Knowledge that Transforms

AbstractManagers struggle to cope with complexity in their product portfolios. However, research into diversification, product platforms, and other issues related to product portfolio complexity has often produced inconsistent guidance. This situation is at least partially attributable to an incomplete definition of portfolio complexity, and to corresponding limitations of theories applied to date. To address these limitations, we define product portfolio complexity as a design state manifested by the multiplicity, diversity, and interrelatedness of products within the portfolio. We conceptually establish the three‐dimensional nature of complexity and present a model to provide insights into how each dimension impacts operational performance. As an extension to prior theoretical perspectives, the model explicitly addresses the roles of organizational learning and the character of fixed assets (utilization and flexibility) as mediator and moderator of product portfolio architectural complexity's effects, respectively. We also incorporate the principle of diminishing returns to address potential non‐linearities in the proposed relationships. Prior theories and research studies have neglected these issues. We conclude by discussing useful perspectives with which to view the model, and by presenting measures of portfolio complexity and approaches for testing the propositions developed herein.

AbstractA growing research stream has expanded the level of analysis beyond single buyer–supplier relations to the network, including supplier–supplier relations. These supplier–supplier relations may constitute a missing link between the traditional analysis of the dyadic and the network level of analysis that are often treated separately. This paper explores the interplay of the supplier–supplier and network of analysis by focusing on the inherent tension between cooperation and competition, using a multiple case study design in the Japanese and German automobile industries. It is argued that the buyer is able to exert influence not only on the coopetition level, so within “horizontal supply chain relations,” but that the coopetitive tension in the overall network can in fact be managedthroughthe active establishment and maintenance of such relations.

AbstractAcademics have increasingly recognized the benefits derived from social networks embedded within companies’ buyer–supplier relationships. However, prior research has only examined the influence of social capital elements on performance, either individually or in part. We propose an integrative model examining the relationships among relational, structural and cognitive dimensions of social capital, and between these dimensions and the cost and innovation performance of the firm. A sample of 163 buyer–supplier relationships is used to test the model. Regression results indicate that the relational dimension of social capital fully or partially mediates the effect of the cognitive dimension on performance, and partially mediates the link between the structural dimension, operationalized as social interaction ties, and innovation performance. Further, high levels of legal bonds were found to moderate the relationship between the relational dimension of social capital and performance outcomes. Implications for theory and managers are discussed.

AbstractOur study examines the state of qualitative case studies in operations management. Five main operations management journals are included for their impact on the field. They are in alphabetical order: Decision Sciences, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Journal of Operations Management, Management Science, and Production and Operations Management. The qualitative case studies chosen were published between 1992 and 2007. With an increasing trend toward using more qualitative case studies, there have been meaningful and significant contributions to the field of operations management, especially in the area of theory building. However, in many of the qualitative case studies we reviewed, sufficient details in research design, data collection, and data analysis were missing. For instance, there are studies that do not offer sampling logic or a description of the analysis through which research out‐comes are drawn. Further, research protocols for doing inductive case studies are much better developed compared to the research protocols for doing deductive case studies. Consequently, there is a lack of consistency in the way the case method has been applied. As qualitative researchers, we offer suggestions on how we can improve on what we have done and elevate the level of rigor and consistency.

AbstractExtant research in operations management has revealed divergent insights into the value potential of resource efficiency. While one view relates efficiency with good operations management and asserts that slack resources are a form of waste that should be minimized, the other view suggests that limited resource slack can impose heavy costs on firms by making them brittle. In this research, the authors build on these views to investigate the relationship of inventory, production, and marketing resource efficiency of firms with three metrics of financial performance (i.e., Stock‐Returns, Tobin's Q, and Returns‐on‐Assets). The authors evaluate the theoretical framework using secondary information on all U.S. based publicly‐owned manufacturing firms across the 16‐year time period of 1991–2006. Analysis utilizing a mixed‐model approach reveals that a focus on resource efficiency is positively associated with firm financial performance. However, findings also support the arguments favoring slack, indicating that the financial gains from resource efficiency exhibit diminishing returns.

AbstractFacing uncertain environments, firms have strived to achieve greater supply chain collaboration to leverage the resources and knowledge of their suppliers and customers. The objective of the study is to uncover the nature of supply chain collaboration and explore its impact on firm performance based on a paradigm of collaborative advantage. Reliable and valid instruments of these constructs were developed through rigorous empirical analysis. Data were collected through a Web survey of U.S. manufacturing firms in various industries. The statistical methods used include confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (i.e., LISREL). The results indicate that supply chain collaboration improves collaborative advantage and indeed has a bottom‐line influence on firm performance, and collaborative advantage is an intermediate variable that enables supply chain partners to achieve synergies and create superior performance. A further analysis of the moderation effect of firm size reveals that collaborative advantage completely mediates the relationship between supply chain collaboration and firm performance for small firms while it partially mediates the relationship for medium and large firms.

AbstractA system of interconnected buyers and suppliers is better modeled as a network than as a linear chain. In this paper we demonstrate how to use social network analysis to investigate the structural characteristics of supply networks. Our theoretical framework relates key social network analysis metrics to supply network constructs. We apply this framework to the three automotive supply networks reported inChoi and Hong (2002). Each of the supply networks is analyzed in terms of both materials flow and contractual relationships. We compare the social network analysis results with the case‐based interpretations inChoi and Hong (2002)and conclude that our framework can both supplement and complement case‐based analysis of supply networks.

AbstractThis paper extends prior supply chain research by building and empirically testing a theoretical model of the contingency effects of environmental uncertainty (EU) on the relationships between three dimensions of supply chain integration and four dimensions of operational performance. Based on the contingency and organizational information processing theories, we argue that under a high EU, the associations between supplier/customer integration, and delivery and flexibility performance, and those between internal integration, and product quality and production cost, will be strengthened. These theoretical propositions are largely confirmed by multi‐group and structural path analyses of survey responses collected from 151 of Thailand's automotive manufacturing plants. This paper contributes to operations management contingency research and provides theory‐driven and empirically proven explanations for managers to differentiate the effects of internal and external integration efforts under different environmental conditions.

AbstractPlanning and scheduling significantly influence organizational performance, but literature that pays attention to how organizations could or should organize and assess their planning processes is limited. We extend planning and scheduling theory with a categorization of scheduling performance criteria, based on a three‐stage survey research design. Particularly, the results show that, next to schedule quality, the planning process factors timeliness, flexibility, communication, and negotiation are important performance criteria, and especially so in organizations that are faced with high levels of uncertainty. The results suggest that organizational and behavioral aspects of planning and scheduling cannot be mitigated with advanced models and software that solely focus on good schedules. Rather, high quality schedules and high quality scheduling processes need to be facilitated simultaneously to attain high planning and scheduling performance.

AbstractThe literature on supply chain management (SCM) has consistently promoted the “bright side” of collaborative buyer–supplier relationships (BSRs). Based on the social capital argument, SCM scholars have investigated how a buyer can gain access to and leverage resources through its collaborative BSRs. Our study extends this research stream by considering the “dark side” of social capital in BSRs. It evaluates how social capital in its cognitive, relational, and structural forms contributes to or impedes value creation within BSRs. Both primary survey measures and secondary objective measures have been used in data analysis. The results show the presence of both the bright side, confirming the existing literature, and the dark side, extending the literature. There is an inverted curvilinear relationship between social capital and performance: Either too little or too much social capital can hurt performance. This study confirms that building social capital in a collaborative BSR positively affects buyer performance, but that if taken to an extreme it can reduce the buyer's ability to be objective and make effective decisions as well as increase the supplier's opportunistic behavior. Our study also examines how a buyer can delay the emergence of the dark side. It opens up new research avenues in the collaborative BSR context and suggests directions for future research and practice.