bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Wood pallet suppliers' reaction to online reverse auctions
Authors: Emiliani M.L. , Stec D.J. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to quantitatively assess wood pallet suppliers' reaction to online reverse auctions and its impact on their business policies and practices.Design/methodology/approachSurvey method was used to determine how pallet suppliers react to online reverse auctions.FindingsDetermines that pallet suppliers do not realize the benefits claimed by online reverse auction service providers. Identifies new sources of costs which accrue to buyers and are not accounted for in so‐called “total cost” request for quotes including: retaliatory pricing practices, less cooperative relationships, and sourcing work back to the original supplier. The qualitative benefits identified for suppliers by third‐party online reverse auction service providers are overstated or false.Research limitations/implicationsThe present work can be extended to other commodity categories to identify similarities and differences in how suppliers react to online reverse auctions, understand the domain of successful and unsuccessful application of the online reverse auction tool, and provide further insight into the evolution of buyer‐seller relationships, including embedded organizational routines such as power‐based bargaining.Practical implicationsFindings mirror the results found in a previous study that examined aerospace parts suppliers' reaction to online reverse auctions, and indicates that market makers have consistently overstated the benefits of online reverse auctions to both sellers and buyers, and the use of this tool will typically result in unfavorable outcomes for both buyers and sellers.Originality/valueThis paper will be of interest to buyers, sellers, and market makers, as it identifies important problems with online reverse auctions, and suggests questions that buyers should ask market makers to ensure better sourcing decisions.
Developing a strategic framework for efficient and effective optimisation of information in the supply chains of the UK clothing manufacture industry
Authors: Adewole Adebisi 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges that small firms in the UK clothing manufacturing sector encounter. It has been suggested that small manufacturers' main problems are based on an inadequate information‐sharing structure. This research will explore the strategic significance of information to effective supply chain decisions in small garment‐manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is designed to employ Porter's five forces to explain the key factors influencing competition in the UK garment manufacturing industry and the relationship of information technology as a facilitator of shared information. In‐depth interviews and observations are conducted in a multiple case approach.FindingsEmpirical evidence shows that the slow and inefficient reaction of small garment manufacturers to competitive pressures is associated with inaccurate and untimely information sharing among trading partners.Research limitations/implicationsThe methodological approach justified the particularity, the specificity, and the boundedness required in case studies and demonstrates the depth of thoroughness and authentic explanations. It might, however, be useful to obtain a broader and wider sampling frame in any future research.Practical implicationsA successful supply chain will have implications for the upstream and downstream managers, who need to integrate their supply chains as part of a team that creates and adds value to the garments that end up in the hands of the consumers.Originality/valueThis paper has been able to stimulate concerns and interests in owner/managers of small garment manufacturers with special reference to their information needs. The evidence obtained demonstrated the overriding need for structured information strategies that will encourage the efficient flow of accurate and timely information across their supply chains.
Improved optimisation through advanced relationship planning
Authors: Noonan John , Wallace Michael 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a framework for advanced relationship planning between a contract manufacturer and the other key players within the supply chain. In doing so it allows the contract manufacturer to achieve improved optimisation through better insight into current and future supply chain activity.Design/methodology/approachThe research commences with a literature review that synthesises across total quality management (TQM), customer focus and contemporary business excellence to create a framework specific to contract manufacturing. The major elements were verified by surveys. Applicability and exploitability was validated using action research.FindingsThe paper confirms that horizontal alliances in either collaborative or cooperative form are in their infancy as regards contract manufacturing. The framework presented makes it possible for contract manufacturers to identify, evaluate and form relationships with competitors and complementor companies towards understanding the interdependence between all supply chain players.Research limitations/implicationsFurther refinements are possible and could include the determination of formal avenues for relationship development and guidance while operating within supply chains at different levels of development.Practical implicationsUnderstanding how supply players interact in the field of contract manufacturing will assist in determining the influence of cooperation and competition or a mixture of both. The framework presented will provide direction in unravelling the intricacies of the connections and therefore provide the contract manufacturer with a valuable tool for relationship planning.Originality/valueThe Advanced Relationship Planning Framework described offers a unique supply management approach from the supplier of contract manufacture viewpoint that synthesises across the TQM, Customer focus and business excellence.
Quality in supply chains: an empirical analysis
Authors: Sila Ismail , Ebrahimpour Maling , Birkholz Christiane 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo analyze the state of supply chain quality management in manufacturing companies by testing several hypotheses regarding the knowledge these companies have about their different supply chain partners, the attributes that characterize customer‐supplier relationships and the factors that determine the development of quality specifications in a supply chain, and the effect of supply chain quality management activities of companies on product quality.Design/methodology/approachSix hypotheses related to supply chain quality management have been developed through literature review and tested using survey data from US manufacturing companies.FindingsProvides information about the results of each hypothesis, their implications, and how these findings relate to the previous literature.Research limitations/implicationsThe study offers insights into what the findings suggest and provides guidelines for future research to tackle issues raised by these findings. There were also some research limitations. For instance, the study relied on the perceptions of the respondents to operationalize the survey instrument, and the variables were mostly operationalized using single measures.Practical implicationsThe study recommends ways managers can use the study's findings to improve supply chain quality.Originality/valueThis paper fills a void in the literature by focusing on quality in supply chain management.
Is a focus on collaborative product development warranted from a cost commitment perspective?
Authors: Labro Eva 
Published: January 2007

PurposeSupplier involvement in cost reduction efforts has been concentrated mainly in the product development phase of the life cycle of the product. Often this concentration on the early phases of the product life cycle is defended with referral to the 80/20 rule that says that 80 per cent of the manufacturing costs are determined or committed during product design and development. The purpose of this paper is to look for empirical evidence that supports this rule and discuss the limited literature on joint buyer/supplier cost reduction programmes beyond the product development stage of the product life cycle.Design/methodology/approachAn extensive literature survey on both the cost commitment rule and collaborative cost reduction programmes beyond the product development stage was conducted.FindingsIt was found that empirical evidence in the literature for the 80/20 rule on cost commitment in product design is only anecdotal. Even more surprisingly, compared to the literature on cost reduction in design phases, the literature on cost reduction efforts in later stages of the product life cycle is rather limited and usually ignores possibilities for supplier/buyer collaboration.Research limitations/implicationsFurther empirical research (suggestions provided) should assess whether the identified lack of evidence is due to a gap in the empirical literature or to lower degrees of cost commitment and attention to cost efforts beyond product design indeed existing in practice.Practical implicationsThis paper calls practitioners to revisit the cost commitment rule and check its existence in their specific contexts. As a result of this exercise, practitioners may want to consider implementing some of the techniques reviewed in the paper that can assist in collaborative cost reduction beyond the product development stage.Originality/valueGiven the amount of money involved, the general applicability of the cost reduction techniques to various industries and relationships with suppliers, the opportunities for huge savings and the fact that most firms usually have many products and/or technologies at maturity stage, my research makes an important contribution by identifying both a lack of empirical evidence in the literature on the notion that 80 per cent of the costs are committed in the design phase and the limited attention given in the literature to supplier/buyer cost reduction programmes in further stages of the product life cycle.
Role of informal mentoring in the career success of first‐line bank managers
Authors: Okurame David E. , Balogun S.K. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis study seeks to examine the role of informal mentoring in career success in an African work environment.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 510 first‐line bank managers through a survey of ten banks in four central business districts of Lagos State, Nigeria.FindingsResults of hierarchical regression analysis revealed that informal mentoring accounts for a significant proportion of the variance (β=0.64, p<0.01) in career success. Informal mentoring increased R2 from 0.06 to 0.41 (p<0.01), indicating a significant change in R2 (ΔR2=0.35, p<0.01).Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are based on self‐report measures from respondents in the banking sector. This underscores the need for further research with objective measures from a wider domain.Practical implicationsAn intervention is needed to make informal mentoring thrive, enhance its quality and ensure career success.Originality/valueThere is a paucity of literature relating mentoring to career success in the Nigerian and, indeed, the African work environment. This study addresses this gap in literature and corrects the inappropriateness of generalising from foreign cultures to the Nigerian society.
Beyond being proactive: what (else) matters for career self‐management behaviors?
Authors: Chiaburu Dan S. , Baker Vicki L. , Pitariu Adrian H. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between proactive personality and career self‐management behaviors (job mobility preparedness and developmental feedback‐seeking behaviors), providing evidence for one mediator (career resilience) and one moderator (public self‐consciousness) on this relationship.Design/methodology/approachData from 127 employees in one work organization, analyzed using regression analysis.FindingsProactive personality is positively related to career self‐management behaviors. Career resilience mediates this relationship. In addition, proactive personality and public self‐consciousness have an interactive effect, with developmental feedback‐seeking behaviors as the outcome.Research limitations/implicationsDespite the cross‐sectional nature of the study, the findings uncover mechanisms through which proactive personality is related to career self‐management behaviors. According to the findings, this relationship is subject to important intervening (career resilience) and boundary (public self‐consciousness) conditions.Practical implicationsThe findings serve as a resource for practitioners interested in interventions. Specifically, practitioners in organizations where the results generalize can design interventions directed at enhancing the direct effect of proactive personality on career self‐management. These interventions can be directed to managing employees' career resilience and cognitively restructuring their public self‐consciousness perceptions.Originality/valueThis study adds to the literatures on career self‐management behaviors and proactive personality and explicates important intervening mechanisms in this relationship.
Is the opposite of positive negative?
Authors: Powell Gary N. , Greenhaus Jeffrey H. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe relationship between work‐family enrichment (WFE), representing positive interdependencies between individuals' work and family roles, and work‐family conflict (WFC), representing negative interdependencies between the same roles, has been discussed but never fully clarified in the scholarly literature on the work‐family interface. The purpose of this article is to increase understanding of the relationship between these two constructs.Design/methodology/approachThe relationship between WFE and WFC is conceptualized at the level of a “resource” that may be generated in one role, work or family, and applied to the other role. This approach offers an alternative to the more typical approach of analyzing this relationship at the aggregate level across all possible resources.FindingsThe answer to the question posed in the title of the article is “yes or no”, or “it depends”. At the resource level, it is suggested that WFE is either unrelated or negatively related to WFC depending on the specific process under consideration by which experiences in one role may affect experiences in the other role.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research that examines the relationship between WFE and WFC at the resource level is recommended. For this research to be conducted, new measures are needed that assess these two constructs at the resource level.Originality/valueThis article sheds light on the resource‐level conditions under which positive vs negative interdependencies between work and family roles may occur. In addition, it argues that research on the work‐family interface that goes beyond the aggregate level of analysis is sorely needed.
Corporate crisis planning: tensions, issues, and contradictions
Authors: Pang Augustine , Cropp Fritz , Cameron Glen T. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeCrisis planning, which symbolizes an organization's crisis preparedness and often conceptualized at the corporate headquarters, is increasingly decentralized to regional centers of global companies. These centers, in turn, synchronize their crisis master plans with its national units for expeditious management of localized crises. The purpose of this paper is to capture the decision‐making processes that practitioners at a regional center faced as they nurtured their master plan from conception to implementation.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative method is used. This is a case study of a Fortune 500 company with plants in every continent. The company has four regional centers, and the center under study oversees more than 20 national units or countries.FindingsThis study found a deep divide in attitude, expectation, and style between what practitioners and the dominant coalition regarded as necessary and sufficient measures in crisis planning.Research limitations/implicationsRestricted access to more interviewees.Practical implicationsStudies like this, grounded in the practitioner's world, add rich layers of context to understanding how theory and practice can integrate. Given that in this study, corporate communications has been found to be regarded as an auxiliary, rather than ancillary, function in this study, this paper offers practical tips on what practitioners can do to transform organizational perception.Originality/valueSuch studies are rare because of the lack of accessibility to data. Practitioners are hesitant to grant access because of the highly sensitive nature of this topic, for fear of reprisals from their organizations, and an inadvertent revelation of organizational privacy and secrets.
Exploring challenges to transformational leadership communication about employment equity
Authors: Leonard Anné , Grobler Anské F. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the management of employment equity (EE) communication at corporate level, against the background of South African societal complexities. It speculates about how the normative ideals of transformational change communication could be applied in order to bridge the apparent divide between government's current development agenda and negative societal sentiments about EE per se on the one side, and corporate transformation efforts on the other.Design/methodology/approachA multiple qualitative case study design was followed for the collection of empirical evidence. Semi‐structured interviews were used for data collection in each of the three case studies.FindingsThis paper indicates current trends pertaining to the complexity of communicating EE in South Africa, including the strategic value of communication. It appears that internal communication does not receive as much strategic attention as external communication does. Furthermore, some key organizational leaders (involved in EE strategy implementation) view communication as a tactical tool and not a strategic means, thereby failing to appreciate either their own leadership responsibilities, or the complex nature of transformation change communication per se. These findings confirm the need for a new breed of transformational leaders who can conceptually and practically navigate the societal and corporate complexities surrounding EE communication in the management of change in South Africa.Originality/valueThe paper stresses the complexity of transformational change communication against the background of societal and corporate reactions to EE in South Africa.
Officer perceptions of police responses to persons with a mental illness
Authors: Wells William , Schafer Joseph A. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore police officer perceptions of their contacts with the mentally ill and examine outcomes of an innovative police training program designed to improve police handling of cases involving the mentally ill.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilizes a sample of 126 police officer respondents from five departments in northern Indiana to understand their perceptions of important aspects of their contacts with the mentally ill.FindingsResults show the actual dispositions for the mentally ill frequently do not match the outcomes officers desire, police training on responding to the mentally ill is not sufficient, and the training component of an innovative reform holds promise for improving officers' ability to respond to situations that involve the mentally ill.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to one community and results may not generalize to communities with distinct mental health resources. Perceptions of police contacts with the mentally ill were not obtained from mental health service providers, advocates, and persons with a mental illness.Originality/valueContacts between the police and the mentally ill pose complex challenges for officers. Advocates contend that too many persons with a mental illness end up in jail as a result of police contacts and, thus, promote jail diversion programs. For jail diversion to succeed it is critical to understand officer perceptions of the outcomes they desire for the mentally ill and the obstacles that inhibit appropriate dispositions. Evidence about the outcomes of specialized police training can improve officers' knowledge and perceived ability to respond to the mentally ill.
A clumsy dance: the political economy of American police and policing
Authors: Daleiden J. Robert 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to incorporate historical theories of political economy as means better to clarify and classify contemporary state police and private policing practices.Design/methodology/approachA diverse historical investigation of largely, non‐traditional public police history was conducted by utilizing a selective variety of social, political, and economic sources.FindingsThe paper finds that several theoretical features of eighteenth and nineteenth century Marxian, classical, and neoclassical political economy have contributed in defining the origins of contemporary American public police and private policing practices. Born from these perspectives, public goods theories frameworks, in conjunction with Wilson's police officer job function typologies inVarieties of Police Behavior,more clearly illustrate the current political and economically defined state supported police relative to private market arrangements.Research limitations/implicationsThis research describes the positioning of this mixed economy in theoretical fashion, but does not provide contemporary private sector market growths or publicly supplied police trends that are a suitable next step for further research.Practical implicationsThe public “monopoly” of state supported police is largely rejected. More interdisciplinary research approaches should be pursued in the twenty‐first century that better reflect the American political and economic realities of public and private forms of policing.Originality/valueThis paper is highly original when considering the paucity of theory utilized in describing simultaneous state and private policing scenarios.
Lawsuits involving the police: a content analysis of newspaper accounts
Authors: Archbold Carol A. , Lytle Daniel , Weatherall Corneshia , Romero Ann , Baumann Catherine 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study lawsuits involving the police using newspaper accounts from three large cities in the USA.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis was conducted using 634 newspaper articles from theNew York Times, Chicago Sun‐Times, and theLos Angeles Timesfrom 1993‐2003.FindingsResearch findings reveal how prevalent racial and gender discrimination issues are in lawsuits involving the police; some of the differences in lawsuits filed by police employees compared to those filed by citizens; the extent of disciplinary action taken against police officers named in lawsuits, and any organizational changes (i.e. department policies, procedures, or training) made as a result of lawsuits filed against police agencies.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings from this study are based solely on what the newspapers chose to report. It may be the case that newspapers only report on extraordinary lawsuits involving the police, or lawsuits that result in moderate to large jury awards or settlements.Practical implicationsSince there is currently no national data collection effort focused on lawsuits filed against the police, researchers are left to use the data sources available to them (in this case, newspaper articles).Originality/valueThis paper presents the first study of lawsuits involving the police using newspaper accounts. Previous studies have used survey data, court records, and interviews.