Service supply chain management process capabilities: Measurement development

The role of supply chain management processes in achieving competitive advantages in the service industry has been widely discussed. However, due to the lack of valid measurement scales, the effects of service supply chain management (SSCM) process capability cannot be ascertained. This study aims to develop and validate measurement scales for SSCM process capability constructs. The measurement scales were initially developed by literature review, and refined by Q-sort method. The SSCM process capability is a seven-dimensional construct; each dimension consists of a collection of unidimensional multi-item scales. Confirmatory factor analyses of a large-scale survey confirmed the unidimensionality, reliability, and validity of the multidimensional construct of seven SSCM process capabilities. The validated measurement scales lay a crucial foundation for advancing knowledge of the service supply chain by enabling future empirical studies in the field, which previously relied on largely conceptual frameworks and descriptive accounts of SSCM processes

Strategies for Building Environmental Transparency and Accountability

How do nature-inspired enterprises be accountable to the natural environment formed? Natural environment is one of the basic elements of the business. Firms should be sensitive to environment, so they should develop environmental transparency and accountability. This paper develops a framework to understand how environmental transparency and stakeholder governance create environmental accountability, following an “action cycle” informed by four accountability criteria—identifiability, awareness of monitoring, expectations of evaluation, and social pressure. The paper analyzes the environmental transparency practices of 50 companies listed in the annual Best Global Green Brands report, the Global RepTrak 100, and The Climate A-List of the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project). The results show that exemplar firms improve the “what”, “how”, and “how much” factors in terms of environmental information to identify what will be disseminated to whom when the information follows the criteria of accountability, which allow stakeholders to effectively adopt a governance role. This paper provides a 2 × 2 matrix for firms and stakeholders to better understand how accountability leadership is driven by environmental transparency, stakeholder governance and accountability criteria. The practical implications of environmental transparency are highlighted, specifically in terms of strategies for building accountability to meet the growing expectations of transparency and accountability

The combined effects of internal and external supply chain integration on product innovation

This research examines the individual and combined effects of internal integration (II) and external integration (EI) on product innovation. Two combined effects - balanced integration and complementary integration - are examined. Based on ambidexterity theory, the combined effects of II and EI are theorised to facilitate exploration and exploitation of external and internal knowledge, and subsequently improve product innovation. Our analysis of survey data from the Thai automotive industry ascertains that EI and complementary integration are positively associated with product innovation, but II and balanced integration are not associated with product innovation. This research is the first to provide novel insights into how exploration and exploitation of external and internal knowledge can be facilitated by internal and external integrations, and their complementary effects on product innovation, which was previously less understood. Our findings provide managerial insights for firms involved in supply chain integration implementation

Do arcs of integration differ across industries? Methodology extension and empirical evidence from Thailand

This paper verifies the argument that arcs of integration or supply chain integration (SCI) configurations differ across different industries. It further develops statistical methods to compare ‘balanced’ and ‘unbalanced’ arcs of integrations and determines performance outcomes of different arcs of integration in three Thai industries. Survey data collected from 151 automotive, 82 electronics and 115 food manufacturers in Thailand are examined using cluster analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and novel approaches to statistically differentiate balanced and unbalanced SCI configurations and their performance implications. The analyses conclude the existence of balanced arcs of integration with uniform levels of supplier integration (SI), internal integration (II), and customer integration (CI), as well as unbalanced arcs of integration with an emphasis on CI in the automotive and electronics industries. The food industry has no balanced arc of integration; some food manufacturers emphasize SI and II. These findings confirm differences across industries and add further insights in terms of how arcs of integration with different SCI strengths and emphases could lead to differences in delivery, quality, cost, flexibility, and innovation performance. Based on the data from these Thai industries, the findings from the different industries allow practitioners to benchmark SCI implementation and identify suitable arcs of integration for achieving desirable performance outcomes. In addition to statistically validating the differences amongst the SCI configurations and providing crucial empirical evidence to verify industrial differences, the paper demonstrates the benefit of analysing SCI configurations based on separate industrial samples and provides empirical evidence to drive new theoretical development

Prioritising enabling factors of Internet of Things (IoT) adoption in digital supply chain

Purpose – This paper explores the role of Internet of things (IoT) enabling factors in adopting digital supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used to rank performance measures and prioritise the enabling factors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to validate and support key research findings from the AHP analysis. Findings – The results show that level of customer demand is the most important indicator in adopting IoT while the level of product/process flexibility is the least important. System integration and IoT infrastructure are the top two enabling factors in increasing the level of process stability, supply chain connectivity, and product/process flexibility, respectively. Furthermore, the study suggests that the enabling factors for IoT adoption are directly connected with organisational resources/technological capabilities that support the resource-based view theory. This research identified interdependencies between IoT enabling factors and key performance measures for IoT adoption success in managing the digital supply chain. Practical implications – Supply chain managers can use the empirical findings of this study to prioritise IoT adoption, based on the relative importance of enabling factors and performance measures. The research findings are focused on broader supply chain practices of large companies rather than a specific industry and SMEs. Hence, any industry-specific adoption factors and SMEs were not evident from this study. Originality/value – This research study empirically established priorities of enabling factors for IoT adoption, along with inter-dependencies among enabling factors as a basis for developing guidelines for IoT adoption

The influences of circular economy practices on manufacturing firm's performance: A meta-analytic structural equation modeling study

Circular economy (CE) can arguably produce various performance benefits. Using meta-analysis and structural equation modeling (MASEM), this study synthesizes the findings from 66 empirical studies composed of 13,643 manufacturing firms. This study investigates the relationship between practices based on two CE principles (i.e., eliminating waste and pollution and circulating products and materials) and five performance outcomes grounded in the natural resource-based view of a firm. The results indicate that most CE practices significantly improve firm performance. Specifically, practices based on eliminating waste and pollution principle positively affect environmental, cost-reduction, social, financial/market, and operational performances. Practices based on circulating products and materials principle improve environmental, financial/market, and operational performances, but not cost reduction and social performances. In addition, the hybrid CE practices (i.e., practices based on both CE principles) are positively linked to cost-reduction, social, financial/market, and operational performances, but they have a negative effect on environmental performance. The results suggest the possible synergy between the two CE principles. This study provides practitioners and policymakers with insights and recommendations for a better understanding of how CE practices (together) produce different performance outcomes

Adolescent patellar instability: current concepts review.

Patellar instability most frequently presents during adolescence. Congenital and infantile dislocation of the patella is a distinct entity from adolescent instability and measurable abnormalities may be present at birth. In the normal patellofemoral joint an increase in quadriceps angle and patellar height are matched by an increase in trochlear depth as the joint matures. Adolescent instability may herald a lifelong condition leading to chronic disability and arthritis. Restoring normal anatomy by trochleoplasty, tibial tubercle transfer or medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction in the young adult prevents further instability. Although these techniques are proven in the young adult, they may cause growth arrest and deformity where the physis is open. A vigorous non-operative strategy may permit delay of surgery until growth is complete. Where non-operative treatment has failed a modified MPFL reconstruction may be performed to maintain stability until physeal closure permits anatomical reconstruction. If significant growth remains an extraosseous reconstruction of the MPFL may impart the lowest risk to the physis. If minor growth remains image intensifier guided placement of femoral intraosseous fixation may impart a small, but acceptable, risk to the physis. This paper presents and discusses the literature relating to adolescent instability and provides a framework for management of these patients. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:159-70