Exploring the role of supplier relationship management for sustainable operations: an OR perspective

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of the Operational Research Society on 13/11/2013, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1057/jors.2013.145This paper provides a systems-based approach to the exploration of the relationship and integration between Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) factors as part of a Sustainable Operations Management (SOM) agenda. The authors have chosen electronic procurement (e-Procurement) as a suitable context in this light. Through a review of extant literature, a Systems Archetype (SA) model was developed (based on the ‘Accidental Adversaries’ archetype) and findings from a quantitative pilot study exploring key factors pertinent to e-Procurement SRM were gathered, and hence evaluated against SOM factors. The objective of this research was to describe and visualise the causal interrelationships involved in SRM-SOM through the application of a SA (as an Operations Research tool). The authors believe that this research also provides a unique approach to developing and harnessing the useful and unique properties of Systems Thinking (ST), by attempting to reduce and organise the (generally ad hoc and wide-ranging) sequence of subjective perspectives commonly experienced in causal mapping experiments. The paper builds upon the extant literature, and provides further basis for continuing research in the areas of ST, SAs and the application of operational research to plan sustainable operations

Supply Chain Intelligence

This chapter provides on overall picture of business intelligence (BI) and supply chain analytics (SCA) as a means to support supply chain management (SCM) and decision-making. Based on the literature review, we clarify the needs of BI and performance measurement in the SCM sphere, and discuss its potential to enhance decision-making in strategic, tactical and operational levels. We also make a closer look in to SCA in different areas and functions of SCM. Our findings indicate that the main challenge for harnessing the full potential of SCA is the lack of holistic and integrated BI approaches that originates from the fact that each functional area is using its own IT applications without necessary integration in to the company’s overall BI system. Following this examination, we construct a holistic framework that illustrates how an integrated, managerially planned BI system can be developed. Finally, we discuss the main competency requirements, as well as the challenges still prohibiting the great majority of firms from building smart and comprehensive BI systems for SCM.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Effect of perceived default risk and accounting information quality on the decision to grant credit to SMEs

ABSTRACT: The present study analyses the influence that perceived default risk and accounting information quality have on the process of credit granting to SMEs. Empirical evidence was obtained from a survey of 471 bank loan officers in Spain, in which they were asked to answer questions relating to audited and not-audited firms. Through a Structural Equations Modeling (SEM) approach, the results confirm that the likelihood that the loan officers are more willing to provide access to credit to SMEs, and to do so in more favourable conditions, is negatively influenced by perceived default risk and positively influenced by the general perception about accounting information quality. Besides, we find that information quality is an antecedent of perceived risk, so that the latter becomes the central element of the research model. Additionally, the perceptions of the decision-makers regarding all the analysed variables are better for the audited SMEs than for the unaudited ones

What makes outsourcing effective - a transaction-cost economics analysis

This study extends the discussion of Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) and outsourcing to the selection of governance mechanisms for an effective outsourcing transaction. Specifically, our objective is to provide a better understanding as to how firms follow up on their outsourcing decisions to enhance manufacturing competitiveness through the governance mechanism, such as contract and relational adaptation (buyer-supplier cooperation). A TCE-based outsourcing model is developed to depict the relationships among key TCE variables, transaction attributes, governance mechanisms, and manufacturing competitiveness. Based on the data collected from 969 manufacturing plants in 17 countries, we found significant mediated effects from contractual clauses and relational adaptation. Firms in our sample rely on either or both types of governance mechanisms to safeguard uncertainties and opportunism inherent in outsourcing, which enhances manufacturing competitiveness. The important managerial and research implication is that, for making an outsourcing decision, it is insufficient to merely examine the transaction attributes without recognising how various forms of governance mechanisms can be implemented to enhance outsourcing effectiveness