Part Of Global Supply Chains Research Articles

Bribery, global value chain decisions, and institutional constraints: Evidence from a cross-country firm-level data

We employ a multi-country firm-level data covering 109 developing countries during the 2005–2017 period to investigate the effect of bribery on the global value chain (GVC) decision for firms and the moderating roles of firm size and institutional constraints in such relationships. In this research, we treat the GVC participation as a strategic choice and GVC firms are defined as two-way traders who export and import simultaneously and hold a quality certification. We also distinguish GVC decisions into GVC participation decisions that firms decide to carry out GVC activities and GVC switching decisions that firms decide to switch from non-GVC to GVC status. Institutional constraints are firms' self-ration on corruption, political stability, court, and customs and trade regulations. Our empirical findings support the “greasing-the-wheels-of-GVC” hypothesis that greasing bribery positively influences the GVC participation and switching probability. Paying greasing bribes only improves the small and medium-sized firms’ probability of becoming GVC actors if there is no institutional constraint. With sufficiently strong bargaining power, large-sized firms grasp more benefits from bribe payments even in the weak and poor institutional system, thus becoming a part of global supply chains. Finally, when we control the endogeneity, the impacts of greasing become more sizable and we find evidence for the “sanding-the-wheels-of-GVC” hypothesis of rent-seeking bribery.

Resilience in transportation systems: a systematic review and future directions

ABSTRACTThe Belt and Road (B&R) initiative was introduced by the Chinese government to promote the worldwide economic development and multilateral cooperation between China and the associated countries. As a crucial part of global supply chains, transportation plays a key role to ensure the implementation of the B&R. Safety is one of the issues with great importance in transportation research. However, its foci have been expanded from traditional risk through security to resilience and sustainability. Resilience has attracted considerable interests from both researchers and practitioners across different research domains in recent years. Various studies have been conducted on transportation resilience from different perspectives. Consequently, different definitions have been developed to define and describe resilience. This paper presents a systematic review on transportation resilience with emphasis on its definitions, characteristics, and research methods applied in different transportation systems/contexts. It aims to figure out what transportation resilience is and what kind of essential characters it usually has. More importantly, research challenges are analysed and a future research agenda on the resilience of transportation systems is proposed. This paper will provide comprehensive insights into understanding the transportation resilience, as well as establish new horizons for relevant research topics within the context of the B&R.

Supply Chain Management in Readymade Garments Industry, Bangladesh

The export-oriented readymade garment (RMG) industry has some distinctive features, which differentiate it from other businesses. Wage, Supply chain, Time-frame, and Compliances are among the most important features of this business. Each of four features is interrelated and interdependent. Among the features, effective Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the core. Whatever the wage level or lead time (the period from order confirmation to shipment) without proper management of supply chain business is not viable and sustainable. Supply chain can categories into two phases – Macro level, part of global supply chain and Micro level, the supply chain system within the manufacturing unit. In supply chain system, it can be materials, it can be information, and even it can be a supply of business (continuation of business). One single and very simple issue like mismatching thread count or wrong button line, incorrect or delayed information can make the whole process jeopardies. Considering the importance, present study has been carried out on supply chain system in Bangladesh RMG industry. The study revealed the difficulties in supply chain system and also tried to set some guidelines to improve the system for the sustainable development of the sector.

How Germany aims to raise standards in supply chains

With the advance of globalization and trade liberalization, developing countries are an ever more integral part of global supply chains. Yet the value created does not always translate into greater general prosperity in these countries, particularly the poorer ones. The cause is to be found in inadequate social standards. In many cases workers are not paid a living wage and no trade unions exist. Workers’ health and lives are at risk because of inadequate or non-existent rules governing the structural design of buildings, fire precautions or the handling of toxic chemicals. That was made dramatically clear by the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh, which claimed the lives of well over a thousand people.

Small Business and Social Irresponsibility in Developing Countries: Working Conditions and “Evasion” Institutional Work

Small businesses in developing countries, as part of global supply chains, are sometimes assumed to respond in a straightforward manner to institutional demands for improved working conditions. This article problematizes this perspective. Drawing upon extensive qualitative data from Tirupur’s knitwear export industry in India, we highlight owner-managers’ agency in avoiding or circumventing these demands. The small businesses here actively engage in irresponsible business practices and “evasion” institutional work to disrupt institutional demands in three ways: undermining assumptions and values, dissociating consequences, and accumulating autonomy and political strength. This “evasion” work is supported by three conditions: void (in labor welfare mechanisms), distance (from institutional monitors), and contradictions (between value systems). Through detailed empirical findings, the article contributes to research on both small business social responsibility and institutional work.

Fuzzy Multicriteria ABC Supplier Classification in Global Supply Chain

The determination of the optimal purchasing strategy in enterprise that is a part of global supply chain could be performed in two steps. In step one, a classification of potential suppliers is performed in order to determine the optimal portfolio of suppliers. This is delivered by using the fuzzy multicriteria proposed ABC classification method. Uncertainties in relative importance of criteria and their values are described by linguistic expressions. Modelling of linguistic expressions is based on the fuzzy sets theory. In the second step, ranking of optimal portfolio of suppliers is performed by using the modified ELECTRE method. The obtained results represent valuable input for determining the long time purchasing strategy and building partnership with the best suppliers. The developed two-step model is verified on real life data. The obtained results indicate good compliance with the opinions management in this type of industry. It is worth to mention that the proposed model can be easily extended and adopted to the analysis of other issues of management which could be applicable in different research areas.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations, People's Republic of China, and India Growth and the Rest of the World: The Role of Trade

i»?i»?This paper explores the impact of past and future growth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)1 Since the mid-1990s, ACI growth has improved the non-oil terms of trade of the developed countries. There have also been strong complementarities between ACI suppliers of intermediate inputs and PRC exports. More developed Asian countries have benefited from PRC capital goods demand. ACI growth has, however, put competitive pressures on other less-developed manufacturing exporters, worsening their terms of trade and constraining their pricing ability. ACI growth has been especially beneficial for oil and minerals commodity producers. On the other hand, net food importers and oil importing countries have been adversely affected by high import costs. , the People's Republic of China (PRC), and India—here referred to as the ACI countries—on aggregate welfare, relative wages, and global emissions in the rest of the world. It outlines several analytical frameworks, considers effects over the past decade and, based on consensus forecasts, the implications of that growth for the rest of the world in the decades to come. Future ACI growth provides opportunities and challenges for the rest of the world. For developed countries the opportunities are for selling high-end services and capital and consumer goods in the ACI markets and enjoying the benefits from intra-industry trade; the challenges will come from increased head-to-head competition in manufactured goods and services that should become more intense in future decades. For medium-income producers currently at between 30% and 60% of US levels, there will be a tougher tradeoff between more intensive competition with the PRC and serving the growing middle classes in ACI countries. For poorer countries, there will greater opportunities for becoming part of global supply chains in manufactured exports. Standard frameworks that assume internal factor mobility suggest continuing pressures for wage inequality in developed countries. But these hinge on the assumption that the ACI and developed countries will continue to produce similar products and that the ACI will specialize in unskilled labor-intensive products. In fact, as their exports become more technology—intensive and developed countries more specialized these pressures could be alleviated. On the one hand, as the “flying geese” process continues, exports from countries with lower incomes than the PRC are likely to displace PRC labor-intensive exports rather than domestic production in developed countries. On the other hand, while it may cause job loss and erode the returns to specific factors, PRC export growth is less likely to be a source of wage inequality in advanced economies.

The Critical Role of Ocean Container Transport in Global Supply Chain Performance

With supply chains distributed across global markets, ocean container transport now is a critical element of any such supply chain. We identify key characteristics of ocean container transport from a supply chain perspective. We find that unlike continental (road) transport, service offerings tend to be consolidated in few service providers, and a strong focus exists on maximization of capital intensive resources. Based on the characteristics of ocean container transport as part of global supply chains, we list a number of relevant and challenging research areas and associated questions.

Cleaner production in small firms taking part in Mexico's Sustainable Supplier Program

Abstract This research assesses the environmental and economic benefits and costs of cleaner production projects formulated by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participating in a sustainable supply program in Mexico. The program was designed as a public–private voluntary partnership to spur cleaner production dissemination in SMEs that are part of global supply chains. The study analyzes how project benefits varied as a function of different types of cleaner production applications, company characteristics and participant profiles. The results, based on statistical evidence from 1934 cleaner production projects formulated by a group of 972 small- and medium-sized firms, indicate that on average waste recycling and waste prevention projects yielded higher economic and environmental value than energy efficiency and water conservation projects. Waste reduction applications also showed more attractive net present values than technology innovations or best practices. Economic and environmental benefits of cleaner production are positively related to firm size. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on how larger supplier and waste recycling projects influence potential positive outcomes of cleaner production applications in a program such as the Mexican sustainable supply program. More broadly, it provides evidence on the potential costs and benefits of sustainable supply efforts.

Supply chain commitment and business process integration

PurposeDespite intense research interest in supply chain management (SCM) over two decades, there is still uncertainty as to what SCM is and how behavioural determinants have an impact on it. The purpose of this study is to explore the linkages between the behavioural and marketing determinants of SCM and their impact on commitment and process integration.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of descriptive research leading into causal research, using survey data and testing relationships with Structural Equation Modelling.FindingsThe study found that there are significant behavioural dimensions in SCM and identified the impact of those dimensions on supply chain commitment and process integration. One noticeable finding of this study was the nature of supply chain commitment within Confucian culture.Research limitations/implicationsData for the study were drawn from one single industry, so the findings are indicative but not representative of all supply chains. Also, the results cannot be generalised to other countries and industries. However, this study acts as a starting‐point to understand how behavioural and marketing determinants may impact supply chain commitment and business process integration. A series of future studies may follow this study to develop a comprehensive understanding of the nature, structures and strategies of supply chain commitment in Confucian culture.Practical implicationsThis study will enable supply chain managers to understand the role of behavioural and marketing factors in managing supply chains. The root of Confucian culture lies in Asia, and Asia is an integral part of global supply chains. An understanding of Confucian dynamics will enable practitioners to manage these supply chains efficiently.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to an understanding of the behavioural/soft determinants in managing supply chains, particularly in Asia. This study also highlights the role of Confucian dynamism in shaping supply chain commitment. Both these areas had previously been under‐researched.

Configuring and operating global production networks

As globalisation proceeds, enterprises of every size are forced to establish or to act as a part of global supply chains or production networks. Their decisions regarding the design and operation of their global activities have a strong impact on their competitiveness. In this paper some of the available concepts for the design and operation of supply chains are discussed in the context of globalisation. It will be shown that the current approaches that cover mainly ‘hard’ or quantitative aspects are not sufficient. Especially the communication and coordination of partners from different regional or cultural background require a special look at the ‘soft’ or social and human dimension of supply chain management. An analysis of the different concepts from both supply chain management and social sciences leads to the conclusion that there is no integrated concept available so far. This gap is closed by a two-level concept which is introduced and discussed in this paper. The concept provides an integrated view on the relations between the partners of a supply chain or network. In an empirical investigation in a multinational enterprise evidence was found for the sketched problem and also for the need to integrate the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ dimension.