Exploring antecedents of extended supply chain performance measures

Enabling manufacturing firms' supply chain performance in the Middle East region through boosting the quality of multi-directional relationship, and supply chain risk dilution: A moderated-mediation model

Elasticity and dependability factors are considered fundamental elements that have a significant and direct impact on reducing waste in manufacturing companies' resources as well as their supply chains (SCs) in order to improve their overall performance, as well as improving the performance of these companies' supply chains. This is in addition to not overlooking the effective and important strategic relationship and the role of suppliers to manufacturing companies as a mediating factor in the relationship between the qualities of the multi-directional relationship and mitigating the risks that it may be exposed to during its operational and production process. 156 samples were included in this study out of 743 small to large manufacturing companies in the Middle East region, including Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, where an experimental examination was conducted of the companies targeted in this study to prove or reject the proposed hypotheses. Structural equation modeling was applied and used to examine the proposed hypotheses. The results of this study indicated that the elements of flexibility and dependability have positive, direct, and statistically significant effects on mitigating supply risks, and this therefore works to improve the performance of the supply chain of manufacturing companies, especially small and medium-sized companies. In addition, the results of this study showed that building strong strategic partnerships with dependable, certified, high-performance, and flexible suppliers has a positive impact on moderating the potential supply risks that manufacturing companies may face in their operational processes, while the results showed that there is no statistically significant effect on the relationship between dependability and mitigate supply risks. This research paper offers empirical evidence for using the quality of the multi-directional relationship within supply risk dilution of manufacturing firms' context in developing countries for enhancing their supply chain performance. This study provides a clear roadmap and basis for managers and decision-makers in manufacturing companies to focus on the importance of the quality of relationships with suppliers and business partners in their business dealings to limit and mitigate the risks that they may face, which may lead to interruption of the necessary supplies to them.

The impact of customer and supplier collaboration on green supply chain performance

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which institutional pressures affect supplier and customer collaboration and how collaboration explains green supply chain performance using institutional and stakeholder theories.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper builds on empirical evidence gathered from responses of Iranian industrial managers based on a self-administered survey. The hypotheses in the conceptual model are tested using Smart-PLS (partial least square).

Findings

The results provide evidence that regulatory requirements and internal motivators, as institutional pressure, enable customer and supplier collaboration. Furthermore, customer collaboration has a positive effect on supplier collaboration and, consequently, positively affects environmental and economic performance. But supplier collaboration is just positively affecting environmental performances and is not effective on economic performance.

Research limitations/implications

The subject is that the study is a questionnaire-based survey, and the validity and reliability of the results are influenced by the respondents' idiosyncrasies. This study provides a comprehensive model of drivers, supply chain collaboration and performance in the context of the industry sector. The study contributes by providing empirical data with a focus on customer and supplier collaboration and their interrelationship in GSCM modelling.

Originality/value

The current paper is one of the new field of research which demonstrate the significance of customer and supplier collaboration with each other to attain green performance. It also contributes to show the effect of institutional pressure on the customer-supplier collaboration that fosters green performance in the supply chain.

Determinants of mobile apps adoption by retail investors for online trading in emerging financial markets

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of mobile applications on investment decisions by retail investors in stocks and mutual funds. This study focuses on how mobile technologies are applied on mobile apps by retail investors for e-trading in emerging financial markets.

Design/methodology/approach

The study explored predictive relevance for the adoption behavior of retail investors under the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework. Further, goal contagion theory was applied to investigate the adoption behavior of investors towards e-trading. An adapted questionnaire was used to collect the date from April to June 2021 and data analysis was performed on 507 usable responses. The methodology adopted in this study is variance based partial least square structural equational modelling (PLS-SEM). Additionally, the study explains important and performing constructs based on the response of retail investors towards mobile app usage for investment decisions.

Findings

The study shows that effort expectancy, performance expectancy followed by perceived return were the primary determinants of behavioral intentions to use mobile applications by retail investors for e-trading. Further, habit of investors determined the adoption behavior of investors towards mobile apps. Additionally, the study revealed that perceived risk is not an important aspect for retail investors in comparison to perceived return.

Research limitations/implications

The study in future can address to the aspect of personality traits of retail investors for technology adoption for investment decisions. Further investigation is required on addressing unobserved heterogeneity of retail investors towards technology adoption process in emerging financial markets.

Practical implications

The study provides theoretical and practical implications for retail investors, financial advisors and technology companies to understand the behavioral pattern and mobile apps adoption behavior of retail investors in emerging financial market. The findings in the study will help broking firms to sensitize their clients for effective use of their respective mobile apps for e-trading purposes. The study will strengthen the knowledge of financial advisors to understand investment behavior of retail investors in emerging financial markets.

Originality/value

This study unfolds a novel framework of research to understand the technology adoption pattern of retail investors for e-trading by mobile applications in emerging financial markets. The present study provides significant understanding in the domain of technology adoption by retail investors under behavioral finance environment.

The Application of Lean Methods in Corporate Sustainability—A Systematic Literature Review

This paper reviews the application of lean methods for corporate sustainability and highlights demands for future research. With the help of a systematic literature review, papers at the interface of lean and sustainability were identified and matched to a standardized list of lean methods to assess their frequency in the context of sustainability. In a further step, papers containing actual case studies were analyzed in more detail regarding specific application settings, sustainability dimensions, measurability of sustainability impact, and other criteria. The quantitative analysis of 363 publications shows frequent use of lean methods such as just in time and value stream mapping in the context of sustainability, and a surprisingly low use of other approaches such as karakuri, milk run, or chaku chaku. The in-depth analysis of 81 case studies reveals the primacy of intra-company and ecological assessments in the lean context, while social and inter-company aspects remain rather underexposed. This study complements existing research on lean and sustainability by systematically analyzing specific lean methods in the context of sustainability and by further exploring the sustainability characteristics of such lean applications.

Supply chain performance for a traditional shipbuilding industry in Indonesia

Purpose

Study in supply chain performance research on the shipbuilding industry is lacking. The purpose of this research is to study and provide guidelines to improve the performance of traditional shipbuilding supply chains in Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops an empirical study gathered from a traditional shipbuilding industry, its suppliers, and customers. This study consists of three sections: the traditional shipbuilding industry, the suppliers, and the individual supplier scores. The internal and external performances in this study are measured using Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) metrics. The SCOR model identifies five performance measurement attributes, including reliability, flexibility, responsiveness, cost and assets. Instead of using “responsiveness,” this study applies the schedule performance index, and supplements “cost” with the cost performance index in order to accurately reflect the traditional shipbuilding supply chains processes.

Findings

By analyzing SCOR metrics in the traditional shipbuilding industry, it has been found that the ideal shipbuilding supply chain metrics are order fulfillment, flexibility, asset turnover and total supply chain costs. The lowest performance metric value in the traditional shipbuilding industry is the cost of goods. Some improvements are proposed to lower the high cost of ship building. An integrated economic ordering system in collaboration with all the suppliers is one of the most effective ways to reduce the cost of the traditional shipbuilding supply chains. The implementation of SCOR metrics enables management to identify the critical issues to improve.

Research limitations/implications

The study applies SCOR metrics to improve the traditional shipbuilding supply chains performance. The study is limited because the data collected are based on one shipbuilding industry only.

Originality/value

To the author's knowledge, this is the first empirical analysis on the implementation of SCOR metrics to the traditional shipbuilding industry. The analysis to improve the traditional shipbuilding supply chains performance can provide managerial insights to other industries.

Internal and vendor employees’ unethical behaviors in the supply chain: the case of India

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a corporate ethical policy, such as a code of ethics, on the unethical behavior of internal and vendor employees in the supply chain in India. It also aims to find whether International Standards Organization (ISO) certification of vendors affects the result and any significant relationship between management commitment and unethical behavior can be supported by the findings as well.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical analyses were conducted on a survey consisting of 43 questions comprising 181 valid responses. Multiple regression analysis that includes four independent variables – code of ethics, management commitment, supply chain principles and personal values taking unethical behavior as dependent variable – was used to find the significance of the relationship.

Findings

The implementation of a code of ethics, management commitment, supply chain principles and personal values all have a negative association with unethical behavior. Personal values, measuring a firm’s financial aspects for non-compliance to ethical behavior, have a positive association with unethical behavior. The relationships of top management commitment, personal values with internal employees’ unethical behavior are significant. The significant relationship between management commitment and unethical behavior can be supported by the findings as well. It was also found that ISO certificates and firm size as the control variables did not have any effect on the relationship between the independent variables and unethical behavior. The analysis also shows that ISO 26000 certificate, the international standard for socially responsible operations, does not impact this relationship.

Research limitations/implications

Measuring substantial managerial effort for corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices by asking questions like, “how committed employees think top management is to social responsibility,” may not fully measure substantial managerial effort for CSR practices. To improve the results of the current study, future research can use the CSR index or disclosure as a measure to better reflect management commitment and practice for social responsibility. Second, the current study is limited to measuring how many occurrences of unethical behavior are witnessed by employees instead of what specific unethical behavior is more often witnessed. Considering India has the second largest population in the world, 181 responses may not represent the true practices in the business environment in India for generalization.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that management should put more of an emphasis on improving the commitment of upper-level managers to decrease the overall unethical practices of their employees. The study finds that employees’ personal values influence their ethical behavior. Therefore, communications and training of employees at all levels should emphasis on improving personal values.

Social implications

Businesses should influence academics to incorporate personal value building in course curricula. The Indian CSR law should incorporate the holistic view of CSR taking care of needs of all stakeholders under the provision of the regulation. In 2015, India became the first country in the world to legislate CSR practices in corporations but it misses the opportunity to sensitize the management and employees on ethical practices as it mainly identified philanthropic expenses as mandatory CSR spending and silent on ethical business practices.

Originality/value

The present study contributes to the literature by bringing supply chain context to the effect of different factors on unethical behaviors and interaction of internal and vendor firms in terms of ethical practices. There are several studies on business ethics in different countries including China, but in the case of India similar studies are not much. The present study fills the gap.

Lean and Green: practices, paradigms and future prospects

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the conceptual framework related to the Lean and Green practices, paradigms, future prospects and problems, indicating points of convergence and divergence between them.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on this premise, through vast literature systematization, the authors sought to categorize studies in order to consolidate constructs, reinforcing aspects regarding the positive and negative approaches and pointing out the gaps in the current state of the art. Broad literature systematization was carried out; the authors found 107 articles published between 2014 and 2018, separated into 10 categories.

Findings

The main constructs confirmed are the positive approximation of the Lean and Green union, evidenced by studies premised on the independent variable category demonstrating that their union influences other environmental performance variables.

Research limitations/implications

The present research is a systematization of the literature, so its results have to be confirmed by other studies.

Practical implications

The study supports the Lean and Green theme, confirming converging issues between the two areas and launching new topics for future research.

Social implications

The study contributed to the environmental theme by confirming synergies of the Lean and Green union and presenting new research themes.

Originality/value

To assert that Lean and Green systems union is sustainable, with regard to the tripod of sustainability, more studies on the social category are necessary.

Adoption of green practices throughout the supply chain: an empirical investigation

Purpose

There is a dichotomy in the actual and expected environmental performances of the Indian enterprises even though the Indian enterprises have aligned their businesses with intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) targets. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the supply chain of Indian enterprises to understand influences to adopt green practices throughout the supply chains, and how these green practices influence economic, operational and environmental performances to reveal the underlying currents explaining difference in actual and expected performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Five research propositions are developed based on the existing literature. Data are collected from 233 ceramic enterprises in India. Exploratory factor analysis has been done to test construct validity and correlation. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to check unidimensionality of constructs. Structural equation modeling is used to test the strength and direction of the relations between the constructs and to develop the model.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that the Indian companies have aligned their businesses with INDC targets but they have not adopted the green practices in inbound and outbound supply chains; therefore, the actual environmental performance is not as expected. Other major finding is that the enterprise and government are not focusing on the informative pressure and instead the focus is on coercive techniques which are not yielding positive results. The statistical results show that the adoption of green practices led to the improvements in environmental and operational performances but reduction in economic performance.

Originality/value

This paper has analyzed green supply chain management pressure, practice and performance measure for Indian ceramic enterprises and proposed a structural model with their interrelation.

Key characteristics for designing a supply chain performance measurement system

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a review of the literature that gives insight into design elements for constructing a supply chain performance measurement (SCPM) system.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review of published research on SCPM systems and frameworks over the last two decades was conducted with the purpose of categorising key functions of SCPM systems by providing an insight into the design, functionality, implementation and practical implications of SCPM systems.

Findings

The review revealed a set of functions governing the SCPM system that have not been fully explored in previous research: the process focus, prioritisation, integration and causality functions of a SCPM system. A relationship between two or more functions can be created to include more functionality based on the needs of the company to create a comprehensive performance measurement system.

Research limitations/implications

The paper concludes with a conceptual framework to guide future research in the area of designing a SCPM system and define the main aspects that should be considered when developing a SCPM system.

Practical implications

The paper brings a new dimension to the SCPM research by identifying the main functions of SCPM systems that could benefit practitioners to set up a SCPM system relevant to its intended function. The paper presents multiple potential stages of merging different functions in one SCPM system. Based on the company’s needs and context, the functionality of the SCPM system can be designed at four levels creating ten possible scenarios when designing a company’s SCPM system.

Originality/value

The paper integrated the literature and findings of 269 research papers of the last two decades, upon which a conceptual framework was developed as a guide for constructing an effective SCPM system.

The mediating role of supply chain collaboration on the relationship between technology, trust and operational performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the link between trust, technology and supply chain collaboration and their impact on firms’ operational performances.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on extant literature, a hypothesized model was developed and tested using structural equation modelling (i.e. AMOS). A survey was conducted to collect data from the supply chain managers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies (more precisely in the food and beverage sector) in Thailand.

Findings

The study findings suggest that through an ongoing relationship, trust evolves and is shaped over time and can form a competitive capability that may not be easy for competitors to replicate. Both trust and technology are found to have significant impact on supply chain collaboration and on firms’ operational performances.

Research limitations/implications

One of the major limitations of the study is that the data were obtained from one single economy, which restricts its generalizability across other economies. The study was a cross-sectional and descriptive sample of the FMCG industry at a given point in time. A more stringent test of the relationships between trust, technology, supply chain collaboration and operational performance requires an in-depth case study or longitudinal study.

Practical implications

The findings will enable supply chain managers in the FMCG industry to understand the strategic role of trust and technology in building supply chain collaboration that leads to superior operational performance.

Originality/value

The paper clearly confirms that trust and technological capabilities are significantly associated with supply chain collaboration and operational performance. Most of the earlier supply chain collaboration research streams are based on developed economies where supply chain collaboration challenges are predictable, while the current study conducted is based on a developing economy setting. This study facilitates the author’s understanding of the challenges in managing supply chain collaboration within a developing economy.

Green supply chain management: theoretical framework and further research directions

Purpose

Green or sustainable supply chain management (GSCM/SSCM) has in recent years attracted much attention from academia and practitioners in all part of the world. In recent years, all humanity has experienced severe climate change which is widely attributed to human activity. Harmful emissions have made a major contribution to recent climate change which presents major challenges and threats to the entire human race in form of global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunami and floods. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual GSCM/SSCM framework contributing to knowledge-based view theory and systems theory (ST) and provide an exhaustive list of further research directions.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper the authors have used a systematic literature review to identify building blocks of the conceptual framework, which is the principal contribution of the present paper.

Findings

In this paper the authors have proposed a conceptual framework for sustainable supply chain network and at the end the authors have outlined further research directions.

Research limitations/implications

The current paper is an attempt to develop a conceptual framework which is grounded in knowledge-based theory. The study helps to extent the prior works which lacks theory focused approach.

Originality/value

The present work has immense theoretical value and can be useful to the policy makers or practitioners engaged in GSCM practices.

A framework for benchmarking product sustainability efforts

Purpose

– Regulatory pressure, consumer awareness, and the quest for competitive advantage place sustainable products in today’s decision-making spotlight. The purpose of this paper is to explore supply chain dynamics as they relate to sustainable product programs and to empirically develop a framework to align efforts across the supply chain to bring sustainable products to market.

Design/methodology/approach

– Grounded in systems design, stakeholder theory, and the theory of planned behavior, the authors conduct an inductive empirical study of 28 European and US companies.

Findings

– The authors make three contributions. First, the authors identify six dimensions of product sustainability, which map to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s sustainability scope model. Second, the authors model relational dynamics using systems diagrams to provide a framework that: first, communicates a common understanding of product sustainability; and second, facilitates tradeoff analysis. Third, the authors elaborate behaviors needed to reduce ambiguity and compliance costs.

Practical implications

– Managers can use the framework to assess product sustainability and evaluate tradeoffs across product dimensions and supply chain participants. Using this insight, managers can design sustainable product programs that engage supply chain participants.

Social implications

– By identifying dimensions, defining costs, and uncovering tradeoffs, managers can more effectively implement sustainable product programs.

Originality/value

– The framework provides a much needed source of clarity to mitigate role ambiguity, reduce compliance costs, and promote collaborative behavior in bringing sustainable products to market.