A test of the moderated relation between trust and control mechanisms and alliance success

Research into supply chain alliances has identified a number of key success factors. However, alliance success has not been systematically linked to the control mechanisms employed in them. We argue that alliance partners need to balance trust building and control mechanisms and that the optimal level of control and trust varies with the nature of the alliance form. In this paper we propose and test a theoretical model that refines and extends the existing alliance success models in supply chain management by introducing control mechanisms as a key success factor and the alliance form as a moderator of trust and control. Early analysis of data from an ongoing survey appears to confirm that trust and control mechanisms are success factors of alliance success and particularly the alliance partners’ response time to changes in the business environment. As to our theoretical model, the relationship appears moderated by the nature of the alliance agreemen

Control as a key success factor in supply chain alliances

Research into supply chain alliances has identified a number of key success factors. However, alliance success has not been systematically linked to the control mechanisms employed used in them. We argue that alliance partners need to balance trust building and control mechanisms and that the optimal level of control and trust varies with the alliance form. In this paper we propose a theoretical model that refines and extends the existing alliance success models in supply chain management by introducing control mechanisms as a key success factor and the alliance form as a moderator of trust and control

Envision, Strategize, Transform: Desso’s Journey to Sustainability (A and B)

In 2007, Desso, a mid-size European carpet maker, was spun-off by its parent company Armstrong World Industries, amid the latter finalising its Chapter 11 proceedings (to gain protection from its creditors in the US). Armstrong's constrained financial position, coupled with carpet flooring not being Armstrong's core business, significantly restricted investments in equipment, marketing and product and process innovation at Desso. The company's financial results reflected this situation with small negative operating profit for several years up to 2006. In April 2007, Desso was acquired by a group of external managers, backed by a Dutch Private Equity firm NPM Capital. This case is about the journey that Desso has taken over the following five years to become a leader in sustainable design and manufacturing of flooring solutions and turning its performance around in the process. This initiative has been spearheaded by Desso's former CEO, Stef Kranendijk. The appointment of a new CEO in 2012 marks the start of a new stage in the journey, with sustainability in general and the concept of circular economy as reflected in Cradle to Cradle(R) (C2C) approach gaining ever-wider recognition over the recent years. With ever greater adoption of sustainability issues in the industry, what might Desso's strategic priorities be overall, and in relation to further implementation of Cradle to Cradle(R)

The role of trust and control in co-exploitation and co-exploration buyer-supplier relationships

We investigate the importance of trust and control-based governance in co-exploration and co-exploitation buyer-supplier relationships. We argue that alliance partners need to balance trust building and control mechanisms and that the optimal combination of control and trust varies with the relative emphasis on co-exploration and co-exploitation activities within any given buyer-supplier relationship. We conduct our study with a sample of 125 manufacturing firms located in Spain. Our work provides a more fine-grained understanding of the role of trust and control in different contexts. We also contribute to supply chain literature by uncovering a rather intriguing and counter-intuitive negative relationship between trust and supply chain integration. While the role of trust in generally believed to be positive in the formation of inter-organizational relationships, we found that in the day to day operation of the alliances (i.e., supply chain integration), the dominant governance mechanism is control whilst the impact of trust is negative

Integration through orchestration: the interplay between enterprise systems & inventory management capabilities

Purpose: Examine the mechanisms through which the use of enterprise systems (ES) enhances buyer-supplier integration (BSI). More specifically, we explain a model where ES enhances BSI indirectly, mediated by inventory management capabilities (IMC), as the way ES enhances BSI remains under-explored in the literature. Design/methodology/approach: Application of the resource orchestration framework to explain how capabilities and mechanisms interplay to enhance BSI. Data was collected by means of a survey instrument. Data collection took place as part of a larger project, sponsored by the Spanish government, to evaluate logistics competitiveness in Spain. Findings: ES enhances BSI by serving as a coordinating mechanism that maintains capability configurations in a value-creating alignment. IMC plays a key, yet under-explored role as a mediating mechanism that supports ES-enabled BSI. Research limitations/implications: First, this research does not fully capture the multi-party nature of the supply chain context. Second, data collection was limited to companies that were more likely to have a systematic approach to logistics issues (i.e. large and medium-sized companies) and companies based in Spain. Originality/value: this paper enhances both scholarly and practitioner understanding of the mechanisms through which the implementation and use of ES contributes to BSI. In addition, this paper integrates literature from different fields (e.g. strategy, information systems and operations) to gain a better understanding of how the implementation and use of ES affects BSI

Disentangling the antecedents of ambidexterity: Exploration and exploitation

We view ambidexterity as a paradox whereby its components, exploration and exploitation, generate persistent and conflicting demands on an organization. Drawing on the attention based view of the firm (ABV), we examine three antecedents of organizational ambidexterity that reflect ABV’s three principles − the principle of focus of attention; the principle of situated attention; and the principle of structural distribution of attention. Specifically, we examine the influence of top management team (TMT) composition, whether or not the firm has a clear written vision, and the extent to which organizational attention is focused on investments in R&D, and continuous improvement. We empirically validate our model on a sample of 422 small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK and find that ambidexterity is supported by a blend of integration and differentiation approaches