Wendy L. Tate

Green, lean, and global supply chains

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship among green, lean, and global supply chain strategies as found in the literature, with emphasis on the concurrent implementation of these three strategic initiatives, in order to develop a research agenda to guide theoretically based future research that informs managerial decision making.Design/methodology/approach – An extensive literature review is conducted to examine research and practice with respect to the concurrent implementation of green, lean, and global supply chain strategies.Findings – An in‐depth examination of the literature revealed drivers, barriers, converging, and contradictory points across the three supply chain strategies. Future research opportunities fall into four major themes: the need for theoretically grounded research, the need for a multi‐functional approach, the need for a systems approach that adds strategic insight, and the need for integrated measurement application. Managerial aspects are highlighted in ...

Services Supply Management: The Next Frontier for Improved Organizational Performance

This article explores how the purchase of services is managed within the organization, the risks associated with current services purchasing practices, and how to improve the professional management of services purchases. Survey data obtained from benchmarking research performed by CAPS Center for Strategic Supply Research reveal that purchasing services is viewed as more difficult than purchasing goods. In addition, while purchasing of services is growing in importance and magnitude, the resources to manage it are not. Accordingly, there are huge opportunities for organizations to improve their services purchasing in terms of cost and value, by dedicating more, and perhaps different, resources to services purchasing. Developing an outstanding capability to purchase services, and to manage that purchase, could truly be the next frontier for improved supply chain and organizational performance.

Product‐process‐supply chain: an integrative approach to three‐dimensional concurrent engineering

Purpose – The primary purposes of this paper are to add support to the existing three‐dimensional concurrent engineering (3DCE) theoretical framework and to identify issues that currently hinder the adoption of 3DCE.Design/methodology/approach – While 3DCE has been suggested as a way to improve new product development success and supply chain performance, the research on 3DCE is in its infancy, largely conceptual, or based on two, rather than all three aspects of 3DCE. To help bridge the gap between concept and theory for 3DCE, this paper provides a cross‐disciplinary perspective, incorporating literature from supply chain management (SCM) and logistics, operations management, marketing channels, and general management and strategy, to help ground the theory of 3DCE. Based on this literature, testable research propositions are developed.Findings – Based on the review of the literature, there is substantial theoretical grounding for 3DCE and evidence that it should provide beneficial outcomes to organizati...

Offshore outsourcing: a managerial framework

Purpose – This paper aims to present a managerial framework that facilitates successful supplier selection and ongoing management for purchasing services from offshore suppliers.Design/methodology/approach – This research is grounded in transaction cost theory and developed using data from case studies of six Fortune 500 firms that have a minimum of three years experience purchasing services from suppliers located in India.Findings – Viewing the selection and management of suppliers for the purchase of offshore outsourced services as strategic in nature helps organizations ensure quality and low cost in the service delivery and also reduces complexity and associated risk to the organization.Research limitations/implications – The overarching limitation is the number and size of the companies being researched.Practical implications – This research presents a framework to guide managers in reducing risk and improving performance in these complex service purchases. Formalizing the selection and management of...

The impact of strategic organizational orientations on green supply chain management and firm performance

Purpose – Empirical research provides evidence that green supply chain management (SCM) practices positively impact firm performance. Yet, questions remain regarding how firms configure their organizations and design green practices to achieve improved performance, especially in light of a constantly changing business environment. This research uses the resource-based and strategic choice theories to better understand the antecedent roles of two strategic orientations, supply chain orientation (SCO) and environmental orientation (EO), on both the implementation and outcomes of green SCM practices. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Survey responses from 367 supply chain managers are tested through structural equation modeling. Findings – Findings suggest that a combination of SCO and EO capabilities positively influence the implementation of green SCM practices, and positively impact firm performance. Results also suggest that the capability bundle of SCO, EO, and green ...

The impact of transaction costs and institutional pressure on supplier environmental practices

Purpose – Suppliers play a more significant role in the environmental footprint of supply chains than most final manufacturers. The purpose of this paper is to apply transaction costs and institutional theory to help understand why the more conservative, or reactive suppliers may or may not be likely to adopt environmental practices. Design/methodology/approach – This research builds on a prior conceptual paper and uses the results of a survey to test whether transaction costs and institutional theory can provide insight into suppliers adoption of environmental practices. Findings – This research finds that perceived transaction costs affect supplier cooperation in adopting environmental practices. Suppliers are more likely to adopt an environmental practice if information-seeking costs are low or the cost of adoption is considered necessary to maintain the relationship. Data did not support the hypotheses concerning institutional pressures. Originality/value – There is much research in the area of proac...

Outsourcing/Offshoring Insights: Going Beyond Reshoring to Rightshoring

Purpose The last decades have seen manufacturing and services offshoring on the rise, often motivated by low prices and without consideration of other important criteria such as additional cost measures and risk. With wages in former low-cost countries and automation/robotization increasing, these decisions are increasingly contested. Re-evaluations of “shoring” decisions inherently create a need to re-examine theoretical and academic contributions to this rapidly changing phenomenon. Therefore, the special issue sought manuscripts that added to the exciting and dynamic body of knowledge on “rightshoring”. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The paper starts out by delimiting outsourcing/insourcing and offshoring/reshoring as part of a conceptual “rightshoring” framework to establish a common terminology and context for the insights gathered in the special issue. It illustrates that “shoring” options can be classified along geographical and governance dimensions. Findings Both the geographical and governance dimensions are part of the rightshoring decision which is an important conceptual foundation for this special issue, as it invited insightful pieces on all of these phenomena (e.g. outsourcing, insourcing, offshoring, reshoring), acknowledging that these decisions are embedded in the same context – firms making governance and location decisions. Therefore, papers 1-4 primarily focus on offshoring, whereas paper 5 focuses on insourcing and paper 6 on reshoring. Their main findings are summarized in Table II. Research limitations/implications Suggestions for future research out of the six papers are summarized in Table III. There is ample opportunity to further shed light on these suggestions as well as to cover parts of the “rightshoring” framework presented, that remain less covered here (e.g. insourcing and/or reshoring). Practical implications The array of potential “rightshoring” options fosters clarity about the phenomena studied and their implications. The main practical implications of the six papers are summarized in Table II. Originality/value The overall conceptual framework highlights the positioning of the final papers included into the special issue and provides guidance to scholars and managers alike.

Characteristics of cross-functional integration processes Evidence from Brazilian organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to characterize the cross-functional integration processes between marketing and logistics, while considering five basic elements: boundary spanning activities, integration factors, level of integration, formality/informality and impacts of integration. Design/methodology/approach – After an extensive literature review, five case studies were performed and in-depth interviews conducted. Both within-case and cross-case analysis was performed to better understand the cross-functional integration processes between marketing and logistics. Findings – A characterization of cross-functional integration in the form of a managerial framework was proposed. This framework presents the elements in a process view, instead of disconnected parts of the integration processes. The framework and process perspective helps to explain the integration process, the roles and impacts of integration within organizations, while considering cultural formality and informality. Research limitat...

Supply chain strategies in an era of natural resource scarcity

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of natural resource scarcity (NRS) for companies’ supply chain strategies. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the resource dependence theory (RDT), a conceptual model is developed and validated through the means of exploratory research. The empirical work includes the assessment of qualitative data collected via 22 interviews representing six large multinational companies from the manufacturing sector. Findings: When the resources are scarce and vitally important, companies use buffering strategies. Buffering and bridging strategies are preferred when there are a few alternative suppliers for the specific resource and when there is limited access to scarce natural resources. Research limitations/implications: The research focuses on large multinational manufacturing companies so results may not be generalised to other sectors and to small- and medium-sized firms. Future research needs to examine the implications of NRS for organisational performance. Practical implications: This research provides direction to manufacturing companies for adopting the best supply chain strategy to cope with NRS. Originality/value: This paper adds to the body of knowledge by providing new data and empirical insights into the issue of NRS in supply chains. The RDT has not been previously employed in this context. Past studies are mainly conceptual and, thus, the value of this paper comes from using a qualitative approach on gaining in-depth insights into supply chain-related NRS strategies and its antecedents.

Buyer and supplier perspectives on environmental initiatives: Potential implications for supply chain relationships

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine managerial perspectives in both buyer and supplier firms implementing environmental initiatives in their supply chains, and explore the impact of environmental initiatives on buyer-supplier relationships. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative, grounded theory approach is used as the methodological approach to this research, including 15 in-depth interviews with managers from buyer and supplier firms implementing environmental initiatives in their supply chains to gain multiple perspectives of the buyer-supplier relationships. Findings The results suggest that implementing environmental initiatives within the supply chain changes the buyer-supplier relationship from transactional to collaborative, shifting from a commodity-focused purchase to a more strategic purchase as environmental initiatives are implemented. Research limitations/implications Although both buyer and supplier perspectives were considered, matched dyads were not used; researchers should continue to provide a holistic perspective of the phenomenon with dyadic data. Additionally, the use of a qualitative research approach suggests a lack of generalizability of results, and therefore researchers should further test the propositions. Practical implications Implementing environmental initiatives within the supply chain may require different approaches to supply management and development for long-term success. Suppliers should recognize that the capability to implement environmental initiatives with their customers is a differentiator. The nuances involved in managing the implementation of environmental initiatives between firms can be better managed by collaboratively developing metrics specifically related to the environment. Originality/value Previous research in environmental supply chain management has examined drivers and barriers of implementing environmental initiatives with suppliers, but fails to address the relationship dynamics involved when implementing environmental initiatives between organizations. This research begins to fill that gap.