Cross-functional Integration Research Articles

Cross-functional integration between demand and supply processes: a case study about the role of digital technologies

PurposeThe objective of this article is to analyze the integration between the internal functions related to demand and supply processes. The studied object was an agribusiness company that uses digital technologies to operate its inbound logistics.Design/methodology/approachA case study was conducted in a global agribusiness company that went through a restructuring process with the implementation of a shared service center. In-depth interviews were conducted with employees from the demand and supply areas. The analysis involved description of cross-functional integration processes from the areas of demand and supply, the identification of technologies from Industry 4.0 present in the activities of those areas and their role in the integration process.FindingsThe analysis revealed the mediating role of technology in cross-functional integration, the presence of new integration factors and their impact on process performance. A framework was developed that describes the relationship between technology and integration factors, their impacts, and the implications for theory and practice.Practical implicationsRegarding this study, the focal company migrated its activities, which were previously isolated and dispersed across branches, to a centralized shared services unit. This research contributes by providing managers with elements to support their investment decisions in technologies that facilitate the integration process, mainly in the areas of planning and execution. It also contributes to the planning of processes, helping managers who are implementing or migrating activities and areas to new management structures.Originality/valueThis paper brings two new assumptions that may guide future investigations about cross-functional integration and its effects on demand and supply integration (DSI): (1) Digital technologies are able to support cross-functional integration in order to provide information integrity, team alignment, agile and assertive decision making within supply and demand processes; (2) Cross-functional integration, mediated by digital technologies, can generate agility and accuracy of information in the demand and supply processes. This accuracy and agility provide improvements in demand and supply process performance metrics, such as predictability, assertiveness, standardization, productivity and response time.

Cross-functional group decision making with heterogeneous cooperation for digital transformation in supply chain resilience

Supply chain resilience plays a critical role in gaining competitive advantages for companies. The resilience of supply chains can be achieved by leveraging emerging digital technologies to realize digital transformation. It is necessary to select an appropriate digitalization technology under such background. The wide-spanning of digital transformation and technology selection needs cross-functional integration of various expertise. However, in the process of making decisions by leveraging expert wisdom, differences in experts’ willingness to cooperate lead to difficulties in reaching a consensus. The existing literature fails to incorporate both non-cooperation and proactive-cooperation into the consensus reaching process. Thus, in this study, we introduce a cross-functional multi-attribute group decision making model for digitalization technology selection. To manage potential non-cooperative behaviors in the group consensus reaching process, the proposed model allows experts to have proactive cooperation, i.e., making more contributions than recommended feedback suggestions provided by the moderator. Proactive cooperation can make up for the loss caused by the non-cooperative behaviors of experts. A knowledge mining method is proposed to mine academic and practical preferences for attributes. Two consensus mechanisms are put forward for the meso decision-making process in functional teams and the macro decision-making process in the whole group, respectively. An illustrative example regarding the technology selection in shipbuilding industry is provided to verify the applicability of our model. Numerical experiments suggest that our model will improve the efficiency of consensus reaching process.

Performance Analysis of Higher Education Public Service Agencies: A Case Study of the Indonesian Civil Pilot Academy Banyuwangi

A Public Service Agency, known by the Indonesian nomenclature as Badan Layanan Umum (BLU), is a government institution with the autonomy to manage its finances effectively and efficiently and provide public services. BLU is crucial for delivering essential services in Indonesia, including specialized education in the transportation sector. Despite their significance, BLU institutions like the Indonesian Civil Pilot Academy Banyuwangi face operational inefficiencies, financial constraints, and human resource challenges that hinder organizational performance. This study investigates these challenges, focusing on how financial management, human resource issues, and operational inefficiencies affect educational outcomes. The research employed a qualitative case study approach using semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and field observations. Data were collected from key stakeholders, including students, lecturers, and staff, to assess organizational performance in the educational process, human resource management, and general operations. Findings reveal that while facilities and educator engagement have improved, issues such as lecturer absenteeism, student input quality, and the need for continuous staff training persist. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by demonstrating the critical role of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Cross-Functional Integration (CFI) in improving public service agency performance. The research offers practical recommendations for enhancing lecturer performance, refining student admissions, and developing powerful individuals through sustainable training. This expectation can give Public Service Agency management an outlook for increasing performance organization and support mission, as well as the Agency of Human Resources Development (BPSDM) on Transportation vision.

Cross-functional integration and new product development performance: Assessing mediating role of customer-supplier involvement and moderating role of structural empowerment

Under the open innovation paradigm, few empirical studies have addressed the value co-creation of the cross-functional and external integration, particularly the adverse effects of integration-induced structural empowerment on new product development (NPD). This study constructs a moderated mediation model grounded in value co-creation theory to investigate the interplay among cross-functional integration, customer-supplier involvement, structural empowerment, and NPD performance. Data from a survey of 294 high-performance manufacturing firms (machinery, electronics, and automobiles) worldwide, conducted during the fourth round of the High-Performance Manufacturing project, were analyzed. The empirical results indicate that cross-functional integration indirectly affects NPD performance through the mediating role of customer-supplier involvement. Moreover, the positive association between customer involvement and NPD performance is markedly diminished under conditions of high as opposed to low structural empowerment. However, structural empowerment does not significantly moderate the positive relationship between supplier involvement and NPD performance. This study contributes to the understanding of the value co-creation mechanisms associated with different integration strategies in NPD performance and reveals the potential drawbacks of excessive structural empowerment. Consequently, this study offers actionable insights for firms implementing integration strategies and structural empowerment.

P.O.L.A.R. Star: A New Framework Developed and Applied by One Mid-Sized Pharmaceutical Company to Drive Digital Transformation in R&D.

Digital transformation has become a cornerstone of innovation in pharmaceutical research and development (R&D). Pharmaceutical companies now have an imperative to embrace transformation, including mid-sized and small-sized companies despite resource limitations that do not allow economies of scale compared with larger organizations. This article describes the journey undertaken by Chiesi to develop an efficient framework to drive digital transformation along its R&D value chain with the objective of building and refreshing a clear roadmap and relevant priorities, together with identifying and enabling new digital capabilities and skills within R&D, defining tools and processes that will guide Chiesi activities in the space up to mid-long term. This work has led so far to five main achievements, which align with the steps in the framework: a strategically aligned roadmap with key focus areas for digital transformation and a dedicated team to lead the effort; a common language for data across the R&D value chain; an internal mindset that's open to innovation and participation in key external networks and consortia; a set of quick-win use cases for the new framework; and a defined set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and monitoring tools for digital transformation. The work presented here demonstrates that R&D digital transformation should represent an ongoing process to enable cross-functional collaboration and integration within complex corporate environments that face an ever-growing volume of diverse data, to efficiently support business needs, and to ensure a positive impact on patient care.

Role of supply chain management in improving competitive advantage of Indonesian small and medium enterprises

Global competition has forced companies, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to improve their competitive advantage. Supply chain management practices are the ways to improve the competitive advantage, particularly in the global competition context. However, there is still doubt SMEs can compete globally, considering they face limited resources, skilled workforce, and business networks. Therefore, this study aims to examine the influence of supply chain management practices, covering cross-functional integration, partnership, responsiveness, and resilience. Moreover, this study has examined which practices dominate in improving competitive advantage. The quantitative study involved 445 SMEs located in East Java, Indonesia. The respondents are supervisors or higher levels and work in departments related to supply chain management, as they can provide the relevant information and possess complete knowledge of management practices. The data were collected via a questionnaire designed with a five-point Likert scale. The responses were analyzed using SmartPLS software 4.0. The results show that cross-function integration improves supply chain partnership, responsiveness, and resilience (β = 0.705, 0.382, 0.324; t-value = 25.177, 6.697, 5.783). Supply chain partnerships affect supply chain responsiveness, resilience, and competitive advantage (β = 0.327, 0.257, 0.249; t-value = 5.933, 4.536, 5.651). Moreover, supply chain responsiveness improves supply chain resilience and competitive advantage (β = 0.285, 0.106; t-value = 5.690, 2.099). Supply chain resilience improves competitive advantage (β = 0.435 and t-value = 8.987). SMEs can enhance their competitive advantage by integrating their internal cross-functional integration and adopting supply chain partnership, responsiveness, and resilience. Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank DIKTI 2023 and Research and Community Outreach Petra Christian University for providing the grant to fund this research.

Role of supply chain partnership, cross-functional integration, responsiveness and resilience on competitive advantages: empirical evidence from Palestine

PurposeThe external business environment of the organization is always changing at a rapid pace. For a firm to adapt to changing client requirements, it must implement the right business procedures and strategies. To improve competitive advantage, this study investigates the roles that supply chain partnerships, cross-functional integration, responsiveness and resilience play in achieving competitive advantages in Palestine.Design/methodology/approachIndustrial institutions in Palestine constitute the study population. Data are collected by distributing surveys via Google Forms linked to manufacturers in industries such as the Leather and shoe Industry, metal industries, chemical industries, construction industries, textile industries, stone and marble industries, pharmaceutical industry, veterinary industry, food industry, plastic industry, paper industry, major advantages and disadvantages. The SEM-PLS approach is used to analyze the data.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that supply chain responsiveness, resilience and cooperation are all improved by cross-functional integration in inventory data integration and immediate operation. Supply chain partnerships improve the supply chain’s responsiveness, resilience and competitive advantage by involving partners in work teams and exchanging best practices. The enhancement of supply chain resilience and competitive advantage is influenced by the company’s capacity to act promptly in response to variations in demands.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper faces some limitations and it can be drawn as follows: To enhance supply chain risk management, the study continues to concentrate on manufacturing organizations that have internal integration. It also emphasizes the necessity of supply chain integration, which establishes direct connections with outside partners.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study suggest some policy implications, as follows: To provide the manufacturing sector with a competitive edge, operations supervisors must be able to track and assess processes to ensure they are meeting demand. Firms that possess the ability to adjust to novel procedures or advancements in technology gain a competitive edge by guaranteeing consistent and high-quality delivery of products.Originality/valueBy implementing IT integration, this study theoretically and practically advances the understanding of the resource-based view of competitive advantages. This study focuses on providing insights into the nature of the relationship between supply chain partnership, cross-functional integration, responsiveness and flexibility and competitive advantages in the manufacturing sector in the Palestinian market.

Impact of Cross-Functional Integration on Organizational Performance of a Semiconductor Company in the Philippines

Cross-functional integration (CFI) plays a crucial role in achieving the business objectives of any organization. This study assessed the impact of CFI on the organizational performance of a semiconductor company in the Philippines. This descriptive-quantitative research used an adapted questionnaire covering the three elements of CFI: collaboration, coordination, and communication. The data were gathered using Google Forms via email and Microsoft Teams from 87 employees on their supervisory levels of the subject-semiconductor company. The findings revealed that the subject-semiconductor company has a supportive culture for CFI. The present study has also provided empirical evidence that CFI is crucial to organizational performance. CFI practices in terms of the three elements have no significant differences as perceived by the respondents when grouped according to age, gender, and length of service. However, there exist significant differences in their perceptions of the practice of CFI in terms of coordination and communication when they are grouped by area/ department assignment. This suggests that the company can improve CFI by focusing on better coordination and communication across functions.

Employee Advocacy Programs in Public Relations

Purpose: The general aim of the study was to determine how the implementation of employee advocacy programs influences the effectiveness of employee advocacy programs in the context of public relations.
 Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library.
 Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to employee advocacy programs in public relations. Preliminary empirical review revealed that that these initiatives played a significant role in shaping organizational culture, enhancing brand perception, and fostering stakeholder relationships. Through a comprehensive review of empirical research, it was found that employee advocacy positively influenced employee engagement, organizational reputation, consumer trust, and crisis management. Factors such as leadership support, clear communication, organizational culture, and employee training were identified as critical drivers of program success. Additionally, research highlighted the impact of advocacy programs on consumer trust and purchase intentions, emphasizing their strategic value in building brand credibility and loyalty. Future research is encouraged to explore emerging trends and best practices in employee advocacy.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Social Identity, Social Exchange and Social Learning theories may be used to anchor future studies on employee advocacy programs in public relations. The study provided valuable recommendations that contributed to theory, practice, and policy in the field. It suggested further exploration of theoretical frameworks such as Social Identity Theory and Social Exchange Theory to better understand employee advocacy dynamics. Practitioners were advised to prioritize leadership support, authenticity, and transparency in advocacy efforts while investing in training and development programs for employees. Additionally, the study recommended the development of clear policies and metrics to guide and evaluate advocacy initiatives. Emphasis was placed on fostering a supportive organizational culture, promoting collaboration, and cross-functional integration to maximize the impact of employee advocacy programs.

Development of interaction management tools in B2B markets

The article is devoted to the problem of improving interaction in B2B markets. By analyzing the literature on the issues under study, the authors have identified a trend in the customer management development in B2B markets towards a unique experience creation along the entire path of interaction between an account and a company. This is a business marketing strategy aimed at understanding, engaging and providing customized services and content to target accounts. The strategy involves using marketing techniques to engage the entire organization by targeting multiple stakeholders within a single potential account. The use of CJM as a methodology currently used in B2C markets has been justified and recommendations for its application in B2B made. CJM allows companies to align their business processes and resources with the needs of accounts, ensuring smooth teamwork. Engagement tools used in account engagement management have been systematized, helping to effectively shape the account experience; engagement performance metrics have been identified. The engagement tools implementation provides the cross-functional integration needed to engage with larger accounts, aligning marketing with sales and service. The article focuses on personalizing engagement with decision makers. The research analysis also revealed the features and trends of content customization within the ABM programs.

Approach to spatial integration on a novel and complex major project – STEP concept Tokamak

The purpose of this work was to establish an approach to drive the development, at pace, of a commercially relevant Spherical Tokamak Concept. Building on the table of parameters and idealised geometry generated from the work of S. Muldrew et al. [1], applying core principles, tools, and approaches. The generation and utilisation of a reflective 3D Spatial Model to represent the current concept, now forms a strong basis for identifying, evaluating, and delivering future integrated decisions, developed within a 16 Month timeframe.STEP is an ambitious programme, tasked with delivering a prototype plant by 2040 as a pathway to commercial fusion energy. Tackling the integration of a system that itself is based on emergent technologies, significant assumptions (e.g. Plasma Physics) and uncertainties is a significant challenge whilst maintaining acceptable levels of commercial relevance and feasibility. This paper shares the developments and approaches to collaboration and communication taken, including the management of a graphical representation (CAD or Computer Aided Design) to overcome this challenge.The work conducted has resulted in a single point CAD (utilising CATIA software) model representing the current integration status including an appropriate approach to configuration management. Clear channels and methods of communication nurtured a successful collaborative and cross-functional integration approach. Transitioning swiftly from an externally driven approach to integration, to an inherent, self-orchestrating one across all system areas. This paper presents results as a single point Concept Design for the Integrated Tokamak, a strategic management approach, technological integration challenges (e.g. Services, Maintenance, Neutronics) faced, and considerations for the future (post concept design).Introducing a centralised design process, appropriate control and clear communication utilising CAD has been the key to maturing the STEP Tokamak Concept. Initial focus on facilitating collaboration and utilising this environment as a ‘sandbox’ enabled early establishment of a ‘space-claim’ concept design in which to iterate. Staging the integration approach and CAD model fidelity developments through ‘Identification, Realisation and Accommodation’ built a resilient foundation to progress through the full design process. This approach has enabled early identification of not only where the integration challenges lay but also their significance, resulting in strategic deployment of valuable resource.

The impact of supply chain pressure on cross-functional green integration and environmental performance: an empirical study from Chinese firms

The impact of supply chain pressure on cross-functional green integration and environmental performance: an empirical study from Chinese firms

Integrating science into digital health workflows: A strategic approach for leaders.

As the digital health industry becomes increasingly competitive, companies must integrate science cross-functionally to drive innovation and differentiation. However, many companies face significant challenges in effectively leveraging science across their organization. This commentary explores the common obstacles digital health companies encounter when integrating science, including limited C-suite understanding, siloed structures, resource constraints, change resistance, and value demonstration challenges. We provide practical strategies for overcoming each challenge, such as educating leadership on science's strategic importance, fostering cross-functional collaboration, prioritizing high-impact initiatives, facilitating open dialogue, and quantifying science's measurable impact. By proactively addressing these hurdles through targeted solutions, companies can successfully integrate science across teams and functions. Effective cross-functional science integration will enable companies to leverage scientific insights, drive product innovation, build credibility through evidence-based outcomes, and ultimately gain a competitive advantage in the rapidly evolving digital health landscape. Strong scientific leadership that champions integration through clear communication, strategic prioritization, and cultural buy-in is essential for achieving long-term success.

Leveraging Data Management Capabilities for Innovation Capabilities: The Moderating Role of Cross-Functional Integration

In today’s dynamic and competitive business environment, data are crucial for sustaining a competitive advantage. Organizations are also constantly seeking ways to enhance their innovation capabilities in order to stay ahead of the competition. One critical factor that has been identified as influential in enabling innovation are the organization’s data management capabilities. Past studies have found that cross-functional integration may enhance the impact of data management on innovation. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the influence of data management capabilities on explorative and exploitative innovation by considering the role of cross-functional integration as a moderating variable. This study used 116 data samples from medium and large companies across different industries in Indonesia. The PLS-SEM analysis was applied to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that data management capabilities as a third-order construct, consisting of three dimensions, namely data governance, technology, and skills, have significant direct influences on explorative and exploitative innovation. This study demonstrated that cross-functional integration still plays an important role in amplifying the relationship between data management capabilities and innovation capabilities, especially in relation to explorative innovation.

Procurement 4.0: How Industrial Customers Transform Procurement Processes to Capitalize on Digital Servitization

The rapid development of digital technologies can revolutionize industrial companies’ operations through the procurement and application of digital solutions following a logic of digital servitization. However, industrial customers must refine their internal processes to exploit the potential servitization. In this transition, the procurement organization is pivotal in orchestrating relationships between its internal functions and supplier's ecosystems. Yet, traditional procurement processes are poorly suited to the evaluation and procurement of digital servitization offerings, hampering value cocreation between suppliers and customers. The purpose of this article is to investigate how procurement process models can be adapted to address the opportunities and challenges of digital servitization for industrial customers. The investigation is based on a case-study design, drawing on data collected through in-depth interviews with informants from 11 leading customers and 8 global suppliers. Based on the data analysis following the Gioia methodology, in this article, we describe key challenges with the traditional approach and identify novel procurement practices to capture value from digitalization. The article's key contribution is to propose a process model for Procurement 4.0, highlighting four phases: mapping digital opportunities, selecting digitalization partners, codeveloping digital solution contracts, and promoting continuous digital innovation. Furthermore, we define three overarching principles for procurement 4.0: nurture digital ecosystem generativity, orchestrate cross-functional integration, and leverage supplier capabilities through agile cocreation.

Cross-Functional Problems in the Customer Relationship Management Implementation of Relationship Marketing

The way businesses are structured has significantly changed as they transition from customer-based to product-based structures. The development of Customer Relationship Management, which is supported by the convergence of information systems and the creation of auxiliary software, is a major force behind this transition. It promises to dramatically enhance the application of relationship marketing principles. The three key issues that can help (or hurt) the growth of customer relationship management in the service industry are examined in this paper. These issues are organisational culture and communication, management metrics, and cross-functional integration, particularly between marketing and information technology.

Cross-Functional Problems in the Customer Relationship Management Implementation of Relationship Marketing

The way businesses are structured has significantly changed as they transition from customer-based to product-based structures. The development of Customer Relationship Management, which is supported by the convergence of information systems and the creation of auxiliary software, is a major force behind this transition. It promises to dramatically enhance the application of relationship marketing principles. The three key issues that can help (or hurt) the growth of customer relationship management in the service industry are examined in this paper. These issues are organisational culture and communication, management metrics, and cross-functional integration, particularly between marketing and information technology.

Реверсивна логістика в системі логістичного менеджменту: вплив на формування конкурентоспроможності підприємства

In the context of the evolutionary development of the concept of logistics in the enterprise management system, the problem is the incompleteness of the theoretical foundations of logistics activities of enterprises. The terminology of logistics management, description of synergistic relationships between logistics and other activities at an enterprise, assessment of the impact of such relationships on the competitiveness of an enterprise, and study of logistics reserves for increasing the competitiveness of an enterprise (which also include reverse logistics) need to be clarified. In this article, the authors, using a value-based approach, aim to clarify the role of logistics management in the process of forming the competitiveness of an enterprise, and, consequently, in the process of managing the latter. Again, based on the value-oriented approach, the article describes the place of reverse logistics in the structure of logistics management; the principles and advantages of using reverse logistics are summarized. The article considers the relationship between the competitiveness of enterprises, the value chain and consumer value. The structure of benefits that the value chain generates for the end consumer (benefits from ownership of goods, benefits of exchange, benefits of place and time, reputational benefits) is determined, and the role of logistics activities in creating such benefits is shown. In the context of focusing on maximizing consumer value, the necessity of integrating the work of various departments of the enterprise and partner enterprises in the implementation of logistics activities is substantiated. The essence of logistics management as a type of management that focuses on the management of logistics operations based on the formation of cross-functional and inter-organizational integration in order to optimize the functioning of the supply chain, maximize customer value for end users and increase the competitiveness of supply chain participants is disclosed. In the structure of logistics management, the author defines the place of reverse logistics, which is a type of phase logistics activity that creates competitive advantages for partner enterprises by strengthening integration in logistics chains, saving costs through the use of secondary resources in production processes, optimizing inventories, production and trade assortment in relation to current and future demand, and, as a result, maximizing consumer value for end consumers.

Cross-Functional Integration, Value Co-Creation and New Product Development Success

Cross-Functional Integration, Value Co-Creation and New Product Development Success

A Study on Executive Perception Regarding the Training and Development System of AAF India Pvt. Ltd. to Bommasandra

Organizational restructuring is the process of change of ownership or structural transformation of an organization through merger, take over and disinvestment for survival. After change of ownership, the new management should think about the workforce with respect to profit incurred by the organization. Organizational success after change of management depends on speed in decision making, greater flexibility, the dynamic nature of the roles and role relationship, cross functional integration, team based processes, thrust on innovation and all round emphasis on delivery of results. Human resource issues are influencing the success and stability of business in terms of profitability, survival, competitiveness, adaptability and flexibility. After restructuring of TTPS, the management had given extensive focus on value-based HR processes for development of people and contribution towards organizational excellence. Several measures have taken towards individual development such as: performance appraisal, training initiatives, and career development prospect. As a result of those measures, performance of the organization has improved significantly and employees became more committed towards organizational goal. The new work atmosphere along with emphasis on individual development has created a motivated work force in the organization which has turned the loss-making unit into a profit-making one within a few years of time.