ArticlePDF Available

Supply chain environmental R&D cooperation and product performance: Exploring the network dynamics of positional embeddedness

Authors:
Maria Cristina De Stefano at Complutense University of Madrid
Maria Cristina De Stefano
Maria Montes-Sancho at University Carlos III de Madrid
Maria Montes-Sancho
Download full-text PDFDownload full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract

Companies increasingly need to work with their partners to address sustainability issues, but benefits from environmental R&D cooperation can be limited by the complexity of its management. This paper examines how the interplay between dyadic and network relationships can contribute to increase the success of environmental R&D cooperation. Using secondary data, we examine whether the positional embeddedness in the supply network structure of partners engaged in environmental R&D cooperation amplifies the effects of cooperation on product performance. Non-monotonic effects of environmental R&D cooperation and embeddedness are also tested. The results indicate that the positional embeddedness of partners triggered by multiple sourcing strategy amplifies the effects of environmental R&D cooperation on product environmental performance. The interaction effects become however insignificant in the presence of increasing complexity and excessive environmental R&D cooperation.
FREE ACCESS_JAN25 201
9.docx
Content uploaded by Maria Montes-Sancho
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Maria Montes-Sancho on Dec 06, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
FREE ACCESS_JAN25 201
9.docx
Content uploaded by Maria Montes-Sancho
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Maria Montes-Sancho on Dec 06, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
THIS URL PROVIDES A FREE ACCESS TO THIS PAPER until Jan,
25th 2019.
https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1YAyf5G9huIYKT
... Andersson et al. (2002) stated that market network embeddedness facilitates firms in swiftly identifying potential demand for green products, enhancing existing green products and processes, and offering green products and services that align with market trends. Secondly, the shared demands and visions within market network embeddedness assist cooperation parties in quickly establishing trust, thereby improving the efficiency of green innovation resource flow (Cristina and Montes-Sancho, 2018). Finally, effective commercialization is crucial for transforming innovation into a competitive advantage (Li et al., 2008). ...
Network embeddedness and manufacturing SMEs’ green innovation performance: the moderating role of resource orchestration capability
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2024
  • Bus Process Manag J
Purpose With technological innovation elements and the competitive market environment becoming increasingly complex, numerous firms utilize network embeddedness to achieve and sustain innovation. However, empirical research has not conclusively established which form of network embeddedness more effectively facilitates corporate innovation. Drawing on the heterogeneous network resources perspective, this study explores the impact of market network embeddedness, technology network embeddedness and their synergy on the green innovation performance of manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, it investigates the moderating role of resource orchestration capability in these relationships. Design/methodology/approach Through an online questionnaire survey of Chinese manufacturing SMEs, 293 sample data were collected, and the hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis. Findings The results indicate that market and technology network embeddedness significantly enhance green innovation performance, with the former exerting a more significant impact. Furthermore, the synergy between market and technology network embeddedness positively influences green innovation performance. Additionally, resource orchestration capability strengthens the positive effects of both market and technology network embeddedness on green innovation performance, while the moderating effect of resource orchestration capability on the relationship between the synergy of the two and green innovation performance was insignificant. Research limitations/implications The study faced many limitations, such as collecting primary data, which relied on a questionnaire only, using cross-sectional data and examining only manufacturing SMEs. Originality/value Based on the heterogeneous network resources perspective and integrating social network theory and resource orchestration theory, this study explores the impact of network embeddedness on the green innovation performance of manufacturing SMEs, which sheds new light on the network embeddedness research framework and also enriches the antecedents of green innovation. In addition, this study provides implications on how manufacturing SMEs effectively utilize network embeddedness and resource orchestration capability to enhance green innovation performance.
View
... A recent stream of research has shown that buying firms' innovation performance is closely related to the structural characteristics of the supply network. These studies emphasize the important role of a supply network as an external knowledge source supporting buying firms' innovation creation (Bellamy et al., 2014;De Stefano & Montes-Sancho, 2018;Kim & Zhu, 2018;Mazzola et al., 2015;Sharma et al., 2020;Yang et al., 2022). ...
Bridging the innovation gap: Why organizational climate matters for leveraging innovation from supply networks
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2024
Recent studies have provided empirical evidence that innovation performance is related to the way a firm is embedded in its supply network, specifically the centrality of its network position, but it remains unclear why some firms can use inputs from suppliers better than others, despite having comparable structural characteristics in their supply networks. Drawing on theories of social networks and organizational climate, this study examines the role of buying firms' organizational climate for innovation. It uses several structured and unstructured datasets for S&P 500 firms and applies count regression models to test hypotheses. Supply network data from FactSet were analyzed to determine the degree centrality of a buying firm. Computer‐aided content analysis was used to capture the organizational climate of buying firms based on online employee reviews collected from Glassdoor. The results suggest a positive relationship between the degree centrality and the innovation performance of buying firms. Moreover, certain facets of the organizational climate related to learning, including rewards and career progress, as well as work pressure management, affect the link between the degree centrality of a buying firm and its innovation performance. In conclusion, this study enhances the understanding of the connection between supply networks and innovation. It highlights the crucial role of a firm‐level factor, specifically the influential facets of organizational climate for learning, in determining innovation performance.
View
... To tackle sustainability issues, businesses increasingly need to collaborate with their partners. Cooperation in environmental R&D can have many positive effects, but its benefits may be curtailed by the complexity of its management [54]. The various sourcing techniques used in environmental R&D cooperation can have far-reaching implications, and network connections can help to ensure their success. ...
View
... Decentralized decision-making among supply chain enterprises often leads to double marginal effects, which cannot achieve the best result overall. Enterprises can create cooperation value by improving customer satisfaction [39,40], reducing return rates [41], optimizing procurement strategies [42,43], and reducing information asymmetry [44]. Cooperation between upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain requires incentives, so how to allocate profits in the alliance to achieve coordination is a key point. ...
Low-Carbon Transformation Strategy for Blockchain-Based Power Supply Chain
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2023
Carbon abatement in the power sector is essential to achieving the “double carbon” goal, and blockchain technology, one of the most promising emerging technologies, will assist the power sector in efficiently achieving this goal. In terms of the effectiveness of carbon abatement, comparative studies on coordination mechanisms are absent in the existing literature. On this basis, aiming at the cooperative abatement strategy between power generation generators and sellers under the carbon tax policy, this paper has developed four decision models: the Stackelberg game led by power generation enterprises, the simultaneous Nash bargaining decision by both parties, the vertical integration decision by supply chain enterprises, and the cooperative carbon emission reduction game by supply chain enterprises, to analyze the changes in electricity price, sustainability level, power sales, and profits of supply chain members. The results of the numerical analysis show that user preference for blockchain technology and an increase in the proportion of low-carbon electricity information uploaded to the blockchain can significantly improve the sustainability level of the electricity supply chain. The level of investment in green technologies by electricity producers under cooperative abatement decision-making increases compared to the electricity producer-dominated Stackelberg game model. The sustainability level of the electricity supply chain is higher under the Nash simultaneous decision than under the abatement cost-sharing decision, but the decision-maker’s profit is lower. The values of overall profit and sustainability level of the electricity supply chain are both highest under the vertically integrated decision.
View
... At the operational level, then, supply chain complexity is associated with numerous planning activities and a high need for resources that increase manufacturing costs (Bozarth et al., 2009). The same arguments are also used to justify the negative moderation effects of complexity on performance (Chowdhury et al., 2023;Gruchmann, 2022;De Stefano and Montes-Sancho, 2018). ...
Complex supply chain structures and multi-scope GHG emissions: the moderation effect of reducing equivocality
Article
  • May 2023
  • INT J OPER PROD MAN
Purpose Climate change requires the reduction of direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a task that seems to clash with increasing supply chain complexity. This study aims to analyse the upstream supply chain complexity dimensions suggesting the importance of understanding the information processing that these may entail. Reducing equivocality can be an issue in some dimensions, requiring the introduction of written guidelines to moderate the effects of supply chain complexity dimensions on GHG emissions at the firm and supply chain level. Design/methodology/approach A three-year panel data was built with information obtained from Bloomberg, Trucost and Compustat. Hypotheses were tested using random effect regressions with robust standard errors on a sample of 394 SP500 companies, addressing endogeneity through the control function approach. Findings Horizontal complexity reduces GHG emissions at the firm level, whereas vertical and spatial complexity dimensions increase GHG emissions at the firm and supply chain level. Although the introduction of written guidelines neutralises the negative effects of vertical complexity on firm and supply chain GHG emissions, it is not sufficient in the presence of spatial complexity. Originality/value This paper offers novel insights by suggesting that managers need to reconcile the potential trade-off effects on GHG emissions that horizontally complex supply chain structures can present. Their priority in vertically and spatially complex supply chain structures should be to reduce equivocality.
View
... Positional embeddedness [8,9] 3. ...
View
The Spatial–Temporal Evolution of China’s Automobile Manufacturing Cluster Network and Its Influencing Factors
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2024
The global cluster networks (GCN) theory has improved the theory concerning industrial clusters. This study attempts to conduct empirical research on the spatial and temporal evolution of China’s automobile industry using GCN. By using cooperative applications for patent data and buyer–supplier data between cluster firms, a 203 × 203 inter-cluster association network was constructed. The main findings are as follows. First, the scale and density of the networks increased from 2000 to 2012. R&D cooperation sub-networks became increasingly localized, forming communities composed of several local clusters. The number of community buyer–supplier sub-networks was relatively stable, while the linkages between communities gradually increased. Second, cluster networks existed at various spatial scales. The spatial scale of the R&D cooperation sub-networks changed from a macro to micro scale, and the buyer–supplier sub-networks expanded to a larger spatial scale. Third, the intra-industry division of labor was an important factor for cluster networks. Among them, vertical division within the industry promoted R&D cooperation sub-networks and buyer–supplier cooperation. The horizontal division only affected buyer–supplier cooperation. Buyer–supplier cooperation significantly affected R&D cooperation. The impact of local specialization on R&D cooperation was not robust.
View
View
Untying the Gordian knot: A systematic review and integrative framework of supply network complexity
Article
  • Nov 2023
The escalating complexity of supply networks is undeniable, and organizations grapple with myriad globally dispersed suppliers spanning diverse industries and operating amid volatility and uncertainty while having multifaceted interactions. In line with this, scholars have been investigating supply network complexity (SNC) for over two decades, yet the domain is not converging; definitions and operationalizations are varied, a multiplicity of theoretical perspectives exists, performance implications are inconclusive, and supply chain managers are certainly still struggling with the complexity of their supply networks. To address this critical gap, we conducted a rigorous systematic review of 116 articles and synthesized the extant research in a comprehensive nomological network of SNC. Our synthesis encompasses the following key aspects: (i) defining (sub)dimensions of SNC by reconciling diverse conceptualizations, (ii) elaborating on the direct and contingent effects of SNC by highlighting underlying mechanisms and relevant theories, (iii) identifying antecedents of SNC, and (iv) introducing a detailed categorization of SNC management practices and illustrating SNC management capability as an antecedent of such practices. We conclude by presenting an extensive research agenda illustrating the gaps in the literature and charting a path forward in relation to different themes, theories, and methods.
View
Dual networks: how does knowledge network embeddedness affect firms' supply chain learning?
Article
  • Mar 2023
  • INT J OPER PROD MAN
Purpose To explore the mechanism that shapes firms' supply chain learning (SCL) practices, this study examines the relationship between firms' knowledge network embeddedness and their SCL practice in a supply chain network, as well as the moderating role of supply chain network cohesion in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Using patent application data and supply chain partner information from 869 listed firms between 2011 and 2020 in China, this study uses fixed-effect regression models to reduce endogeneity problems by controlling for individual heterogeneity effects that cannot be observed over time. Findings Firms' knowledge network embeddedness has an inverted U-shaped effect on their SCL, and this non-linear relationship is conditional on supply chain network cohesion, which strengthens (weakens) the positive (negative) effect of knowledge network embeddedness on SCL. Practical implications The findings show that managers can reconcile the downsides of knowledge network embeddedness on SCL by fostering greater supply chain network cohesion. Originality/value Drawing from the network pluralism perspective, this study contributes to supply chain literature by extending the research context of the antecedents of SCL from a single-network setting to a dual-network setting. It extends the network pluralism perspective by showing that not only positive effects but also negative effects of network embeddedness can transfer from one network to another.
View
Re-visiting collaborative behavior in supply networks – structural embeddedness and the influence of contextual changes and sanctions
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2018
  • J Purch Supply Manag
This study considers decision making beyond a dyadic buyer-supplier context to the network context. Decisions made by firms are shaped by behavioral norms within the supply network as perceived by the decision makers. Firms can perceive themselves to be part of a collaborative regime or one in which the potential for non-cooperation is high. Further, the ability to put sanctions on non-cooperating firms could shape the overall behavioral patterns in the network. To gain further insights into these aspects and their interactive effects on firm behavior, our study investigates decision-making in supply network by means of behavioral experiments. By organizing practicing managers in a supply network, the study investigates the role of structural embeddedness, incentive structure, and sanctioning mechanisms on the level of collaboration. The results of this study confirm that while sanctions are detrimental for collaborative behavior in a supply network, they play an important role when the underlying norms of governance of such a network are perturbed. The results show that structural embeddedness provides a context that aids adaptive collaborative behavior by firms that are part of the supply network. Once the incentive structure is altered such that there is a higher payoff from defection, the adaptive collaborative behavior is replaced by a behavior in which firms try to maximize their returns and forego collaborative decision-making behavior.
View
Extending the supply chain visibility boundary: Utilizing stakeholders for identifying supply chain sustainability risks
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2017
  • Int J Phys Distrib Logist Manag
Purpose – This article investigates how buying firms facing low supply chain visibility can utilize their stakeholder network to identify salient supply chain sustainability risks (SCSR). Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a design science approach to develop a procedural model for identifying SCSR as a new artifact. A small-scale field-testing study in a food supply chain of a Swiss retail firm demonstrates its applicability and pragmatic validity. Findings – When stakeholder knowledge external to the supply chain is regarded as a valuable resource, a generic understanding of a buying firm’s supply chain suffices to identify SCSR hotspots without creating complexity for the SCSR management. Research limitations/implications – The article contributes to the study of SCSR by identifying mechanisms buying firms can employ to identify SCSR hotspots and fostering the nascent understanding of responsibility attribution by stakeholders. Moreover, the emerging theory of the supply chain is enriched by paving a way to extend the supply chain visibility boundary. The procedural model is presumably most useful in contexts of elevated stakeholder pressure and low supply chain visibility. Future research should seek to validate and improve the effectiveness of the newly designed artifact. Practical implications – The procedural model is directly applicable in corporate practice to the identification of SCSR. Moreover, its application fosters the understanding of a firm’s supply chain and its stakeholder network. Originality/value – SCSR is an increasingly important phenomenon in corporate practice that has received only scarce research attention. The design science approach represents a valuable means for generating theoretical insights and emergent solutions to the real-world problem of SCSR identification.
View
Supply networks and complex adaptive systems: control versus emergence
Article
  • May 2001
  • J OPER MANAG
In much of the current literature on supply chain management, supply networks are recognized as a system. In this paper, we take this observation to the next level by arguing the need to recognize supply networks as a complex adaptive system (CAS). We propose that many supply networks emerge rather than result from purposeful design by a singular entity. Most supply chain management literature emphasizes negative feedback for purposes of control; however, the emergent patterns in a supply network can much better be managed through positive feedback, which allows for autonomous action. Imposing too much control detracts from innovation and flexibility; conversely, allowing too much emergence can undermine managerial predictability and work routines. Therefore, when managing supply networks, managers must appropriately balance how much to control and how much to let emerge.
View
A typology of project‐level technology transfer processes
Article
  • Nov 2000
  • J OPER MANAG
This paper develops a conceptual typology of inward technology transfer (ITT), which explicitly considers technology transfer at the project, rather than the firm, level of analysis. Building on extant technology management literature and the organizational theories of information processing and interdependence, we carefully characterize the three dimensions of the typology: the technology uncertainty of the technology that is transferred, the organizational interaction between the technology source and recipient, and transfer effectiveness. Appropriate matches of technology uncertainty and organizational interaction result in four archetypal cases called “transfer process types”, which represent the most effective approaches to technology transfer. Real‐life examples of effective and ineffective matches are presented, and implications of the typology for future research and practice are discussed.
View
Unveiling the structure of supply networks: case studies in Honda, Acura, and DaimlerChrysler
Article
  • Sep 2002
  • J OPER MANAG
Three complete supply networks have been mapped in this study. These supply networks pertain to the center console assembly and come from three different product lines—Honda Accord, Acura CL/TL, and DaimlerChrysler (DCX) Grand Cherokee. Based on these three cases of supply networks, propositions are built concerning how the structure of supply networks operates. Based on the extant literature, we frame structure in three dimensions—formalization, centralization, and complexity. As an underlying methodology, we first conduct the within‐case analysis and then expand the analysis to cross‐case context. The three structural dimensions affect one another progressively, and the cost consideration appears to be the overarching force that shapes the supply‐network structure.
View
Don't go it alone: alliance network composition and startups' performance in Canadian biotechnology
Article
  • Mar 2000
  • STRATEGIC MANAGE J
We combine theory and research on alliance networks and on new firms to investigate the impact of variation in startups’ alliance network composition on their early performance. We hypothesize that startups can enhance their early performance by 1) establishing alliances, 2) configuring them into an efficient network that provides access to diverse information and capabilities with minimum costs of redundancy, conflict, and complexity, and 3) judiciously allying with potential rivals that provide more opportunity for learning and less risk of intra‐alliance rivalry. An analysis of Canadian biotech startups’ performance provides broad support for our hypotheses, especially as they relate to innovative performance. Overall, our findings show how variation in the alliance networks startups configure at the time of their founding produces significant differences in their early performance, contributing directly to an explanation of how and why firm age and size affect firm performance. We discuss some clear, but challenging, implications for managers of startups. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
View
The duality of collaboration: inducements and opportunities in the formation of interfirm linkages
Article
  • Mar 2000
  • STRATEGIC MANAGE J
I argue that the linkage‐formation propensity of firms is explained by simultaneously examining both inducement and opportunity factors. Drawing upon resource‐based and social network theory literatures I identify three forms of accumulated capital—technical, commercial , and social —that can affect a firm’s inducements and opportunities to form linkages. Firms possessing these capital stocks enjoy advantages in linkages formation. However, firms lacking these accumulated resources can still form linkages if they generate a radical technological breakthrough. Thus, I identify paths to linkage formation for leading as well as peripheral firms. I test these arguments with longitudinal data on technical collaborative linkages in the global chemicals industry. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
View
Paving the Road to Electric Vehicles – A Patent Analysis of the Automotive Supply Industry
Article
  • Aug 2017
  • J CLEAN PROD
Automotive suppliers play a key role in the development of powertrain systems for cars. The technological change towards electric vehicles requires innovative activities and therefore impacts the supply industry heavily for two reasons. First, this change is a major threat, since existing powertrain parts will become obsolete. Second, alternative powertrain technologies offer opportunities for both incumbent suppliers and new market entrants. By analyzing the current supply industry structure and prospective developments arising from technological change, this study contributes to research on automotive supply networks. In order to measure and evaluate the innovative output of incumbent suppliers and of new market entrants, a patent analysis using 91,082 patents from the years 1990–2013 within four different powertrain technologies is conducted. This reveals specialization and patent portfolio quality for all firms within the automotive supply industry. The study has three key findings: (1) Innovative pressure, based on uncertainty regarding future technological development of electric vehicles, is passed on from car manufacturers to their supply networks. (2) Although most incumbent powertrain suppliers will suffer from the technological change, few Japanese suppliers intensively specialize in alternative powertrain technologies. (3) New market entrants in the supply industry will only benefit from this change if battery electric vehicles become the new dominant design, whereas this group lost its specialization in the field of fuel cell electric vehicles. Within these findings, the study explicitly reveals firms that will benefit or suffer from the technological change towards electric vehicles.
View
Examining Supply Chain Relationships: Do Buyer and Supplier Perspectives on Collaborative Relationships Differ?
Article
  • Jul 2009
Firms are building collaborative relationships with their supply chain partners in order to achieve efficiencies, flexibility, and sustainable competitive advantage. However, it is unclear if collaborative relationships provide benefits that compensate for the additional expense associated with such relationships. Further, it is unclear what factors promote successful collaborations. This research examines collaborative relationships in two separate studies using structural equation modeling: one study examines buyers’ perceptions and the second study examines suppliers’ perceptions. The two studies are then compared using invariance testing in order to determine economic and relational factors that drive satisfaction and performance from each party’s perspective. Results show that collaborative activities, such as information sharing, joint relationship effort, and dedicated investments lead to trust and commitment. Trust and commitment, in turn, lead to improved satisfaction and performance. Results from the two independent studies exhibit similarities and differences; while the conceptual model is highly similar, certain paths vary in their significance and/or their importance across buyer and supplier firms such that buyers focus more on relationship outcomes while suppliers look to safeguard their transaction specific investments through information sharing and joint relationship effort. Managerial and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
View
Knowledge acquisition and complementary specialization in alliances: The impact of technological overlap and alliance experience
Article
  • Oct 2016
  • RES POLICY
While alliances are widely acknowledged to facilitate knowledge transfers across firms, alliances also allow partnering firms to combine technological capabilities toward joint innovation outcomes through complementary specialization. We examine how technological overlap and alliance experience – widely recognized antecedents of external knowledge utilization – influence the extent of knowledge acquisition and complementary specialization in alliances. Our analyses of 841 two-partner technology alliances within the ICT industry indicate that alliances between firms with moderate-to-high degrees of technological overlap favor high levels of knowledge acquisition across partnering firms while alliances among firms sharing either low or high levels of technological overlap are well-suited for complementary specialization. We further find that partnering firms’ prior experiences with a diverse range of alliance partners strengthen these relationships. Our results also suggest that the likelihood of an alliance to simultaneously exhibit knowledge acquisition and complementary specialization improves as partnering firms’ technological overlap and alliance experience increase.
View