Effect of supply chain management practices on customer development and start-up performance

Startups in the supply chain ecosystem: an organizing framework and research opportunities

Purpose

Startups are associated with innovation, emerging technologies, digitalization and disruptive business models. This article aims to provide a better understanding of startups in logistics and supply chain management, organizes the contemporary discussion around startups in the supply chain ecosystem and outlines opportunities for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

This study draws on the prior supply chain, logistics and entrepreneurship literature and discusses key themes along the six identified startup issues. Furthermore, it proposes several perspectives and theories for grounding future research.

Findings

This study discusses the roles and success factors of startups in the supply chain ecosystem. It lays out how startups need to organize their own supply chains, how supply chain management (SCM) startups incubate and accelerate their ventures, the financing of SCM startups, as well as their positions as service providers, suppliers and customers.

Originality/value

This research brings together the sparse and dispersed literature on startups in the supply chain ecosystem, motivating scholars to increase the involvement of startups as important stakeholders in SCM research.

The effect of supply chain responsiveness on customer development

Purpose

The study examines how supply chain responsiveness (logistics process responsiveness, operations systems responsiveness and supplier network responsiveness) impacts the ability of firms to attract, satisfy and retain customers.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a quantitative approach, a total of 250 questionnaires were distributed to firms in the Kumasi metropolis in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, with 100 useable responses retrieved. The effect of supply chain responsiveness on customer development was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

Findings

The findings showed that operations systems responsiveness and supplier network responsiveness drive the logistics systems responsiveness of firms as hypothesized. It was also revealed that operations systems responsiveness and logistics process responsiveness enhanced customer development, but supplier network responsiveness did not. Logistics process responsiveness additionally partially mediated the effect of operations systems responsiveness on customer development.

Originality/value

To the best of the researchers' knowledge, no previous studies have empirically examined interrelationships between the dimensions of supply chain responsiveness. Additionally, no previous study has examined the effect of supply chain responsiveness on customer development.

Social network relationship, supply chain resilience and customer-oriented performance of small and medium enterprises in a developing economy

Purpose

While the concept of supply chain resilience has received lots of scholarly and policy interest over the past few years, empirical research examining its sources and outcomes remains inadequate, particularly, in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Grounded in the resource-based view and social capital frameworks, the study examines the relationship between social network relationship, supply chain resilience and customer oriented performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study develops and empirically tests a research model that proposes social network relationships and customer-oriented performance as the antecedent and outcome respectively of supply chain resilience. Data was obtained from a survey of 110 SMEs in Ghana.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that a firm's external and internal social networks can be leveraged to enhance its supply chain resilience and customer-oriented performance. Supply chain resilience was also found to enhance customer-oriented performance. Additionally, supply chain resilience was found to significantly mediate the effect of social network relationships on customer-oriented performance.

Originality/value

This is the first study that empirically explores and establishes the relationship between social network relationships, supply chain resilience and customer-oriented performance to the best of the authors’ knowledge.