Supply Chain Innovation Research Articles

Postpandemic innovative trends in logistics, distribution and supply chain

This scientific output describes the weaknesses of material flows and the lack of resilience of supply chains, which resulted in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This unpleasant situation has presented the whole of logistics with new challenges and problems, which society and industry have tried with their approach to achieving non-stagnant logistics processes, which were therefore threatened mainly by the pandemic. The article describes old but mainly new trends and innovations in logistics, distribution and supply chain, which are also the result of accelerated digital transformation.

The choice of cooperative technology innovation strategies in a supply chain under governmental subsidy

Governments all over the world usually establish the policy of subsidies to stimulate firms’ technology innovation behaviors. The participating firms may share the high risk of expense through cooperative technology innovation. Different forms of governmental subsidies may have a significant impact on the choice of firms’ cooperative innovation strategies. This paper investigates the effect of government subsidies on firms’ technology innovation strategies. We consider two modes of cooperative technology innovation (technology transfer or joint innovation) in a two-level supply chain including an upstream manufacturer (UM) and a downstream manufacturer (DM) in the presence of two forms of governmental subsidies (a per-unit production subsidy or an innovation subsidy). We find that in the presence of either form of governmental subsidy, technology transfer mode is better off for the UM than joint innovation mode when the UM’s distribution power is greater than a threshold, otherwise joint innovation mode is better off. In the presence of a given form of governmental subsidy, the DM’s response strategy is influenced by the interaction of different values of the proportion of revenue and the fraction of innovation cost. In the presence of a per-unit production subsidy, the social welfare is always more under technology transfer mode than under joint innovation mode, while in the presence of an innovation subsidy, the opposite is true. We also show that under a given cooperative innovation mode, both the UM and DM expect a per-unit production subsidy if the per-unit tax credit is high, and they expect an innovation subsidy if the proportion of governmental subsidy is high. Finally, we discuss the robustness of the theoretical results.

A comprehensive model for determining technological innovation level in supply chains using green investment, eco-friendly design and customer collaborations factors

Technological innovations play a crucial role in designing an effective green supply chain. However, it is crucial to know the factors influencing technological innovation in a green supply chain. Some preconceptions show that technological innovation in a business can be affected by internal and external factors, and therefore there must be correlations between such factors to flourish the technological innovation and, subsequently, the green supply chain. Besides, predicting the technological innovation level in a supply chain can be vital and direct it to the Industry 5.0 goals. In this research, a 3-phased framework will be proposed to predict the Technological Innovation Level of Green Supply Chains. The scope of this research includes Green Investment, Eco-friendly Design and Customer Collaborations. In the 1st phase of the framework, dependent and independent factors considering the scope of the Research will be determined; and then, using statistical data analysis, the weight of factors, which reflects their impact on technological innovation (dependent factor), will be determined. Then, in the 2nd phase, a comprehensive model will be developed and trained. Using the data of supply chains that were gathered in the first phase, the train and test data would be selected. In continuation, the model will be trained and its performance will be evaluated using some metrics. Then, in the last phase (phase 3), the developed model will be used to predict the technological level of supply chains. The outcomes of this research can help top managers of supply chains to predict the level of technological innovation by investing a certain budget in improving the dependent variables. The outcomes demonstrated that Customer Collaboration (0.481), Eco-friendly design (0.419) and Green Investment (0.41) have significant impacts on technological innovation improvement in the studied cases, respectively. Besides, the results showed the superiority of the K-nearest Neighbor algorithm while using the Minkowski distance method and considering 5 neighbors. The findings indicated that the proposed framework could predict Technological Innovation with 0.751 accuracies. The outcomes of this research can be helpful for industry owners to predict the expected technological innovation level of their system by investing a certain budget in green investment, eco-friendly design and customer collaborations in their enterprises.

The Impact of Government Intervention and Cap-and-Trade on Green Innovation in Supply Chains: A Social Welfare Perspective

This paper discusses the impact of government intervention (greenness threshold limit) and cap-and-trade policy on green investment, stakeholder profits and social welfare under different power structure scenarios in the green supply chain. First, a two-level green supply chain system is constructed: a manufacturer that produces green products and complies with cap-and-trade policies and a retailer that sells green products. Based on the Stackelberg game and Cournot game, we compare the optimal solutions under the government intervention mechanism and cap-and-trade mechanism with manufacturer leadership, retailer leadership and equal power. The results are as follows: (1) both government intervention and the cap-and-trade mechanism are conducive to an increase in green technology innovation and profit, but excessive control will lead to a decline in social welfare. (2) The results in the concentrated scenario were better than those in the dispersed scenario. In the decentralized state, the result of equal power is the best, the result of retailer leadership is next, and the result of manufacturer leadership is the worst. (3) The lower cost of green investment will cause enterprises to give up purchasing carbon emission permits from the carbon market.

Evolutionary Game Analysis of Enterprise Green Innovation and Green Financing in Platform Supply Chain

In view of the financing dilemma of green innovation of manufacturers in the e-commerce supply chain, we build a strategy evolution game model between manufacturers and e-commerce platforms and describe the dynamic evolution law of manufacturers choosing green innovation and platforms choosing green financing. Combined with numerical simulation, the factors affecting green innovation and green financing decisions are analyzed and strategic suggestions are put forward. The conclusions are as follows: (1) There is a unique evolutionary equilibrium strategy for dynamic behavioral decision-making between manufacturers and e-commerce platforms; (2) Green innovation and green financing are beneficial to both players of the game; (3) Whether the platform provides green financing services for manufacturers is affected by factors such as commissions, additional benefits brought by green innovation or green financing, and financing amounts. This paper enriches the research on green strategies for e-commerce supply chains, provides suggestions for green innovation and financing cooperation between e-commerce platforms and manufacturers, and further promotes the green development of the manufacturing industry.

Integrating closed‐loop principles in supply chains in emerging markets: The case of the Russian waste management industry

AbstractsThe integration of closed‐loop (CL) principles in supply chain management plays an important role for business and society. The CL supply chain can serve as a good example of an environment‐friendly and sustainable solution because it assumes waste reduction and further usage in production. Hence, the notion of the CL supply chain is premised on the design, control and operation of a system that creates extra value using the entire product life cycle and capture value recovery from various returns over time. In practice, a successful integration of CL principles depends on many contextual factors. This study aimed to identify the factors that support and discourage CL supply chain innovations in emerging markets. The study employed institutional theory as theoretical background and conducted an in‐depth case analysis of a Russian waste management company to present empirical evidence. The results showed that cooperation with an experienced and legitimate partner can drive the introduction of a CL initiative. Meanwhile, a low level of knowledge and trust might become a serious impediment. Thus, investment in knowledge dissemination and reputation building are crucial in an emerging market.

An Automated Warehouse Management System

The impact of a warehouse management system on supply chain performance is investigated in this study, to create a less resource-intensive, more efficient, and dependable inventory management system. Before designing the software to manage the required transactions, the warehouse's supply chain operations were analyzed. The software was evaluated for its ability to optimize workflow and provide timely and effective service. The data was collected from a Jordanian telecoms service provider's warehouse. Furthermore, the facility layout was assessed, and a manufacturing station was built within the warehouse, resulting in improved warehouse area optimization and use. Bundling, labeling, and repackaging are the three procedures of the production station. Product receipt, processing, and delivery are all handled by the system. Each stage of the product lifecycle was thoroughly investigated, and defects in the process and procedure were discovered. Some scholars may use this work as a practical reference and an example to compare Jordan's telecoms sector's software inventory management system to the traditional manual system. It also draws attention to the gap between theory and reality to encourage academics to create and tailor innovative supply chain disruption mitigation solutions.

Bayesian Estimation of Supply Chain Innovation Path.

With the transformation of the supply chain from factor driven to investment driven and to innovation driven, supply chain innovation has attracted more and more attention. This paper obtains the Bayesian prior probability of innovation and studies the supply chain innovation path from the perspective of strategy and behavior. The model divides the overall innovation capability of the supply chain into specific node tasks and assets (Capability Set), and the innovation demand of the supply chain is expressed in the form of the conditional probability of market demand. Under the conditions of minimum risk, minimum cost, and rapid market response, it determines who should lead the supply chain innovation first and what type of supply chain innovation should be carried out first. Finally, taking the supply chain of the professional market in Zhejiang Province as an example, this paper verifies the theoretical model of supply chain innovation decision-making. The innovation of the supply chain of Zhejiang's specialized market is decomposed into the capability set of each enterprise node of the supply chain. This paper transforms the group innovation ability of the supply chain in the professional market into the individual innovation ability of a single enterprise node and reveals the starting point and intensity of the demand innovation of products/services in the supply chain.

Assessing green innovation in supply chains: a systematic review based on causal mechanisms framework

PurposeThere have been several reviews of green, ecological and sustainable innovations, but a thorough assessment of green innovation (GI)'s mechanisms in a supply chain setting has not been attempted yet. The purpose of this paper is to review how GI was investigated in supply chains through the lens of a multilevel framework of innovation mechanisms.Design/methodology/approachThe authors provide a comprehensive assessment of prior studies using a systematic literature review approach and content analysis of 136 papers identified from the Web of Science Core Collection database.FindingsCurrent literature on green innovation supply chains (GISC) has been categorized according to three main causal mechanisms: situational, action-formation and transformational mechanisms. Three different levels of analysis were considered for the three mechanisms: macro, meso and micro. In addition, the authors have also assessed the value creation and appropriation outcomes of GI. The authors identified relevant research gaps in the extant literature and a set of propositions that may guide future research in this area.Research limitations/implicationsThis review provides a novel perspective on GISC based on a multilevel theoretical framework of mechanisms.Practical implicationsThe causal mechanisms assessment of GISC can be adopted by organizations to convince their SC partners to engage in collaborative and more ambitious initiatives in the field.Social implicationsThe findings of this review could serve as an argument for more encompassing and ambitious GISC initiatives which can be of benefit to society.Originality/valueA thorough assessment of the interacting mechanisms in GISC has not been attempted before. The authors identify gaps in current literature and provide several propositions for further research avenues based on causal mechanisms framework.

Exploring data-driven innovation: What’s missing in the relationship between big data analytics capabilities and supply chain innovation?

Data-driven innovations (DDI) have significantly impacted firms’ operations thanks to the massive exploitation of huge data. However, to leverage big data and achieve supply chain innovation, a variety of complementary resources are necessary. In this study, we hypothesise that supply chain innovation (SCI) is dependent on firms’ big data analytics capabilities (BAC). Furthermore, we propose that this relation is mediated by two crucial capabilities of agility and adaptability that enable firms to efficiently meet the challenges of supply chain ambidexterity. Finally, we also test the moderating role of technology uncertainty in our research model. We collected data from 386 manufacturing firms in Pakistan and tested our model using structural equation modelling. The results confirmed our initial hypotheses that agility and adaptability both mediated our baseline relationship of BAC and big data innovation in supply chains. We further found support for the moderating role of technology uncertainty. Furthermore, technology uncertainty moderates the relationship between BAC and SCI. This study extends the current literature on digital analytics capabilities and innovation along the supply chain. Practically, our research suggests that investment in big data can result in affirmative consequences, if firms cultivate capabilities to encounter supply chain ambidexterity through agility and adaptability. Accordingly, we suggest that managers belonging to manufacturing firms need to build up these internal capabilities and to monitor and assess technology uncertainty in the environment.

BİLGİ PAYLAŞIMI, ÖZÜMSEME KAPASİTESİ, TEDARİK ZİNCİRİ YENİLİKÇİLİĞİ VE PERFORMANSI ARASINDAKİ İLİŞKİ

In today's changing conditions, supply chain provides firms with many advantages in terms of such as cost, speed and quality. In this respect, the investigation of the factors that increase supply chain performance presents important findings to both the literature and practitioners. The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between information sharing, absorptive capacity, supply chain innovativeness, and supply chain performance. For this purpose, data were collected from 194 middle and senior managers in firms in Kocaeli through questionnaires. As a result of the analyzes carried out, it has been determined that information sharing is positively associated with absorptive capacity, but not with supply chain innovativeness. It is also concluded that absorptive capacity is positively related to supply chain innovativeness and supply chain innovativeness is positively related to supply chain performance.

From the laboratory to the consumer: Innovation, supply chain, and adoption with applications to natural resources

We analyze the transition from innovative ideas to final marketed products. This transition occurs through two synergetic supply chains for innovation and products. Basic concepts are developed, tested, upscaled, and introduced to commercial use in the innovation supply chain. Then, the products are produced and delivered to the consumer through the product supply chain. We argue that product markets trace their birth to product innovations. These markets tend to start as noncompetitive, which rewards innovators. Credit access and risk determine the reliance on contracting and product diffusion over space and time. The innovation and product supply chains are encouraged and facilitated by public policies, such as support for research and education, intellectual property rights protection, low barriers to trade, science-based regulation, and well-functioning capital markets. We argue for multidisciplinary research incorporating knowledge from economics, business, and engineering to better understand the evolution of innovative companies and supply chains. This understanding will help the development of policies to address challenges of climate change and food security among others.

Innovation in fruit and vegetable supply chains

Innovation in fruit and vegetable supply chains

SIPOC-OI: a proposal for open innovation in supply chains

PurposeRegarding the premises of open innovation (OI) in terms of knowledge sources, this paper aims to discuss how to manage the existing sources of knowledge in supply chains.Design/methodology/approachAn integrative review was developed focusing on studies related to supply chain and OI, seeking to understand the relationships between them, supporting the innovative discussion.FindingsThe SIPOC-OI was proposed as a tool to support the management of knowledge sources present in the supply chain, promoting efficiency to the company and improving its innovative capacity.Research limitations/implicationsThe conceptual proposal should be empirically verified to understand the management tool's obstacles and benefits for a company's innovation performance. Additionally, it would be useful to understand the results of this proposal in the relationships between agents of the chain, as well as the direction (inbound, outbound or coupled). Additionally, relevant points were highlighted as future agendas.Practical implicationsThe point of view based on OI treats the collaboration's aspects and its benefits to agents, which becomes an essential factor in improving the entire chain's integration and performance.Originality/valueThe analysis of the flow of knowledge in supply chains from an OI perspective is an innovation in theory. Besides, the multidisciplinary proposal is expressed in the framework developed as it is based on a tool from engineering. Supply chain competencies/mindset is important to develop OI as well as is the contrary – there is a mutual practical and theoretical relevance between the integration of the concepts.

A theoretical framework of smart supply chain innovation for going global companies: a multi-case study from China

PurposeThis study explores the influencing factors of smart supply chain innovation (SSCI) for going global companies and designs a theoretical framework.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a multi-case study that includes a combination of exploratory and explanatory case studies.FindingsFirst, the authors find that SSCI is embodied in product development and supply chain empowerment, which represent exploitative innovation and explorative innovation, respectively. Meanwhile, supply chain empowerment has a positive impact on product development. Second, the going global policy affects the transformation of supply chain empowerment to SSCI practices. Third, in terms of exploitative innovation, personalized demand positively affects SSCI through product development. Finally, explorative innovation, including emerging technology application and supply chain ecologicalization, has a positive effect on supply chain empowerment and thereby affects SSCI.Originality/valueSupply chain innovation in the context of a smart economy has gained great popularity. This study sheds light on the influencing factors and mechanisms of SSCI from the exploitative and explorative aspects of innovations.

How COVID-19 impacted surplus food redistribution in the Netherlands: An explorative study

The COVID-19 pandemic has been detrimental to food security globally. The Netherlands, despite its advanced stage of development, saw a surge in food insecurity among its most vulnerable citizens. Dutch food aid is managed by private charities and social organisations that often aim to address the problems of food insecurity and food waste by redistributing surplus food that is safe to consume. This paper investigates how the pandemic impacted surplus food redistribution in the country by employing an Exploratory-Descriptive-Qualitative approach. This is done by analysing data from interviews with relevant stakeholders involved in redistributing surplus food in the Netherlands as well as media reports on the topic. Our findings indicate that the interviewed organisations experienced drastic fluctuations in supply and demand. To cope with these changes, rapid organisational and supply chain innovation was observed. Next to this, there seems to have been disproportionate negative impact on smaller charities in comparison to bigger, better established organisations. Based on our findings, we discuss what the future of surplus food distribution in the Netherlands might look like and why changes made during the pandemic must be well documented and carefully analysed.

Factors affecting sustainability‐oriented innovation in the leather supply chain

AbstractA sustainability‐oriented innovation (SOI) in the leather‐making process is key for inducing a sustainable shift in the leather supply chain. Fashion is an industry that is highly vulnerable to sustainability disruptions and, at the same time, as a fertile ground for SOIs. As a result of increasing pressures from the market, several fashion brands have started to recognize the potential of SOIs to induce a positive transformation for the whole supply chain. The present paper discusses the case of a SOI in the leather industry by analyzing the perception of different actors in the leather‐accessories supply chain with three theoretical lenses. Findings suggest that focal companies should pay attention to how to manage their business relationships with supply chain actors and leverage positive and collaborative relationships rather than using coercive methods to extend sustainability along the supply chain.

Innovative Agrifood Supply Chain in the Post-COVID 19 Era

The world is changing rapidly in the age of Coronavirus [...]

Editorial: Circular Business Models and Strategies—The Key to Sustainable Business and Innovative Supply Chains

EDITORIAL article Front. Sustain., 25 April 2022Sec. Circular Economy https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2022.897974

Customers' annual report tone and suppliers' innovation decisions: evidence from China

PurposeThis paper examines whether and how customers' annual report tone affects suppliers' innovation decisions.Design/methodology/approachUsing the data from disclosed information on top five customers and annual report tone by Chinese listed firms, this paper used a two-way fixed effect model and intermediary effect model tests to explore the impact of customers' annual report tone on suppliers' innovation decisions.FindingsThe results indicate that the more positive the tone of customer annual reports is, the higher the suppliers' technological innovation level. The customers' annual report tone affects suppliers' innovation decisions through alleviating financing constraints and reducing the bullwhip effect. In addition, the authors find that the worse the supplier's bargaining power and the higher the customer's media coverage, the more significant the impact of positive customer annual report tone on the level of corporate technological innovation.Practical implicationsFor downstream customers, to improve the quality of their text information disclosure. For upstream suppliers, the tone of customers' annual reports has incremental information, so the attention to customers' text information should be strengthened. As far as the market is concerned, it is recommended that regulators should strictly require the quality of text information disclosure and introduce relevant penalty mechanisms better to regulate the quality of corporate text information disclosure.Originality/valueTo the best of the author's knowledge, this paper is the first to expand the research related to textual information from a supply chain innovation perspective. The textual information can provide incremental information, and spillover effects may occur among supply chains, affecting suppliers' innovation decisions. And it clarifies the specific mechanism by which the supply chain tone spillover effect affects corporate innovation, enriching the relevant research on supply chain influence mechanisms.