Call for Papers Special Session

Call for Papers Special Session

‘Recent Advances in Supply Networks

24th International Conference on Production Research (30 July–3 August 2017, Poznań, Poland)

Chair of Special Session

·  Dr.ir. Rob Dekkers (Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow)

Vice-Chairs of Special Session

·  Dr.ir. Ronald de Boer (Windesheim University of Applied Sciences)

·  Dr. Jingxin Dong (Newcastle University Business School)

Well-established Theme, but …

The search for effective supply chain management has for long drawn the attention of academic scholars and practitioners; the role of finance for the effective governance and coordination of supply chains has been recognised for a while but has come to the fore more recently (Hofmann and Johnson, 2016). Thus, the financial and contractual arrangements for processing orders have effects for the upstream tiers of suppliers to focal firms and thus also affect the resilience of supply chains (and supply networks). The research on the interaction between the material flow (e.g. inventory management), order processing (for instance, reliability of delivery and flexibility) and the information for controlling processes (for example, through information sharing) is well-established, though even further (interdisciplinary) research has been urged (e.g. Lambert and Cooper, 2000; Sanders et al. 2013). However, the research on supply chain management and finance from a governance perspective is rather limited. For example, there are only 119 papers published from 2000–2014 in the domain of supply chain finance according to Gelsomino et al (2016); that means that on average, there are only about 8 articles published in supply chain management and finance every year. Since supply chain management mainly involves the management of capital flow, information flow, order processing and material flow, it appears the research efforts on the four types of flows are imbalanced. Furthermore, the relationship between the four types of flows is seldomly investigated. A case in point is the advent of financial service providers for financing supply chains and networks that could be seen as a development for increasing the adaptability and resilience of supply chains. However, as Hofmann and Johnson (2016) note different schools already exist on the role and position of the financial aspect for supply chains and networks and also with regard to how financial and contractual arrangements should be embedded most effectively to strengthen governance.

Although this strand of research is in its infancy, calls for theorising and conceptualisation have been made already. For example, Gelsomino et al. (2016, p. 362) call for a general theory for finance in supply chains. This could also be seen in the wider perspective of supply chain management; Ellram and Cooper (2014, p. 14) point to the need for strengthening of governance models for supply chains and relate such to the different theories. Moreover, supply chains could be seen as a form of collaborative networks for which also calls (e.g. Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh, 2005; Bennett and Dekkers, 2010; Dekkers, 2009) have been made for bolstering the theoretical base.

During the past decades, an enormous body of knowledge has been created with regard to decision making on outsourcing (for example, as evidenced in Beaumont and Kahn, 2005) and offshoring (for instance, Grossman and Rossi-Hansberg, 2006). It might well be that the development of concepts, such as the approach of core competencies (e.g. Prahalad and Hamel, 1990), may have contributed to stimulating academic thought on outsourcing; at the same time, increasing emphasis on performance drivers such as shareholder value may also have enticed practitioners to favour outsourcing (e.g. Bryce and Useem, 1998; Lazonick and O'Sullivan, 2000; Rappaport, 2006). However, increasingly, signals of weakness are appearing in relation to the effectiveness of outsourcing in terms of actual performance benefits; for example, Kinkel et al. (2008) note that flexibility, capacity bottlenecks, quality and coordination costs motivate back-sourcing decisions, Dekkers (2011) questions whether implications for operational management have been adequately considered, and Broedner et al. (2009) point out that outsourcing has a detrimental effect on labour productivity. Also for the case of offshoring it is clear that offshoring similar to outsourcing only works under specific conditions (for instance, see Sake [2006]) and is viewed differently for different regions (e.g. Ellram et al., 2013). However, also the decision of offshoring is revoked, often for reasons of quality and flexibility (Kinkel and Maloca, 2009).

Scope of the session:

These concerns could be caused by the inappropriate use of theory or lack of theoretical justification for the initial (often strategic) decision-making process concerning outsourcing. Such a call extends beyond multi-criteria decision making, which should be seen as inherent to these type decisions, though Dekkers et al. (2013) note that the considerations for specific criteria are often weakly developed. Hence, approaches, methods and tools for decision-making on offshoring and outsourcing should be guided by theoretical conceptions, but not limited to:

·  Economies of scale (Penrose, 1963).

·  Transaction Cost (Coase, 1937).

·  Transaction Cost Economics (Williamson, 1979, 1998).

·  Knowledge-Based View (Grant, 1996).

·  Resource-Based View (Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984).

·  Agency Theory (see Eisenhardt [1989] for an overview).

·  Game-theoretical conceptions.

·  Social Exchange Theory (see Cropanzano and Mitchell [2005] for an overview).

Within the range of relevant theories there is a special place for evolutionary models; that answers the call by Mahnke (2001) to look at an evolutionary perspective to outsourcing and its effects. However, Dekkers et al. (2013) note that there has been limited follow-up on this particular theoretical perspective. A range of evolutionary perspectives could inspire further research: from a process-view (e.g. Nelson and Winter, 1982) to fitness landscape (Kaufmann, 1993) to theory-based ecology (e.g. Geritz et al., 1997).

Scope of Special Session

This special session aims at bringing together practical and theoretical perspectives for the methods, tools, frameworks and conceptualisation for decision making on offshoring, outsourcing, backsourcing and reshoring (backshoring), as well as bringing together practical and theoretical perspectives for the methods, tools, frameworks and conceptualisation of finance in supply chains. These perspectives can cover empirical studies and propositional papers. In all cases, attention needs to be paid to the practical and theoretical implications of the work.

Topics and themes can include but are not limited to:

·  The validity of agency theories for financial services in the context of supply chains and supply networks.

·  The application of co-evolutionary models to financial aspects of supply chains and supply networks.

·  The emerging governance models for supply chains and supply networks from a financial perspective.

·  The role of financial service providers in relation to logistics service providers, focal firms and tiers of suppliers.

·  The behaviour of supply chains as complex adaptive systems in the context of financial and contractual arrangement.

·  The application of game-theoretical perspectives to the distribution of private and common benefits from a financial point of view.

·  The impact of financial and contractual arrangements on adaptability, flexibility and resilience.

·  The trade-offs between resilience and flexibility (from a financial-economic perspective) for supply chains and supply networks.

·  The development of models for integrating of the flow of capital flow, order processing, the flow of control information flow and the material flow.

·  The impact of financial instruments on the performance of supply chains and supply networks (incl. enablers and barriers).

·  The impact of credit portfolios in the financial management of supply chains, incl. inter-organisational trade credit management.

·  The impact of new methods for financing supply chains, e.g. 3PL credit.

·  The development of organisational interfaces for logistics, operations and finance in supply chains.

·  The development of simulations to support decision making with regard to financial aspects of the supply chain.

The special session is open to a wide range of research methodologies. In addition to case studies, interviews and surveys, suitable approaches are considered the Delphi methodology for consulting experts, simulation studies, secondary studies and focus groups. All research methodologies should align with the outcomes of the literature reviews.

Format of Special Session

This call for papers aims to provide an interactive session at the ICPR-24. To that end, max. 12 papers will be selected for developmental discussions; if there more than 12 papers submitted for this special session, the other submissions will follow the standard presentation format of the conference. The format of the presentations of the selected papers for development will be:

·  5’ presentation by author(s) about key concepts and contribution to knowledge; other points can be put forward, too.

·  15’ discussion of paper by discussant (a discussant will be appointed by the chairs of the special session; in most cases, this will be an author of one of the other selected papers)>

·  10’ Q&A with audience, moderated by the chairs of the special session.

This format is intended to engage authors and audience in developing papers towards submission to a journal.

The selection criteria for selecting the development papers that are submitted to this session are:

·  Relevance to the theme.

·  (Potential) contribution to knowledge.

·  Thorough review of the literature and relationship of the appraisal to the empirical study.

·  Advancing theory outsourcing, offshoring, backsourcing and reshoring.

·  Implications for practice.

Special Issue

A Special Issue in the International Journal of Production Research is in preparation.

Submission of Papers

Submission should follow the format of the 24th International Conference on Production Research (30 July–3 August 2017, Poznan, Poland); the guidelines can be found at its web-site: http://www.24icpr2017.put.poznan.pl

Organising Committee

·  Hanelore Ilesan (Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

·  Dr Agnieszka Stachowiak (Poznań University of Technology)

·  Dr Luca Gelsomino (Windesheim University of Applied Sciences)

·  Lisa Zom (Windesheim University of Applied Sciences)

Scientific Committee

·  Prof Alexandre Dolgui (Ecole des Mines de Nantes, France)

·  Prof Sorin Popescu (Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

·  Dr Marcus Brandenburg (University of Kassel, Germany)

·  Prof Gangshu (George) Cai (Santa Clara University, U.S.A.)

·  Prof Federico Caniato (Politecnico di Milano, Italy)

·  Prof Lucy Gongtao Chen (National University of Singapore)

·  Prof Xianfeng Chen (Fudan University, China)

·  Prof Stephen Disney (Cardiff University, U.K.)

·  Prof Alexandre Dolgui (Ecole des Mines de Nantes, France)

·  Prof Lisa Ellram (Miami University, U.S.A.)

·  Prof Janet Godsell (University of Warwick, U.K.)

·  Prof Chris Hicks (Newcastle University Business School, U.K.)

·  Dr Erik Hofmann (University of St. Gallen, Switzerland)

·  Prof Panos Pardalos (University of Florida, U.S.A.)

·  Prof Stefan Seuring (University of Kassel, Germany).

·  Prof Donping Song (University of Liverpool, U.K.)

·  Dr Ying Yang (Newcastle University Business School, U.K.)

Scientific Committee

References

Barney, J. B. 1991. Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1 ), pp. 99–120. doi: 10.1177/014920639101700108

Beaumont, N. and Khan, Z. 2005. A Taxonomy of Refereed Outsourcing Literature. Victoria: Monash University.

Broedner, P., Kinkel, S. and Lay, G. 2009. Productivity effects of outsourcing: New evidence on the strategic importance of vertical integration decisions. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 29(2), pp. 127–150. doi: 10.1108/01443570910932020

Bryce, D. J. and Useem, M. 1998. The Impact of Corporate Outsourcing on Company Value. European Management Journal, 16(6), pp. 636–643. doi: 10.1016/S0263-2373(98)00040-1

Cropanzano, R. and Mitchell, M. S. 2005. Social Exchange Theory: An Interdisciplinary Review. Journal of Management, 31(6), pp. 874–900. doi: 10.1177/0149206305279602

Dekkers, R. (2009). Distributed Manufacturing as Co-Evolutionary System. International Journal of Production Research, 47(8), 2031–2054.

Dekkers, R. 2011. Impact of strategic decision making for outsourcing on managing manufacturing. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 31(9), pp. 935–965. doi: 10.1108/01443571111165839

Dekkers. R., Barlow, A., Chaudhuri, A., Saranga, H., Ogden, S., and Williamson, E. Decision- Making on Outsourcing: Four Snapshots Spanning 47 Years. In: Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Production Research, Iguassu Falls, Brazil, 28 July–1 August, 2013 [available on request].

Dekkers, R., & Bennett, D. (2010). A Review of Research and Practice for Industrial Networks of the Future. In L. Wang & S. C. L. Koh (Eds.), Enterprise Networks and Logistics for Agile Manufacturing (pp. 11–38). Heidelberg: Springer.

Camarinha-Matos, L. M., & Afsarmanesh, H. (2005). Collaborative Networks: a new scientific discipline. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 16(4–5), 439–452. doi: 10.1007/s10845-005-1656-3

Eisenhardt, K. M. 1989. Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review. Academy of Management Review, 14(1), pp. 57–74. doi: 10.5465/AMR.1989.4279003

Ellram, L. M., & Cooper, M. C. (2014). Supply Chain Management: It's All About the Journey, Not the Destination. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 50(1), 8–20. doi: 10.1111/jscm.12043

Ellram, L. M., Tate, W. L. and Petersen, K. J. 2013. Offshoring and Reshoring: An Update on the Manufacturing Location Decision. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 49(2), pp. 14–22. doi: 10.1111/jscm.12019

Gelsomino, L. M., Mangiaracina, R., Perego, A., & Tumino, A. (2016). Supply chain finance: a literature review. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 46(4), 348–366. doi: 10.1108/IJPDLM-08-2014-0173

Geritz, S. A. H., Metz, J. A. J., Kisdi, E. and Meszéna, G. 1997. Dynamics of Adaptation and Evolutionary Branching. Physical Review Letters, 78(10), pp. 2024–2027. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.2024

Grant, R. M. 1996. Toward A Knowledge-Based Theory Of The Firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17(winter special issue), pp. 109–122. doi: 10.1002/smj.4250171110

Grossman, G. M. and Rossi-Hansberg, R. The Rise of Offshoring: It’s Not Wine for Cloth Anymore. Economic Policy Symposium “The New Economic Geography: Effects and Policy Implications”, 24–26 August 2006 Jackson Hole, WY.

Hofmann, E., & Johnson, M. (2016). Guest editorial: Supply chain finance (SCF) – some conceptual thoughts reloaded. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 46(4), null. doi: doi:10.1108/IJPDLM-01-2016-0025

Kauffman, S. A. 1993. The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kinkel, S., Lay, G. and Maloca, S. 2008. Patterns of internationalization of German SMEs: surveying manufacturing offshoring. In: Dana, L. P., Welpe, I. M., Han, M. & Ratten, V. (eds.) Handbook of Research on European Business and Entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar.