Sandipan Sen

Affective and cognitive antecedents of customer loyalty towards e-mail service providers

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identity cognitive and affective determinants of customer loyalty towards e-mail services, including interrelationships, and to understand the process by which the cognitive and affective antecedents influence customer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was conducted to gather data from Gmail users. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – Results indicate electronic service quality and e-trust (cognitive) impact customer loyalty through affective variables like emotions, satisfaction, e-trust (affective) and affective commitment. Results also indicate that e-mail service providers who intend to build long term relationships with their customers will benefit by investing in emotional factors along with cognitive factors. Research limitations/implications – A predominantly male audience responded to the research query based on one e-mail service setting. Based on the responses, it was determined that e-mail service prov...

The effect of environmental uncertainty, information quality, and collaborative logistics on supply chain flexibility of small manufacturing firms in India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between environmental uncertainty, information quality, and proactive logistics practices on supply chain flexibility. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 75 Indian small-scale manufacturers in Coimbatore (Southern India) was conducted. Findings – India, which is a thriving emerging economy, is an ideal location for this study. Results indicate that if managers wish to ensure improved supply chain flexibility, firms must work to improve information quality. Research limitations/implications – The small sample size is a limitation of the study, so too is the narrow sector targeted (small-scale manufacturing). Practical implications – The results reinforce the fact that supply chain management has many elements that can impact a manufacturing firms responsiveness, which is especially true in an emerging market like India. Originality/value – The paper is one of the first to survey small-scale manufacturing executives regarding the...

Supplier partnerships, information quality, supply chain flexibility, supply chain integration and organisational performance: the Indian story

Supply chain management has become a critical strategic management tool and hence it plays a critical role in firm performance. This study researches the causal linkages between the supplier partnership, information quality, supply chain integration and supply chain flexibility on organisational performance. Using small-scale manufacturing as the setting in an emerging economy (India), the study results indicate that for any firm to improve performance, it must first improve its supplier partnerships and information quality. Based upon the study findings, managerial implications and a future research agenda are discussed.

Indian Small-Scale Manufacturing Firms: Achieving Competitive Advantage

Managers today need access to opportunities and insights that enable their firm to achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Supply chain initiatives (e.g., integration and flexibility) are of interest because of their proven benefits. This research examines information sharing, in conjunction with supply chain integration and flexibility, to determine their impact on competitive advantage for small-scale manufacturing firms in India. Our findings indicate that supply chain integration has a significant impact on supply chain flexibility, however not in the direction hypothesized. Unfortunately the other hypothesized relationships (information systems to supply chain flexibility and supply chain flexibility to competitive advantage) did not manifest. We will use these results as the impetus for further research in this area.