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Marshall, Donna
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Marshall, Donna
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Marshall, Donna
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- PublicationInfluences and outcomes of outsourcing: Insights from the telecommunications industryThis paper presents findings from an analysis of the experiences of three telecommunications companies that have embarked upon extensive outsourcing. Transaction cost economics and the resource-based view were used to derive a theoretical framework to determine the key influences on the outsourcing process and the outsourcing outcomes in the three case companies. The findings have shown that those companies that developed collaborative relationships with their suppliers achieved higher levels of success with outsourcing. The findings challenge some of the prescriptions of transaction cost economics in relation to outsourcing, particularly in the area of inter-organisational collaboration. The findings have also challenged the value of the core/non-core logic as a basis for outsourcing. Furthermore, the research has identified the influence of political motivations on outsourcing as an important area for further research.
935Scopus© Citations 45 - PublicationEnvironmental and Social Supply Chain Management Sustainability Practices: Construct Development and MeasurementThe purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and operationalise the concept of supply chain management sustainability practices. Based on a multi-stage procedure involving a literature review, expert Q-sort and pre-test process, pilot test, and survey of 156 supply chain directors and managers in Ireland, we develop a multidimensional conceptualisation and measure of social and environmental supply chain management sustainability practices. The research findings show theoretically-sound constructs based on four underlying sustainable supply chain management practices: monitoring, implementing systems, new product and process development and strategy redefinition. A two-factor model is then identified as the most reliable: comprising process-based and market-based practices.
3535 - PublicationThe development of an outsourcing process modelThis paper aims to develop a dynamic process view of outsourcing. In the research, a longitudinal, grounded theory approach was used, with iterative steps of reviewing the current literature and knowledge on outsourcing and, in parallel, empirically examining the processes occurring with three case companies. The case companies, all from the telecommunications industry, outsourced at least three activities, which were examined over the course of 4 years. The research provided a dynamic model of the outsourcing process as well as identifying key drivers and influences on the process.
986Scopus© Citations 12 - PublicationOld habits die hard: Exploring the effect of supply chain dependency and culture on performance outcomes and relationship satisfactionThis study examines the effect of dependency and culture on relationship performance and satisfaction in an interdependent supply chain. Several studies have empirically tested the relationship between dependence and outcomes but none, to our knowledge, have included the multifaceted construct of organisational culture (OC) as a mediating variable. This study takes a theory-building, longitudinal case-study approach using mixed methods to understand the dynamic between dependence and culture and proposes that interdependence will lead to collaborative OCs over the long term (over five years), and this will positively influence relationship performance and satisfaction. However, our study finds that the rhetoric does not match the reality: interdependence in a supply chain relationship does not necessarily lead to a collaborative culture. It appears that firms use the term 'collaborative' as another term for risk management, are still wedded to transactional mechanisms rather than relational mechanisms and are opportunistic in their behaviour when the opportunity presents itself. We also find that collaborative culture is more apparent at the operational level but missing at the strategic level. When a true collaborative culture is absent, satisfaction and performance decline; when it is present, these increase. We propose that when a culture of true collaboration exists this is more stable over time but when this is missing the culture fluctuates between relational and transactional practices.
634Scopus© Citations 26 - PublicationOpposites attract: organisational culture and supply chain performancePurpose: The aim of this paper is to expand the knowledge of buyer-supplier relationships by investigating the extent to which organisational cultural fit between a buyer and supply chain participants influences performance. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted in a FMCG supply chain. A cultural dimensions questionnaire was used in a focal organisation (the buyer) and it identified best and poorest performing supply chain. The results were analysed using a series of ANOVA’s within the respective supply chains. The findings were then triangulated via qualitative methods. Findings: The findings demonstrate that complementarity rather than congruence between the supply chain partners achieved successful performance outcomes. Organisations in the high-performing supply chain had significantly different cultural profiles, reporting significant statistical differences across all six cultural dimensions. Organisations in the low-performing supply chain had almost identical profiles across all six cultural dimensions with significantly lower mean scores across each dimension. Research limitations/implications: The deconstruction of organisational culture into its constituent dimensions in a supply chain provides insights for academics. Propositions are presented which provide a platform for further studies. Future studies could develop these findings by using a larger sample, over a longer period of time, and adding mediating variables that impact supply chain outcomes. Practical implications: Managers should pay attention to cultural evaluation within the supplier selection process as well as finance or strategic evaluations. A shared supply chain culture of norm-based trust and openness may yield better outcomes and reduced conflict and uncertainty throughout the supply chain. Originality/value: This is one of the first papers to deconstruct and measure organisational cultural fit empirically in a supply chain context.
3730Scopus© Citations 90 - PublicationSelf-interest or the greater good: How political and rational dynamics influence the outsourcing processPurpose: The purpose of this research is to provide an understanding of the influence of political goals and behaviour on the outsourcing decision process and outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: The research used an exploratory longitudinal case-based approach. Eight outsourcing projects in three telecommunications companies were analysed from the initial decision to the outcome of the case. Findings: We show how political goals and behaviours influence the outsourcing decision process and inductively develop four political goals: personal reputation, attainment, elimination and control. We also identify three dynamic outsourcing paths: the personal reputation path, which leads to successful outcomes; the short-term attain and eliminate path leading to unsuccessful outcomes; and the destabilised path, which leads to mixed outcomes. All of these can be tested in other empirical settings. Research limitations/implications: The implications for outsourcing literature are that political intentions influence the decision process and outcomes. The implications for managers are the ability to identify and manage political goals that influence outsourcing decision process and outcomes. For theorists, we provide an understanding of how political and rational goals and behaviour interact to impact outsourcing outcomes: with political and rational goals and behaviour complementary in some instances. The limitations are that with a small sample the findings are generalisable to theoretical propositions rather than to a population. Originality/value: For the first time, we uncover the political goals that impact the outsourcing decision process and outcomes. We add to the outsourcing literature, transaction cost theory and resource based theory by defining and understanding the political goals that complement these theories.
737Scopus© Citations 21 - PublicationWhat's Your Strategy for Supply Chain Disclosure?(Sloan Management Review Association, 2016-01)
; ; ; We live in an era where many organizations operate highly complex and globalized supply chains. While these supply chains are now required to be lean, agile and sustainable, they are also the focus of growing attention from a variety of external stakeholders seeking information that includes and frequently exceeds what the company is legally obliged to disclose. However, many companies have limited visibility of their supply chain information, have a poor understanding of their capabilities for capturing and reporting this information and have not overtly considered their supply chain information disclosure strategy. In this article we discuss the pressures on companies to disclose supply chain information, the drivers and impediments to supply chain disclosure, and the types of supply chain information typically made available to the public. Finally, we identify the broad disclosure strategies companies can use to release supply chain information and offer managers guidance on designing the optimal disclosure strategy for their company.2286 - PublicationChanging a leopard's spots: A new research direction for organizational culture in the operations management fieldOperations Management (OM) research on organizational culture has to change to be able to inform practice. Currently, organizational culture research in OM is largely confined to narrow topical and methodological niches and culture is most frequently used as an explanatory variable in quantitative, survey-based research. We argue that the relegation of culture to this niche is due to selfimposed methodological blinders that hobble the OM field. We then present four research imperatives to reinvigorate organizational culture research within our field. We urge OM scholars to view culture as a dynamic concept that can be influenced, to adopt alternative methods, to use non-traditional data sources, and to rethink assumptions about dependent variables. We also identify gaps in the current knowledge and new research questions for the OM domain. We conclude that the field of OM could greatly expand its understanding of organizational culture and in so doing greatly improve business practice, but that to do so will require a change in the culture of the operations management research community.
608Scopus© Citations 21 - PublicationGoing above and beyond: How sustainability culture and entrepreneurial orientation drive social sustainability supply chain practice adoptionPurpose - This paper examines what drives the adoption of different social sustainability supply chain practices. Research has shown certain factors drive the adoption of environmental sustainability practices but few focus on social supply chain practices; delineate which practices are adopted ; or what drives their adoption . We examine the facilitative role of sustainability culture to explain the adoption basic social sustainability supply chain practices, consisting of monitoring and management systems and advanced social sustainability supply chain practices, which are new product and process development and strategic supply chain redefinition. We then explore the role played by a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation in shaping and reinforcing the relationship betwe en sustainability culture and the adoption of social sustainability supply chain practices. Design/methodology/approach - A survey of 156 supply chain managers in multiple industries in Ireland was conducted to test the relationship between the variables. Findings - Our findings show that sustainability culture is positively related to all the practices and entrepreneurial orientation impacts and moderates social sustainability culture only in advanced social sustainability supply chain practice adoption . Research limitations/implications – As with any survey this is a single point in time with a single respondent , is cross - sectional in nature and conducted in one country . Implications for managers include developing and fostering cultur al attributes in the organisation to implement social sustainability supply chain management practices that go beyond monitoring suppliers to behavioural changes in the supply chain with implications beyond the dyad of b uyer and supplier to lower tier suppliers and the community surrounding the supply chain. Originality/value – This is the first time, to the authors’ knowledge , that cultur al and entrepreneurial variables have been tested for social sustainability supply chain practices giving us new insight into how and why social sustainability supply chain practices are adopted. It also applies a strategic choice theory lens to explore variability in the adoption of different sustainable supply chain practice and presents a view of the role of the supply chain managers as active creators and enactors of their environment.
2298Scopus© Citations 173 - PublicationCommunication media selection in buyer-supplier relationshipsPurpose: In successful purchasing relationships, effective communication is a key factor. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the choice of communication media is affected by different stages in the relationship development process and by different purchasing contexts: product and service purchasing. Design/methodology/approach: The study initially reviews the literature on inter-organizational communication and purchasing relationships. In order to explore the research question, data were gathered through semi-structured in-depth interviews with purchasing managers, buyers and their suppliers in three product and three service purchasing relationships. Findings: The study identifies a relationship development framework that influences the communication media selection in two purchasing contexts. It confirms that communication media selection is affected by the communication needs of the participants, the stage of relationship development, and the purchasing context. Research limitations/implications: This research was limited to six buyer/supplier relationships involving a single multinational buyer organization, so although a range of purchasing contexts was considered, the findings have limited application. The relationship development process and the incidence of media selection should be further examined in varied contexts and a survey of buyers and suppliers should test the framework. Originality/value: This study is a refinement of the existing predominantly single-respondent, survey-based studies in the literature in that both parties in a series of purchasing dyads were interviewed. The paper makes a contribution as it illustrates the application of the media richness theory, explores the contextual factors surrounding media selection and provides a buyer-supplier relationship development framework based on behavioural and functional aspects of the relationship..
1468Scopus© Citations 63