The Influence of Dependence Structure And Relational Value on The Adoption Internet-enabled Supply Chain Management Systems

Based on resource dependency theory, this study investigates how the two dimensions of dependence – dependence asymmetry and mutual dependence – affect the adoption of internet-enabled supply chain management systems (eSCM). Drawing from the relational view of the firm, we argue that there are two types of relational value that can be provided by eSCM: relationship extendedness and relational depth. Dependence structure will influence firms’ incentive to obtain relationship extendedness and relational depth, which will in turn affect eSCM adoption. We collected data from mainland China using an online questionnaire and 212 valid samples were received. The emergent results show positive influence of dependence structure on relationship extendedness and relational depth. Positive effects of dependence structure and relationship relational depth on eSCM adoption are also found. However, the finding suggests a significant negative effect of relationship extendedness on eSCM, which is contradictory to the hypothesis. Future research is needed to interpret the counterintuitive finding

DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIFIED OPEN E-LOGISTICS STANDARDS DIFFUSION MODEL FOR MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATIONS

Open E-Logistics Standards (OELS) is important to facilitate the integration of the supply chain. In OELS, the transmission and the manipulation of data are governed by open data and process standards that define their format, structure, and the semantics of data flow between trading partners. Despite the significant investments made by governments and leading firms, there remain concerns about OELS’ slow development progress and low adoption rates. The potential failure of OELS represents a significant stumbling block for governments and supply chain practitioners who have envisioned a globalized supply chain network electronically enabled by OELS. Researchers are also concerned about the inadequate models that are used to explain and understand the adoption of OELS. Although analysing adopter configurations in what is known as configuration analysis has been examined in disciplines related to science and economics, its application in the study of OELS remains sparse. This research aims to integrate multiple theoretical views, and apply configuration analysis with an improved methodological approach in order to examine OELS diffusion decisions and processes. The project will result in a new algorithm integrating structural equation modelling and neural network, and a decision support system which helps firms improve their OELS adoption decision

Two-Stage Robust Optimization for the Orienteering Problem with Stochastic Weights

In this paper, the two-stage orienteering problem with stochastic weights is studied, where the first-stage problem is to plan a path under the uncertain environment and the second-stage problem is a recourse action to make sure that the length constraint is satisfied after the uncertainty is realized. First, we explain the recourse model proposed by Evers et al. (2014) and point out that this model is very complex. Then, we introduce a new recourse model which is much simpler with less variables and less constraints. Based on these two recourse models, we introduce two different two-stage robust models for the orienteering problem with stochastic weights. We theoretically prove that the two-stage robust models are equivalent to their corresponding static robust models under the box uncertainty set, which indicates that the two-stage robust models can be solved by using common mathematical programming solvers (e.g., IBM CPLEX optimizer). Furthermore, we prove that the two two-stage robust models are equivalent to each other even though they are based on different recourse models, which indicates that we can use a much simpler model instead of a complex model for practical use. A case study is presented by comparing the two-stage robust models with a one-stage robust model for the orienteering problem with stochastic weights. The numerical results of the comparative studies show the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed two-stage robust models for dealing with the two-stage orienteering problem with stochastic weights

Search for the Lepton-Number-Violating Decay Ξ−→pμ−μ−\Xi^- \to p \mu^- \mu^-

A sensitive search for the lepton-number-violating decay $\Xi^-\to p \mu^-\mu^-$ has been performed using a sample of $\sim10^9$ $\Xi^-$ hyperons produced in 800 GeV/$c$ $p$-Cu collisions. We obtain $\mathcal{B}(\Xi^-\to p \mu^-\mu^-)< 4.0\times 10^{-8}$ at 90% confidence, improving on the best previous limit by four orders of magnitude.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let