Reasoning my Pilot Research (2)

The Literature: Orthodoxy and Evolution

Efficiency boosting methods such as lean, ECR, [1] and QR, [2] along with philosophies of effectiveness such as agile, leagile, and flexible are the literature’s conventional solutions to supply chain risk (e.g. Christopher, 1998, 2000). Much has been written on supply chain vulnerability and its complement, the resilient supply chain (Christopher and Peck, 2004), but to date, few researchers have tested the extensibility of the tools and philosophies of supply chain management (hereafter “SCM”) when transplanted to transcultural contexts.

Chinese business, for example, is highly personalistic (Lee and Humphreys, 2007), but relationship management between culturally disparate parties is unincorporated in the SCM paradigm and sparsely investigated in SC risk management research. However, a small number of studies provide relevant findings:

• Jia and Rutherford (2010) proposed supply chain relational risk (SCRR) and outlined cultural differences that constitute a subset of factors within SCRR.
• Olson and Wu (2010) established a generic framework of China-Western risk management that awaits empirical validation.
• Masson et al (2007) examined agile supply chain practices adopted by UK clothing retailers to manage high-fashion product offerings sourced from two low-cost locations – China and Romania. Multiple aspects of accepted risk management and agile practices – such as market mediation, postponement, and collaborative partnerships – were observed, but key activities were performed by intermediaries who achieved close-to-agile economies through semi-formal practices. Such practices characterise SC activities in low-cost countries also.

The research I proposed initially aimed to reveal the influence of cultural factors on supply chain (hereafter “SC”) performance, the strategies UK firms use to circumvent or exploit those factors, and to extend existing theory with a model of global SC agility that includes relational management as risk mitigator.

[1] Efficient Customer Response (attribution ambiguous, C.1980s)

[2] Quick Response (Hunter et al, 1992)