International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

Gölgeci, Ismail; Gligor, David M.

2022 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/ijpdlm-09-2022-536

Eryarsoy, Enes; Özer Torgalöz, Alev; Acar, Mehmet Fatih; Zaim, Selim

2022 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/ijpdlm-07-2021-0299

The aim of this article is to shed light on the impact of intangible resources, such as organizational learning (OL), organizational agility (OA) and organizational innovativeness (OI), on supply chain resilience (SCR). For this, a theoretical model is developed to analyze the development of relationships between chosen resource variables.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a cross-sectional questionnaire. Survey data were collected from 180 businesses including only medium to senior level managers to ensure a thorough understanding about the company's inner workings and supply chain (SC). The validity of the model is determined using structural equation modeling (SEM) and tested using lavaan package in R.FindingsThe findings indicate a statistically significant relationship between OL and SCR. Two organizational resource constructs, OI and OA, are found to have a strong mediating effect on this relationship. OL ability mediated by OA and OI results in increased SCR.Research limitations/implicationsThe data cover multiple sectors but are collected from one country. The dataset is also limited in that it is collected from mid- to high-level managers working on manufacturing and supply chain-related departments.Practical implicationsThe authors believe that the results of this study will guide both managers and academics in developing effective measures to avoid SC disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic or other comparable risks.Originality/valueThis is the first study that examines the relationship between OL and SCR. Prior studies have examined the relationship between OA and SCR. However, OL and OI, in particular, have not featured frequently in SCR-related studies. In this regard, this research is also unique in that it examines the mediating role of OA and OI in the relationship between OL and SCR.

Russo, Ivan; Masorgo, Nicolò; Gligor, David M.

2022 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/ijpdlm-07-2021-0301

Given increasing customer expectations and disturbances to product returns management, capabilities such as supply chain resilience (SCR) can complement service recovery strategies in retail supply chains. This study utilizes procedural justice theory (PJT) to conceptualize service recovery resilience as a capability that allows firms to meet customer requirements when dealing with disruptions, and empirically investigates its impact on procedural and interactional justice and customer outcomes (i.e. satisfaction and loyalty) in the context of product replacement.Design/methodology/approachThis research employs two scenario-based experiments using a sample of 368 customers to explore the outcomes associated with service recovery resilience.FindingsThe investigation shows more satisfied and loyal customers when a retail supply chain can overcome service recovery challenges through SCR. The study shows that customers evaluate not only the process itself, but also their interactions with the retailer. Specifically, procedural justice and interactional justice have a significant influence on these relationships.Originality/valueThis study proposes service recovery resilience as a concept that bridges service recovery theory with supply chain strategy in the unique context of product replacement. Further, this study also notes how information enhances customer satisfaction with the retailer's effort to address disturbances in the recovery process. Finally, this study informs managers on the capabilities needed to face new customers' needs.

Küffner, Christoph; Kopyto, Matthias; Wohlleber, Annika Judith; Hartmann, Evi

2022 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/ijpdlm-07-2021-0303

COVID-19 has highlighted the need to reflect on how firms should improve their supply chains (SCs) to enhance agility and robustness. Recent studies focus more on the short-term rather than on the long-term developments and lack insights regarding the enhancement of supply chain resilience (SCRES) based on the interplay between multiple levers. Therefore, using a long-term perspective, this research evaluates the interaction between three SCRES levers – relationships, technologies and organizational structures – to improve SCRES.Design/methodology/approachBased on an extensive literature review, multiple interviews and workshops, 13 future projections were developed. These projections were assessed using a two-round Delphi study that included 83 international experts from industry, academia and politics/associations to determine the probability of occurrence by 2035, their impact on SCRES and their desirability.FindingsThis study provides empirical evidence that the long-term enhancement of SCRES is achieved through the interplay of multiple levers rather than unilateral optimization. The study suggests that, by 2035, collaboration between SC partners will be a key factor for SCRES enhancement. Additionally, SC stakeholders should be aware that failing to invest in digital technologies will negatively impact the agility and robustness of future SCs. Furthermore, humans are expected to continue to play a major role, given that relationship-oriented tasks are perceived to remain important.Originality/valueThis paper adds to current literature, describing how SCRES can be improved in the long term through the interplay of multiple levers and the combination of robust and agile elements. Considering the importance of ensuring resilient SCs, this paper provides valuable insights for academics and practitioners.

Delbufalo, Emanuela

2022 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/ijpdlm-07-2021-0302

The study investigates how supply base structural complexity influences both supply chain agility and resilience. It employs Normal Accident Theory and Portfolio Theory to disentangle the effects of three structural facets of complexity – numerousness; technical and functional diversity; geographical distribution of suppliers – on the two capabilities simultaneously.Design/methodology/approachThe study is grounded in the Italian footwear industry. 31 manufacturing firms with their global supply base have provided a cross-sectional time series database over a 10-year period (310 observations).FindingsThe results show that supply base numerousness has nonlinear effects on both supply chain agility and resilience. The directions of these effects are opposites. They also show that supply base diversity has an inverted U-shaped effect on supply chain agility while it is insignificant for resilience. Finally, the results show that suppliers' geographical dispersion is detrimental to both capabilities.Originality/valueThis is the first study that considers the multifaceted effects of supply base complexity on both supply chain agility and resilience. In doing so, it also sheds light on some of the most common trade-offs that firms address when they seek a balance between different strategies, such as increasing agility without damaging supply base resilience and vice versa. Considering the resource constraints firms normally face, by disentangling the dual effects of each complexity facet, this study helps decision-makers to develop scalability and leverage the supply base characteristics in order to survive and prosper in uncertain markets.

Stank, Theodore P.; Dohmen, Anne E.; Saunders, Lance W.; Merrick, Jason R.W.; Goldsby, Thomas J.

2022 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/ijpdlm-07-2021-0298

The purpose of this research is to extend existing knowledge of supply chain agility by identifying the interrelationships among key elements of agility that may impact customer performance improvement when conditions of demand and supply vary from the core assumptions used to design supply chain networks.Design/methodology/approachThe research employs the principles of middle range theorizing (Merton, 1968) to incorporate observations from field interviews and data collected from executives, managers, and analysts from six global manufacturing firms across a range of industries to form research propositions about the nature of relationships among cognitive agility dimensions, antecedent impediments to cognitive agility, and the relationships between cognitive and physical agility to improve performance that can later be subjected to deductive testing.FindingsThe supply chain designs used by the participating firms to deliver value for core products were not sufficiently agile to meet desired customer performance levels when certain supply or demand conditions varied significantly from the norm. In collaboration with partner firms, the findings suggest that improving cognitive abilities to see, think and act by deploying information-based tactical initiatives in planning, inventory positioning, and supplier lead time performance monitoring enable improved physical agility that enable a firm to respond to changes swiftly and flexibly in the demand and supply environment. Importantly, the findings also suggest that the dimensions of cognitive agility are correlated and are formative elements of the latent construct of cognitive agility, which is antecedent to physical agility.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings are limited in scope to the six companies that participated in this research. Future explorations should generalize to a broader population of firms and conditions. The results do provide evidence of the relationships between the dimensions of agility that are both a contribution and should guide future research on the subject.Practical implicationsFrom a managerial standpoint, the research findings provide insight into how firms might manage agility to improve performance when demand and supply conditions vary from those for which the core supply chain was originally designed. The findings suggest that improving the ability to capture, process, and disseminate information, i.e. cognitive agility dimensions of alertness, accessibility, and decisiveness, facilitates improved information-based initiatives in planning, inventory positioning, and supplier lead time performance monitoring, which in turn enables improved physical initiatives to swiftly and flexibly respond to changes in the demand and supply environment. Such improvements ultimately result in heightened customer service and inventory performance.Originality/valuePrevious research is mute regarding the interrelationships among the identified dimensions of supply chain agility, specifically those considered to be “cognitive” elements and those that involve physical actions. The finding suggesting that the dimensions of cognitive agility are correlated and are formative elements of the latent construct of cognitive agility provides an important theoretical insight that contributes to enhanced understanding of the nature of supply chain agility to foster future quantitative explorations to better understand the phenomena.