Kirstin Scholten

Mitigation Processes – Antecedents for Building supply chain resilience

Purpose – This study aims to combine theory and practice to develop an integrated supply chain resilience framework by investigating the inter-dependencies between the strategic literature based concept of supply chain resilience and operational practitioner based disaster management processes. Design/methodology/approach – Utilising an in-depth qualitative case of a collaborative agency, this study identifies best practices within disaster management for insights on the operationalisation of supply chain resilience. Findings – The empirical data leads to the development of an integrated supply chain resilience framework capturing the interplay of disaster management processes and capabilities required to build supply chain resilience. The critical importance of mitigation processes in building supply chain resilience is highlighted. Practical implications – The generic supply chain resilience framework represents a valuable guide for managers when directing resources and planning for building the capabil...

The role of collaboration in supply chain resilience

Purpose – This paper aims to explore how collaboration influences supply chain resilience. Collaborative activities and their underlying mechanisms in relation to visibility, velocity and flexibility are investigated. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory case study consisting of eight buyer–supplier relationships in the food processing industry was conducted. Findings – Key findings show how specific collaborative activities (information-sharing, collaborative communication, mutually created knowledge and joint relationship efforts) increase supply chain resilience via increased visibility, velocity and flexibility. Underlying mechanisms and interdependencies of these factors within the supply chain network are identified. Originality/value – This is one of the first papers to provide in-depth insights into collaboration as a formative element of resilience in a supply chain setting. A series of propositions explain the specific influence of collaborative activities on supply chain resilience beyond a single company perspective.

Le)agility in humanitarian aid (NGO) supply chains

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of agility in the context of supply chains of humanitarian aid (HA) organizations, particularly non‐government organizations (NGOs). This responds to the increasing pressure on NGOs to use their resources more strategically if they are to gain donor trust and long‐term commitment.Design/methodology/approach – A literature‐based approach that extends the commercial supply chain concept of agility to NGOs is combined with the first exploratory semi‐structured interviews of these concepts with five NGO supply chain directors.Findings – The commercial concept of agility when responding to disaster relief holds strong potential for increasing efficiency and effectiveness, but this application is restrained by the absence of supporting information technology (IT) and the relegation of supply chain management (SCM) to the “back office” by NGOs. This has potential implications for NGOs and other HA agencies.Research limitations/implications – This pape...

Dealing with defaulting suppliers using behavioral based governance methods: An Agency Theory perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore factors influencing the effectiveness of buyer initiated behavioral-based governance methods (BBGMs). The ability of BBGMs to improve supplier performance is assessed considering power imbalances and the resource intensiveness of the BBGM. Agency Theory is used as an interpretive lens. Design/methodology/approach An explorative multiple case study approach is used to collect qualitative and quantitative data from buying companies involved in 13 BBGMs. Findings Drawing on Agency Theory several factors are identified which can explain BBGM effectiveness considering power differences and the resource intensiveness of the BBGM. The data show that even high resource intensive BBGMs can be implemented effectively if there are benefits for a powerful supplier. Cultural influences and uncertainty of the business environment also play a role. Originality/value This study develops a series of propositions indicating that Agency Theory can provide valuable guidance on how to better understand the effectiveness of BBGMs. Underlying mechanisms are identified that explain how power imbalance does not necessarily make improvement initiatives unsuccessful.

Risk and Uncertainty Management for Sustainable Supply Chains

Supply chains are the backbone of the global economy as well as a major influence on the social and natural business environment (van der Vegt et al. 2015). In today’s globalized world, every organization is part of at least one supply chain. Furthermore, the majority of everyday transactions - withdrawing money, eating in a restaurant, shopping for food or clothes, ordering something online - involves participation in a supply chain. As such, supply chains are the channels via which resources, services, and information flow from the originating supplier to the end user. A company’s relationships across their supply chains combined with increasing globalization have facilitated worldwide operations, better communication, and the ability to integrate enlarged product variety and greater consumer choice. Simultaneously, the emergence of longer and more complex supply chains and relationships, shorter product lifecycles, increased competitive pressure, and environmental uncertainty (Mentzer et al. 2001) have exposed every business to the risk of unexpected disturbances that can lead to financial losses and in some cases firm closures (Skipper and Hanna 2009). Our world is increasingly uncertain (Tang 2006) and our supply chains more vulnerable than ever (Wagner and Bode 2008).

Le)agility in Humanitarian Aid Supply Chains

Purpose This paper explores the concept of agility in the context of supply chains of humanitarian aid (HA) organizations, particularly Non Government Organizations (NGOs). This responds to the increasing pressure on NGOs to use their resources more strategically if they are to gain donor trust and long term commitment. Design/ Methodology/Approach A literature based approach that extends the commercial supply chain concept of agility to NGOs is combined with the first exploratory semi structured interviews of these concepts with five NGO supply chain directors. Findings – The commercial concept of agility when responding to disaster relief holds strong potential for increasing efficiency and effectiveness, but this application is restrained by the absence of supporting Information Technology (IT) and the relegation of supply chain management (SCM) to the ‘back office’ by NGOs. This has potential implications for NGOs and other humanitarian aid agencies. Research Limitations This paper represents an exploratory study, and an extended pool of interviewees would reinforce the qualitative findings. Planned future research will address this issue. Practical Implications Practical guidance on how NGOs can proactively manage their organization’s ability to respond with agility in a highly pressured environment is provided. Originality This paper is the first to offer practical guidance to managers of NGOs on strategies available to improve their organization’s flexibility and agility, based on theoretical concepts and initial exploratory data. In addition, evidence of how commercial tools apply in a different arena may prompt commercial managers to be more innovative in utilizing and customizing supply chain principles to their particular context of operation.

Advancing the skill set of SCM graduates – an active learning approach

Purpose Drawing on a novel approach to active learning in supply chain management, the purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze how the students’ learning process as well as their learning outcomes are influenced by the learning and teaching contexts. Design/methodology/approach A case study of a master’s level purchasing course carried out at two universities in which students work in projects resulting in jointly authored books. Findings The findings show how the teaching context influenced the learning process and the learning outcomes. Active involvement, self-directed learning, collaborative learning and learning from practice enabled by the set-up of the course are identified as key mechanisms for the learning outcomes in relation to skills and content. Originality/value Increasingly, supply chain management graduates have to develop professional, practical, research as well as metacognitive and life-long learning skills during their university education. This paper identifies mechanisms and illustrates how educators can use the set-up of a course to enable students to engage in a learning process resulting in a variety of skills as well as specific content-based aspects of knowledge.

How flexibility accommodates demand variability in a service chain: insights from exploratory interviews in the refugee supply chain

The influx of refugees in Europe creates challenges for service organizations as it brings about a large spectrum of needs (demand variability). This chapter explores how demand variability can be accommodated by service supply chain flexibility. Based on 13 semi-structured interviews at a range of refugee service providers, eight accommodation tactics, either capacity, service delivery or communication related, were derived. These tactics add new details to theory as they not only extend previous research on variability to the service supply chain setting, but also make an explicit link to flexibility. Furthermore, the insights gathered can also help public organizations to become more effective and efficient in their service delivery by knowing what types of flexibility are relevant to accommodate demand variability.

Burden or blessing in disguise: interactions in supply chain complexity

Purpose While systems theory explicitly considers interactions as part of a system’s complexity, supply chain complexity (SCC) is mostly conceptualized and measured as a linear summation of several aspects. The purpose of this paper is to challenge the general understanding by explicitly investigating interactions between and across different types (detail and dynamic) and levels (plant, supply chain, environment) of SCC. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory multiple case study methodology is adopted drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with respondents from eight manufacturing plants in the food processing industry. Findings On the one hand, it is found that different types add and increase overall SCC. On the other hand, the study also shows the opposite: interactions between detail and dynamic complexity can reduce the overall SCC experienced. Additionally, the findings highlight the specific food processing characteristics such as the variability of quality and quantity of raw materials that underlie interactions between types and levels of SCC. Originality/value This study adds to theory by empirically showing that interactions across and between types and levels do not automatically increase, but might also reduce SCC. As such, the findings contribute new detail to the concept of SCC: aspects of complexity do not necessarily add up linearly. Additionally, this study is one of the first to demonstrate how specific contextual aspects from the food processing industry relate to SCC.

Purchasing in service triads: the influence of contracting on contract management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate purchasing practices in service triads by exploring the link between ex ante contracting and ex post contract management and how these practices influence the satisfaction of buyers and suppliers (in concessionary arrangements) with their relationship in terms of meeting the needs of the buyer’s customers. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth exploratory multiple case study was carried out in a shop-in-shop context. Multi-method and multi-source data collection included interviews, documents and the contracts between buyer and supplier, providing evidence of the formal and relational structures in both the contracting and contract management stages. Findings The case findings provide evidence that behavioural standards established in a social contract are important prerequisites for the establishment and subsequent management of a formal contract. Second, this study shows that, when outsourcing core services in a service triad, a combination of performance-oriented and behavioural-oriented contract terms, covering a mix of topics related to both the customer-experience and to buyer-supplier-oriented aspects, contribute to aligning the buyer’s, suppliers’ and customers’ interests. The main findings are presented in a causal model and formulated as propositions. Originality/value This paper is one of the first studies to explore how core services are outsourced in a service triad. It provides evidence that the social contract between buyer and supplier influences the establishment of the formal contract as well as contract management, and a mix of contract topics, some related to the customers’ experience and others purely buyer-supplier oriented, contribute to the alignment of buyer’s, suppliers’ and customers’ interests.