Understanding supply chain resilience and robustness is increasingly important for supply chain managers. This is due to the growing complexity of contemporary supply chains and the subsequent increased probability of experiencing a disruption. Few studies within the risk management literature have empirically disentangled the concepts of resilience and robustness or explored their antecedents. This study utilizes a contingent resource‐based view perspective to understand the relationship between specific resources (information sharing and connectivity), capabilities (visibility), and performance in terms of supply chain resilience and robustness. In addition, it utilizes supply base complexity as a moderating factor. Survey data collected from 264 UK manufacturing plants suggest that supply chain connectivity and information sharing resources lead to a supply chain visibility capability which enhances resilience and robustness. Of the four dimensions of complexity, only scale is found to have a strong moderating effect on this relationship, while geographic dispersion, differentiation, and delivery complexity do not have contingent effects. This study highlights theoretical and managerial implications for approaches to resilience and robustness.

Purpose -Close links between buyers and suppliers are increasingly cited as a critical differentiator of high and low performers in global supply chains. While the application of performance measures to manage supplier relationships has been well-identified and encouraged in the literature, comparatively little research exists on the inter-organizational socialization mechanisms that underlie the flow of learning and information within supply chains. The authors aim to develop a model positing that socialization mechanisms play an important role in mediating the relationship between supplier performance measures and performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach -A structural equation model, using a sample of 142 manufacturing and service firms based in the UK, tests this hypothesised model. Findings -The theoretical framework was supported, with results indicating that socialization mechanisms fully mediate the effects of supplier performance measures (communication and operational-based) on firm performance. Practical implications -This study provides additional insights for purchasing managers seeking to improve the management of their strategic supplier relationships. The authors find that monitoring supplier performance is not of itself sufficient, rather, it is the process of socializing the buyer and supplier that is critical to success. Originality/value -As far as the authors are aware, no previous supply chain research has examined how supplier performance measurement systems, socialization mechanisms, and firm performance are related. The paper makes a significant contribution to this literature embedding an established theoretical construct (socialization) into the supply chain literature.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the different patterns of purchasing function configuration, and the relationship between such patterns and organisational performance. Design/methodology/approach -Despite considerable attention, there is little evidence showing the current situation toward the development of purchasing functions within organisations. Through quantitative data collected from 151 UK purchasing executives, cluster analysis is used to uncover and characterize four purchasing function configurations. Findings -Four configurations, termed strategic, capable, celebrity, and undeveloped, were identified according to the characteristics they possess. Significant differences in supplier-and organisational-related performance outcomes were found across these four purchasing function configurations. Purchasing skills were also shown to be a precondition for purchasing to exert influence within the organisation. Research limitations/implications -A cross-sectional survey provides limited longitudinal insight into the evolution of purchasing functions. Future research could examine how firms move between purchasing configurations. This study does, however, improve understanding of the different types of purchasing functions, their performance outcomes, and makes recommendations for potential strategies to be adopted for purchasing function improvement. Practical implications -The findings are useful for practitioners seeking to improve the performance and standing of the purchasing function through identification of the characteristics and potential limitations faced at each phase. Originality/value -This paper is one of few studies to provide an empirical test of purchasing function configuration, and the implications for organisational performance.

This paper examines the effect of relational factors on knowledge transfer within strategic buyer-supplier exchange. Prior research examining inter-firm knowledge transfer has focused almost exclusively on horizontal forms of governance such as strategic alliances and joint ventures, whilst research on vertical forms, such as buyersupplier relationships, is limited. We test the effect of four important relational properties: cooperation, trust, relationship duration and supplier performance. Quantitative data, gathered from 104 UK manufacturing firms in eight industry sectors, are used to analyse the hypothesized relationships through a moderated hierarchical regression model. Our study provides support for the importance of considering relational factors in the transfer of knowledge at the inter-organizational level. In particular, the results indicate that knowledge transfer is positively influenced by the extent of cooperation, but that this relationship is moderated by the level of trust and the performance of the supplier firm. Managerial implications for these findings and future directions for research are then offered.