Supplier Relationships Research Articles

Digitalisation promotes adoption of soft information in SME credit evaluation: the case of Indian banks.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for half of the employment in developing economies and are a significant part of their economic growth. In spite of this, SMEs are under-financed by banks, which have been disrupted by financial technology (fintech) firms. This qualitative multi-case study examines how Indian banks are utilising digitalisation, soft information, and Big data to improve SME financing. The participants shared their insights on the way banks adopt digital tools, sources of soft information (e.g., customer and supplier relationships, business plans), and factors that influence the implementation of Big data in the SME credit evaluation process. The major themes include: banks are improving SME financing operations through digitalisation, and IT tools can verify SME soft information. Soft information attributes that emerge from addressing SME information opacity include supplier relationships, customer relationships, business plans, and managerial successions. For SME credit managers, developing partnerships to access publicly available soft information created by industry associations and "online B2B trade platforms" is a high-priority recommendation. To enhance the efficiency of SME financing, banks should obtain the consent of SMEs before they access their private hard information through trade platforms.

Emergency Response Demand and Supply: A GIS-Based Network Analysis for Fire Station’s Service Coverage Delineation in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

Inadequate fire emergency response infrastructure and a lack of defined service coverage remain key barriers to timely fire disaster response. This study is applied research which employed geospatial techniques and aimed at examining fire disaster emergency response demand and supply relationships with the view to delineating service coverage and locating more facilities for optimum coverage in Kano metropolis. Locations of the existing fire stations and fire incidents (2009-2019) were gathered through GPS surveying. Network data set were generated. Nearest Neighbor and Network Analysis (origin-destination, service coverage and location-allocation) were conducted to determine emergency response demand and supply relationships, service coverage area delineation and identifying best site for allocating new facilities within the metropolis respectively. It was found that no clearly defined service coverage exist as emergency response supply takes more than 4-8 times the NFPA travel standard, and with a great deal of overlapping response patterns. New service coverage areas were proposed and best sites for 8 firefighting facilities identified for optimum coverage. It is concluded that emergency fire disaster response demand and supply relationships within Kano metropolis is imbalanced, with extensive recurrent demand especially within the core area served by overstretched and inefficient response supply. This, therefore, implies continuous exposure of lives and properties to the menace of fire disaster in Kano metropolis.
 Keywords: Fire Facilities; Location-allocation; Response Demand; Response Supply; Service Coverage
 
 Copyright (c) 2023 Geosfera Indonesia and Department of Geography Education, University of Jember
 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share A like 4.0 International License

ASSESSING THE ROLE OF SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN ENHANCING SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE: A STUDY IN BANGLADESH

This research aims to explore the significance of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) practices in the context of Bangladesh, an emerging economy with a growing manufacturing sector. The study investigates the impact of SRM on supply chain performance, adaptation to local challenges, and key success factors for effective implementation. A qualitative research design was employed, involving in-depth interviews with 35 professionals from diverse organizations in Bangladesh. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. The findings revealed that SRM practices in Bangladesh have a positive influence on supply chain performance, emphasizing long-term relationships, cost reduction, quality improvement, and supply stability. Key success factors include clear communication, trust-building, adaptability to local challenges, and navigating regulatory complexities. Participants recommended greater technological integration and training programs for cultural sensitivity and negotiation skills. This research focuses on the specific context of Bangladesh, and the findings may not be universally applicable. Future research can extend the study to other emerging economies for comparative analysis. The study offers practical insights for organizations operating in Bangladesh and similar emerging markets, highlighting the value of tailored SRM practices and the need to balance cost efficiency and supply chain stability. Effective SRM practices contribute to economic growth and job opportunities in emerging economies, fostering social development. This research contributes to the understanding of SRM practices in emerging economies, with a focus on the Bangladesh context, and provides valuable insights for practitioners and researchers in the field of supply chain management. The primary limitation of this study is its focus on a single emerging economy, which restricts the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, the study relies on self-reported data from participants, which may introduce response bias.

Quantitative land price analysis via computer vision from street view images

Land price is an important economic factor in producing meaningful references for regional planners by assisting them in urban planning, economic decision-making, and land resource allocation. However, related studies in land price analysis were mainly focused on the factors of site area and plot ratio, analysis of the potential impact of streetscape factors and human subjective perception on the land price has been lacking, regardless of the impact on supply and demand relationship. Therefore, this study developed a new approach for estimating and analyzing land prices through deep learning that considered the streetscape and human subjective perception factors. In the estimation part, we developed a fine-grained end-to-end deep learning model, the input is street view images, and the output is land prices. In the analysis part, we extracted the semantic segmentation results and human subjective perception scores from the images and combined them with the results of land price estimation. We then introduced a combination of quantitative analysis using the gradient-weighted class activation mapping and L1-based sparse linear regression to model the relationship between the streetscape and the human subjective perception quantitatively. The gradient-weighted class activation mapping was used to determine which categories of pixels deep learning relied on to output the results of land price estimation quantitatively. Combined with segmentation results, we implemented L1-based sparse linear regression and quantitatively determined the importance of the streetscape factors for land prices. Overall, our deep learning model achieved 77.99 % accuracy by only using street views in estimating the land price, and we illustrated the impacts of the streetscape and perception on the land price by showing that perception scores are more important than streetscape factors such as road and mountain in the streetscape. Comfortable, lived-in feel in perception have the most important impact on land price estimation.

Spatiotemporal Changes in the Watershed Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand Relationships in the Eastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Clarifying the spatiotemporal changes in the supply and demand relationship of ecosystem services (ESs) is essential for optimizing ESs management. However, several studies have reported the ESs supply and demand risk in complex mountainous areas. In this study, we quantitatively analyzed the spatiotemporal variation in ESs supply, demand, and their trade-off and synergy, including water yield, soil conservation, and food provision in the Bailongjiang watershed (BLJW) in western China. The results showed that the total supply and demand of water-yield and soil-conservation services rose with a surplus from 2002 to 2018, except for food provision. A high value characterizes the water-yield and soil-conservation supply in the south, but there are low values in the east BLJW. The spatial distribution of water and food supply–demand featured a high demand in the subareas with population aggregation. Soil-conservation demand is high in the northwest and south of Wudu. The dominant spatial matching type of supply and demand in water yield was a high supply with a low demand. Soil conservation was associated with a low supply and low demand, and food provision with a high supply and increased demand. A synergy existed between water yield and soil conservation. Trade-offs existed between water yield, food provision, and soil conservation. The spatial distribution of trade-off intensity showed distinctive patterns. The supply–demand ratio of WY and SC decreased with the increasing trade-off intensity. This study comprehensively considers ES and supply–demand conflicts, thus providing a new perspective and approach for enhancing ecosystem services and high-quality regional development.

Distributed fusion filtering for multi-sensor systems under time-correlated fading channels and energy harvesters

In this paper, the distributed fusion filtering issue is investigated for multi-sensor systems with the constraints from both time-correlated fading channels and energy harvesters. A specific scenario is considered where the sensors can harvest energy from the natural environment and may consume a certain amount of energy when transmitting measurements to the filters. In order to properly deal with the energy supply relationship between a battery and multiple sensors, a dynamic energy-allocated rule is proposed in this paper, i.e., the storage battery provides energy to sensors in order of different sensors’ priorities. Additionally, the channel fading phenomenon is also taken into consideration and the fading coefficient is described by a dynamic process. In this paper, we are committed to designing a local filter such that, under the effects of the time-correlated fading channels and energy harvesters, an upper bound on the local filtering error covariance is firstly derived by using the mathematical induction and then the upper bound is minimized by designing the local filter gain. Next, the covariance intersection approach is employed to obtain the fusion estimates. Finally, a simulation is provided to verify that the presented filtering strategy is feasible and effective.

CLUMondo-BNU for simulating land system changes based on many-to-many demand–supply relationships with adaptive conversion orders

Land resources are fundamentally important to human society, and their transition from one macroscopic state to another is a vital driving force of environment and climate change locally and globally. Thus, many efforts have been devoted to the simulations of land changes. Among all spatially explicit simulation models, CLUMondo is the only one that simulates land changes by incorporating the multifunctionality of a land system and allows the establishment of many-to-many demand–supply relationships. In this study, we first investigated the source code of CLUMondo, providing a complete, detailed mechanism of this model. We found that the featured function of CLUMondo—balancing demands and supplies in a many-to-many mode—relies on a parameter called conversion order. The setting of this parameter is a manual process and requires expert knowledge, which is not feasible for users without an understanding of the whole, detailed mechanism. Therefore, the second contribution of this study is the development of an automatic method for adaptively determining conversion orders. Comparative experiments demonstrated the validity and effectiveness of the proposed automated method. We revised the source code of CLUMondo to incorporate the proposed automated method, resulting in CLUMondo-BNU v1.0. This study facilitates the application of CLUMondo and helps to exploit its full potential.

The Human Resource Management Practices for the Implementation of TQM in Indian Manufacturing Industries

Purpose: Examine the association between human resource management(HRM) practices and the total quality management (TQM) practices in the meppchanical manufacturing industries. Design/Methodology/Approach: Data and information were gathered using a survey instrument. Data were collected from the managerial level employees working in the HR, quality and production departments. Collected data and information were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings: Human resource management practices are associated with total quality management practices. The result of the study also reveals that Functional Leadership (FL), Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS), Employee Involvement (EI), Empowerment (EMP) and Employee Training (ET) are the predominant factors of human resource management. At the same time, Benchmarking (BEN), Customer Satisfaction (CS), Top Management Commitment (TMC) and Supplier Relations (SR) are the critical success factors of TQM practices. “Functional Leadership” has the most significant impact on Benchmarking. Research limitations/implications: The empirical research was on mechanical manufacturing industries in India only. Further, the study can be extended to other sectors to gather relevant TQM and HRM associations. Practical implications: Successful implementation of HRM practices enhances employees' motivation level; this will significantly help to implement the organization's TQM practices. Overall implementation of HRM and TQM practices will improve employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction level and continuous improvement. Originality/value: The research tender imminent into associations between HRM and TQM practices focusing on Indian manufacturing organizations. This conceptual framework is a valuable reference for future research.

Changes in plant phosphorus demand and supply relationships in response to different grazing intensities affect the soil organic carbon stock of a temperate steppe

Ongoing climate change and long-term overgrazing are the main causes of grassland degradation worldwide. Phosphorus (P) is typically a limiting nutrient in degraded grassland soils, and its dynamics may play a crucial role in the responses of carbon (C) feedback to grazing. Yet how multiple P processes respond to a multi-level of grazing and its impact on soil organic carbon (SOC), which is critical for sustainable grassland development in the face of climate change, remains inadequately understood. Here, we investigated P dynamics at the ecosystem level in a 7-year-long multi-level grazing field experiment and analyzed their relation to SOC stock. The results showed that, due to the greater P demand for compensatory plant growth, grazing by sheep increased the aboveground plants' P supply (by 70 % at most) while decreasing their relative P limitation. The increase in P in aboveground tissue was associated with changes in plant root-shoot P allocation and P resorption, and the mobilization of moderately labile organic P in soil. Affected by the altered P supply under grazing, corresponding changes to root C stock and soil total P were two major factors impacting SOC. Compensatory growth-induced P demand and P supply processes responded differently to grazing intensity, resulting in differential effects on SOC. Unlike the light and heavy grazing levels, which reduced the SOC stock, moderate grazing was capable of maintaining maximal vegetation biomass, total plant biomass P, and SOC stock, mainly by promoting biologically- and geochemically-driven plant–soil P turnover. Our findings have important implications for addressing future soil C losses and mitigating higher atmospheric CO2 threats, as well as maintaining high productivity in temperate grasslands.

Mergers and acquisitions in supply bases

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by first‐tier suppliers, referred to as the supply base, are dynamic and drastic changes in supply chain structure and relationships that affect focal firm performance. In particular, the impact of M&As in a supply base depends on the concentration and differentiation of the supply base, which affects power–dependence relationships in the supply chain. This study examines the effect of supply base M&As on focal firms’ cost of goods sold (COGS). In addition, this study explores the role of power relationships by investigating the moderating effects of supply base concentration and differentiation. Using secondary panel data assembled from four different data sources, this study constructs econometric models and empirically examines the relationship between supply base M&As and focal firm cost efficiency. Our findings indicate that supply base M&As are positively associated with focal firm COGS. This result suggests that potential efficiency gains from M&As in supply bases may not translate to benefits for the focal firm because suppliers may also gain bargaining power from M&As. However, the effect of supply base M&As on focal firm COGS is attenuated when the supply base is less concentrated in terms of their transaction percentage with suppliers and more differentiated in terms of industry and business scopes. These are situations where suppliers less effectively obtain or employ bargaining power from M&As. These findings make important contributions to the operations management literature.

Information quality and supply chain performance: The mediating role of information sharing

This paper brings to light the powerful connection between buyer and supplier relationships in terms of information sharing, information quality, and supply chain performance. We show supply chain partners coordinate their activities by offering high-quality information to enable interactions between buyers and providers. We show information sharing acts as a mediator between information quality and supply chain performance. A survey is distributed to suppliers of key industrial businesses active in the manufacturing sector to collect empirical data. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) are used to analyze the data. The results show twenty manufacturing firms recognized the information-sharing function of mediation. We demonstrate that there is a partial mediating effect between information quality and supply chain performance satisfaction through information sharing. Accordingly, this study focuses on information sharing and information quality regarding supply chain performance. The main goal is to ensure that supply chain organizations communicate reliable information, which would boost overall performance due to imposing supply chain management principles that would enhance information quality and dependability.

Nexus Among Quality Performance, Supplier and Customer Relationship Management: Critical Review on Mediating Role of Knowledge Management

The aim of this study is to provide a conceptual model that links several key variables including supplier relationship management (SRM) and customer relationship management (CRM) of organisational factors (OF) and knowledge management (KM) to enhance quality performance (QP) of Hong Kong watch trade. Literature review was conducted extensively, and the approach employed was conceptualized into a proposed conceptual framework. A conceptual framework was suggested in this paper to enhance QP of Hong Kong watchmaking industry through SRM and CRM of OF, and a mediator KM. The literature review was performed extensively to provide three hypotheses including 1) the OF-KM relationship, 2) the KM-QP relationship, and 3) the OF-QP relationship through the mediator KM. More opportunities were provided in this study for researchers to expand further the research in QP of Hong Kong watchmaking industry on the basis of the theory from knowledge-based view of an organisation. The study attempted to explore good SRM and CRM together with strategic KM to enhance QP of Hong Kong watchmaking industry. The study further supports the importance of the overall determinant of QP of Hong Kong watchmaking industry. According to this study, the mediator KM for the OF-QP relationship can be expected to enhance QP of Hong Kong watchmaking industry since KM mediates the OF-QP relationship. In this connection, the study is significant with both theoretical perspective and practical perspective. A research gap is existed to find out a mediating role of KM in the OF-QP relationship.

Adoption of additive manufacturing technology: drivers, barriers and impacts on upstream supply chain design

PurposeThis paper investigates how the adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) impacts upstream supply chain (SC) design and considers the influence of drivers and barriers towards the adoption.Design/methodology/approachTen case studies investigating AM adoption by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in five industries were conducted. This research is driven by a literature-based framework, and the results are discussed according to the theory of transaction cost economics (TCE).FindingsThe case studies reveal four patterns of AM adoption that affect upstream SC design (due to changes in supply base or types of buyer–supplier relationships): make, buy, make and buy and vertical integration. A make or buy decision is based on the level of experience with the technology, on the AM application (rapid manufacturing, prototyping or tooling) and on the need of control over production. Other barriers playing a role in the decision are the high initial investments and the lack of skills and knowledge.Originality/valueThis paper shows how different decisions regarding AM adoption result in different SC designs, with a specific focus on the upstream SC and changes in the supply base. This research is among the first to provide empirical evidence on the impact of AM adoption on upstream SCs and to identify drivers of the make or buy decision when adopting AM through the theoretical lens of TCE.

Three gorges dam shifts estuarine heavy metal risk through suspended sediment gradation

Damming alters downstream sediment supply relationships and erosion in the estuarine delta. Given that sediment grainsize serves as a key parameter for the ability to adsorb heavy metals from water, the assessment of estuarine heavy metal risk needs to get connected initially. Hence, fine suspended sediment (<63 μm) in the Yangtze River estuary (YRE) was divided into four grainsize fractions to simulate the surface suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and grainsize composition before and after the completion of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD). Representative months were selected for flood peak reduction (October) and runoff compensation in the dry season (March) to maximize the scheduling impact of the TGD on runoff and riverine sediment input to the YRE. An improved Water Quality Index (WQI) approach was proposed to assess the combined risk alteration of five heavy metals in six estuarine sensitive targets due to TGD-induced sediment characteristics. The results demonstrated that TGD significantly but tardily reduced the SSC and the proportion of fine sediment in the YRE, decreasing the risk of heavy metals resuspension. Seasonally, the total SSC became higher in the flood season than in the dry season during post-TGD period. However, the fine SSC in the flood season was averaged only 59.7% of that in the dry season due to the pronounced grainsize coarsening effect. As the significant reduction in fine SSC overcomes the increase in heavy metal content per unit of SS, the integrated resuspension risk declined significantly, particularly for Pb and Cr. Spatially, the risk reduction for sensitive targets near the turbidity maximum zone (TMZ) is 8.4 times greater than for inner river channel. However, undiminished anthropogenic metal inputs to the YRE signified greater pressures on the depositional environment.

The role of top management meetings in enhancing product innovation and performance

Top management meetings enable the positive flow of knowledge and building of key relationships within the company and its suppliers. This study draws on open innovation and upper echelons theories to analyze the effects of top management meetings on open innovation instruments, product innovation and sales performance. We use partial least squares structural equation modeling and fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis to perform the path analysis of the hypothesized effects of top management meetings using data of 1,523 firms across 11 European countries. The results support the hypotheses that declare that top management meetings with suppliers positively influence product innovation while the effects of top management team meetings on product innovation remain negative. Surprisingly, the hypothesis that top management meetings with suppliers positively affect firm sales performance was not confirmed. Additionally, our efforts support the critical role of buyer–supplier relationships for innovation activities, primarily for services rather than manufacturing industries.

The Hydraulic Connection Analysis of Dongying Geothermal Fluid Using Hydrochemical Information and Isotope Data in Tianjin Coastal Regions

Dongying’s Paleogene geothermal resources are an important part of the geothermal resources of the Tianjin coastal region. The extent of the geothermal fluid resources and the supply relationship have become increasingly important, and will determine whether demand targets can be met. Dongying’s Paleogene formation in the Tianjin coastal regions is widely distributed to the east of the Cangdong fracture, but it is absent west of the Cangdong fracture. On the basis of introducing the geological characteristics and depositional characteristics of the Dongying formation, we analyzed the hydraulic conductivity of the Cangdong fracture to the Dongying formation geothermal reservoir from the aspects of geological condition, dynamic of groundwater level and hydrologic geochemistry. Based on the hydrochemical information and the isotope data gained during the water quality evaluation and isotope data analysis process, we discovered the main chemical composition, hydrogen and oxygen isotope data and geothermal fluid age are significantly different between the Dongying formation geothermal reservoir and the overlying and underlying geothermal reservoirs. It is inferred that the hydraulic conductivity of the Cangdong fracture to the Dongying formation geothermal reservoir in this area is weak, and along the Haihe fracture, where the Haihe fracture intersects with the Cangdong fracture, there is a certain hydraulic conductivity. In addition, there is no obvious hydraulic connection between the Dongying formation and the upper and lower geothermal reservoirs.

Rational Choice Theory and Taste of Japanese Popular Culture in Motivation of PMI to Enter Japan's Global Labor Market

&lt;em&gt;Developed countries as the axis of world industrialization attract developing countries with young demographic conditions to participate in the global labor market. According to the ILO's World Employment and Social Outlook-Trends 2019, the participation of the youth workforce has decreased. Besides being faced with an aging population, Japan also has a shortage of workers in the middle and low-skilled sectors. Meanwhile, Indonesia has the potential to experience a demographic bonus. The TITP / Kenshusei scheme is a realization of the labor demand and supply relationship. Rational Choice Theory by Coleman focuses on the rational actions of individuals in making decisions to achieve goals, with the calculation of benefits. According to Sonja Haug, indicators of capital and cultural capital influence the decision-making of migrant workers to migrate. In Futaba, workers from developing countries in Japan describe a relationship of mutual need. The state rationally forms a labor mobility policy in the era of the global labor market. Futaba then found that most participants drive-by economic needs and limited employment opportunities in their home countries. Based on the three indicators, career orientation and financial adequacy are the main factors besides the popularity of Japanese culture. Institutionally, the role of the family is the motivation for migration to meet financial needs at the beginning of a career. There is a process of adopting a lifestyle to the way of interaction and cultural habits of Japanese society. Herewith Japanese popular culture such as; the film, anime, manga, and game industries have contributed to the motivation of migrant workers to Japan.&lt;/em&gt;

Great Chinese famine, corporate social responsibility and firm value

We conceptualize that CEOs who endure traumatic experiences stemming from man-made disasters practice less corporate social responsibility. We exploit a natural experiment—the Great Chinese Famine—to empirically test this hypothesis. We find that (i) firms with CEOs who experienced the Great Chinese Famine score lower in corporate social responsibility ratings than a comparison group; (ii) this relationship is mainly driven by prosocial practices tied to employee relations, environmental protection, supplier relations, and community contributions; and (iii) this negative relationship is more pronounced in firms whose CEOs were younger when they experienced the famine, (iv) the positive relationship between CSR scores and firm value is more pronounced in firms with CEO without famine experiences. These results are robust in the face of several sources of endogeneity. Our study contributes to ongoing research regarding how top executives' early experiences affect their managerial decisions. It also enriches work surrounding corporate social responsibility and the plausibly exogenous determinants of prosocial preferences.

Analysis of the Factors Affecting the Price Fluctuation of Bitcoin

According to the monetary theory, this paper believes that the demand for Bitcoin mainly includes two aspects: transaction demand and investment demand. This paper further discusses the impact of different demands on the price of Bitcoin based on two aspects of demand. Transaction demand and investment demand together affect the supply and demand relationship of the Bitcoin market. The empirical results show that the volatility of Bitcoin price is higher than that of international currencies and stocks as investment tools. This article emphasizes that the price of Bitcoin is primarily affected by supply and demand.

Understanding the Impact of Digitalization on Buyer Supplier Relationship: A Qualitative Approach

Understanding the Impact of Digitalization on Buyer Supplier Relationship: A Qualitative Approach