Mitigating counterfeit risk in the supply chain: an empirical study

Aligning the risk hedging strategy with supplier collaboration and manufacturing competitiveness: a resource-based and contingency approach

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the alignment between the risk hedging strategy and supplier collaboration and its effect on manufacturing competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on the resource-based view (RBV) and contingency theory (CT), this study is guided by a positivist philosophy and employs a survey strategy to investigate both the direct relationship between the risk hedging strategy and manufacturing competitiveness and the moderating role of supplier collaboration using data collected from 397 respondents of manufacturing firms. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique is used to analyze collected data and to present the research findings.

Findings

Consistent with the RBV and CT, study findings indicate that a significant positive relationship exists between the risk hedging strategy and manufacturing competitiveness and that this relationship becomes stronger when supplier collaboration is interactively aligned. Study findings provide important insights on the role of the risk hedging strategy in promoting manufacturing competitiveness. Furthermore, supplier collaboration as a moderator accounts for a significant proportion of the relationship between the risk hedging strategy and manufacturing competitiveness.

Research limitations/implications

Internal resources provide an explanation of the competitive differences among firms employing the risk hedging strategy. However, the environment presents opportunities for firms to acquire additional resources to fulfil the unique collaborative requirements of the risk hedging strategy. This study has used the moderation perspective to explain the interaction between the risk hedging strategy and supplier collaboration and its effect on manufacturing competitiveness. Future studies could incorporate other alignment concepts such as mediation and systems approach and compare the results to improve the theory.

Originality/value

This study can be considered as its kind in the supply chain management literature and both practitioners and researchers can benefit from the experience of resource-based and contingency analysis research and the results of aligning the risk hedging strategy with supplier collaboration for higher levels of manufacturing competitiveness.

Patterns emerging from the TQM paradigm in relation to the 21st century complex context within TQM journal

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore the deployment of the total quality management (TQM) paradigm in the TQM Journal in relation to the context of the 21st century. The study builds on the theoretical framework of the four quality paradigms that together compose TQM. The four paradigms differ in their effectiveness based on the context in which they are used. In a complex context, one would expect the reflective and the emergence paradigm to flourish. The TQM Journal is one of the leading scientific journals on TQM. If the assumption that the reflective and emergent paradigm would flourish in a complex environment is correct, one will see that represented in the past five years of scientific research in that magazine.

Design/methodology/approach

The TQM Journal articles of the past five years from January 2016 till January 2021 have been chosen as the scope of an exploratory review. The author assessed the title and abstract of all articles based on the characteristics of the four quality paradigms, as described in the theoretical framework. If the title and abstract did not provide enough data to take the decision for the assessment, the whole article has been taken into account. The results have been collated, summarized and reported. Based on the results, the author explores the possible patterns.

Findings

In total, 283 articles from 2016 to 2021 (from Volume 28, Issue 1 to Volume 33, Issue 1) were included in this study. In total, 45 were read fully to be able to characterize the article. Most of the studies relate the tertiary (33.3%) and secondary (27.9%) sectors. Healthcare was the sector in 32 of the cases (11.3%). Most studies have been conducted in Europe (n = 82, 28.9%) and Asia (n = 58, 20.5%). Within Europe, Italy was the most prolific country with, respectively, 25 (30.8%) of the articles. The USA and Canada only had five articles in these five years (1.8%). Many articles did not specify the region. More than half of the articles (52.4%) worked with surveys, questionnaires or other methods to involve the customer in the research; 16 articles (5.6%) used experts in the field through expert panels and such to collect data from. In total, 107 articles (37.8%) did involve no other stakeholders than the researchers themselves. Eight studies (2.8%) used action research or co-design methodology to create optimal stakeholder participation. Based on the data, four patterns can be discovered: the context sensitivity of the articles, reflexivity, coping with uncertainty and co-creation.

Research limitations/implications

It is acknowledged that the articles in the study were published in just one scientific journal. One can expect that this will be represented in other journals on TQM. Still, it would be interesting to conduct a follow-up study in other journals on TQM and compare the results. The research is done by one subjective researcher.

Practical implications

Research on TQM should take the complexity of the context into account. For that purpose, researchers should focus more on the emergence paradigm within TQM.

Originality/value

This study is the first to investigate TQM as a holistic paradigm, including the empirical, reflective, reference and emergence paradigm in TQM research.

Customer Behavioral Reactions to Negative Experiences during the Product Return

This paper takes a closer look at customer experience during product return and the customer’s ability to share information about it. The research process included the development of research tools such as questionnaires. Anonymous surveys were conducted by computer assisted web interview among individual customers from Poland on a sample 327 respondents. Non-stratified random sampling was used, as we considered it to be the most effective in terms of the effort-benefit ratio of the survey. A contingency table was constructed from the responses, the observed values and expected values were compared, and the Pearson Chi-square and the p-value of Fisher’s exact test were calculated. The research process carried out as well as the analysis of the obtained results allowed us to respond to the research questions. As a result, it can be stated that the clients, both satisfied (80.1%) and dissatisfied (84,4%), tended to share their opinion about return experience with other potential clients. Moreover, 42.2% of the respondents declared that they would not buy again from a seller after an unsuccessful return operation. The presented conclusions enrich the theoretical understanding of customer behavior and their purchase intention. It also offers retailers a quantitative benchmark and new perspective on the design of return policy in order to improve customer satisfaction.

Contingency Management and Supply Chain Performance in Korea: A COVID-19 Pandemic Approach

Unexpected incidents are driving global supply chains to the brink of collapse. To effectively manage contingency events like the COVID-19 pandemic and improve operational performance, factors such as information technology (IT), relational competencies, cooperation with supply chain partners and integration of supply chain systems that contribute to cooperation are essential. This study found that IT and relational competencies positively influence the integration of supply chain systems, and relational competencies have a stronger implication on supply chain integration and collaboration. In addition, supply chain collaboration, strengthened by supply chain integration, positively affects contingency management. Finally, contingency management positively influences operational performance. In this study, we adopted partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method in the analysis with 102 surveys collected from business managers. Through the evaluation of determinants of contingency management and supply chain performance, this study widens the theoretical base of supply chain management and provides managers with optimal ways to build a more resilient supply chain system to cope with unexpected incidents. Consequently, with collaboration-based contingency management, companies can solve problems properly and reduce additional loss, which will enhance operational performance and enable sustainable business success.

Development of Key Processes along the Supply Chain by Implementing the ISO 22000 Standard

The aim of the article is to answer the question of whether the implementation of the requirements of the ISO 22000 standard in the food supply chain can support the implementation of key processes occurring in them, and thus increase the level of food quality and minimize its waste. The research was conducted out among several European countries, and an attempt was carried out to compare how the standard is perceived by entrepreneurs operating in Poland, Slovakia (Central and Eastern Europe), and Portugal (Western Europe). Covering the Polish, Slovak, and Portuguese organizations with the research process resulted from the fact that in recent years in these countries, an increase in the diversity of food demand and fragmentation of the food market has been observed. This forced food supply chains to be strictly focused on increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of production and distribution systems, as well as taking into account customer requirements and the implementation of sustainable solutions. Based on the results of the research, it can be concluded that the implementation of the requirements of the ISO 22000 standard along food supply chains can positively affect the implementation of key processes and thus contribute to reducing food waste at each stage of the supply chain.