5. Informe de resultados
5.2 Tabulación de Resultados
Nowadays companies are operating in dynamic, multi-functional, and global business en- vironments which are characterized by shorter product life cycles, higher product variety, increasing customization levels, more demanding customers, and more geographically dispersed supply chain partners (upstream and downstream side of the supply chain). 279280 Given these trends firms are faced by high number of supply chain entities, consequently leading to a higher number of relationships and interactions between them. The literature therefore refers to the term supply chain complexity. Although there is no unique definition of supply chain complexity there is broad consensus that what constitute supply chain complexity are the number of elements that make up the supply chain and the interactions between them resulting in uncertainty.281282283284
Furthermore, the multi-faceted and multi-dimensional nature of supply chains imply that supply chain complexity occurs in different parts of the supply chain (e.g. upstream, downstream, manufacturing, etc.). Therefore many studies solely focused on specific complexity components, such as upstream complexity, manufacturing complexity, etc. To get a comprehensive understanding of supply chain complexity it is important to incorpo- rate the different complexity components when investigating supply chain complexity. In addition effective supply chain complexity has to be incorporated, when investigating sup- ply chain complexity.
279
See Manuj/Sahin, 2011. 280
See Mentzer et al., 2001. 281 See Bozarth et al., 2009. 282
See Manuj/Sahin, 2011. 283
See Blackhurst et al., 2005. 284
As supply chain complexity will increase over the next couple of years it is obvious that managerial (as supply chain complexity has various effects on firm performance285286287) and academic attention (as supply chain complexity has not been conceptualized unambigu- ously288289) should be drawn on this topic. Especially the development of a measurement model, as the measurement of supply chain complexity is a prerequisite to manage it.290
The comprehensive conceptual model was presented in the previous chapter. The key points are as follows:
In this research, a theoretical and measurement model is developed. The models incorpo- rate parts of the conceptual model. The criteria driving the choice of the constructs are as follows:
1. The effect of antecedents is well established.
2. The main gap is the relationships between objective supply chain complexity, ef- fective supply chain complexity, and outcomes. Therefore, these relationships are the main focus of this research.
3. Not all moderators may be tested in a single study due to limited time and re- sources and the length of the questionnaire. The focus of this research is on sup- ply chain integration, and human cognitive abilities as they are consistently cited as being important for managing supply chain complexity.
Based on the above criteria, the resulting model is presented in figure 9.
285
See Manuj/Sahin, 2011. 286
See Bozarth et al., 2009. 287 See Milgate, 2001. 288 See Perona/Miragliotta, 2004. 289 See Wu et al., 2007. 290 See Sivadasan, 2006.
Figure 9: A theoretical model of supply chain complexity
The following discussion elaborates on hypotheses development of the above theoretical model.
Objective supply chain complexity and effective supply chain complexity
As mentioned earlier Campbell introduced the concept of objective task complexity and perceived task complexity.291 Transferring this concept to supply chain complexity and re- stating that objective supply chain complexity comprises of the number and variety of el- ements at multiple levels and the interactions between these elements. On the other hand effective supply chain complexity is the effort required for (related to a supply chain relat- ed problem) understanding and defining it, collecting data to solve it, using data to devel- op a solution, implementing a solution, and controlling the implementation of the solution. Derived from these definitions it can be assumed that higher levels of objective supply chain complexity increases the effort (due to more decision variables) for understanding and defining the problem, collecting data, using data to develop a solution, implementation of the solution, and controlling the implementation of the solution.292 Therefore, the first hypothesis of this research is:
H1: In the absence of any moderating variables there is a positive relationship be- tween objective supply chain complexity and effective supply chain complexity.
Moderators of supply chain complexity
For supply chain managers it is important to decrease the potential adverse impact of ob- jective supply chain complexity on effective supply chain complexity. To do so, companies
291
See Campbell, 1988. 292
are employing complexity moderators.293 Manuj/Sahin found that supply chains which have almost similar levels of objective supply chain complexity are facing different levels of ef- fective supply chain complexity due to the use of, e.g. better information systems or more experienced and better trained supply chain managers.294 In their study Perona/Miragliotta came to the same conclusion stating that a certain level of complexity is embedded in every supply chain (basic complexity, which can be compared to objective supply chain complexity). The basic complexity then can be reduced/managed by using complexity levers (strategies to moderate basic complexity) and resulting in actual complexity.295 This means that companies can have the same level of objective supply chain complexity but different levels of effective supply chain complexity.
In this research two moderators of supply chain complexity are investigated: supply chain integration and human cognitive abilities.
Supply chain integration
Numerous conceptual and empirical research has been done regarding supply chain inte- gration. An unambiguously definition and scales to measure supply chain integration are lacking.296 In the literature supply chain integration has been analysed from a wide range of perspectives.297 For example: integration with suppliers and customers298299300, integration with suppliers301302303, integration with buyers304305306. For this research it is important to ana- lyse integration on both, the demand (downstream) and supply (upstream) side, because the effect of supply chain integration on supply chain complexity should be investigated.
Therefore supply chain integration in this research is defined as: the collaborative man- agement of processes, technologies, and information with customers and suppliers.
293 See March/Shapira, 1987. 294 See Manuj/Sahin, 2011. 295 See Perona/Miragliotta, 2004. 296
See Gimenez et al., 2012.
297 See van der Vaart/van Donk, 2008. 298 See Frohlich/Westbrook, 2001. 299
See Salvador et al., 2001. 300
See Narasimhan/Kim, 2002. 301
See Scannell et al., 2000. 302
See Wagner, 2003. 303 See Das et al., 2006. 304
See Kulp et al., 2004. 305
See Fynes et al., 2005. 306
Supply chain integration reduces duplication and redundancy in supply chains307 and re- duces decision-making complexity (effective supply chain complexity) due to simpler sup- ply chains.308 Another study by Stock et al. also states that supply chain integration is used as a moderator of supply chain complexity. In their research the fit between complex sup- ply chains and the right level of integration has to be achieved.309 The management of complex supply chains needs the integration of members along the whole supply chain, for example through collaborative planning and sharing of information.310In the context of upstream complexity Gimenez et al. found that in environments of high upstream com- plexity higher levels of integration are needed.311
In summary it can be concluded that supply chain integration is an effective strategy to decrease objective supply chain complexity and enables supply chain managers to make better supply chain related decisions. Therefore it can be concluded that supply chain integration affects the relationship between objective supply chain complexity and effec- tive supply chain complexity.
Human cognitive abilities
When making a decision the volume and structure of information cues have to be consid- ered.312 Supply chain managers who arrives at a (supply chain related) problem are apply- ing cognitive skills which allow them to implicitly enumerate many potential solution paths while explicitly evaluating only a few promising paths when deriving a problem solution.313 In this research human cognitive abilities are defined as: applied cognitive skills to ad- dress a complex problem (knowledge and skills gained through experience, training, and natural intellect).
The literature gives spatial insights into the moderating effect of human cognitive abilities. For example are learning, training, and education factors that help to reduce complexity.314 Swink and Robinson315 and Robinson and Swink316 identified human cognitive abilities as complexity moderators (applied cognitive skills allow supply chain managers to decrease the high levels of objective supply chain complexity into a more tractable level of effective supply chain complexity) within the context of designing facility networks. Relating to hu-
307 See Rodrigues et al., 2004. 308 See Manuj/Sahin, 2011. 309
See Stock et al., 2000. 310
See Masson et al., 2007. 311
See Gimenez et al., 2012. 312
See Efstathiou et al., 2002. 313 See Campbell, 1988. 314 See Schwaninger, 2009. 315 See Swink/Robinson, 1997. 316 See Robinson/Swink, 1994.
man cognitive abilities as a moderator of complexity Manuj/Sahin found that for example a clear understanding of the business, processes, and systems helps supply chain manag- ers to manage supply chain complexity. To gain knowledge and understanding prior expe- rience is an important factor.317
In accordance to previous research it can be concluded that human cognitive abilities are moderating the relationship between objective supply chain complexity and effective sup- ply chain complexity. Given these aspects the next hypothesis of this research is:
H2: Human cognitive abilities and supply chain integration negatively moderate the relationship between objective supply chain complexity and effective supply chain complexity.
Objective supply chain complexity and effective supply chain complexity and out- comes
In the literature there are some studies investigating the outcomes of objective supply chain complexity (e.g. Manuj/Sahin318, Bozarth et al.319, Choi and Krause320, Stock et al.321, Closs et al.322). In general the studies show an adverse relationship between objective supply chain complexity and performance and negatively impacts both, efficiency and effectiveness. In addition research should always incorporates both, efficiency (e.g. cost) and effectiveness (e.g. service) performance measures to prove that the trade-off equilib- rium point is not only shifted.323 Only a few studies focus on the outcomes of effective sup- ply chain complexity. As stated earlier higher levels of objective supply chain complexity lead to higher levels of effective supply chain complexity (in the absence of any moderat- ing variables).
The focus of this research is the effect of objective supply chain complexity and effective supply chain complexity on firm performance, the perfect order index, and supply chain flexibility.
Firm performance
In this study firm performance incorporates measures which are related to the overall firm performance (e.g. market share, return on assets, etc.) and more specifically to cost- related performance measures (e.g. cost of sales, cost of production, etc.). In the past 317 See Manuj/Sahin, 2011. 318 See Manuj/Sahin, 2011. 319
See Bozarth et al., 2009. 320 See Choi/Krause, 2006. 321
See Stock et al., 2000. 322
See Closs et al., 2010. 323
several research studies found a negative impact of objective supply chain complexity on certain performance measures. The following table gives an overview of these studies.
Performance measures Authors
Overall-related Stock et al.324, Tavares Thome et al.325, Aza- degan et al.326
Cost-related Manuj/Sahin327, Bozarth et al.328, Closs et al.329, Handely/Benton330
Table 7: Impact of supply chain complexity on performance
Perfect order index
The perfect order index measures order accuracy, invoice accuracy, on-time delivery, and defect and damage free deliveries of a focal company and his customers. Therefore the perfect order index is a service-related performance measure. Recent studies on this rela- tionship showed that objective supply chain complexity has a negative impact on delivery performance, such as delivery reliability (in terms of time and quality)331332 and delivery lead-time333334. Given these aspects, the next two hypothesis on the relationship between objective supply chain complexity, effective supply chain complexity and related outcomes are:
H3a: Objective supply chain complexity has a negative impact on firm performance and on the perfect order index.
H4a: Effective supply chain complexity has a negative impact on firm performance and on the perfect order index.
Supply chain flexibility
In the literature many definitions of supply chain flexibility exist. A very common definition is provided by Upton stating that flexibility is the ability to change or react with little penalty time, effort, cost or performance.335 Research on the relationship of supply chain complexi- ty and supply chain flexibility is rare.
324
See Stock et al., 2000. 325
See Tavares Thome et al., 2014. 326 See Azadegan et al., 2013. 327 See Manuj/Sahin, 2011. 328
See Bozarth et al., 2009. 329
See Closs et al., 2010. 330
See Handley/Benton, 2013. 331
See Manuj/Sahin, 2011. 332 See Closs et al., 2010. 333
See Milgate, 2001. 334
See Gimenez et al, 2012. 335
Christopher and Towill claim that companies in highly competitive markets need to have for example high product-variety to serve different customer groups (especially the flexibil- ity to be able to serve different customer groups). This implies to have a large changeable supply base resulting in various sourcing alternatives/options.336 In this case higher supply chain complexity (higher number of products, higher number of suppliers) leads to higher supply chain flexibility.
A study in the fashion industry showed that the use of a high number of intermediaries (again, which increases elements and interactions and therefore supply chain complexity) enables companies flexibility in terms of product capability. Coupled with a rapid identifica- tion and utilization of spare finishing manufacturing capacity ensures rapid lead times.337 Another example would be the number of manufacturing facilities. If a company has more manufacturing facilities they are eventually able to have a higher output, which in turn make them flexible in terms of serving higher demands.
In general, the higher number of elements and interactions embedded in a supply chain, the greater is the variety of behaviors it can exhibit and consequently being able to react to changes.338339340 Given these aspects the next hypothesis are:
H3b: Objective supply chain complexity has a positive impact on supply chain flex- ibility.
H4b: Effective supply chain complexity has a positive impact on supply chain flexi- bility.