James Jungbae Roh

Implementation of strategic green orientation in supply chain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a research model that defines the inter‐relationships between strategic green orientation, integrated product development, supply chain coordination, green performance outcomes and business unit performance. This paper aims to address innovation issues by integrating strategic orientation, internal business practices, supply chain coordination, and performance outcomes measures.Design/methodology/approach – The international data of 711 firms accessed through the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS IV) are used to validate this model.Findings – A firms strategic green orientation involves past green practices, implementation of innovative environment improvement program and future commitment for environmental practices. This strategic green orientation is supported by a set of inter‐organizational innovation practices such as integrated product development practices, effective coordination of supply chain network and relevant and measurable ...

Revisiting corporate reputation and firm performance link

Purpose – Corporate reputation is regarded as an intangible asset which differentiates a firm from others and attracts customers to repurchase and willingly pay a premium price for products. However, despite the perceptive association between reputation and financial performance, empirical studies report inconclusive results. The purpose of this study is to investigate this link more comprehensively using four different reputation attributes and firm characteristics in the context of high‐ vs low‐tech companies.Design/methodology/approach – This study operationalizes the corporate reputation as the four measures of Fortunes “Americas Most Admired Companies” of 2008 and matched the companies with financial performance and firm characteristics measures from COMPUSTAT Research Insight for the period between 2001 and 2005. A total of 230 firms (108 in high‐tech vs 122 in low‐tech) over the same period were selected and stepwise multiple regression analysis probed the relationship between the corporate reput...

Benchmarking sustainability practices: evidence from manufacturing firms

Purpose – With increasing emphasis on the environment, firms are required to include sustainability practices at all levels – strategic, operational, and outcome measures. The purpose of this paper is to present a research model that defines sustainability practices in the context of the competitive business environment, strategic driver, operational and supply chain practices, and performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – This paper identifies research gaps in the areas of integration of sustainability practices across functional levels within firms and across networks. In total, 379 companies were analyzed in structural equation modeling.Findings – This study has three important findings: First, firms striving for responsiveness to market and customers also improve environmental performance; second, this study confirms lean practices as an important mediator to achieve excellent environmental performance; third, the focal company takes the lead in achieving environmental performance, and suppli...

A co-ordination theory approach to restructuring the supply chain: an empirical study from the focal company perspective

In the wake of the global financial crisis, a growing number of firms have begun to reassess their strategic goals and subsequently restructure their global supply chains. Since supply chain restructuring often leads to dramatic changes in the business paradigm, there is a need to examine whether or not it affects the way that firms co-ordinate their business activities and integrate product innovations across the supply chain. Nevertheless, little has been known about the antecedents of supply chain restructuring and the impact of supply chain restructuring on manufacturing practices. To fill the void in this line of research, we propose co-ordination theory that can explain causal links between supply chain restructuring and key strategic variables essential for the supply chain success from focal company perspectives. These strategic variables may include the extent of co-ordination with suppliers, the degree of information sharing with suppliers, and the level of organisational integration. Our empirical analysis, based on the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey IV, confirms the validity of co-ordination theory in that business initiatives intended for greater co-ordination and information sharing with suppliers turned out to be a major driving force behind supply chain restructuring, which facilitates organisational integration.

Green Supply Chain Management orientation and firm performance: evidence from South Korea

With environmental regulations taking effect worldwide, Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has risen to prominence due to its emphasis on tackling complex environmental processes while improving the bottom line performance. Since GSCM involves transferring green knowledge and standardising production and delivery processes, the success of joint efforts among supply chain partners hinges on how tightly the trust relationship with partners is woven. This study, based on 125 companies from South Korea, shows that GSCM orientation positively influences firm performance via supply chain partners’ trust and information sharing. This research suggests the significance of solid trust relationship among supply chain partners in the course of implementing and pursuing GSCM.

Extending the efficient and responsive supply chains framework to the green context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop research frameworks for two types of green supply chains based on Fishers seminal work. In spite of Fishers contribution to the literature, his study has rarely been extended into green supply chain contexts, except in a few conceptual arguments. The current study explores how Fishers perspective of efficient versus responsive supply chains can be a stepping stone to the development of two green supply chains: eco‐efficient and eco‐responsive supply chains.Design/methodology/approach – Toward the above end, a case methodology is employed (Yin). Two Korean global companies, Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO) and Samsung Electronics (SEC), are selected to explore eco‐efficient and eco‐responsive supply chains. POSCO (steel products) is selected to enable the understanding of how efficient and eco‐efficient supply chains work. SEC (mobile phone products) is chosen to understand responsive and eco‐responsive supply chains.Findings – The findings suggest ...

Taxonomy of ERP integrations and performance outcomes: an exploratory study of manufacturing firms

Building and deploying network capabilities of firms are crucial for sustaining competitive advantage. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are useful to enhance such network capabilities thorough effective information flows. Their intended goals are measured in terms of production costs, operational flexibility and supply chain performance outcomes. However, the impact of ERP system implementation on firm performance has been reported as somewhat inconclusive. This study contends that a missing link in the story is the scope and extent of ERP system implementation after investigating how the extent of ERP integration is associated with the performance outcomes of manufacturing firms. The study also posits that restructuring in the organisation and supply chains are positively associated with manufacturing performance. Since ERP often entails restructuring in an organisation and supply chains, it is anticipated that restructuring plays an important role in inducing positive impact of ERP implementation to the firm. Using a global sample of 641 manufacturers, this research identifies four distinct ERP systems integration patterns, epitomised by different extents and directions of integration, and finds a significant association among the broadest degree of ERP systems integration, restructuring and plant performance improvement. The empirical results also show that restructuring takes place most actively in a firm that implement ERP with widest scope and scale.

Best performance modeling using complementary DEA-ANN approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to design an innovative performance modeling system by jointly using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and artificial neural network (ANN). The hybrid DEA-ANN model integrates performance measurement and prediction frameworks and serves as an adaptive decision support tool in pursuit of best performance benchmarking and stepwise improvement. Design/methodology/approach – Advantages of combining DEA and ANN methods into an optimal performance prediction model are explored. DEA is used as a preprocessor to measure relative performance of decision-making units (DMUs) and to generate test inputs for subsequent ANN prediction modules. For this sequential process, Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes and Banker, Chames and Cooper DEA models and back propagation neural network (BPNN) are used. The proposed methodology is empirically supported using longitudinal data of Japanese electronics manufacturing firms. Findings – The combined modeling approach proves effective through sequenti...

Assessing global supply chains: perspectives on performance measures across leading countries

Contingency theory suggests that each performance measure carries different emphases and is subject to contextual factors. Although useful, comparative measures of firm performance are fraught with difficulties in comparison mainly for two reasons: different measures carry dissimilar emphasis, and disparate national financial and business practices can exert innate bearings in the measures. Finding a context-invariant performance measure serves as a platform to conduct global supply chain performance comparison studies. Basing on longitudinal 2,400 international observations, this study explores if there exists significant difference among commonly employed performance measures across major countries and proposes context-invariant measures. While the results confirm the previous studies that accounting- and market-based performance indicators show different emphases among countries and country groups, this study finds sustained growth rate, growth rate in sales, and composite performance scores invariant of locus.

Better practice prediction using neural networks: an application to the smartphone industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) based prediction model via integration with data envelopment analysis (DEA) to provide the means of predicting incremental performance goals. The findings confirm the usefulness of the herein developed prediction approach, based on the results of analyses of time series data from the smartphone industry. Design/methodology/approach – A two-stage hybrid model was developed, incorporating sequential measurement and prediction capability. In the first stage, a Chames, Cooper, and Rhodes DEA model is the preprocessor, generating efficiency scores (ES) of decision-making units (DMUs). In the second or follow-on stage, the ANN prediction module utilizes knowledge variables and ES to predict the change in performance needed for a desired level of improvement. Findings – This combined approach effectively captured the information contained in the industry’s turbulent characteristics, and subsequently demonstrated an adaptive pred...