A social network‐based organizational model for improving knowledge management in supply chains

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive and useful insight into the knowledge management (KM) in the supply chain (SC) research and provide gaps and future research implications. The literature review includes a metadata analysis of KM in SC research along a number of dimensions, the existing dimensions as well as dimensions which are previously not been presented within the current area to predict the future role of KM in SC. Design/methodology/approach – The study is to examine the status of KM in SC within academic and industrial research in the last 14 years. The systematic literature review of KM in SC is based on 176 peer reviewed articles selected through a multi-stage process, from 1,063 studies during January 2001-June 2014. Findings – An increase in the interest level of incorporating KM in SC is clearly visible while studying available literature. The statistics prove that research in the field of KM in SC is overwhelmingly empirically oriented. Another major finding shows that the survey model score highest among all the research method used in the discipline. In general, the research is more interpretive in nature and provides a frame for theoretical critique. The result indicates that there is a need to use of advanced data analysis techniques with traditional data analysis technique. Originality/value – The review simply provides statistical summary which is easy to understand for practitioner and provide increased insights on the current state of research for the KM in SC.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the strategy development by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for improving coordination in supply chain in Indian perspective. Globalization and liberalization of the world economy has leveled the field for all competitors around the globe. To face global competition successfully, SMEs have to break isolation of their suppliers and other entities in the supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – For collecting data, a question-based survey was conducted. In total, 251 valid responses were received. Statistical analysis of data acquired from survey is done by one sample t-test, correlation and regression analysis. Findings – Uncertainty of customer order/demand, insufficient knowledge of supply chain management (SCM) and involvement of middlemen in supply chain are the main problems faced by Indian SMEs during implementation of SCM. Quality improvements, delivery on time and cost reduction are the major priorities while forming supply chain strategies. Coordination strategies are positively correlated with business performances. Research limitations/implications – Major implication is that SMEs should develop their strategies effectively after analyzing business environment and future plans. While developing strategies for improving coordination in supply chain of SMEs, they should give due importance to problems and risks they face. However, it is felt that this study can be further explored by considering other aspects of strategy development such as human resource, organization culture, etc. Originality/value – Finding and issues of the paper will be highly useful for SMEs in framing their strategies for improving coordination in supply chain, and academia for further research in the context of changing market scenario.

Knowledge management (KM) is a major enabler of supply chain (SC) management. The performance of KM in SC may be affected by various different factors and it is always difficult for the practitioners to improve all aspects at the same time. This study presents a favorable method combining fuzzy set theory and the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method to identify critical factors for successful KM implementations in SC. Considering the interdependence among factors, this fuzzy DEMATEL method forms a structural model and then visualizes the causal relationships among factors through a cause-effect relationship diagram. Then according to the results of proposed method, critical success factor (CSF) of KM in SC is figured out. Finally, four CSFs are identified out of 12 influencing factors, which will helps to improve effectiveness and efficiency of KM in SC.

Purpose – The main aim of this study is to provide a framework for technology-based factors for knowledge management in supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – This is an applied research and has been done as a survey in Iran Khodro and Saipa Company as the largest companies in automotive industry of Iran. In this study, 206 experts participated. Reliability methods were Cronbach’s alfa, and validity tests were content and construction analyses. In response to one main question and three sub-questions in this research, first and second confirmative factor analysis were used. Findings – In this research, after a literature review, a comprehensive framework with three factors is presented. These factors are information technology (IT) tools, information systems integration and information security management. The findings indicate that the first framework in supply chain of the automotive industry has a good fitness and perfect validity. Second, in this framework, factors have also been considered based on importance. The technique of factor analysis was given the highest importance to the information systems integration. Then, IT tools and, ultimately, information security management are considered. In addition, findings indicate that information systems integration has the highest correlation with IT tools. Originality/value – The main innovation aspect of the research is to present a comprehensive framework for technology-based factors and indices for knowledge management in supply chain. In this paper, in addition to presenting a grouping for IT tools for knowledge management processes in supply chain, key indices for information systems integration and information security management are also referred.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a practice that has rapidly spread across industries. SCM may boost output while simultaneously satisfying customers. Despite SCM's recognition as a key factor in enhancing healthcare efficiency, widespread adoption remains in its infancy. Hospitals, a crucial element of the healthcare supply chain (HSC), have failed to fulfill the primary goals of lowering costs and providing high-quality treatment due to their inadequate knowledge of supply chain management (SCM). This research was conducted to fill in the blanks in the current HSC literature. Achieving the healthcare supply chain's goal of reducing costs will be greatly aided by the thorough literature study completed for this report. This review of healthcare supply chain management can quantify the benefits of supply chain initiatives and identify opportunities for improvement. Healthcare institutions can make informed decisions on optimizing their supply chains by understanding customer and supplier needs. This includes making strategic decisions on how to improve inventory management, streamline processes and reduce costs. The focus of this study is on the relationship between supply chain practices, the efficiency of supply chain performance, and the financial outcomes for healthcare organizations. By highlighting certain key research issues that are shared by supply chain management and healthcare management, this article contributes to the literature in both areas.

Knowledge management (KM) is a major enabler of supply chain (SC) management. Before initiating KM adoption in SC, planning is crucial to achieve intended objectives of increase profit and competitive advantage. Therefore, this study proposes a framework based on fuzzy decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and fuzzy multi-criteria decision making (FMCDM) approach for KM adoption in SC. The proposed approach is helpful to predict the success of KM adoption in SC without actually adopted KM in SC. It also enables organisations to decide whether to initiate KM, restrain adoption or undertake remedial improvements to increase the possibility of successful KM adoption in SC. This proposed approach demonstrated with empirical case of offset printing machine manufacturing organisation in India.

The main goal of this study is to present a multidimensional structure for relationship between Supply Chain Strategies, Business Strategies, and Knowledge Management Strategies with Knowledge Sharing in Supply Chain of the Automotive Industry of Iran. This is an applied research and has done as a Survey, Correlation and cause-effect research. In this research, confirmative factor analysis, correlation test, co-linearity test, and path analysis were used. Innovation aspect of the study is making a comprehensive view to relationship between supply chain strategies, business strategies, and knowledge management strategies with knowledge sharing in the supply chain. Another innovative aspect of the study is attention to supply chain strategies in context of knowledge management, because there are few researches about knowledge management in supply chain. The paper tries to describe quantitatively all the relations in multidimensional structure. Findings show that effective knowledge sharing in supply chain is influenced by the hierarchy of strategies. Therefore, supply chain strategies influence the business strategies and business strategies affects knowledge strategies and at least, knowledge strategies influence the effective and systematic knowledge sharing in the supply chain. Therefore, knowledge sharing is most of all influenced by knowledge management strategies; but is indirectly influenced by business strategies and supply chain strategies.

. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in encouraging economic growth of West Java. However, the contribution of SMEs is still small due to the lack of competitiveness of SME products. Competitiveness and weak SME performance can be enhanced by supply chain management and quality management practices. This study focuses on supply chain management and quality management practices that are mutually casual, competitive advantage and firm performance and the role of moderation of company age in SMEs in West Java. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of supply chain management and quality management practices on competitive advantage either partially or simultaneously and its impact on firm performance, and how the role of moderating variable company's age in moderating the relationship between competitive advantage and firm performance. The unit of analysis in this study is the Small and Medium Enterprises business located in West Java region with a sample size of 200 business units. To test the model of the research empirically tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) with the help of LISREL 8.70. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of supply chain management and quality management are done simultaneously provide a great impact for increasing competitive advantage as well as firm performance. The role of corporate age moderation is very small in strengthening the relationship between competitive advantages with firm performance on SMEs in West Java.

Global competition has forced companies, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to improve their competitive advantage. Supply chain management practices are the ways to improve the competitive advantage, particularly in the global competition context. However, there is still doubt SMEs can compete globally, considering they face limited resources, skilled workforce, and business networks. Therefore, this study aims to examine the influence of supply chain management practices, covering cross-functional integration, partnership, responsiveness, and resilience. Moreover, this study has examined which practices dominate in improving competitive advantage. The quantitative study involved 445 SMEs located in East Java, Indonesia. The respondents are supervisors or higher levels and work in departments related to supply chain management, as they can provide the relevant information and possess complete knowledge of management practices. The data were collected via a questionnaire designed with a five-point Likert scale. The responses were analyzed using SmartPLS software 4.0. The results show that cross-function integration improves supply chain partnership, responsiveness, and resilience (β = 0.705, 0.382, 0.324; t-value = 25.177, 6.697, 5.783). Supply chain partnerships affect supply chain responsiveness, resilience, and competitive advantage (β = 0.327, 0.257, 0.249; t-value = 5.933, 4.536, 5.651). Moreover, supply chain responsiveness improves supply chain resilience and competitive advantage (β = 0.285, 0.106; t-value = 5.690, 2.099). Supply chain resilience improves competitive advantage (β = 0.435 and t-value = 8.987). SMEs can enhance their competitive advantage by integrating their internal cross-functional integration and adopting supply chain partnership, responsiveness, and resilience. Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank DIKTI 2023 and Research and Community Outreach Petra Christian University for providing the grant to fund this research.

Supply chain management practices are always helpful for multinational enterprises in increasing their growth. However, there has always remained an open debate about which practices are helpful for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, this study has examined the influence of supply chain management practices on the performance of SMEs. Moreover, it has examined how the moderation of supply chain ecocentricity and innovation capabilities strengthens or weakens the relationship between supply chain management practices and SMEs’ performance. The quantitative study involved 352 SME managers as they can provide the relevant information and possess complete knowledge of management practices. The data were gathered via a questionnaire, and the responses were analyzed using IBM SPSS 28 and IBM AMOS. The results show that SMEs’ performance is linked to supply chain management practices (β = 0.544; P < .001), and this linkage is further strengthened by supply chain ecocentricity (R2 change = 0. 082***, F-Statistics = 47.18) and innovation capabilities (R2 change = 0.061***, F-Statistics = 39.74). SMEs can enhance their performance by efficiently incorporating supply chain management practices and developing innovation capabilities and supply chain ecocentricity. AcknowledgmentsThis study is funded by Al Hussein Bin Talal University, Ma’an, Jordan, No. 125/2023.

Knowledge management (KM) and supply chain management (SCM) has become the important success factors in this emerging era of information and competitive. This research discusses the sharing knowledge in SCM and presents a hierarchical model of it. The difficulties and complexity of KM in SCM are argued based on complexity theory and complex adaptive system theory. In the fourth section a knowledge management system framework based on multi-agents and Internet is proposed, which has the characteristics as intelligent, flexible, cross-platform and automatic etc.

This study on the evaluation of perception towards capacity building programs and workforce skills in HIV/AIDS supply chain management in Nigeria comprised of research objectives and questions. A structured self-completion pre-tested questionnaire (422) was administered to respondents, 396 were completed and returned, with a response rate of (93. 8%). The respondents (mostly managers, supervisors, specialists, advisors, and officers) were drawn from all levels of the HIV/AIDS supply chain sector and work, the majority from national and state levels, with significant experience and workable knowledge of supply chain management. The study revealed that perception towards capacity-building programs and workforce skills in supply chain management reflects reality and entails a good understanding of the HIV/AIDS supply chain management system, mean ± standard deviation score (3.695 ± 0.889 and 3.455±0.643) on a Likert scale of 1-5 (5-point scale) respectively. Reliability analysis was carried out, and Cronbach’s alpha (α) showed the questionnaire reached acceptable reliability, α = 0.886 (perception towards capacity building programs), and less reliable, α = 0.071 (perception towards workforce skills) in HIV/AIDS supply chain management. Inferential analysis revealed that socio-demographic characteristics such as age, years of experience, and job title/rank influence the perception of workforce skills in supply chain management (P<0.05). Federal and State Ministries of Health should ensure proper and effective supervision to prevent the workforce from having a wrong understanding of its capacity-building programs and workforce skills to avoid its harmful effect.

This study aims to model the relationship between business intelligence (BI), supply chain integration (SCI), and firm performance in Jordanian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using structural equation modeling (SEM). The study utilizes a sample of 400 SMEs from different sectors in Jordan to investigate the hypothesized relationships between the constructs. The results show that BI positively influences SCI and firm performance in Jordanian SMEs. Moreover, SCI was found to mediate the relationship between BI and firm performance. The study also found that the impact of BI on firm performance is fully mediated by SCI, suggesting that SCI plays a crucial role in enhancing firm performance in the context of Jordanian SMEs. The study makes several significant contributions to the literature on supply chain management and business intelligence in the context of SMEs. First, it provides empirical evidence of the positive impact of BI on SCI and firm performance. Second, it sheds light on the mediating role of SCI in the relationship between BI and firm performance. Third, the study contributes to the limited literature on supply chain management and business intelligence in the context of Jordanian SMEs. The findings of this study have practical implications for managers of SMEs in Jordan. They highlight the importance of investing in BI tools and strategies to enhance SCI and firm performance. Additionally, the study suggests that managers should focus on improving their firms' SCI practices to fully exploit the benefits of BI and improve their overall performance. Overall, this study provides new insights into the relationship between BI, SCI, and firm performance in the context of Jordanian SMEs. The study's findings can guide policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in developing and implementing effective strategies to improve supply chain management and business intelligence practices in SMEs, particularly in emerging markets such as Jordan.

This study analyzes the influence of supply chain flexibility on competitive advantage in Bangladeshi small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By employing a quantitative approach and utilizing a sample of 250 SMEs, the research investigates various dimensions of supply chain flexibility, including supplier flexibility, production flexibility, delivery flexibility, inventory flexibility, and market responsiveness. The findings indicate a significant relationship between market responsiveness and competitive advantage, highlighting its crucial role in enhancing SMEs’ positioning within the market. Conversely, the study found that other dimensions of supply chain flexibility did not show a statistically significant impact on competitive advantage. This research contributes to the understanding of supply chain dynamics in developing economies, particularly in the context of SMEs. Limitations include the study’s focus on a single geographic region and the reliance on self-reported data, which may introduce biases. Practical implications suggest that SMEs should prioritize market responsiveness while developing their supply chain strategies, fostering agility and adaptability to changing market conditions. Socially, the research emphasizes the importance of supporting SMEs in building flexible supply chains to enhance their competitiveness and contribute to economic growth. This study’s originality lies in its focused exploration of supply chain flexibility in Bangladeshi SMEs, filling a gap in the literature on supply chain management in developing countries.

Background: The demand for higher education in South Africa continues to increase, placing pressure on public higher education institutions to satisfy this demand. Supply chain management is one of the practices that may be implemented to ensure that public universities improve their operations and can, therefore, meet the increased demand for higher education in the country.Objectives: This study aimed to explore the barriers to the implementation of supply chain management practices at a South African public university.Method: The study used a qualitative case study approach using a sample of 17 members of management and staff at a South African traditional university in the Limpopo Province. Data were collected using a combination of a focus group discussion and semi-structured in-depth interviews.Results: The study generated eight themes that embody the barriers to the implementation of supply chain management at the institution. These themes were labelled as stakeholder buy-in, knowledge of supply chain management, supply chain systems and processes, procurement policy and practices, implementation of supply chain management, stakeholder change management, human resource management and organisational culture.Conclusion: Various internal barriers impair the implementation of supply chain management practices at the institution. Administration at the institution has invested limited resources, time and initiatives to ensure the successful implementation of supply chain management. The focus should be directed to finding lasting solutions to each of the barriers identified in this study. Further studies should address the issue of external barriers to supply chain management in public higher education institutions.