M. Oosterhuis

Perceptions of technology uncertainty and the consequences for performance in buyer-supplier relationships

In this paper, we investigate how buyers’ and suppliers’ distinct perceptions of technology uncertainty affect the relationship between communication frequency and supplier performance. Information processing theory suggests that a fit is desirable between perceived environmental uncertainty and the communication processes between organisations. However, if partners in a buyer-supplier relationship do not concur on the high level of technology uncertainty, it is highly questionable whether increased communication will be effective in increasing supplier performance. Using dyadic data from 86 buyer-supplier relationships, involving 388 respondents, we found that communication frequency was positively related to supplier performance only when both suppliers and buyers perceived high levels of technology uncertainty. When buyers perceived greater technology uncertainty than their suppliers, communication frequency was negatively related to supplier performance. The findings in this study show that it is important to take the distinct perceptions of buyers and suppliers of technology uncertainty into account when assessing the effects of communication frequency. It appears that increased communication is only effective when both parties acknowledge the need to communicate, and can be unfavourable when only one party sees the benefits of it.

The compatibility of future doctors' career intentions with changing health care demands

Background  In the Netherlands the medical education system is in the process of being transformed to establish a more demand‐oriented health care system. This transformation may entail the occupational restructuring of the medical profession. Meanwhile, on the supply side, the career intentions of future doctors are also changing.

The value of upstream recognition of goals in supply chains

Purpose – The literature on supply chain management has focused on the benefits of frequent and strategic communication in supply chains. However, it has paid much less attention to the difficulties and conflicts associated with day‐to‐day communications in supply chains. This discrepancy is surprising because operational communications play a crucial role in supply chain management. In this paper, the aim is to investigate when operational, day‐to‐day communications in supply chains become linked with conflicts and how these conflicts can be prevented.Design/methodology/approach – The authors surveyed respondents from the partner firms of 81 different supply chains. The data from 380 surveys were examined with moderated regression analyses.Findings – The findings indicate that operational communications are linked with conflicts if upstream parties in supply chains do not recognise the importance that their downstream partners attach to certain performance objectives.Research limitations/implications – F...

Multilevel issues in supply chain management

This study focuses on possible contributions of the multilevel approach to research in supply chain management. Supply chains consist of multiple organizations comprising different departments with people who are interacting inside and across organizations. Factors at different levels may thus influence chain performance in different ways. What is more, the multilevel approach recognizes that concepts may have different or similar meanings at different levels. Finally, the multilevel approach makes nested data structures, for instance data of ten purchasers nested in a purchasing department, more apparent and analyzable. A multilevel approach to SCM may contribute to this field in at least three ways: (1) conceptually/theoretically, (2) in a methodological sense and (3) in an analytical way. In this paper we will elaborate on these issues and we will apply them to our own research on human behavior in supply chains.