| A Value-Chain Model of Manufacturing Systems: Capturing the Effects of Customization on Organization Design, Technology Choice, and Performance Objectives. |
| | Aiman-Smith, Lynda D. | North Carolina State U. | Lynda_Aiman-Smith@ncsu.edu | (919) 515-8699 |
| | Bozarth, Cecil | North Carolina State U. | Cecil_Bozarth@ncsu.edu | (919) 515-4511 |
| | McCreery, John | North Carolina State U. | john_mccreery@ncsu.edu | 919-515-4093 |
| | This paper presents a new model of manufacturing systems that addresses
serious shortcomings in existing models. The proposed model incorporates
a stage-based, value-chain perspective of manufacturing, and explicates
the effects of customization on organization design, technology choices
(including advanced manufacturing technologies), and performance
objectives throughout the value chain. |
| | Keywords: customization; organization design; technology choice |
| Supplier Partnerships and the High-Growth Firm: Selecting For Success |
| | Beekman, Amy Vernberg | George Mason U. | abeekman@som.gmu.edu | (703)993-1794 |
| | Robinson, Richard B. | U. of South Carolina | robinson@darla.badm.sc.edu | (803) 777-5961 |
| | The use of collaborative realtionships is increasing. The risks and benefits of collaboration at a given point in time have been documented but the dynamics of these relationships as a firm grows is less clear. Contrasting the debate about the extent to which firms are inertial vs. adaptive, the impact of growth on value chain partnerships with suppliers is investigated. Data collected from 91 pharmaceutical-related firms is used to test the hypothesis that firm growth is positively related to maintaining or expanding relationships with suppliers, not terminating partnerships. This hypothesis is based on the structural inertia model and the strategic management perspective that firms develop strategies and see them through. The second hypothesis is that this relationship between firm growth and the amount purchased from a supplier is moderated by the perceived effectiveness of the value-chain partnerships such that when effectiveness is higher, then the relationship between sales growth and the amount purchased from a value-chain partner is stronger. The theoretical reasoning for this hypothesis rests with the strategic management perspective that high growth firms develop partnerships in anticipation of growth and expand relations with these partners because the relationships are effective and not because of inertial forces. Nevertheless, firms are more likely to expand relationships with suppliers that realize the benefits initially expected rather than with suppliers who are perceived as less effective to the firm. The hypotheses are tested with regression analysis and both are supported. Results are presented and implications discussed.
|
| | Keywords: managing growth; alliances; high-growth firms |
| The Behavioral Side of Supply Chain Relationships: The Roles That Contracts and Justice Play in Satisfaction and Conflict |
| | Brown, James R. | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U. | jamesb@vt.edu | (540) 231-7247 |
| | Cobb, Anthony T. | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U. | tcobb@vt.edu | (540) 231-6363 |
| | Lusch, Robert F. | U. of Oklahoma | rlusch@cbafac.cba.unoknor.edu | (405) 325-5890 |
| | Interorganizational supply chains that are both closely linked and flexible can yield many benefits to their members. But, to achieve the full range of these benefits, such supply chains must carefully attend to behavioral matters. This study explores the behavioral side of supply chain relationships by examining the impact of two forms of contracting (formal explicit and informal normative) and two kinds of fairness perceptions (distributive and procedural) on member satisfaction and conflict in 433 wholesaler-supplier relationships.
Wholesalers were found to be more satisfied with their supplier relationships when normative contracting was used and when they saw distributive decisions as just. Procedural justice had an additional impact on satisfaction under conditions of high distributive justice, but no effect when perceived distributive fairness was low. Conflict was found to be lower when normative contracting was used but, contrary to expectations, higher under conditions of explicit contacting. Both distributive and procedural justice perceptions were associated with lower levels of conflict. Implications are discussed and suggestions for future research advanced.
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| | Keywords: Justice; Contracts; Supply-chains |
| The Impact of Buyer Status and Supplier Autonomy on Supplier Survival in Stable and Dynamic Networks |
| | Hoetker, Glenn P. | U. of Michigan | ghoetker@umich.edu | (734) 975-9485 |
| | Mitchell, Will | U. of Michigan | wmitchel@umich.edu | (734)-764-1230 |
| | Swaminathan, Anand | U. of California, Davis | anands@ucdavis.edu | (530) 752-9916 |
| | This paper considers how buyer status and supplier autonomy in buyer-supplier relationships influence supplier survival. The core strategic question is how the benefits that a supplier gains by selling to a large, high-status buyer that offers scale economies and social capital interact with the benefits of maintaining autonomy from any single buyer. To address this question, we draw from the logic of organizational ecology, institutional theory, and network theory. Ecology and institutional theory illuminate the effect of changes in one population (buyers) on another population (suppliers) and highlight the importance of social status to firms' actions and performance. Network theory provides the concept of structural autonomy, which describes how the structure of networks applies to individual firms. We hypothesize that having a large, high-status buyer increases a supplier's probability of survival. Similarly, we reason that maintaining high autonomy improves the probability that a supplier will survive. However, a firm may not be able to accomplish both selling to a major buyer and achieving high autonomy, since becoming tightly bound to a large buyer may preclude developing a diverse set of alternative buyers. Our propositions investigate whether the benefits of autonomy are contingent on having a major buyer, and visa-versa. If it is not possible to be both highly autonomous and have tight links with a large buyer, we attempt to understand when one strategy moderates the effects of the other. We briefly explore our questions in the context of the automotive parts supply industry from the early 1900s to 1972. |
| | Keywords: Supplier survival; Structural autonomy; Buyer size and status |