Exploration & Exploitation: Reconciling Product Innovation and Supply Chain Performance in Consumer Packaged Goods Manufacturing

Product innovation often introduces complexity within supply chains, hurting operational efficiency –yet companies must be innovative to survive. That is the central issue of this thesis. We analyze the innovation vs. efficiency trade-off from the supply chain perspective using multiple research methods and the lenses of the exploration & exploitation literature, aiming at developing a framework for dealing with product portfolio exploration & exploitation issues in consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturing operations.We conducted a thorough, systematic review of the relevant literature related exploration & exploitation and identified that operations management, being the discipline that deals with getting things done, may be the next frontier of this multidisciplinary research stream. We then empirically analyzed the impact of new product introductions on supply chain performance, using qualitative and quantitative methods: we identified the nuances of how this impact flows and also tested and measured the impact using cross-sectional-longitudinal operational data. We finally conducted an action research project in order to analyze how to build exploration-and-exploitation-enabling supply chain strategies.We found evidence that new product introductions imply an impact on supply chain performance; yet it mostly goes through the increased variability of production assortment and is associated with category-based long-term impacts. We claim that, for small businesses and single business units aiming to be both innovative and efficient, supply chain strategies should incorporate certain conflicting goals; however, certain actions can be taken to mitigate the negative impact of concurrent goals interfering into one another.This study contributes to the exploration & exploitation literature by: (1) analyzing and summarizing the evolution of the literature stream, being among the first to do it from the operations management perspective; (2) evaluating how new product introductions impact supply chain performance in a CPG manufacturing firm, providing a set of testable hypotheses; (3) testing and measuring the short-term and long-term impact of new product introductions on the supply chain performance in CPG manufacturing operations using robust panel data econometrics; (4) testing the moderation effects of product-level degree of innovativeness on the relationship between new product introductions and supply chain performance; (5) adding a different level of analysis –i.e. product category– to dealing with new product introductions; (6) employing the Conceptual System Assessment and Reformulation (CSAR) as a research method for the first time; and (7) unveiling a set of supply chain trade-offs that can be faced by CPG manufacturing companies willing to be both innovative and efficient, also challengingthe notion that a good supply chain strategy must be free of conflicting goals.This research is also carries managerial implications, as it: (1) provides a summary of the relevant literature on exploration & exploitation, which can be a helpful source for practitioners willing to overcome this dilemma; (2) improves the understanding about the how new product introductions impact supply chain performance; (3) quantifies the impact of new product introductions on supply chain performance, which can be a helpful decision-making tool when balancing exploration & exploitation; (4) improves managerial intuition for the conditional supply chain implications of product-level degree of innovativeness when introducing new products; and (5) provides guidance for building supply chain strategies to balance exploration & exploitation in CPG manufacturing firms.<br /

Estudio cualitativo sobre el impacto del alineamiento de la estrategia entre diferentes niveles de la organización en la función y rendimiento de compras: estudio de un caso

El proyecto desarrolla una investigación según la metodología de estudio de caso de Yin sobre la función de compras y estrategia implementadas en la empresa de estudio. La investigación se inicia con el marco teórico, una de las partes más importantes, que condensa la literatura existente referente a la función de compras y estrategia. Este proceso conlleva emplear mucho esfuerzo y dedicación que posteriormente define una línea de investigación correcta y detallada. A continuación interviene la parte empírica del estudio, donde la realización de las once entrevistas semiestructuradas a diferentes cargos de la organización dota al proyecto de gran cantidad de información relevante. Las entrevistas fueron grabadas con una duración media de una hora y posteriormente fueron transcritas para facilitar la captación de toda la información posible. Con toda la información recopilada, tanto teórica como empírica, se procedió a sintetizarla según la línea de investigación diseñada anteriormente. Esta disposición de la información permitió un análisis a través de matrices que contrastaban los datos claramente. El análisis minucioso fue otro de los puntos clave de la investigación que proporcionó respuestas a las preguntas de la investigación planteadas. El estudio concluye afirmando que la estrategia de compras está influenciada por la estrategia corporativa y categórica, y por la cadena de suministro, proveedores y clientes. La influencia de la estrategia corporativa implica un alineamiento de estrategias de los niveles superiores hasta el nivel de unidad de negocio donde las particularidades de éstas implican estrategias distintas. El alineamiento categórico tiene mayor o menor importancia dependiendo de la categoría (servicios/componentes) y del mercado atendido (proyectos/productos). La dedicación de esfuerzos para el alineamiento categórico es conveniente sólo en los casos significativos. Por otro lado, es fundamental definir los objetivos y mediciones de acuerdo a las mejores estrategias categóricas para analizar cómo obtener la máxima productividad y eficiencia categórica y estudiar si es necesario asignar más recursos a una categoría dada. En la cadena de valor, las relaciones con los proveedores a largo plazo implican el alineamiento con la estrategia corporativa para integrarse en el proceso y así obtener ventajas de ella. Al final, se trata de mejorar la flexibilidad y agilidad en la empresa para lograr una ventaja competitiva a través de la función de compras

Pursuing sustainability advantage: The dynamic capabilities of born sustainable firms

Born sustainable firms’ (BSFs) — firms founded with an explicit strategic intent to operate in a sustainable manner play an important role in the sustainability transition and represent a significant but underutilized research site. Adopting the dynamic capabilities (DC) perspective, this paper explores BSFs' pursuit of their environmental and social goals. Having first assessed and confirmed its relevance to the BSF context, a high level framework of DC processes is operationalized. Through a dialogic approach, comparing the literature and empirical material from 12 BSFs from a wide range of sectors and locations, an in-depth picture of 28 processes underlying sensing, seizing and transforming meta-capabilities emerges. All but one of the detailed processes can be linked to prior research and are specific, though not unique, to BSF. Whilst the operationalized framework of DC processes in the BSF context extends prior research, the established notion of competitive advantage — framing organizational goals and impact in terms of financial outcomes and strategic performance relative to rivals — is problematic in this context. We therefore reconceptualize BSF's organizational goals and impact in terms of ‘sustainability advantage’, that is, maximization of environmental and social performance within the constraint of economic viability. In addition, we identify two key dimensions of advantage: time horizon, which ranges from immediate to longer term impact, and scope, which ranges from organization-centred to system-wide impact. The findings have clear implications not only for sustainable entrepreneurship but also for incumbent firms moving towards genuine sustainability

Schwartz’s theory of human values: Balancing homogeneity of reflective items and theoretical coverage

Schwartz’s theory of human valuesSchwartz’s theory of human values, as operationalized using different instruments such as the Portrait Values Questionnaire and the European Social Survey, was confirmed by multiple studies using Smallest Space Analysis (SSA). However, initial tests based on Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) pointed to low discriminant validity of the 10 basic values. Our hypothesis is that this is not an intrinsic characteristic of the values studied, but rather the result of the selection strategy of items that maximizes theoretical coverage but pays less attention to the homogeneity of items. This hypothesis is confirmed for the Portrait Values Questionnaire in multiple tests with data from two samples. Consequently, we propose an alternative structure that consists of 15 more specific values: Tradition, Humility, Self-restraint, Normfollowing, Societal security, Power, Achieving goals, Achieving recognition, Hedonism, Autonomy of action, Autonomy of thought, Stimulation, Social equality, Preservation of nature, and Benevolence. The proposal respects the conceptual complexity of the values theory and the circular structure that orders the values, but avoids contamination of composite scores and increases their predictive power. Implications for further development of the scale are drawn

Grupos logísticos: el impacto de una mayor aglomeración, capacitación y tamaño de la empresa en la colaboración y los servicios de valor agregado

Collaboration and the provision of value added services are key benefits for companies located within logistics clusters. We hypothesize that within the context of logistics clusters, further agglomeration within the more defined logistics parks and the availability of training opportunities enhance those benefits. We control for the effect of firm size in the projected relationships and propose that firm size positively impacts the degree of benefits obtained. Based on data from a survey conducted in the Zaragoza (Spain) Logistics Cluster, and using structural equation modeling, we demonstrate that further agglomeration into a logistics park positively impacts collaboration, and more specifically transportation capacity sharing. We also demonstrate that training positively impacts collaboration between cluster residents, both in terms of transportation capacity sharing and resource sharing, as well as the provision of value added services. These causal relationships are the same for big and small firms. Finally, we confirm that larger firms show higher levels of collaboration and value added services. Implications for managers and policy makers are provided