Antony Paulraj

Understanding supply chain management: critical research and a theoretical framework

Increasing global cooperation, vertical disintegration and a focus on core activities have led to the notion that firms are links in a networked supply chain. This strategic viewpoint has created the challenge of coordinating effectively the entire supply chain, from upstream to downstream activities. While supply chains have existed ever since businesses have been organized to bring products and services to customers, the notion of their competitive advantage, and consequently supply chain management (SCM), is a relatively recent thinking in management literature. Although research interests in and the importance of SCM are growing, scholarly materials remain scattered and disjointed, and no research has been directed towards a systematic identification of the core initiatives and constructs involved in SCM. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop a research framework that improves understanding of SCM and stimulates and facilitates researchers to undertake both theoretical and empirical investigation on the critical constructs of SCM, and the exploration of their impacts on supply chain performance. To this end, we analyse over 400 articles and synthesize the large, fragmented body of work dispersed across many disciplines such as purchasing and supply, logistics and transportation, marketing, organizational dynamics, information management, strategic management, and operations management literature.

Green procurement and green supplier development: Antecedents and effects on supplier performance

This study adopts the opposing theoretical views of legitimacy – institutional and strategic – in evaluating firm performance and top management commitment as antecedents to green procurement and green supplier development. Additionally, the impact of green procurement and green supplier development on supplier performance is analysed. Using a sample of western European companies, we develop a structural equation model to test our hypotheses. We find that the buying firm’s market performance positively relates to the adoption of green procurement. While financial performance has no effect on green procurement, top management commitment is found to be an important driver of both green procurement and green supplier development. Moreover, the relationship between green procurement and supplier performance is fully mediated by green supplier development. The paper addresses a research gap concerning firm-level antecedents for green procurement and green supplier development showing that both practices may impact supplier performance. Furthermore, it is shown that legitimacy concerns drive basic green procurement, whereas top management is decisive for advanced practices, such as green supplier development.

Supply chain collaboration and sustainability: a profile deviation analysis

Purpose – There is only limited knowledge about the performance benefits of the alignment of sustainability-related upstream and downstream collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the deviation from an optimal profile of supply chain collaboration and its detrimental effect on sustainability performance as well as market performance. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyze the deviation from an optimal profile of supply chain collaboration and its detrimental effect on sustainability as well as market performance. Using data collected from 259 European manufacturing firms and advanced structural equation modeling approach, the authors empirically test a number of direct, mediation, and moderation effects. Findings – The study shows that an alignment between supply chain initiatives does pay off. Furthermore, the results show that the effects of alignment on performance measures are mediated by the firms internal sustainable production. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides research limitations and implications as part of the research. Practical implications – The paper also offers important conclusions for practitioners. Particularly the paper shows that sustainable supply chain collaboration needs to be operated at an ideal profile in collaboration with advanced internal practices to generate improved performance. Originality/value – This work is differentiated from earlier work through the joint consideration of alignment of supply chain collaboration for customers and suppliers, providing in combination with mediation analysis new nuances to the field of sustainable supply chain management.

Customer focus, supply‐chain relational capabilities and performance : Evidence from US manufacturing industries

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the extent to which a firms customer focus drives several interlinked facets of supply chain management and their relationships to customer service and financial performance.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on diverse streams of research, the authors develop and test an integrated model in which customer focus is proposed to foster supply‐chain relational capabilities, leading to beneficial performance outcomes. This studys empirical validity is enhanced by collecting data from over 200 US manufacturing firms and testing the model using SEM.Findings – This empirical investigation documents significant positive relationships between (a) customer focus and supply‐chain relational capabilities, (b) customer focus and customer service, (c) supply‐chain relational capabilities and customer service, and (d) customer service and financial performance.Practical implications – This study holds the important implication for managers that, in order to be effective, sup...

The effect of ISO 14001 certification announcements on stock performance

Purpose – This study aspires to explore how the US stock market reacts to ISO 14001 certification announcements.Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs an event‐study methodology on a sample of 140 announcements and matching control firms to study the impact of ISO 14001 certification announcements.Findings – The results suggest that ISO 14001 certification announcements have a negative impact on stock performance. More importantly, they show that the shareholder wealth reduced due to these certifications announcements.Research limitations/implications – This study focuses on short‐term stock market reaction. Future studies should consider the entire sample of ISO 14001‐certified firms within the USA and use certification date to evaluate short‐ as well as long‐term improvements in shareholder wealth.Practical implications – The results suggest that firms will need to educate shareholders about their actions towards the betterment of the environment. Such coordinated communication will ensure that...

Proactive environmental strategies and performance: role of green supply chain processes and green product design in the Chinese high-tech industry

Though many firms still believe that passive environmental strategies are sufficient, it is pertinent that they move beyond this belief and take a proactive supply chain-wide environmental stance so as to create a sustainable environment. In this paper, we seek to extend current work within green supply chain management by considering multiple green supply chain capabilities and performance measures. We hypothesise the linkage between environmental orientation, green supply chain capabilities and performance by drawing upon stakeholder theory and natural resource-based view. More importantly, our study is the first to distinguish between product and process-related capabilities in the green supply chain area and study their direct and mediating role with respect to environmental and financial performance measures. Using survey data collected from 256 Chinese-based high-tech firms, we analyse several hypothesised relationships. Our results provide strong support for the significant role that green product design and green supply chain processes can play in improving firms’ environmental and financial performance. Interestingly, our results also suggest that green product design may not have a direct impact on financial performance.

Complementarity effect of governance mechanisms on environmental collaboration: does it exist?

This study evaluates the effect of pre-existing relational governance mechanisms on environmental collaboration. Specifically, our study distinguishes between structural and process dimensions of relational governance mechanisms so as to facilitate a more nuanced investigation into the inherent complementarities and performance implications. Using data collected from 145 US firms and a combination of methodologies – three-stage least squares and structural equation modelling, a number of direct, complementary and mediation effects are hypothesised and tested. The three-stage least squares methodology was adopted to overcome endogeneity and simultaneity issues inherent in the hypotheses covering complementarity. Contrary to conventional wisdom, structural and process governance mechanisms were not found to act as complements for environmental collaboration. Instead, the effect of structural mechanisms was found to be completely mediated by the process mechanisms. Thus, process mechanisms of relational governance were found to be much more important in promoting advanced practices such as environmental collaboration. Our results also document the significant mediating role of environmental collaboration. Implications for future research and practice are offered.

Quality manager involvement and quality performance

As the importance of quality managers has dramatically increased in the past two decades, it has been suggested that management of the quality function requires expertise in areas other than the quality field itself. Nevertheless, to date, extensive research has not been directed towards identifying the expertise required of a quality manager or the day‐to‐day functions which will enhance the manager’s ability to succeed. Tests empirically the quality manager’s effect on the quality performance of a firm, depending on the manager’s involvement in: strictly the quality field; quality‐related fields; and other functions. A cross‐sectional mail survey was employed and a causal model was developed to test seven propositions using path analysis (OLS). Results strongly suggest that quality managers’ main focus must be on the quality field, though they may perceive that their involvement in related fields could contribute significantly to the quality performance of their organizations.

Religion or Religiosity: Which Is the Culprit for Consumer Switching Behavior?

ABSTRACT This research investigates how religion (i.e., religious affiliation) and religiosity affect consumer switching behaviors in Korea and the U.S. Data were collected from Korea (Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, and nonreligious consumers) and the U.S. (Catholics, Protestants, and nonreligious consumers). ANOVA and structural equation modeling using LISREL were employed to test the hypotheses regarding consumer switching behaviors. The findings suggest that religiosity, expressed as the importance of religious beliefs in ones life, can be a trigger that influences consumer switching behaviors and that religious affiliation is not a good predictor of consumer switching behaviors. The relationships between religion, religiosity, and control variables were also examined using MANOVA.

Strategic supply management: theory and practice

Outsourcing of materials, services, and components to external suppliers has been recognised as a source of great competitive advantage. With an increase in the decision to outsource, the concept of strategic supply management has gained greater attention among both practitioners and academicians. Along with the abundance of research related to the identification of constructs as well as model development in this area, it is also helpful to learn more about which concepts are adopted widely and which are not. A cross-sectional mail survey of ISM members was utilised to collect empirical data to identify the critical theoretical constructs of supply management. Statistical analysis was further conducted to delineate the pattern of adoption of the various concepts. The results provide further empirical evidence to the fact that purchasing has grown in strategic importance. It also reveals that the key elements of buyer–supplier relationships including supply base reduction, long-term relationships, communication, cross-functional teams, and supplier integration are followed at varying levels. Usage of inter-organisational information systems was found to be a function of the size of the firm. The results of this study provide some fresh insights into the current practice of supply chain management.