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

Brian S. Fugate and Brent D. Williams

Committee Member

David D. Dobrzykowski

Second Committee Member

F. Alex Scott

Keywords

policy, supply chain management, unintended consequences

Abstract

Supply chains, and the firms within them, change their behaviors in response to industry conditions so they can provide efficiency, effectiveness, strategic enablement, and customer utility. Social and economic policies enacted to promote social welfare by correcting market failures can alter these conditions. While these policies may serve their intended purposes, they may also create unintended consequences that may make managing logistics, operations, and supply chains more challenging. This dissertation contributes to the nascent body of knowledge concerning the intended and unintended consequences of policy on supply chain management by examining three unique contextual settings using different methodologies and levels of analysis.

In the first essay, I examine the impacts of relationship-focused regulations on supply chain collaboration. Using a grounded theory approach, I theorize new barriers to collaboration unique to this regulatory context using data from multiple interviews with executives from suppliers and distributors in the beer industry supply chain. I find that regulations meant to promote social welfare by constraining the flow of alcohol to consumer also constrain choice in supply chain relationships that negatively affect supply chain collaboration.

In the second essay, I examine how capacity-limiting structural regulation in healthcare, specifically certificate of need (CON) laws, interacts with case complexity to affect hospital operational performance. Using a hybrid estimation approach to analyze a unique data set collected from multiple sources, I tested a conceptual model developed using the structure-conduct-performance (SCP) framework and the complex adaptive systems (CAS) perspective. I find that indicate that CON does reduce costs but also worsens quality. I also find that these relationships are intensified by case complexity.

In the third essay, I examine whether nuclear verdicts over $10 million resulting from harm caused by large truck crashes result in improved industry-level motor carrier safety performance. Drawing on institutional theory to hypothesize the effects of nuclear verdicts on safety performance and insurance spending. I test these hypotheses using autoregressive distributed lag time series econometric models. I find that nuclear verdicts may result in improvements in industry safety but may also result in increased insurance spending. Collectively, these essays demonstrate multiple perspectives of how policies can affect supply chain behaviors and performance at the individual-, firm-, and industry-level that may be undesirable or unexpected. Findings from these essays offer important insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

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