Embracing supply chain agility : an investigation in the electronics industry

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the antecedents of firm’s supply chain agility (SC agility) and how SC agility impacts on firm’s performance. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a comprehensive literature review, a conceptual model was proposed, in which the interrelated hypotheses were tested by structural equation modelling methodology using a dataset collected from 266 Chinese electronics firms. Findings – Initially, it was found that SC integration and external learning positively influenced SC agility. Second, the results indicated that firm’s performance is positively impacted by SC agility. Moreover, SC agility also fully mediated the effect of SC integration on firm’s performance and the effect of external learning on firm’s performance. Research limitations/implications – The generalizability of this research sample might be the major limitation of this study. Therefore, future research can adopt other industry sectors samples, such as automobile manufacturing, or other country samples to validate the research model. Practical implications – This research outlines strategies for better preparedness to achieve SCs to be agile which is a core competency of electronic firms in emerging market. Findings reveal that the external coordination practices – external learning and SC integration – are important factors of SC agility. In addition, the findings contribute to understanding the important role of SC agility in improving firm’s performance. Originality/value – This research examines the impact of two antecedents (i.e. SC integration and external learning) on SC agility and is the first empirical research to analyze the mediation effect of SC agility on the relationship between SC integration and firm performance and the relationship between external learning and firm performance

An empirical explanation of the natural-resource-based view of the firm

To date, the natural-resource-based view has been an abstract phenomenon, primarily used by academics to explain competitive sustainable operations. This paper attempts to go beyond this, responding to the need for an explanation of the practical existence of the four natural-resource-based view resources in industry. Assuming a critical realist qualitative approach, in-depth interviews with sustainability experts in UK agri-food are undertaken. Findings demonstrate the existence of pollution prevention, product stewardship, and clean technologies and align with Hart’s conceptualization of sustainability as competitive resources. Whilst the fourth resource, the base of the pyramid, cannot be empirically verified, the fifth resource of local philanthropy is uncovered and contributes to the growing body of knowledge surrounding competitive social sustainability. Findings also challenge the hierarchal presentation of the natural-resource-based view to implicate a more cyclical uptake. Thus, in offering the first empirical explanation of the natural-resource-based view, this paper overcomes a theory-practice gap to elucidate the feasibility, orchestration, and value of resources in competitive and sustainable operations

Leveraging competitiveness from sustainable operations : frameworks to understand the dynamic capabilities needed to realise NRBV supply chain strategies

Purpose: This paper aims to develop frameworks to support implementation and competitive leveraging of distinct sustainable supply chain operations. This derives from conceptual definition of the dynamic capabilities required to support Hart’s (1995) natural-resource-based view resources in the supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual study uses qualitative content analysis to extract capabilities from review and analysis of literature related to natural-resource-based view (NRBV) and sustainable supply chain management. Intercoder reliability assessments support conceptual development of such capabilities into dynamic capability frameworks. Findings: Specific interrelations between each NRBV resource and corresponding supply chain strategies are conceptualised. From this, capabilities are categorised to corresponding resources, dynamic capabilities activities and internal–external focus. This results in definition of 107 dynamic NRBV capabilities. Research limitations/implications: Contributions are threefold: distinct frameworks for competitive sustainable supply chain management is offered; the NRBV benefits from enhanced practical guidance via the definition of its dynamic capabilities, addressing the theory-practice gap; and understandings of dynamic capabilities and their role in both the NRBV sustainable supply chain management is advanced. Practical implications: This paper offers four frameworks to allow firms to tailor sustainability strategies to suit their needs and guide competitive leveraging. Definition of capabilities offers practical guidance to operationalise NRBV resources. Originality/value: This is the first holistic interpretation of NRBV capabilities and explicit application of dynamic capabilities. This forms the basis of a broader research agenda for the NRBV in sustainable supply chain management

The role of technology support in knowledge management evolution in innovative companies

Technology is an essential part of most knowledge management (KM) initiatives, and the researchers have been both praising and criticising it for almost three decades. In this paper we take a more balanced view of the role of technology in KM and suggest that the impact of technology and the reliance on changes depend on the phase of KM evolution in a company (company's experience with KM practices). In particular, we examined different types of knowledge management systems (KMS) in the context of innovative companies from the energy sector and found that at the beginning companies are quite reliant on document repositories that help them to manage explicit knowledge. When they start paying more attention to knowledge sharing practices, the role of technology shifts to the periphery where wikis were found to be the most useful tool

Managing processes through teamwork

Efficient teamwork has been shown to be a key element for improving business process performance and, as a consequence, organisational performance. As a result of this, improving management and measurement of team performance has captured the interest of many organisations intending to increase their competitiveness. This paper illustrates some of the research findings of an on-going collaborative research project. It first introduces the idea behind a framework for managing process team performance and later compares this framework with the work that an EFQM winning organisation (2000 European Quality Award prize winner) carried out in order to re-engineer its organisation towards a structure based on processes and teams

Quality risk and responsive actions in sourcing/procurement: an empirical study of food fraud cases in the UK

It is never an easy task to govern contemporary food systems and prevent contaminated foods from reaching further down the chains. This study aims to investigate how UK managers in food supply chains have perceived food fraud risk in their supply chain and to identify what their actions could be in response to the threat of food fraud. The study adopts the psychometric paradigm approach to measure risk perception and uses the data collected from 113 UK food practitioners to identify the determinants of their responsive actions. The results highlight that most managers have perceived high uncertainty in the food supply chain and considered the disruption of information flow as a major concern in dealing with food fraud. Therefore, this study suggests that putting effort into practices to improve supply chain visibility and facilitate the flow of information are weighted as important in the food fraud mitigation journey. Policy makers should also make better use of the current quality assurance schemes for proactive food quality control and fraud prevention; government agencies should improve the risk communication systems for trustworthy information dissemination

Enabling factors of adaptive capability in small and medium enterprises

This paper aims to define organisational adaptability and explain the conditions and factors affecting SMEs’ (Small and Medium Enterprises) ability to adapt to the environment rather than fire fighting. The results are based on an ongoing R&D work as part of a European FP7 project called ‘FutureSME’. We identified that a combination of factors contributes to adaptability that encompasses interfaces between resilience, agile operations and strategy. This paper contributes to theory and practice by taking vastly diverse literature into a single framework to explain the organisational adaptability concept as demonstrating its use in understanding adaptive behaviour in manufacturing SMEs

Risk of COVID-19 after natural infection or vaccinationResearch in context

Summary: Background: While vaccines have established utility against COVID-19, phase 3 efficacy studies have generally not comprehensively evaluated protection provided by previous infection or hybrid immunity (previous infection plus vaccination). Individual patient data from US government-supported harmonized vaccine trials provide an unprecedented sample population to address this issue. We characterized the protective efficacy of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and hybrid immunity against COVID-19 early in the pandemic over three-to six-month follow-up and compared with vaccine-associated protection. Methods: In this post-hoc cross-protocol analysis of the Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, we allocated participants into four groups based on previous-infection status at enrolment and treatment: no previous infection/placebo; previous infection/placebo; no previous infection/vaccine; and previous infection/vaccine. The main outcome was RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 >7–15 days (per original protocols) after final study injection. We calculated crude and adjusted efficacy measures. Findings: Previous infection/placebo participants had a 92% decreased risk of future COVID-19 compared to no previous infection/placebo participants (overall hazard ratio [HR] ratio: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.05–0.13). Among single-dose Janssen participants, hybrid immunity conferred greater protection than vaccine alone (HR: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01–0.10). Too few infections were observed to draw statistical inferences comparing hybrid immunity to vaccine alone for other trials. Vaccination, previous infection, and hybrid immunity all provided near-complete protection against severe disease. Interpretation: Previous infection, any hybrid immunity, and two-dose vaccination all provided substantial protection against symptomatic and severe COVID-19 through the early Delta period. Thus, as a surrogate for natural infection, vaccination remains the safest approach to protection. Funding: National Institutes of Health

Risk of COVID-19 after natural infection or vaccinationResearch in context

Background: While vaccines have established utility against COVID-19, phase 3 efficacy studies have generally not comprehensively evaluated protection provided by previous infection or hybrid immunity (previous infection plus vaccination). Individual patient data from US government-supported harmonized vaccine trials provide an unprecedented sample population to address this issue. We characterized the protective efficacy of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and hybrid immunity against COVID-19 early in the pandemic over three-to six-month follow-up and compared with vaccine-associated protection. Methods: In this post-hoc cross-protocol analysis of the Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, we allocated participants into four groups based on previous-infection status at enrolment and treatment: no previous infection/placebo; previous infection/placebo; no previous infection/vaccine; and previous infection/vaccine. The main outcome was RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 >7–15 days (per original protocols) after final study injection. We calculated crude and adjusted efficacy measures. Findings: Previous infection/placebo participants had a 92% decreased risk of future COVID-19 compared to no previous infection/placebo participants (overall hazard ratio [HR] ratio: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.05–0.13). Among single-dose Janssen participants, hybrid immunity conferred greater protection than vaccine alone (HR: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01–0.10). Too few infections were observed to draw statistical inferences comparing hybrid immunity to vaccine alone for other trials. Vaccination, previous infection, and hybrid immunity all provided near-complete protection against severe disease. Interpretation: Previous infection, any hybrid immunity, and two-dose vaccination all provided substantial protection against symptomatic and severe COVID-19 through the early Delta period. Thus, as a surrogate for natural infection, vaccination remains the safest approach to protection. Funding: National Institutes of Health