Innovative Supply Research Articles

Telehealth as an Innovative Supply Chain and Logistics Management Approach

Job growth for dermatologists is healthy, with a 7 percent demand increase year over year for physicians in general, and a much higher demand increase for dermatologists. Since 2004, vacancies for dermatologists have gone up 80.51 percent, greatly outpacing the national average vacancy growth for most fields. As COVID-19 continues to evolve in the United States (U.S.), now more than ever, medical care is leveraging technology and innovation in its delivery of treatment to patients in need of healthcare. This paper explores telemedicine a logistics and supply chain management option to address the shortage of dermatologists

Analysis of Innovation Activity in the Industrial Market of Kazakhstan

The growth of innovative potential is becoming the main driver of the competitiveness of the national economy. It is obvious that economic growth can be achieved only through the development of industrial and innovative achievements, the introduction of new technologies, and the use of modern computer technologies in production.
 Unfortunately, in Kazakhstan, the development of innovations is not sufficiently developed now. We see a small number of innovative developments, a small number of patents. Science is not related to business. All this confirms the fact that it is necessary to develop innovative potential in Kazakhstan, stimulate the demand and supply of innovations.
 Obviously, innovation is a key driver for the development of any enterprise. Only a wide assortment and high quality cannot ensure competitiveness; it is necessary to introduce innovations and new technologies. At the same time, innovative activity should be permanent and not be a one-time event.
 It is necessary to analyze the innovation market by conducting regression analysis. Regression analysis is a method of modeling measured data and examining its properties.
 To analyze the influence of the main indicators of innovative activity, 7 variables were selected, the data were considered in the context of 14 regions and two cities: Nur-Sultan (Astana) and Almaty.

Maximizing customer adoption outcomes in emerging industrial markets via supplier innovativeness and relationship quality

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how suppliers doing business with customers in emerging industrial markets can leverage their innovativeness to foster trust and commitment toward maximizing customer adoption behaviors.Design/methodology/approachBased on commitment-trust theory, this research uses survey data collected from a large sample of Chinese business-to-business executives, which were then analyzed using three-stage least squares simultaneous estimation models and PROCESS.FindingsThe results show that supplier innovativeness can help customers build trust in a supplier. Consequently, a reciprocal commitment is forged among customers that manifest in favorable adoption decisions, including a higher willingness to pay premium prices. Notably, this approach is beneficial when robust interfirm communications are difficult to establish.Originality/valueInnovation decisions in interfirm relationships are important for suppliers doing business in emerging markets. This is because customer adoptions in such settings can foster enduring relational market-based assets and other competitive advantages that can improve supplier performance. Unfortunately, the understanding of how interfirm relationships influence innovation-adoption decisions in emerging markets is lacking. The findings of this research shed light on how suppliers interested in entering emerging markets can interact with customer firms in such settings to maximize favorable adoption outcomes.

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.

Social innovation projects link to sustainable development goals: case of Portugal

ABSTRACT Recent literature on social innovation highlights its conceptual ambiguity and fragmentation. According to this context, this paper explores how social innovation can contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Using a case study approach, we apply a mixed research methodology comprising a content analysis followed by multiple correspondence analysis. We examine 209 social innovation projects financed by the Portugal Social Innovation program in three dimensions: empowerment, content, and process. The social innovation projects addressed showed that social innovation projects can have varied objectives, be developed in different intervention areas, and empower different vulnerable groups of beneficiaries. The findings put in evidence the interaction between social innovation and SDGs, therefore social innovation supports the three sustainability dimensions: economy, society, and environment. In this sense, it is possible to conclude that SDGs constitute a framework that positions social innovation, bringing clarity and structure to the field. This identification and classification can promote the creation of a market of supply and demand of social innovations, strengthening the social innovation ecosystem.

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.

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.

Leveraging diverse ecosystem partners for innovation: the roles of regional innovation environment and partnership heterogeneity

Although prior studies investigated the influence of partner diversity on focal firms’ innovation performance, they failed to consider partners’ ecosystem positions and the roles of regional innovation environment and partnership heterogeneity. To fill these gaps, this study examines the relationship between supplier diversity, customer diversity, regional innovation environment, partnership heterogeneity and innovation performance to provide a comprehensive and throughout understanding of the influence of partner diversity on innovation performance. Based on data of 188 Chinese manufacturing firms, this article finds that both diversities of upstream suppliers and that of downstream customers contribute to innovation performance. Regional innovation environment and partnership heterogeneity moderate the influences of supplier diversity and customer diversity on innovation performance. In a favourable regional innovation environment, the benefits of diverse upstream suppliers for innovation are eroded, while the benefits of diverse downstream customers for innovation are enhanced. Partnership heterogeneity with suppliers can mitigate the moderating effect of regional innovation environment on the relationship between supplier diversity and innovation performance. These findings advance the literature on partner diversity and innovation performance, thus providing fine-grained managerial implications to firms to orchestrate diverse inter-organizational partners for innovation.

The external factors leading to product innovation outcomes in the Visegrad Group-Structural Equation Model Approach

This paper empirically investigates the role of external factors which drives small and medium enterprises product innovation in the Visegrad Group. An empirical analysis is based on the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey conducted by the World bank with a combined sample of 2002 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. The results of the Structural Equation Model indicate that product innovation performance is slightly higher among SMEs that are proactive in strengthening their relationships with innovative suppliers, users, and consumers. Furthermore, the findings of this paper support the view that SMEs will have better new product development results if they improve their relationships with foreign-owned firms and collaborate with external research firms. Again, the empirical study will give insights into the SME's product innovation outcomes in the Visegrad Group and a wake-up call to SME's practitioners and stakeholders on the need to collaborate externally across the European regions.

One crisis, different paths to supply resilience: The case of ventilator procurement for the COVID-19 pandemic

This research explores supply resilience through an equifinality lens to establish how buying organizations impacted differently by the same extreme event can strategize and all successfully secure supply. We conduct case study research and use secondary data to investigate how three European governments sourced for ventilators during the first wave of COVID-19. The pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the ventilator market. It disrupted already limited supply and triggered a demand surge. We find multiple paths to supply resilience contingent on redundant capacity and local sourcing options at the pandemic's onset. Low redundancy combined with limited local sourcing options is associated with more diverse strategies and flexibility. The most notable strategy is spurring supplier innovation by fostering collaboration among actors in disparate industries. High redundancy combined with multiple local sourcing options is associated with more focused strategies and agility. One (counter-intuitive) strategy is the rationalization of the supply base.

What's in it for me? The occurrence of supplier innovation contribution in the context of supplier-dominant innovation: The supplier's perspective

Prior studies have pointed out the pivotal role supplier innovation contribution plays in supporting buyers' product innovation. Many studies focus on situations where the buyer occupies a dominant position; they posit that the dominant buyer can secure supplier innovation resources through collaborative relationships. However, the buyer may lose the privilege to mobilize supplier innovation contribution in the supplier-dominant innovation context. The issue of why the “dominant” supplier attempts to contribute innovation resources is less extensively explored. To fill this gap, this study examines the issue from the viewpoint of the supplier as the provider of innovation contributions. A survey of 358 paired firms in China indicates that black-box supplier involvement can induce supplier innovation contribute, only if the supplier has perceived relationship benefits. Moreover, the relationship between relationship benefits and supplier innovation contribution becomes stronger as renqing, xinyong, or supplier innovation value increase, but becomes weaker as ganqing or mianzi increase. This study provides practical guidance to buying firms regarding how they can mobilize the dominant supplier's innovation resources more effectively.

Public procurement as an attractive customer: a supplier perspective

PurposeBuyer–supplier relationships in public procurement have garnered increasing attention in research, yet studies on the perspective of suppliers on public procurement have remained limited. This research takes the perspective of suppliers and aims to investigate the innovativeness of suppliers and the impact of supply chain ambidexterity strategies on their perceptions about public procurement in terms of innovation enablers and customer attractiveness.Design/methodology/approachThis research draws from a survey of 137 suppliers to the public sector in Finland and applies PLS-path modeling to test its hypotheses.FindingsThe findings reveal that the ambidexterity strategy of suppliers in the supply chain influences how they perceive the innovation enablers and customer attractiveness of public organizations since processes of public procurement do not support these strategies fully. Supplier innovativeness has an influence on the perceived innovation enablers of public procurement, which, in turn, influences customer attractiveness.Practical implicationsThe innovativeness and strategies of suppliers for the supply chain have an impact on how attractive they perceive public procurement. The findings of this research provide insights on why the customer attractiveness of public procurement may not be high enough to secure the competition in their bidding processes.Originality/valueThe study’s contribution adds to the field of buyer–supplier relationships and customer attractiveness in public procurement by showing the importance of innovation enablers and highlighting the impact of supplier's ambidexterity in the supply chain on their perceptions about public procurement.

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

Marigold Beads: focused innovation in a Zimbabwean co-operative

Learning outcomes Following discussion and analysis of the case, students should be able to explore how an individual’s background affects his/her perspective on entrepreneurial opportunities; analyse leadership behaviours that support an innovation process; and understand that constraints can enhance innovation. Case overview/Synopsis This real-life case explores the main protagonist, Joni Brenner, an arts university professor at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, and how over the past 10 years she worked with a group of co-operative beaders in Zimbabwe who developed hand loomed necklaces that were sold locally and internationally, placed in the African section of museum stores.The case provides an opportunity to explore the evolution of the Marigold product, the characteristics of an entrepreneur and how innovation can come from a very focused and constrained approach. Brenner’s involvement with the co-operative involved the supply of materials, design innovation and product sales. Innovation had come through focusing on the evolution of the core product, through different designs and colour combinations, learning through mistakes and through other artistic collaborations. The case concludes with Brenner questioning whether the innovation approach should be adapted to meet the needs of a potential new customer. Complexity academic level This case is appropriate for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate, MBA and executive education students focusing on entrepreneurship, small business development and/or innovation. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 7: Management Science.

An assessment of the governance efficiency of agricultural farms

Despite the fundamental progression of the theory of economic organizations, Farm continues to be studied as a "production function" and its efficiency is assessed with "factors productivity". The report incorporates the New Institutional Economics and adequately defines and assesses the economic efficiency of Bulgarian farms. If inputs supply and marketing transactions of a farm are governed effectively (equal or fewer costs compared to another farm/organization), it is considered to be efficient, and vice versa. First in kind quantitative evaluation of governance efficiency of Bulgarian farms is made on the basis of assessments of managers of typical farms. "Nature of the problems in effective organization for major type farm transactions for securing needed factors of production and output realization" is used as an indicator for the comparative transaction costs. The study has found that the governance efficiency of farms is at a Good level but 60 % of all farms are with a Low efficiency and will likely cease to exist in near future. Major factors for inferior governance efficiency of farms are unsatisfactory efficiency in Supply of Necessary Labour, Innovations and Know-how, and Funding. There is a huge variation in governance efficiency of farms with different specializations as holdings in Field crops, Vegetables, Flowers and Mushrooms, and Mix livestock demonstrate the lowest levels. There is a big discrepancy between the new assessment and the dominating traditional approach to farm efficiency. The suggested framework has to be improved and widely applied in economic analysis at various levels, which require the collection of a novel type of micro-data on farms governance and transaction costs

THE PLACE OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY IN THE STRUCTURE OF CREATIVE STUDIOS

The article examines the role and place of the fashion industry in the structure of creative industries, which today are one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, a source of creating added value and new jobs through the generation of ideas, production, promotion and sale of products created on the basis of cultural, creative, knowledge and intellectual resources.Summarized information about the contribution of creative industries to the development of world and national economies, to creating jobs and ensuring sustainable development. Based on the theoretical analysis of the definitions of the “Creative Economy” category proposed by domestic and foreign scientists, public and professional organizations, it was concluded that the unifying elements are: ideas, creativity, innovation, knowledge, intelligence, uniqueness, technology, sustainability, value. Researched approaches to defining the essence of creative industries (creative studios) as the basis of the creative economy. The features of creative industries are summarized: the subjects are creative companies that are directly or indirectly based on creativity, originality, talents and unique skills; carry value for the preservation of cultural heritage, national identity and reflection of local characteristics; meet many sustainability challenges and ESG factors; use of creative, cultural, knowledge and intellectual resources; use of intellectual property objects for the production of goods and services; the result of activity is also objects of intellectual property and copyright; a creative product has a high value, as it involves a significant contribution of ideas and work of a creative person; the creative product is the object of falsification, counterfeiting and “piracy”; creative industries create new consumer value, added value and jobs; a high share of the use of product and technological innovations; a significant entrepreneurial, innovative and marketing component. It was noted that the modern fashion industry is an important sector of the creative economy, which includes the development, production, promotion and sale of fashionable goods (clothing, shoes, accessories). A semantic analysis of the inclusion of fashion in the structure of creative industries according to various approaches has been carried out, which proves the presence of this industry in all classifications of creative industries. It was concluded that fashion is one of the dominant components of creative industries, a form of mass communication, a cultural industry, generates its own marketing and advertising technologies, a special “fashion product”, professional and informal fashion communities that have their own opinion and form specific standards. It was concluded that the fashion industry should be considered as an element of the creative economy, a creative industry that combines developers and manufacturers of fashionable products, suppliers of resources (raw materials, information, intellectual, marketing, creative), innovations and technologies (FashTech), the sphere of promotion services, implementation and service.

The impact of supplier innovation on buyer innovation and the moderating effects of geographic distance, financial interdependence and technical similarity

PurposeThis study aims to examine the extent to which a buying firm can leverage the firm's supplier's innovations to boost the firm's own innovation performance and key moderators to this relationship. Grounded in social embeddedness theory, the authors explore the role of dyadic embeddedness between a buyer and supplier as a facilitator of buyer innovation.Design/methodology/approachNegative binomial regression was used to empirically analyze a large sample of dyadic observations from the USA manufacturing industry. Measures were developed from data acquired from Compustat, LexisNexis and Bloomberg.FindingsThe findings indicate that supplier innovation has a positive impact on a buyer firm's innovation output, particularly when the firms are technically similar and when there is a higher degree of financial interdependence in the buyer–supplier dyad.Originality/valueThis study provides important insights into how supplier firms can facilitate buyer innovation as and how relational factors suggested by social embeddedness theory act to strengthen this effect. Through a theoretical-based empirical examination of supply chain dyads, the findings highlight the importance of financial interdependence and technical similarity when buyers seek to benefit from supplier innovation capabilities.

Innovative Water Supply Network Pressure Management Method—The Establishment and Application of the Intelligent Pressure-Regulating Vehicle

The development of many intelligent technologies, such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, has brought new opportunities for water industry intelligence. Based on intelligent pressure regulation technology, this paper built an intelligent management platform, designed an intelligent pressure-regulating device, and combined both to form an intelligent pressure-regulating vehicle (IPRV). The IPRV has the functions of developing a pressure-regulating scheme, equipment selection, pressure reduction potential analysis, etc. It can bring convenience to the field test of the water supply network. In the field test, an intelligent pressure-regulating device was used to obtain the network data in the pilot site called S-cell. After utilizing the intelligent management platform to analyze the measured data, the water usage pattern and pressure reduction potential of the S-cell were obtained, and an optimal pressure-regulating strategy was formulated. The water pressure at the critical node always met the water demand at the critical node during the field test. In addition, no complaints were received from other users. The results show that the IPRV is not only convenient for utility managers to make decisions on building pressure-reducing stations, but also meets user needs, realizing a win–win situation for both users and companies.

About the Governance Efficiency of Agricultural Farms. The Case of Bulgaria

The New Institutional Economics framework is incorporated and a practical approach for assessing the level and factors of governance efficiency of Bulgarian farms suggested. The evaluation is made on the basis of original micro-data collected by the managers of typical farms of different type and location. The "Nature of the problems in effective organization for major class farm transactions for securing needed factors of production and output marketing" is used as an indicator for the comparative efficiency and adaptability of individual farms. The study found that the governance efficiency of farms is at a Good level but 60% of all holdings are with a Low efficiency. Major factors for inferior governance efficiency of farms are unsatisfactory efficiency in supply of necessary labor, innovations and know-how, and funding. There is a huge variation in the level and factors of governance efficiency of farms with different juridical types and sizes as well as in the share of farms with different levels of efficiency in each group. A strong correlation is found between the level of governance efficiency of farms, and diverse critical internal and external market, technological, institutional, personal, etc. factors. There is a big discrepancy between the “new” assessment of Governance efficiency with dominating traditional approaches for farm efficiency assessments based on factors' productivity. There was an improvement in the overall governance efficiency of farms during 2016-2020 but the share of efficient farms significantly declined during the period.