Date of Graduation

7-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Supply Chain Management

Advisor/Mentor

Hofer, Christian

Committee Member

Dobrzykowski, David D.

Second Committee Member

Hoberg, Kai

Third Committee Member

Rossiter Hofer, Adriana

Keywords

Business Performance; Business Strategy; Buyer-Supplier Relationships; Competition Research; Competitive Dynamics; Financial Performance; Inventory Management; Just-In-Time (JIT); Supplier Inventory Leanness; Supply Chain Representation

Abstract

The supply chain is recognized as an integral part of the value creation process and a critical driver of performance. Indeed, a supply chain relationship grants buyers and suppliers the opportunity to share in the value generated by their partners, access partner capabilities and resources to enact their own strategic initiatives, and jointly generate value above what each firm could produce in isolation. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how firms can leverage the supply chain to attain superior organizational performance. Specifically, three essays, each focused on a distinct organizational process, explore how supply chain partners influence a firm’s financial performance.

Essay 1 focuses on inventory management and the effect of supplier inventory leanness on a firm’s financial performance. Essay 2 focuses on organizational governance and the potential value and risk of inviting an executive from a supplier or customer firm to serve on the board of directors. Essay 3 integrates supply chain and competitive dynamics research to explore the influence of supplier competitive actions on a firm’s financial performance. Each essay covers a distinct area in which supply chain partners can act as a source of advantage and enable superior organizational performance.

Firms do not operate in isolation, and a failure to consider supply chain partners when developing and implementing firm operations and strategies is an opportunity lost. This dissertation, thus, contributes to extant supply chain research by expanding research on supply chain partners’ influence on performance outcomes. The findings have major implications to managerial decision-making on sourcing, strategic management, and supply chain design. Collectively, this dissertation identifies additional avenues for firms to leverage the supply chain and, in turn, achieve superior organizational performance.

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