management, the more economic returns can be expected. Originality/value – This research contributes to the existing resource-based view literature by linking supply chain integration capabilities to green design strategy adoption in different organizational contexts. It also sheds a light on the association between green design and different performance dimensions, and adds value to the current debate on the association between environmental performance and economic performance