Essays On Food Banks: Operational Issues and the Role of Supply Chain Integration

ood banks are humanitarian aid organizations that collect, organize, and deliver food to the communities in need. In pursuit of achieving their social goal of alleviating hunger, food banks work with other non-profit member agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters. Matching supply of funds and donated food with demand in this context is subject to unique challenges, which remain unaddressed in operations and supply chain literature. This dissertation presents three essays to gain deeper insights into critical operational and supply chain issues influencing the performance of food banks, and the impact of supply chain integration on food bank performance. To conduct an in-depth examination of supply chain integration in food banks, the first essay undertakes an extensive review and a meta-analytic investigation of the literature focusing on supply chain integration. The essay aids in discerning the association of integration practices with performance and in identifying potential moderating variables. The second essay utilizes secondary data merged with perceptual data to test a model covering key activities of food banks. Specifically, the model focuses on how food distributed is influenced by an integrated effort encompassing fundraising activities, public support, basic programs run, and supply chain integration. The results of the model illuminate the importance of supply chain integration for enhancing food bank performance. Utilizing the insights gained from the meta-analytic study and the second essay, the third essay employs survey data collected from food banks, and examines the antecedents of food bank supply chain integration and its performance implications

ISO 9000 Internalization and Organizational Commitment - Implications for Process Improvement and Operational Performance

This study presents an investigation of the relationship between internalization of ISO 9000 practices and the development of intellectual capital within organizations. We posit that intellectual capital, which comprises of human capital, organizational capital, and social capital, leads to improved processes in an organization. Process improvement, in turn, results in superior operational performance. Using a sample of 321 ISO 9001 certified organizations, the hypothesized relationships are tested by means of the structural equation modeling technique. The results of this study lend strong support for the hypotheses and show that performance benefits from the internalization of ISO 9000 standards occur mainly through the development of human and organizational capital, and the consequent improvement in business processes. This study discusses theoretical and managerial implications, and presents directions for future research

ISO 9000 Internalization and Organizational Commitment - Implications for Process Improvement and Operational Performance

This study presents an investigation of the relationship between internalization of ISO 9000 practices and the development of intellectual capital within organizations. We posit that intellectual capital, which comprises of human capital, organizational capital, and social capital, leads to improved processes in an organization. Process improvement, in turn, results in superior operational performance. Using a sample of 321 ISO 9001 certified organizations, the hypothesized relationships are tested by means of the structural equation modeling technique. The results of this study lend strong support for the hypotheses and show that performance benefits from the internalization of ISO 9000 standards occur mainly through the development of human and organizational capital, and the consequent improvement in business processes. This study discusses theoretical and managerial implications, and presents directions for future research