Causal linkages between supply chain management practices and performance

Abstract

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emeraldsrm:198285 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Today, supply chain design and management constitute a major source of competitive advantage for firms. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate, from a balanced scorecard strategy map (BSSM) perspective, the types of linkages through which supply chain management practices (SCMPs) impact on financial and non-financial performance, and consequently lead to the achievement of the firm's strategic objectives. Design/methodology/approach -This study is carried out in two stages. First, based on the survey data collected from 450 French industrial firms (with a return rate of 20.2 per cent), structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to test eight hypotheses that are formulated through the discussion of previous theoretical and empirical findings in extant literature. Then, based on the framework of the BSSM, the SEM results are used to discuss the linkages between SCMPs and firm performance. Findings -After confirming some of the relationships already observed in extant literature, the results show that there are many strategic paths (of different nature) that link SCMPs and other intangible assets to financial performance. Practical implications -The results of the study constitute a practical contribution that would guide managers in the strategic alignment of their firm's supply chain initiatives with corporate strategy. The authors argue that when implementing supply chain management initiatives, managers should pay particular attention to how intangible assets act as mediating factors in the achievement of the firm's financial objectives. The BSC framework that the authors propose can also be used by researchers to investigate causal linkages between intangible and tangible assets. Originality/value -There are few studies that adopt an extensive multidimensional approach by looking simultaneously at both upstream and downstream linkages of the supply chain whilst taking into account many performance measures. Using the BSSM framework, this paper proposes eight types of linkages that could lead to the achievement of the firm's strategic g...

Best supply chain management practices and high-performance firms

“…It mainly focuses on integrated logistics systems (e.g. inventory management, vendor relationships, transportation, distribution, warehousing and delivery services) that lead to inventory reduction both within and across firms in the supply chain (Cook et al, 2011 The best supply chain management practices (SCMPs) have become an essential factor for low-performing firms to remain competitive in the global race (Okongwu et al, 2015). The nature of SCMPs will be able to explain the dual purpose of SCM as it improves the performance of an individual firm as well as the performance of the whole supply chain.…”

Supply chain practices and performance: the indirect effects of supply chain integration

“…Within the areas of supply chain management, literatures highlight the need to understand supply chain management practices which have become an essential prerequisite to remain competitive in the global race with profitable growth (Moberg et al, 2002;Okongwu et al, 2015;Power et al, 2001;Sezen, 2008). In addition, the strategic nature of supply chain management practices will be able to explain the dual purpose of supply chain management: to improve the performance of an individual organization, and to improve the performance of the entire supply chain (Wong et al, 1999).…”

A Performance Measurement Tool Leading Wastewater Treatment Plants toward Economic Efficiency and Sustainability

“…Linkages among KPIs can be non-sequential as a component of one balanced scorecard perspective has a cause and effect relationship with one or more components of other perspectives and not necessarily with those included in the level immediately above, as in the case of "sequential" linkages [26][27][28]. Furthermore, interdependent linkages arise when two KPIs of different levels have a bidirectional relationship, also called a "reverse linkage" [29]. Finally, two KPIs of the same perspective can exhibit an intra-dependent relationship.…”

“…SEM is one of the best approaches to map all these nexuses [29,30]. SEM adopts different mathematical models to study relationships among variables and it often studies latent variables, which are not directly observed, but only inferred from other measures (e.g., the quality of life can be measured inferring wealth or environment).…”