Foreign Suppliers Research Articles

Prospects and problems of digitalization of trade in the Republic of Kazakhstan at the present stage

This article examines the prospects and problems of digitalization of trade in the Republic of Kazakhstan at the present stage. The article points out the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy and industries, as well as the benefits and losses that participants in the global e-commerce may receive. The purpose of the study is to identify prospects for the development of the e-commerce market in the Republic of Kazakhstan. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were identified: to identify the conditions for the digitalization of trade in the Republic of Kazakhstan and its significance in terms of the economic development of the country and digital trade in Kazakhstan, the study of factors that may affect its development. In addition, the study will develop and propose a number of recommendations to improve the digitalization of trade in Kazakhstan and increase the competitiveness of businesses in this industry. In order not to be among the losers, it is necessary to introduce state regulation in the field of e-commerce, aimed at leveling the competitive conditions for foreign and domestic suppliers, creating the necessary infrastructure and stimulating the activities of domestic enterprises. The article also provides specific measures to improve the mechanism for the functioning of electronic commerce, such as creating favorable conditions, training, training entrepreneurs in digital skills, introducing restrictive measures in the activities of international marketplaces, and others. The authors of the article believe that the development of electronic commerce can be the key to new jobs and economic growth in the country.

Import experience and the post-entry performance of first-time exporters

<abstract> <p>Using the universe of Spanish first-time exporters selling manufactured products over the period 1997–2018, we show that import experience is associated with higher survival rates in the export markets, and conditioning on survival, a higher growth rate of their exports. In both cases, the highest impact is obtained when previous import experience occurs within one year before firms start exporting. Import experience improves general knowledge about foreign markets but it is not market-specific. Post-entry success in terms of survival and persistent growth rises if new exporters are large importers and if they buy intermediate inputs from competitive foreign suppliers.</p> </abstract>

DISCUSSIONS ABOUT TECHNOLOGICAL SOVEREIGNTY: ANALYZING CONCEPTUAL DIFFERENCES AND JUSTIFICATION STRATEGIES

The paper is devoted to the study of conceptual differences in the interpretation of the concept – «technological sovereignty». In recent years, many states have proclaimed the achievement of technological sovereignty as a strategic priority and one of the goals of long-term development. At the same time, in the scientific literature on this topic, in the presence of review publications and case studies, there is a lack of analysis of conceptual differences. In strategic documents, state concepts and public discourse, the articulation of the concept of «sovereignty» in the technological sphere varies from a variant close to autarky in meaning to a policy of maintaining a competitive environment and diversifying foreign suppliers of critical technologies. As a methodological basis for the study, we chose the concept of problematics developed within the framework of the French tradition of historical epistemology (J. Martin, L. Althusser, D. Lecourt). Its toolkit makes it possible to explicate the internal structure and interconnection of concepts within the framework of individual interpretations and the logic of justification strategies in public policy. On the example of the European Union, a new interpretation of sovereignty as an agency was demonstrated, in addition, its connection with the postulates of German ordoliberalism was investigated. The cases of Brazil and India represent two different models for justifying the policy of technological sovereignty in the context of understanding center-periphery relations in the global economy and postcolonialism.

Import experience and the post-entry performance of first-time exporters

<abstract> <p>Using the universe of Spanish first-time exporters selling manufactured products over the period 1997–2018, we show that import experience is associated with higher survival rates in the export markets, and conditioning on survival, a higher growth rate of their exports. In both cases, the highest impact is obtained when previous import experience occurs within one year before firms start exporting. Import experience improves general knowledge about foreign markets but it is not market-specific. Post-entry success in terms of survival and persistent growth rises if new exporters are large importers and if they buy intermediate inputs from competitive foreign suppliers.</p> </abstract>

Диджиталізація бухгалтерського обліку з використанням технології blockchain

Intensive promotion of blockchain technologies in public spheres of administration, science, education, economics, finance, medicine, culture and art allows concluding about the prospects for effective implementation of blockchain technologies in accounting and auditing. This conclusion is verified by numerous works of foreign and domestic scholars concerning the use of blockchain for organizing accounting and auditing of a new generation. The article reflects the essence of blockchain technology and describes the process of its implementation in accounting for prepayment to a foreign supplier, which forms a chain of encrypted blocks of transactions in real time, which are carried out between participants directly, which allows to ensure security, fast availability of data and significant speed of transactions. Blockchain technologies in accounting are based on the principles of decentralization, security, irreversibility, and consensus. The article reflects the advantages and disadvantages of using blockchain technologies in accounting. The most important negative factors are significant costs and investments; lack of relevant packages of regulatory documents and standards in Ukraine; lack of qualified specialists who are able to develop, implement and use projects based on blockchain technologies. In addition, the promotion of new technologies based on blockchain must be carried out simultaneously by all interested stakeholders. Therefore, the introduction of blockchain technologies in Ukraine is a laborious and lengthy process, which at present is at the initial stage. Prospects for further research are to study the problem of reforming the national accounting system for the successful adaptation of blockchain technologies.

Analysis of Inventory Problems Using the Fault Tree Analysis Method (Case Study: PT Kimpai Dyna Tube)

PT Kimpai Dyna Tube focuses on PBL (Plastic Barier Laminate) Tube products, which currently focuses on providing cosmetic products with plastic-based materials. Based on the results of the field survey on the inventory process, several problems were found, namely overstock material, deadstock material and outstanding material. The analysis process used is the Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) method because of its efficiency. Based on the results of the FTA, it was found that the basic event in the case of overstock material and deadstock material, namely changes in skincare trends in the community that caused very significant changes in the results of purchase orders and forecasts. The solution for the problem of overstock material and material deadstock is the application of a stock level system on inventory. Meanwhile, in the Outstanding material case, 3 basic events were obtained including, long lead time for delivery by overseas suppliers, trouble machines and many rejected quality items. Based on the results of the FTA, solutions were found for these problems, including performing careful calculations for the process of purchasing goods from foreign suppliers, providing machine spare parts and coordinating with suppliers and customers regarding the quality standards of production.

Results of World-Class Research Centers Performing Research and Development on the Priorities of Scientific and Technological Development: the Monitoring Results for 2021

Introduction. World-class research centers were created as part of the national project “Science and Universities” in order for Russia to achieve leading global positions in certain sectors of scientific and technological development, to conduct breakthrough research mainly of a fundamental and exploratory nature, aimed at solving problems, at a global level of relevance and significance. Monitoring Tools. In the work, methods of analysis, synthesis, and system approach were applied. The main sources of information were the annual reporting data of world-class scientific centers, programs for the creation and development of WCRCs, analytical data from RIEPL, as well as statistical information from open sources, including the official websites of WCRCs. Results. In 2021, 7 WCRCs achieved the planned target values for the indicators in full, 3 WCRCs — partially; and many planned indicators were over-fulfilled. A total of 1,554 leading scientists, 1,189 research associates, 1,623 young researchers (under 39 years of age), 453 graduate students, and 92 faculty members are involved in the WCRC. Among the risks of non-fulfillment of the plans for the development of WCRCs up to 2024 are: failure to implement a number of activities on cooperation with foreign organizations; violation of terms and volumes of supply of equipment and consumables by foreign suppliers; problems in publishing articles in WoS and Scopus journals; complications in attracting foreign scientists to work at WCRCs, etc. WCRCs are taking measures to mitigate these and other risks. Conclusion. The materials in this scientific article may be useful in the development of proposals for the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for the implementation of the NP "Science and Universities," as well as scientists, specialists and all those interested in the activities and development of the WCRC.

The fuel and energy complex system of Ukraine: established approaches and structure

The energy potential of Ukraine under wartime conditions has been clarified. The work of scientists, researchers, and practitioners regarding the goals and strategies of developing the fuel and energy potential system is analyzed. The main approaches to its formation and structure are outlined. Significant flaws in the organizational and territorial significance of the fuel and energy complex of Ukraine are outlined. It became known that the energy and hydropower industries lagged the main branches of fuel and energy resources relative to the broad scale of the increase in energy consumption. This, in turn, provoked a shortage of coal mass consumption at the state's electric and thermal capacities. It was determined that after the collapse of the USSR, in Ukraine, the energy system occupied the first place in the state's economy. Its priority was the satisfaction of the potential of the domestic energy demand, as well as exports to the countries of the European Union. This process supplies primary energy resources, including oil products, natural gas, oil, and nuclear fuel. At the same time, Ukraine somehow failed to form an adequate basis for the implementation of energy policy with the aim of stable and balanced development of the energy sector and the formation of a system of energy independence from foreign suppliers. It is no secret that the energy industry of Ukraine became the leading supplier of energy raw materials for other countries. As a result of the analysis of indicators regarding the income of companies in various industries, it can be stated that in 2021, the Ukrainian economy will remain raw-based and will continue. Even though the solution to the problems of the existence of the fuel and energy complex of Ukraine is aimed at achieving national goals, at the same time, there are minor problems. Therefore, in our opinion, the short-term and long-term stages of its implementation should be considered when developing an appropriate strategy. As for the effectiveness of the mentioned strategy, it is worth justifying the necessary conceptual and conceptual toolkit and the methodological directions for further generalization. Taking into account the content of the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035, "Security, energy efficiency, competitiveness," we believe it is worth developing appropriate types of energy strategies regarding increasing the level of energy efficiency, strengthening the norms and principles of energy security. Keywords: fuel, energy, complex, structure of the energy complex, fuel crisis, energy strategies, combined gas transportation system, electric power enterprises, energy conservation policy, fuel, and energy sector, hydropower, nuclear power, renewable energy sources

Vers l’organisation d’une économie de guerre : les accords de clearing allemands dans les années 1930

Faced with a shortage of foreign currency reserves from 1931, the German Reich faced it through increasingly draconian exchange controls. As soon as Hitler came to power, he brought all his trade agreements into the clearing system. Compensation had several advantages from his point of view. It saved foreign exchange reserves, while allowing Germany to pay foreign suppliers and to honour the service of debts, of the Dawes and Young plans in particular. By organizing the clearing, Berlin was also dividing the front of the creditors and bringing Europe into the logic of its rearmament. The Reich was thus preparing, step by step, the general clearing with which it involved Europe at the start of the war.

Product and process innovation patterns in Polish low and high technology systems

Research background: While the Sectoral Innovation System (SSI) anticipates technology-related similarities in innovation patterns in the same sectors across countries, the distance to the frontier suggests that there are important differences with respect to the level of national technological development. Most contemporary analyses of sectoral innovation systems are focused on well-developed economies. In contrast, the evidence from developing countries including new EU members are scared and lack dynamics. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare product and process innovation patterns in Polish low and high technology systems. The main assumption is that divergence and convergence in innovation patterns of low- and medium-low technology (LMT) and high technology (HT) systems evolve over time and are strongly influenced by the characteristics of firms, their linkages with other system participants, existing demand, and institutional conditions. Methods: According to the third edition of the Oslo Manual (OECD, 2005), we employ a harmonized questionnaire and methodology to collect unique micro data on innovation. The survey concerns 5252 firms including 873 firms from HT sector. The scope of the research relates to product and process innovation at least new to the firm. Findings & value added: Our results show that although the intensity of product and process innovation is higher in HT system, both business support institutions and public financial instruments better support firms in LMT sectors. On the other hand, existing demand and market structure favor the emergence of new innovations at the firm level (imitations), but with more emphasis on LMT. The key source of innovation is suppliers, with foreign suppliers in HT and national ones in LMT. In contrast to leading economies, LMT plays a key role in long term economic growth in Poland.

SMART CITIES IN EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION: OUTLOOK FOR RUSSIAN REGIONAL TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP

Smart Cities have been in the focus of scientific community, states, and city authorities for over decade now. Unprecedented urbanization rates are forcing governments to think about how to provide comfortable and safe living in high population density regions. Our research shows that this subject is making its way to priority matter of regional integration associations around the globe. For instance, the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are already implementing joint projects and initiatives in the field of smart cities. It is expected that due to the development of the digital agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union smart cities will be discussed within the EAEU. Regarding these trends, the authors raise a research question whether Russia, taking advantage of such strategic advantages as geographical remoteness from global innovation hubs, cultural and historical multidimensional ties, and relying on rich experience in the development of smart city technologies, can effectively compete with foreign technology suppliers and achieve technological leadership in the Eurasian region. We apply a comprehensive methodology based on the methods of Gartner, NASA and PM Solutions to derive the empirical data and evidence-based conclusions on market structure, industry and geographical breakdowns and evaluate Russia’s technological prospects in the region for the following decade.

Aggregate fluctuations in adaptive production networks

To counteract the adverse effects of shocks, such as the global pandemic, on the economy, governments have discussed policies to improve the resilience of supply chains by reducing dependence on foreign suppliers. In this paper, we develop and quantify an adaptive production network model to study network resilience and the consequences of reshoring of supply chains. In our model, firms exit due to exogenous shocks or the propagation of shocks through the network, while firms can replace suppliers they have lost due to exit subject to switching costs and search frictions. Applying our model to a large international firm-level production network dataset, we find that restricting buyer-supplier links via reshoring policies reduces output and increases volatility and that volatility can be amplified through network adaptivity.

The impact of tariffs and price premiums of locally manufactured products on global manufacturers' sourcing strategies

The past decade has seen significant pressure to return manufacturing to developed countries. Such movements call for import tariffs to be raised and consumers' valuation of products made from locally sourced components increased. These factors are believed to stimulate firms operating in a single market to source components locally. However, it is not clear that they are equally effective for multinational firms that produce and sell products in multiple markets. To enrich the understanding of this issue, we build a game‐theoretical model to analyze the sourcing decisions of a global manufacturer that maintains production sites and sells products in both domestic and foreign markets in a competitive environment. The firm can choose either to source components from suppliers located in the same markets as the manufacturing sites to gain tariff savings and a price premium from consumers' higher valuation, or to source all components from a single foreign supplier to obtain a lower sourcing cost. We find that the structure of the global supply chain plays a critical role in the firm's sourcing strategy. Consumers' higher valuation of locally manufactured goods always promotes local sourcing. Raising tariffs, however, might backfire and discourage local sourcing because of the firm's global supply chain structure and the foreign supplier's strategic response to higher tariffs. Finally, local sourcing may reduce the consumer surplus even though consumers place a higher value on locally manufactured goods. This paper sheds light on recent movements to return manufacturing to developed countries and demonstrates the importance of taking the manufacturer's global supply chain structure and vertical interaction with suppliers into account.

Trade and Foreign Economic Policy Uncertainty in Supply Chain Networks: Who Comes Home?

Problem definition: The uncertainty around trade and foreign economic policy contributes to supply chain risk. Academic/practical relevance: Whether such policy uncertainty will bring some production back to the United States or only redistribute the global supply chains among foreign sources is theoretically ambiguous and warrants an empirical analysis. In this paper, we study the relationship between trade and foreign economic policy uncertainty and the supply chain networks of American firms. Methodology: We use firm-level global supply chain data, transaction-level shipping container data, and policy uncertainty indexes constructed from leading media outlets to study how policy uncertainty correlates with changes in supply chain networks. Results: When U.S. trade policy uncertainty rises, firms with majority domestic sales decrease their supplier base abroad, whereas firms with majority foreign sales increase the number of foreign suppliers. Firms also substitute among foreign countries in response to their respective economic policy uncertainty—shifting suppliers from countries with higher uncertainty to ones with lower uncertainty. Firms requiring more specific inputs, producing more differentiated products, having higher market shares, and more central to the production network are more sensitive to policy uncertainty. Managerial implications: Supply chain restructuring following higher policy uncertainty puts the market value at risk. Managers should consider customers’ locations when making global supply chain restructuring decisions. Funding: B. Charoenwong acknowledges funding from the National University of Singapore [Start-Up Grant R-315-000-119-133] and the Singapore Ministry of Education [AcRF (Academic Research Fund) Tier 1 Grant R-315-000-122-115]. J. Wu acknowledges funding from the Hong Kong RGC (Research Grants Council) [Grant 14504621]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1136 .

Inter-Firm Transfer of Environmental Disclosure in Global Supply Chains

This study investigates the inter-firm transfer of environmental disclosure, a voluntary corporate sustainable practice that improves transparency in global supply chains. Building on the liability of foreignness and organizational learning frameworks, we propose that the strength of the association between the multinational enterprise’s (MNE’s), i.e. buyer’s, disclosure and its foreign supplier’s environmental disclosures is systematically weakened by the cultural, administrative, geographic, and economic distances between the home countries of the firms involved, as these cross-country distances hamper the ability of buyers to efficiently share knowledge and to credibly lead by example. We also postulate that the buyer’s prior supply chain experience in the supplier’s country strengthens the association between buyer’s disclosure and supplier’s disclosure, because previous experience helps buyers to improve their ability to share their expertise and leverage their credibility. By assembling a unique panel dataset of 17,540 cross-border buyer-supplier relationships gathered from Bloomberg databases, we find evidence for the influence of different forms of cross-country distances and the buyer’s prior supply chain experience on the association between the environmental disclosures of buyers and those of their foreign suppliers. Our study contributes to literatures on corporate sustainability, international business, and supply chain management by extending the liability of foreignness concept to global supply chains, demonstrating the important role of supply chains in the inter-firm transfer of corporate sustainability practices.

MNE Buyers of Local Firms as an Opportunity Structure: How NGOs Promote Sustainability in China

This paper presents new theory and evidence on how multi-stakeholder institutions affect the diffusion of sustainable practices in autocratic contexts. By highlighting the embeddedness of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in global supply chains, we study how this embeddedness helps non-governmental organizations (NGOs) promote sustainability in power-imbalanced institutional environments. Drawing on social movement and resource dependence theories, we argue that global supply chains that tie MNEs to foreign suppliers offer NGOs an opportunity structure to shift the balance of power across geographic boundaries by establishing MNE-NGO collaborations. This helps NGOs leverage competencies and resources to facilitate the adoption of sustainable practices by local firms within MNEs’ global supply chain networks. However, this mediated stakeholder effect decreases when governmentally produced structural conditions reduce the perceived effectiveness of this opportunity structure: greater priority given to environmental protection by governments substitutes private governance arrangements involving MNEs and NGOs. Additionally, greater curtailment of civil liberties suppresses their synergistic potential. To test our theory, we examine the relationship between Chinese NGOs’ collaborations with 168 MNEs across 25 countries and these MNEs’ local green supply chain ratings in the period 2014-2020. This study contributes to the literatures on multi-stakeholder institutions, social movements, and corporate sustainability.

Comparing supply-side and demand-side policies in the solar cell supply chain under competitive circumstances: a case study.

Due to the destructive effects of fossil fuels on the environment, using renewable energies has nowadays been suggested. In addition, because of the increased use of solar energy and the prevention the solar cell supply chain (SCSC), this chain is mainly supported by government funding. In this study, we mathematically model both supply-side and demand-side policies for a two-echelon SCSC, considering the competition between domestic and foreign suppliers as well as government intervention under the supply-side subsidy policies to support SCSC members and finance the customers through demand-side subsidy policies. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of government intervention under the supply-side and demand-side policies on supporting the members of SCSC and encouraging customers to increase the use of solar panels. In addition, this study explores the best policy for improving and promoting SCSC. In the real world, both supply-side and demand-side policies will help industrial factories, power plants, and households to enhance the use of solar energy for producing electricity. This study has been investigated using one real example, whose results show that the efficiency under the supply-side policy is about 7% more than the efficiency under the demand-side policy. The price under the supply-side policy is roughly 10% less than the price under the demand-side policy. The members' profit under the supply-side policy is approximately 5% bigger than the one under the demand-side policy. According to real examples, the government's utility under the demand-side policy is nearly 1% smaller than the government's utility under the supply-side policy. Finally, key findings are considered for the proposed model.

European Raw Materials Resilience—Turning a Blind Eye

Europe’s almost total dependence on foreign suppliers of metals impacts negatively on the continent’s balance of trade, opens the region to potentially damaging supply problems, allows foreign actors to place political demands on European leaders and economies, and has a considerable negative environmental impact in many parts of the world. Europe has sound economic reasons, and a moral responsibility, to promote more mining in the many parts of the continent where it can be conducted in a responsible and sustainable manner.

Offshoring and reshoring of services in tourism: a round trip

Coinciding with the onset of the economic crisis in 2007, a reshoring process, consisting in the return to the home country of part or all of the activities previously offshored abroad can be observed in all advanced economies. This study aims to analyse for first time whether this strategy has affected the tourism sector. The results show that between 2007 and 2010 a major reshoring process took place in the tourism sub-sectors, while in 2015, the levels of offshoring recovered slightly but did not compensate the previous strong decline. This reshoring strategy in tourism has basically been carried out through a replacement of foreign suppliers with national suppliers.

Improving Accounting and Management of Settlements with Foreign Suppliers in the Context of Global Digitalization on the Example of Agricultural Enterprise

In the article, the authors developed proposals for improving the accounting and management of settlements with counterparties at importing agricultural enterprises in the context of global digitalization, namely: proposed analytical accounts for accounting settlements with suppliers at importing agricultural enterprises, which will help control accounts payable, the time of its payment and help to plan agreements with suppliers and contractors; considered in detail the accounting of payments to contractors, namely the accounting of discounts from foreign suppliers on agricultural raw materials received by the enterprise, when it is provided after customs clearance of goods; developed methodical bases of management of settlements with contractors at the enterprises-importers in the conditions of global digitalization; developed and visually presented the information base of control of settlements with contractors (suppliers) in the conditions of global digitalization; analyzed the main control functions implemented in the application solutions of various software products presented on the market of Ukraine, presented an analysis of the solution of internal control problems with the help of applied products and proposed the main areas of improvement of control elements. In general, the rational organization of accounting and management of suppliers and the state of settlements with them help to strengthen contractual and settlement discipline, fulfilment of obligations to supply products in a given range and quality, increase responsibility for compliance with payment discipline, reduce receivables and payables, accelerate receivables and, consequently, to improve the financial condition of the enterprise.