Supply Chain Alliance Research Articles

The Effects of Supply Chain Alliance Orientation on Ambidextrous Innovation and Market Performance: A Multigroup Study of US and Korean Firms

This research explores the effects of supply chain alliance orientation on ambidextrous innovation and market performance with evidence from South Korean and US firms amid COVID-19. Three theories underpin the conceptual framework including the resource-based view, relational view, and ambidextrous innovation while psychosomatic items generate the variables: supply chain alliance orientation, exploration innovation, exploitation innovation, and market performance. Hypotheses are posed through a literature review. A multigroup analysis of 427 firms using MICOM with PLS-SEM is employed to reveal differences between South Korean and American companies. Here Korean firms generate ambidextrous innovation and market performance better than US firms. Mediation tests are also conducted. Implications are provided.

The impact of company participation in supply chain alliances on the cost of equity capital: Evidence from China

The alliance cooperation between corporations and upstream and downstream corporations in the supply chain is of great significance for optimizing resource allocation and enhancing company competitiveness. However, due to the limitation of data availability, there is still a lack of empirical tests on the economic consequences of firms' participation in supply chain alliances. Based on the data of strategic cooperation announcements issued by China's A-share listed companies from 2016 to 2022, this paper manually identifies supply chain alliances and studies the impact of companies' formation or participation in supply chain alliances on the cost of equity capital. The results show that forming or participating in supply chain alliances can effectively reduce the cost of equity capital for companies. The channel test shows that companies forming or participating in supply chain alliances can reduce the cost of equity capital by easing financing constraints and improving competitiveness. Further analysis shows that the pre-set amount and equity-based alliance in the alliance agreement have a more significant effect on reducing the cost of equity capital. At the same time, in regions with a higher degree of marketization and companies with weak supply chain discourse power, the effect of reducing the cost of equity capital after forming supply chain alliance is more significant. This paper reveals the impact of supply chain alliances on the cost of equity capital for corporations, enriches the research on the influencing factors of equity capital cost and the mechanism of company participation in supply chain alliances, helps the capital market improve the signal recognition ability of supply chain alliances, improves the efficiency of capital allocation and the rationality of capital flow, and provides ideas for promoting the quality and efficiency of supply chain alliance.

Optimization of third party take-back enterprise collection strategy based on blockchain and remanufacturing reverse logistics

The current third party take-back (TPT) model faces the issues of with data retrieval and process standardization, hindering the development of remanufacturing. To address these issues, this paper proposes an approach to optimize TPT recycling through the use of blockchain and remanufacturing reverse logistics (RRL). Firstly, the paper analyzes the key factors influencing collection strategies to enhance economic feasibility. Secondly, by leveraging blockchain to establish a transparent supply chain alliance information link, data accessibility is ensured. Finally, by using the example of engine recycling as the case study, the paper reveals the driving role of product quality and market trends in TPT recycling, emphasizing the necessity of considering product conditions and a stable market environment.

Research on Sustainable Cooperation Strategies for Cross-Regional Supply Chain Enterprises in Uncertain Environments

Considering the fuzziness of cooperation and the sustainability of the redevelopment of cross-regional supply chain enterprises, the fuzzy participation degree and the generalized redistribution coefficient are introduced to describe the problem of cooperation and benefit distribution of cross-regional supply chain enterprises. A fuzzy average monotone game is constructed to study the strategies of cross-regional supply chain enterprises to increase the average benefit with the expansion of the alliance scale; a generalized fuzzy reduced game is discussed to ensure the partner selection decision of supply chain enterprises; the concepts of generalized fuzzy core, generalized fuzzy bargaining set, and generalized fuzzy proportional distribution are proposed; the equivalence between the generalized fuzzy core and the generalized fuzzy bargaining set of the fuzzy average monotone game of the cross-regional supply chain enterprises is proved; the nonempty generalized fuzzy core solution of the fuzzy average monotone game is characterized; and the example analysis shows the stability of the cross-regional supply chain enterprise alliance and the existence of the optimal generalized redistribution scheme. The research results not only satisfy the willingness of cross-regional supply chain enterprises to participate in cooperation with some resources from the “environmental” pillar of supply chain enterprise management sustainability but also achieve the strategy of retaining partial benefits for the redevelopment of supply chain alliances from the “economic” pillar of supply chain enterprise management sustainability, which provides a theoretical basis for the cooperation and benefit redistribution of cross-regional supply chain enterprises under uncertain environments.

Linking Supply Chain Alliance Orientation to Market Performance: Evidence from South Korean Firms

Purpose - This research aims to provide a greater understanding of the constructs that aid in the mitigation of supply chain disruptions. Recent anomalies in the global supply chain have negatively influenced the performance of institutions throughout the globe. It is therefore advantageous to examine various antecedents of firm performance through the spectrum of supply chain management. To achieve this, an SOR framework was utilized for this study.
 Design/Methodology/Approach - A hypothesized model was developed to examine the relationship between the study constructs. The sample for this research comprised of 200 South Korean firms. Data were analyzed using Smart PLS-SEM analysis. All the constructs were analyzed through a SOR framework.
 Findings - Supply chain alliance orientation and supply chain resilience had a significantly positive effect on market performance. Likewise, it was found that supply chain dynamism encouraged supply chain alliance orientation in a supply chain. Further, the mediating effects of alliance orientation showed a positive effect on supply chain resilience and market performance. Similarly, supply chain resilience had a favorable mediating relationship between supply chain alliance orientation and market performance.
 Research Implications - The SOR framework can be used as model for understanding organizational behavior in the context of supply chain management. Also, the study findings suggest the importance of developing alliances to strengthen organizational operations during periods of supply chain disruptions.

Modeling and simulation of extended ant colony labor division for benefit distribution of the all-for-one tourism supply chain with front and back decoupling.

This paper takes the supply chain alliance under the decoupling of the front and back of the all-for-one tourism as the research object. Considering the three behavior stimuli of self-benefit, altruism, and invariance, this article resets the attributes such as environmental stimuli and response threshold of ants based on the characteristics of the all-for-one tourism supply chain with shared services as the core under the decoupling of the front and back. Moreover, it introduces dual intervention factors to coordinate the benefit distribution process of different member companies, takes fairness as the main goal of benefit distribution, introduces relative deprivation as the measure index of fairness, and establishes a dynamic all-for-one tourism supply chain alliance benefit distribution model. The experimental results show that the extended model has good flexibility of benefit distribution and realizes the fair distribution of supply chain benefits.

Green investment and vertical alliances in the maritime supply chain

Green investment and vertical alliances in the maritime supply chain

Supply Chain Alliance Basic Principles of Law and Economic Analysis

Supply Chain Alliance Basic Principles of Law and Economic Analysis

Research on the Information Tracing Model for Cross-border E-commerce Products based on Blockchain

Information asymmetry, information island, high regulatory cost, etc., emerge from the fast development of cross-border e-commerce in China, for which the blockchain, with its capabilities in information sharing, information traceability, smart contract, and so on, can play an effective role in product information tracing. Based on blockchain, this paper builds the product information tracing model using information chains of two different degrees of openness. The model includes the three major bodies of cross-border e-commerce—the supply chain alliance, the consumers and the regulatory departments, so as to produce information tracing, ensure information authenticity and integrity, and be applicable to all kinds of e-commerce platforms.

An Empirical Study on Optimal the Allocations in Advertising and Operation Innovation on Supply Chain Alliance for Complex Data Analysis

Effective and efficient closed‐loop supply chain processes can provide a significant competitive edge for companies. This study considered three investment strategies in the process of initiating closed‐loop supply chain alliances. The results showed that a promised proportion has a significant effect on investment decisions under a pure investment strategy. Furthermore, a reasonable promised proportion can coordinate the supply chain under a pure innovation strategy but cannot in a pure advertising strategy. Upstream (i.e., innovation) investments decrease wholesale and retail prices, while downstream ones increase retail and wholesale prices. Increasing innovation investment can transform benefits to the downstream, while increasing advertising investment may cause opportunism. A hybrid investment strategy balances upstream and downstream investment simultaneously and provides insights into optimizing the supply chain system in investments.

Research on the influence of relation embeddedness on innovation performance of manufacturing supply chain alliances using expert fuzzy rule –intermediary role of shared mental model

The innovation and development of manufacturing supply chain alliance is an important way for enterprises to meet the increasing market demand and maintain the competitive advantage. From the perspective of embeddedness, the research model of relation embeddedness on innovation performance of manufacturing supply chain was constructed based on AMOS. Shared mental model was selected as intermediary variable to study the influence of relation embeddedness, shared mental model and innovation performance of manufacturing supply chain alliances. Expert fuzzy rule based system is utilized for measuring the performance of manufacturing supply chain alliances. The conclusion shows that relation embeddedness is significantly positive shared mental model and innovation performance. Shared mental model is positively affects alliance innovation performance and plays a part of intermediary role between relational embedding and alliance innovation performance. Practice implicates that enhance the level of relation embeddedness can promote the formation of shared mental model and improve the innovation performance of manufacturing supply chain alliance.

Decision-Making of Closed-Loop Supply Chain Strategic Alliance Considering the Quality Level of Remanufactured Products and Patent Protection

In this paper, a closed-loop supply chain consisting of a manufacturer, a retailer and a third-party remanufacturer responsible for collecting used products and remanufacturing is constructed. Considering the quality level of remanufactured products, four kinds of closed-loop supply chain alliance structure models are constructed. The optimal equilibrium decisions of these four models are compared and analyzed. The optimal decisions of the models are verified by numerical analysis. Furthermore, the impacts of the quality of remanufactured products and the decision influence of the third-party remanufacturer in the alliance on the remanufacturer’s decision are further analyzed. The results show that remanufactured products are competitive with new products, and the improvement of the remanufactured product quality will reduce the market demand of new products. The equilibrium decision of the closed-loop supply chain is affected by the alliance behavior of members in the closed-loop supply chain and the quality level of remanufactured products. The higher the decision concentration of the closed-loop supply chain is, the more favorable the supply chain is; the higher the remanufacturing quality level is, the more favorable the supply chain is, and the alliance decision of the third-party remanufacturer is affected by the quality level of remanufactured products and the decision-making influence of the third-party remanufacturer in the alliance structure. We find that the improvement of the concentration degree of closed-loop supply chain decision can benefit the supply chain by improving the remanufacturing quality level, which has direct effect on the alliance decision of the third-party remanufacturer. In most cases, the choice of the alliance is the dominant decision of the third-party remanufacturer.

Home-Delivery-Oriented Agri-Food Supply Chain Alliance: Framework, Management Strategies, and Cooperation Stability Control

The high cost of operation and severe competition in the agri-food e-commerce market make it hard for the small and medium agri-food enterprises (A-SMEs) to operate cost-efficiently and in a sustainable manner. This paper seeks to organize A-SMEs to develop a cooperative organization via collaborative strategies and alliance structures, named as the home-delivery-oriented agri-food supply chain (HASC) alliance, to form a substantive relationship to gain a stable foothold in the emerging e-commerce market. A theoretical framework of the HASC alliance is built with its organizational structure and schematics of the process of implementation strategies that cover the aspects of last-mile chain extension, food transportation, and production/distribution control. Furthermore, a three-step analytical method is proposed to analyze the performance of the alliance with the aim to provide appropriate strategies to hedge against the potential risks of cooperation instability. A hypothetical case is conducted, and the results show that: (1) the performance of the hypothetical HASC alliance with time shows significant variation in the beginning, but it gains stability with the application of stability control strategies; (2) the cooperation stability of HASC alliance is very sensitive to the performance of the strategies that control the customer and environment variations; (3) the factors of trust and market fluctuation have higher effects on membership and environmental stability, respectively; (4) the minimum and maximum cost ranges of control strategies at which the alliance can maintain its stability and performance are 5% and 29%, respectively, of the total operation cost.

Interpartner Legitimacy Building in the Formation Process of a Multiparty Alliance

This paper investigates how a buyer builds interpartner legitimacy during the formation of a supply chain alliance. Prior research on supply chain collaboration has focused almost exclusively on already established collaborations, neglecting the importance of the formation stage for the path-dependent nature of such long-term relationships. Alliance research found that the building of interpartner legitimacy during the formation stage is particularly important to ensure alliance success. However, we know very little about how a buyer can purposefully build interpartner legitimacy with several suppliers in the formation stage. To explore this gap, we used a longitudinal, in-depth case study to dissect the activities and processes through which a buyer forms a multiparty alliance with five suppliers to deliver substantial mechanical and electrical services with a combined value of over $1 billion for the construction of a new nuclear power station in the UK. We collected a rich dyadic data set derived from over 159 hours of meeting observations, 20 interviews and numerous company reports. Our findings demonstrate a range of actions a buyer undertakes to build interpartner legitimacy over time. We can show that these actions follow a sequence starting with the building of moral interpartner legitimacy before addressing pragmatic concerns. We find that while interpartner legitimacy building is predominantly driven by the buyer during the early phase of the formation process, suppliers drive interpartner legitimacy building during the late phase. Overall, our findings contribute to the emergent research on interpartner legitimacy building and offer insights into the underexplored area of collaboration formation.

Structural anatomy and evolution of supply chain alliance networks: A multi-method approach

We investigate the evolution of supply chain alliance networks with a focus on the influence of structural, firm-, and industry-level mechanisms. While several structural supply chain characteristics have been found to be significant drivers of firm innovation and performance, a dearth of studies exists examining how these characteristics change over time by influencing one another. We develop and empirically test hypotheses on the impact of prior structural configurations and the moderating roles of absorptive capacity and industry growth on the temporal trajectory of supply chain alliance network structures. Adopting a multi-method approach, we jointly use econometric analyses and simulation experiments to examine our hypotheses from complementary angles. Specifically, we characterize the dynamic relationship between the structural mechanisms on a longitudinal dataset of 2221 unique firms and 13,668 firm-year observations spanning 25 years. We find empirical support for negative crossover effects between two key structural properties of supply chain alliance networks, a positive moderation of a firm's absorptive capacity, and a negative moderation of industry growth on the structural reinforcement. We conduct corresponding simulation experiments based on a separable temporal exponential random graph model (STERGM) to track the temporal changes in the simulated networks' key measures. The simulation results concur with most of our empirical findings and provide additional insights complementary to our econometric analysis results. By focusing on the mechanism of temporal changes in network structural properties, our study contributes to supply chain management research with a supply network perspective and interfirm alliance network research by broadening its scope into structural dynamism. Our multi-method approach demonstrates how multiple complementary methodologies can foster a more nuanced understanding of managing supply chain alliance network management.

Framework for successful supply chain implementation in healthcare area from provider’s prospective

Purpose This paper aims to explore avenue where suppliers and manufacturers are aligned with health-care providers to improve supply chain visibility. Supply chain finance is explored to link suppliers/manufacturers with health-care providers. Design/methodology/approach Existing literature on supply chain visibility in health care forms a basis to achieve the study purpose. Alignment calls also for financial health where supply chain partners’ working capital is readily available to execute joint supply chain plan. Findings There is a disjoint in supply chain alliance between suppliers/manufacturers and providers where providers are unable to trace the origin of supplies. Quality care suffers and cost of care rises as providers search for supplies on an emergency basis. This paper provides a framework where solution can be formulated. Research limitations/implications Suppliers/manufactures form a direct strategic alliance with providers where product visibility enables health-care providers with a better patient management with lower cost of supplies. Inventory management and logistics cost will be lowered as better planning/forecasting is in place. This paper does not call for testing any hypothesis. Perhaps, next move along this line will be to investigate financial health of supply chain partners based on supplier relationship management practices. Originality/value This paper proposes health-care supply chain as an alternative solution to achieve the following twin purposes: controlling the cost while improving quality of care through supply chain finance. As far as we know, this study is the first attempt to achieve the goals.

Constellational Interdependence, Trust, and Cooperation in Supply-Chain Alliance Social Dilemmas

In their article about why supply chain alliances struggle to create value, McCarter and Northcraft (2007) observe that, as a collective action, supply chain alliances are social dilemmas, and McCarter and Northcraft point to the supply chain alliance structure as a culprit that undermines trust and subsequent cooperation among partners. An untested supply chain alliance structure of their model is constellational interdependence - or the number of independent supply chain alliances partners are involved in. We test predictions presented in the model about constellational interdependence with data from the experimental laboratory. Congruent with the model’s predictions, we find: (1) a partner’s contribution to a supply chain alliance decreases as the number of separate supply chain alliances their partners are engaged in increases; (2) trust among supply chain alliance partners decrease as the number of separate supply chain alliances those partners are engaged in increases; and (3) trust mediates the relationship between the size of the supply chain alliance constellation and partner contributions. In extending the model, we also find that constellation interdependence can benefit supply chain alliance cooperation when there are asymmetrical benefits among supply chain alliance partnerships.

Forming and Development of the Port Logistics Service Supply Chain

In the development of modern logistics, ports which are the hub of land and water transportation of goods, have been playing a more and more significant role in international trade and logistics. In order to form logistics service supply chain alliance of port enterprises, enhance service efficiency of port logistics, it finds out that there are shortage in some aspects by investigating and comparing, including development layout of port service, basic establishment, standard of logistics and technology training and supply chain alliance construction progress. On the basis, in the era of supply chain management or Port Logistics, it provides some suggests for building the alliance in ports service supply chain. These suggestions can provide some advantage for port logistics development.

Carrier and GE Industrial Systems: A Supply Chain Partnership

This case deals with Carrier Corporation's management's efforts to create a strategic supply partnership with one of its major suppliers. Some issues covered include purchasing, supply chain management, alliances and partnerships, and productivity improvement. This case has been used in an MBA course on supply chain management and in executive education general management courses.

The Role of a Strategic and Sustainable Orientation in Green Supply Chain Management

The environmental problems we're facing today, with their growing severity and increasingly global nature, are often referred to as humanity's greatest challenge. This paper develops a model that identifies the antecedents and outcomes associated with sustainable supply chain management linkage. The model starts by identifying two antecedents (internal and external orientation) that firms may adopt in order to cope with their sustainability goals. The hypotheses are tested based on the major survey data from 342 Taiwanese and Chinese public corporations. This study not only demonstrates that both the internal supply chain and external environmental orientation exert a positive on green SCM, sustainability orientation, and alliance performance, but also, more importantly, they delineate how green SCM is practiced. This study also sheds light on the role of a sustainable orientation in strategic supply chain alliance's performance, and builds a comprehensive conceptual framework that fills some key gaps in previous research.