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Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to underscore the fundamental importance of relevance to an applied field such as supply chain management (SCM). It is argued that simultaneity of research rigor and relevance is necessary to assert claims of impact.


Design/methodology/approach
This paper acts as a reflective essay, inductive reasoning and prescriptive framework.


Findings
Impact needs to be evaluated based on both rigor and relevance, and not exclusively based on whether a paper is published in a "top-tier" journal. Without relevance, academic research in SCM will cease to be of practical importance.


Research limitations/implications
The primary limitation is that this is a conceptual paper relying on logical arguments.


Practical implications
The paper exhorts academics in SCM to recognize and insure practical relevance in their research. It develops strong arguments for why such a combined focus is needed and should be encouraged by journals.


Originality/value
Thought provoking paper intended to change how the field evaluates research for its impact. General strategies for increasing relevance in academic research are offered.

ABSTRACTThis invited paper discusses theory development in operations management. Many stellar researchers have made excellent contributions to theory development in our field. Operations management is a maturing discipline. Recently, theory driven empirical research has become common in top‐tier journals in our field. Impelled by this trend and due to the path dependency of research, in general, researchers have examined operations phenomena using theories from management and organizational science. How do we extend the frontiers of knowledge in our maturing discipline? How do we develop theories within the field of operations management? In examining some of the seminal ideas that have shaped our field, a common characteristic is that they relied on observational studies and conceptual reasoning. Is it time for us to stress the usefulness of qualitative research methods in our field? Could this lead to an intellectual renewal in our field and extend the frontier of a maturing discipline? This paper explores these questions and advances the notion that qualitative analysis needs to be emphasized more than it has been in recent past. This paper is meant to provoke discussion among empirical researchers in operations management.

This paper pertains to goal programming with fuzzy goals and fuzzy priorities. Hannan [1], in his paper on fuzzy goal programming, alludes to the difficulty of handling fuzzy priorities and further notes that a method that this author proposed [2] may lead to incorrect results. In this note, the general problem of goal programming with fuzzy priorities is reexamined, along with the solution to the specific example presented in my original paper [2]. It is shown that the method for handling fuzzy priorities originally proposed by this author does indeed capture the relative importance of goals.

AbstractThis paper illustrates the application of "fuzzy subsets" concepts to goal programming in a fuzzy environment. In contrast to a typical goal‐programming problem, the goals are stated imprecisely when the decision environment is fuzzy. The paper first considers a fuzzy goal‐programming problem with multiple goals having equal weights associated with them. A solution approach based on linear programming is developed. Next, the solution approach is extended to the case where unequal fuzzy weights are associated with multiple goals. Numerical examples are provided for both cases to illustrate the solution procedure.

ABSTRACTThis paper presents an application of fuzzy subsets to the problem of selecting sites for locating gas stations. Cost minimization and profit maximization models represent typical approaches to location decisions. These approaches are not well‐suited to problems like site selection for gas stations because of the difficulty in identifying precise relationships, the uncertainties involved, and the qualitative and imprecise nature of much of the information used for decision making. This paper proposes the use of a model based on linguistic variables and a direct evaluation of the available alternatives via the use of fuzzy variables. Conclusions regarding the practical advantages and limitations of the approach are drawn based on the reported application.

Empirical studies for achieving manufacturing flexibility goals have centered around the uses and advantages of advanced technology. Few studies have examined alternative ways of attaining flexibility objectives. Strategic sourcing finds mention in the literature as a potential route to manufacturing flexibility. However, little empirical evidence exists to validate this view. Literature also describes manufacturing flexibility as a multidimensional concept but fails to adequately examine the synergies among the different dimensions. This research investigates the influence of strategic sourcing and advanced manufacturing technologies on specific manufacturing flexibilities, and examines relationships among different flexibilities. The results are tied to manufacturing cost reduction. The findings suggest that strategic sourcing can assist in the achievement of modification flexibilities. Volume and modification flexibility are found to influence new product flexibility. Modification flexibility is found to influence manufacturing cost reduction. The results show that strategic sourcing can be used to target specific manufacturing flexibilities and that interflexibility synergies need to be considered while formulating flexibility‐based manufacturing strategies.

ABSTRACTThe increase in the frequency and impact of automotive recalls has had broad reaching economic and social consequences. Recent examples of automotive recalls suggest that some are due to deliberate actions of firms to subvert processes designed to ensure quality. Such controls are dependent on partners acting in good faith in the relationship and abiding by relational norms and so do not recognize the risks of firms lying, falsifying data, or intentionally circumventing process‐based controls. Data on automotive recalls shows that recalls exhibit a statistically significant oscillatory pattern with an estimated period of around 3.6 years. We argue that the cyclical pattern in automotive recalls is due, in part, to opportunistic behavior within a network, which is likely to spread and be reciprocated. To test whether opportunism can lead to similar network effects, we develop an agent‐based simulation to model opportunism within a network of connected firms. The simulation is based on an extension of the prisoner's dilemma where the cooperate/defect decision is based on a dyadic relational model driven by trust, knowledge, and dependence levels within each relationship. The results from the simulation suggest that cyclical patterns, similar to those in automotive recalls, emerge as well as "behavioral clustering" within the network, where connected firms exhibit highly similar behaviors that tend to cycle within small clusters. Therefore, opportunistic behavior in supply networks might be an important, relational determinant of product recalls. Our dynamic modeling approach differs from current perspectives on understanding product recalls, contributing to the current literature.

ABSTRACTPast work on exchange relationships has debated the efficacy of partnership versus arm's‐length governance on performance of a buyer–supplier relationship. However, how these governance approaches leverage key supplier specific relationship characteristics has not been examined. In this study, we examine the moderating role of governance choice (arm's‐length versus partnership governance) in leveraging key supplier specific characteristics to achieve superior performance for the buyer in a relationship. Specifically, drawing from residual rights theory, we argue that the governance choice buyers make moderates the impact of supplier flexibility, supplier human capital and relationship dependency on performance. Our findings suggest that, for a buyer, the benefits of supplier flexibility and relationship dependency are better realized in partnership governance as opposed to arm's‐length governance. Further, our findings suggest that although buyers choose a specific governance approach consistent with their outsourcing motivation, the choice of governance is critical to leveraging the impact of supplier characteristics due to the moderation effects studied. We elaborate on these effects and discuss the implications of our findings.

This paper reexamines the idea of developing an index of manufacturing fit with market requirements. Bozarth and Berry's (1997) recent work provides a starting point. Several conceptual and methodological issues relating to the Bozarth and Berry approach are raised. It is argued that the indifference profile concept suggested by the authors bears reexamination.

ABSTRACTIn this paper we investigate the key causal linkages in supply chain management. We propose a conceptual framework and test this framework on data from 215 North American manufacturing firms using structural equation modeling techniques. Three major research issues are addressed in this study: Do sourcing decisions affect the degree to which firms achieve manufacturing goals of cost, flexibility, dependability, and quality? Does the degree of manufacturing goal achievement lead to higher customer responsiveness? Does the degree of manufacturing goal achievement lead to higher internal manufacturing performance? The study examines the relationship among sourcing decisions, manufacturing goals, customer responsiveness, and manufacturing performance. The results support the notion that an integrated supply chain involves aligning sourcing decisions to achieve manufacturing goals that are set to respond favorably to the needs of customers.

ABSTRACTUnsuccessful quality initiatives often are attributed to an organizational culture that does not recognize the importance of the cooperative values that underlie "soft" quality management practices, like customer focus and empowerment. Yet, the literature remains unclear as to how quality management and cooperative values interrelate by failing to incorporate the multilevel influences on this relationship in organizations. This research analyzes a multilevel model based on sociotechnical systems and quality management theories. Secondary data are used to test an explanation of how organizational‐level and workgroup‐level quality management practices relate to cooperative cultural values and workgroup performance. A single‐level model is also tested to demonstrate its inadequacies. Based upon the support for a multilevel model, managerial insights are provided that aid in deciding where resources should be allocated during a quality initiative.

ABSTRACTAhituv and Wand [1] applied an information economics model to the problem of making information choices using two decision criteria: expected (monetary) payoff and expected risk. Using risk‐constrained optimization, they derived a solution in which the use of information is randomized by means of a mixed decision strategy. Although this solution is undominated when the expected payoff/expected risk trade‐off boundary is convex, it may be dominated when the boundary is not convex. To avoid such dominance, it is necessary to adjust their solution by randomizing the choice of information rather than its use. For any feasible level of expected risk, this will yield an expected payoff equal to or greater than their solution produces and will always result in an undominated expected payoff/expected risk combination.

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the results of a study done to determine how well multiple criterion decision‐making methods perform in helping a decision maker arrive at a preferred solution to a multicriterion problem with conflicting objectives. The study used a factorial experiment and doctoral students as subjects. Two competing methods for solving multicriterion problems were compared along with the influence of problem complexity. The methods differed in the way preferences were articulated by decision makers. The results showed that there was no difference between the methods for several performance measures, disaffirming some prior expectations. From an actual use point of view, the study suggests that methodological improvements to existing techniques must be matched by efforts to improve information presentation and interpretation to facilitate preference judgments.