ABSTRACT. This study identifies human and technological factors influencing the integration of digital supply chain tools. Using Interpretive Structural Modelling, it proposes a logical sequence to address these occurring factors during implementation processes. Data were gathered during fifteen interviews with managers in the supply chain field. Factors influencing digital supply chain integration were analysed using ATLAS.ti, and further discussed during a focus group with experts in the field. Results show that factors facilitating digital supply chains are: supply chain collaboration, open and transparent culture, the ability to analyse data, and system integrations with middleware and technical resources. Continuous improvement and innovation culture is a pivotal success factor to enhance maturity and resilience in digital supply chains. The main outcome of the Interpretive Structural Modelling is that the human factors are essential for the transformation to a digital supply chain. These human factors need to be addressed first, in order to successfully address the technological factors.

ABSTRACT. As part of a European Union-funded project, we investigate why SMEs choose to adopt or not adopt blockchain in their operations. The study used the technological-organisational-environmental (TOE) framework to understand the challenges, enablers and barriers faced by small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their intention to adopt or to not adopt blockchain technology. A qualitative study involved interviews with SMEs and triad consultations session between blockchain technical experts, SMEs and researchers. Our findings suggest that SMEs find blockchain confusing and complex. Consequently, SMEs in our sample adopt the technology only where well-defined use cases can be used to attract larger clients or as a central function of the business model, rather than in addition to existing operations and supply chain uses. We believe this to be important because it means that SMEs will be less able to use blockchain as a disruptive source of competitive advantage against larger players.

ABSTRACT. Blockchain technology has the potential to change the way companies do their business. For this reason, more and more companies are choosing Blockchain as a Service providers to benefit from the advantages of this technology. However, existing classifications in the literature often have technical perspective and do not consider the perspective of buyers. Startups are often not considered, which can lead to an incomplete assessment of the available options. To address these challenges, we offer a morphological approach that provides relevant decision criteria at a glance. This helps companies make an informed decision and realize the full potential of blockchain technology without having to invest resources in their own development and operation.

ABSTRACT. Abstract

Purpose of this contribution: to describe the results of 23 interviews with experts in different sectors and configurations of the organization of production. It has a focus on factors that play a role in the adoption of blockchain technology. Both organizational and behavioral aspects are studied to answer two questions: (1) “Why would companies use it, or not? (2) Why would customers use it and consumers trust it, or not.

Background: This contribution reflects on the second step of a long term research project on the adoption of blockchain technology. Results of the first step were presented at IPSERA2022 in Jönköping and will be briefly summarized in this paper.

Study design/methodology/approach: A mixed methods approach of qualitative research uses narratives and interviews with selected interviewees representing experts from different countries and backgrounds in SC management, like fashion, food, construction, electric appliances and IT, using Atlas.ti for analysis. A Grounded Theory based methodology is proposed, where various types of Institutional Isomorphism form the main theoretical framework.

Findings: blockchain technology has the potential to facilitate secure information transfer, meeting demands of transparency, traceability, confidentiality, security, integrity and availability. However, it expires that adoption not so much is determined by technical aspects. First of all, the organisation of the production across the participating actors is an important factor to make blockchain technology interesting or less relevant or suitable. Next, the stability of the configuration of participating actors does play an important role in the decision to adopt blockchain technology. Third factor is the willingness to insert strategic information satisfying downstream actors, which boils down to balancing the trust downstream actors have in upstream actors. Factors that make upstream actors decide to adopt are price and total costs versus additional revenue, reputation, competitiveness, coercion, mimetic behaviour, following the industry norms, regulation or other external drivers.

As a result of the interviews in this step, the initial hypothesised LISREL model of the first step has been modified, adding the nature of the configuration of the supply network as a determining factor in the adoption of blockchain technology.

ABSTRACT. This article aims to contribute to the very current discussion on the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered tools in practice by conducting an experiment on overall usability of an AI generated job advertisement compared to a “real” advertisement from a job portal, and an “ideal” job advertisement written by purchasing and supply management experts. The preliminary results are encouraging for the AI – there are no significant differences in job pursuit intention, job appeal, job fit and ad informativeness across the three advertisements, and in fact the AI-generated advertisement performed better in all aspects, albeit not significantly.

ABSTRACT. This paper aims to analyse various models for selecting e-auction formats and their effectiveness in achieving procurement objectives. The study examines five different models and three main theories, Mechanism Design Theory, Private and Common Value Theory, and Behavioural Economics, to provide insight into decision-making processes involved in e- auctions. The findings indicate that despite the existence of some decision-making model on e-auction format, and their overall consistency in choice of decision criteria, there were also many discrepancies on the e-auction design recommendations. The paper therefore highlights the limitations of existing models and calls for future research to develop a more comprehensive theoretical framework. The study provides valuable insights for procurement managers in selecting appropriate e-auction formats to achieve their organization's goals.

ABSTRACT. The strategic significance of procurement is widely acknowledged in the literature. Many scholars advocate for category management, the subject of this study, as a fundamental method for firms to capitalise on diversified procurement strategies. Nonetheless, there is a discernible disparity between the theoretical underpinnings of category management and its practical implementation in professional settings. Thus, this paper conducts a literature review of the principal components of category strategy, and, subsequently, draws on expert interviews to understand how seasoned professionals establish category strategy. The findings indicate that the Kraljic matrix is widely present, while advanced firms started systematically interpreting levers theory.

ABSTRACT. This study examines decision factors for global sourcing by differentiating global sourcing into transcontinental and continental sourcing, especially European sourcing. Therefore, we conducted discrete choice card and country ranking experiments with 71 purchasing experts, located in Europe and the USA, in order to investigate possible influences like the country of origin (COO) theory, which may influence sourcing decisions of purchasing departments. In this context, the results of discrete choice card experiments provide us an evidence that sourcing location and personal relationship with the supplier play a decisive role in the supplier selection process. Furthermore, the quality of products impacts sourcing decisions of purchasing departments, while attraction and cultural barriers are not significant in this context. To investigate possible influences on the locational aspect, we conducted a country ranking experiment in regard to different perceived characteristics of countries, for example quality, price and technology. Purchasing experts consider that transcontinental countries like Japan and China offer significant advantages in terms of price and technology, and have also increased their quality. Therefore, global sourcing decisions are not only based on factors like price and availability, also perceived country images and perceptions show a high impact.

ABSTRACT. Using a combined lens of Actor-Network and Public Value theories, this study examines the role of public procurement in regional developments such as City Deals. Set in the UK, we examine 6,328 contracts representing ten local authorities before and after a City Deal was signed. Tussell data reveals instances of collaborative procurement and indicates ‘missed opportunities’ – defined as similar contracts awarded by two or more local authorities to the same supplier in the same financial year. Findings inform policy and practice on collaborative procurement. Applying Public Value theory underlines the importance of building trust and the challenges with achieving outcomes.

ABSTRACT. This working paper sets out to explain why winning public contracts can lead to performance benefits for SMEs in the private sector. Using legitimacy theory (Suchman, 1995; Bitektine, 2011), we propose that winning a public contract increases SMEs’ legitimacy as perceived by external business stakeholders. Specifically, SMEs benefit from “legitimacy of affiliation” (Rutherford et al. 2018) by doing business with public authorities. Winning a public contract is a stamp of approval for the SME by a reputable customer and helps to address information asymmetries between the SME and prospective private sector customers. In sum, we argue that winning a public contract generates additional revenue streams in the private sector by enhancing SMEs’ legitimacy with customers, suppliers and lenders.

ABSTRACT. Institutional theory can explain how public procurement markets operate and considers their institutional environment (e.g., public buyers, suppliers, regulators, and civil society). This paper sets out the methodological process for the research that investigates the main actors (institutions) in media coverage of public procurement and the issues associated with them. It builds on Flynn and Harris's (2021) study into the themes defining public procurement in the media such as governance failure and socio-economic policy. The current research focuses on the actors behind these themes and how their relative importance in public procurement has changed over time.

ABSTRACT. To move towards a proactive procurement and engage social sustainability effectively, social complexities are addressed through social capital theory lens. This study explores how procurement contributes to social sustainability outcomes across multiple tiers through two aspects: collaboration and assessment. A multiple case study with qualitative analysis is performed, and 18 interviews were carried out in the hospitality industry. Our results show that dialogue, mutual understanding, and frequent interaction improve social dynamics in collaboration and assessment practices. Furthermore, specific procurement approaches were determined (procurement as strategic approach, alignment of purchasing with social sustainability and procurement expertise) that contribute to social sustainability outcomes.

ABSTRACT. This study investigated the risks of IT service procurement and the role of risk management practices (RMPs) during service procurement processes. As a result, the study provides a typology for understanding IT service procurement risks. The findings indicate that several practices related to risk management during the service procurement process are important in reducing the probability and impact of risks. The study shows that RMPs are valuable in managing service disruptions. Based on the findings, this study provides an explorative framework for increasing service performance through the adoption of RMPs.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this study is to identify suitable strategies toward securing continued access and availability of electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) containing critical raw materials in the near and far futures. As LIBs play a significant role across several industries, and ensuring the availability of critical raw materials is also a strategic issue in terms of the national security of supply, the research objective is approached in this study within the national scope of the broader supply system. Through the case study of the Finnish EV LIB value chain, this study explores supply risk mitigation through circular business model strategies.

ABSTRACT. In an era of disruption for supply chains, innovative purchasing strategies arise to be more effective and long-lasting. The combination of Supply Chain Resilience (SCRES) and Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) paradigms may represent a powerful added value for organisations. However, literature started to analyse purchasing strategies potentially enhancing both dimensions only in recent times and conceptual terms. Therefore, this study explores how purchasing strategies are implemented to jointly improve SCRES and GSCM, through multiple exploratory case studies involving six large companies from the manufacturing industry. A comprehensive research framework classifying those strategies has been developed to highlight synergies and trade-offs existing between SCRES and GSCM, and to identify, through a longitudinal view between the pre-pandemic period and the current energy crisis, how purchasing strategies have been implemented and adapted in different contexts.

ABSTRACT. This study aims to examine the impact of suppliers’ CSR controversies on buyers’ market value and the moderating effect of buyers’ social capital. Based on data on 462 buyer–supplier dyads of Chinese listed firms from 2008-2019, we find that suppliers’ CSR controversies is negatively related to buyers’ market value, and that suppliers’ environmental controversies have a stronger negative effect than social controversies. Such negative association can be alleviated by buyers’ social capital in forms of political capital, business capital, and financial capital. Our study has significant implications for both research and practice of CSR management in supply chains.

ABSTRACT. Most purchasing studies examine the buyer perspective, yet buyers and suppliers often hold differing perspectives on their relationship. Such differences can be significant concerning the blame for failures, leading to conflicts. We aim to understand whether failure attributions differ based on the perspective of the attributor (buyer, supplier, neutral arbitrator) and to what extent different patterns of historical information on the relationship impact the attributions. We use a vignette-based experiment with 1050 participants to test our hypotheses. In broad terms, our results extend previous findings by showing (a) the effect of historical information on failure attribution by relatively neutral arbitrators and (b) various biases and differences in attribution of the same failure from buyer, supplier and arbitrator perspective.

ABSTRACT. Additive manufacturing (AM) is expected to significantly impact traditional supply chains due to its enhanced characteristics compared to traditional manufacturing. This study investigates the impact of AM on buyer-supplier relationships from a procurement perspective. A systematic literature review on the intersection between these fields was conducted. Ten recommendations, regarding three aspects, were developed: buyer-supplier relationships currently existing will undergo a profound transformation or end, relationships with new parameters and requirements will be developed, and the characteristics of existing AM buyer-supplier relationships will change. The results give professionals an indication of how collaboration with suppliers could be shaped when AM is implemented in their businesses.

ABSTRACT. Industrial start-ups must develop, as established companies, a supply chain to grow. But new business ventures have usually limited resources and suffer from liabilities that hinder the development of the needed external business relationships, typically with suppliers. Although purchasing and supply management is a critical skill to develop for start-ups, research on how new ventures source and develop relationships with suppliers is still in its infancy. Therefore, in this article we offer a systematic literature review on how start-ups manage sourcing strategy and supplier relationships throughout their different development stages. Accordingly, we raise the following research question: how do start-ups manage their purchasing and supply activities? Specifically, the paper contributes to the literature by identifying the key gaps and drawing-up an agenda for future research.

ABSTRACT. Inconclusive evidence on the impact that Smart Manufacturing (SM) has on profitability deters smaller suppliers from investing in digital technologies. To close this gap, this study develops a model linking SM adoption to firms’ financial performance, using improvements in operational performance as mediators. Survey data and balance sheet data from 54 automotive suppliers are used to test the model via partial least square path modeling. Results show a direct negative impact of SM adoption on financial performance, likely stemming from the capital expenditures needed to implement SM. Improvements in operational performance arising from SM do not significantly influence financial performance.

ABSTRACT. Academic literature on advanced digital technologies in procurement like Artificial Intelligence is still in its infancy and succeeding established literature on e-procurement. While substantial interest is visible – both in academia and practice, a slow adoption of these technologies is visible. In this paper we explore the adoption process of advanced digital procurement technologies in the context of digital procurement transformation. In doing so, we build up on earlier work by Herold et al. (2022) and their conceptualization of digital procurement transformation. We illustrate the various adoption processes that companies are taking by means of an explorative longitudinal multiple-case following the progression linking strategy of micro-processes and macro-outcomes (Kouamé & Langley, 2018). We find that adoption “leaders” implement non-standardized tools as their procurement process foundation and subsequently add micro-solutions for specific user needs.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of digital technologies on purchasing in product development. As indicated by the findings of a multiple case study consisting of six companies, the use of digital technologies has the capacity to improve the purchasing department’s transactional and communicational processes. These operational benefits enable the purchasing function to move away from residual activities towards more important and strategic activities in product development. Further, digital technologies were found to improve information sharing and collaboration, which in turn promotes purchasing integration in product development.

ABSTRACT. The digitalization of procurement processes promises organizations significant potential for achieving a competitive edge in today's market. However, to fully realize these opportunities and satisfy the expectations about procurement digitalization, a critical evaluation of the potential benefits and implementation strategies is needed. This study adds value to this area by providing a systematic analysis of the current state-of-the-art in procurement digitalization and developing a theoretical understanding of this phenomenon and its strategic implications. By developing a conceptual framework for analysis, this study aims to inform future research and provide an overview on current practices for organizations looking to implement digitalization in their procurement processes.

ABSTRACT. In sourcing situations where the internal customer seeks solutions to problems or unique designs, a mature procurement organization may draw on the agile project management paradigm for guiding principles. This working paper seeks to explore the phenomenon of agile sourcing, and provide initial insights to the following research question: What are the key principles and methods of agile sourcing? We present the results and conclusions from the analysis of a representative single case study on a sourcing project focused on a mobile app for an airline, for which we collected data by the means of interviews and both internal and external documents.

ABSTRACT. Total Costs of Ownership (TCO) in buyer-supplier relationships are a manifold area of investigation within the automotive industry. This working paper analyses total costs from an informational and transactional perspective by taking advantage of an extensive DELPHI study approach at an automotive OEM. The DELPHI study approach offered several benefits for the research and led to the finding that total costs must be separated into further phases. 

ABSTRACT. This paper investigates how Manufacturing Pharmaceutical (Mpharma) SMEs in Ghana forecast demand. It identifies sector-specific forecasting methods, the importance of accurately forecasting demand, as well as the challenges and how they can be mitigated. The key findings of the research are that MPharma SMEs in Ghana predominantly forecast demand using judgemental forecasting methods and that even though SMEs receive significant intermittent orders from customers intermittent/irregular demand forecasting is non-existent. The findings also indicate lack of historical and accurate data, dedicated/expert forecasters. Forecasting activities are normally performed by managers with adequate domain knowledge but insufficient training, and there are low levels of technology/ software adoption.

ABSTRACT. A systematic literature review on purchasing leadership shows that in the limited literature on purchasing and supply management leadership, authors have focused mainly on: a) the importance of purchasing managers' leadership in the organization and in the organization's supply chain; b) the purchasing managers leadership behavior styles; and c) the purchasing managers’ leadership behaviors and their effects on organizational performance. Our analysis shows that authors have relied primarily on the transformational-transactional leadership theory to describe the purchasing leadership style. The most frequent research strategy is statistical sampling (surveys). These findings open an interesting research stream for an “underdeveloped” area in purchasing.

ABSTRACT. The importance of public procurement is widely recognized by policy-makers, firms, and the general public. Despite the vast amount of work that has been done in improving the effectiveness of the public procurement function the amount of in-depth empirical research appears to be limited. In this study, we draw upon the dynamic capability view (DCV) to describe the capabilities associated with public procurement value. The empirical part of the research is based on the analyses of eight cases of value-creating procurement from four public organizations. The findings extend the understanding of the value creation process of public procurement.

ABSTRACT. This article discusses public procurement compliance from a regulatory compliance perspective. It starts by explaining the public procurement process and its regulation by the European Union. The principal-agent theory is applied as a theoretical lens through which compliance issues are viewed. The empirical data consist of Market Court decisions of all successful public procurement bid protests in Finland between 2019 and 2021. By using content analysis, the protest cases are classified into themes to which the theoretical lens is applied. We find that both honest mistakes as well as opportunism as likely causes of non-compliance.

ABSTRACT. Little is known about the knowledge and utilization of Procurement 4.0 tools and technologies in public sector procurement. A mixed methods approach investigates seventeen principal tools and technologies on a sample of public sector buyers and technical experts. It concludes that the overall knowledge is low in both categories. Implications for practice and future research are considered.

ABSTRACT. This conceptual paper uses our knowledge of actors within the UK public procurement supply chain to offer a theoretical explanation for where social value destruction occurs. It uses agency theory to propose that value destruction occurs due to information asymmetry resulting from the omission of critical stakeholders at key points of the contract lifecycle. It concludes that non contractual stakeholders are critical if nonfinancial value delivery is to be maximised within public procurement.

ABSTRACT. The increasing globalization of economy and advancements in technology are forcing fierce competition in the market. It leads to the fact the complexity of the supply chain has increased in the recent years, such that supply chains are becoming more complex than ever because of the increasing uncertainties of the business environment. To this end, global supply chains present complex relationships and interactions between entities, raising new challenges for both researchers and practitioners.

The impact of supply chain complexity on firm performance has been investigated in literature. In general, higher complexity in a supply chain is known to generate adverse outcomes on supply chains such as higher operational costs, poorer customer satisfaction, delayed delivery, and lack of information sharing and integration among supply chain partners. However, its potential effect on supply chain resilience under disruption risks are not extensively studied.

To this end, this paper aims to provide a literature review, specifically focusing on the interactions between supply chain complexity and supply chain resilience under supply chain risk events and disruptions.

ABSTRACT. The global pandemic has affected all businesses worldwide. It impacted the way they operate, and the way supply chains are organised. It brought awareness that businesses need to build resilience in their everyday operations, their strategies, and supply chains. In light of this disaster, it has been noticed that the literature does not provide appropriate guidance on supply chain resilience-building steps. While it offers guidance and a framework for short-term disasters with particular geographical areas affected, managers are left with limited advice while coping with a disaster of this scope. The present study offers a framework to build supply chain resilience in the context of long-lasting global disasters. As a representative of such a disaster, the case of the global pandemic, COVID- 19, is examined. The study analyses longitudinal data, collected over two years from eight supply chain managers, through diaries and interviews. Data collection frequency was adjusted when deemed necessary, to ensure capturing relevant insights. Initial weekly diary inputs were reduced to bimonthly meetings at the end of the data collection period. Structural Contingency Theory and Panarchy Theory of systems were applied to structurize the impact of the pandemic on supply chains and their response to this impact and the examination of actions taken in response to the impact resulted in forming the set of stages that inductively emerged. These were compared with the framework for resilience building in the context of short-term natural disasters which resulted in the new framework to be tested and utilised while building resilience to global long-lasting disasters.

ABSTRACT. Given the pressure on the earth resources, transition to circular economy is the aspirational objective for most businesses. Most studies focus on the benefit of the circular economy. In this study we play the devil’s advocate and try to understand the dark side of this crusade. The objective behind this is to understand the negative externalities and to address them.

ABSTRACT. Startups compete against well-established companies for supplier resources. In this competition, startups suffer from the liability of newness, lacking track record and reputation. When startups want to mobilize supplier resources, they need to become attractive. This research analyzes the factors impacting startup attractiveness as buyers. Our findings from a discrete choice experiment with salespeople show that startups are less attractive as customers than well-established companies. We found eight factors that impact customer attractiveness. We compared the relative importance of customer attractiveness factors and found that strategic compatibility, operative excellence, and innovation have a greater positive impact on startups than on well-established companies.

ABSTRACT. While buyer-supplier relationships have received ample research attention, their interaction is usually simplified by considering only one overall relationship, neglecting function-level heterogeneities in interaction and satisfaction. Adopting an empirics-first approach and utilizing panel data of matched buyer-supplier dyads, our results reveal that on average, buyer and supplier functions “mirror” the interaction intensity of their counterpart. The following analyses however suggest that mirroring is not always beneficial, for relationships with a low geographical distance, suppliers perform better when there is an interaction gap, that is one side of the dyad is in the “lead.”

ABSTRACT. The purpose of the paper is to explore deeper the notion of relational turning points in buyer- supplier relationships from a supplier’s perspective and how such occurrences can impact not only the focal relationship between buyers and suppliers but also affect the supplier’s connected relationships. We build on existing research on transformational events in B2B relationships and extent this understanding to include also impacts on interaction. We present data from a longitudinal study of an evolving buyer-supplier relationship including a multinational supplier of fast-moving consumer goods and a medium-sized and highly specialized supplier.

ABSTRACT. This qualitative research developed a relationship protocol with strategic suppliers for a public company in order to minimize contract problems and relationship management and decrease transaction costs. This study is a single case study, with multiple units of analysis. As a result, there are 37 situations that generate stress. The cooperation, communication and joint problem-solving factors are in line with what is recommended in the literature and the factors trust, relational norms, information sharing, and joint planning can be improved. A protocol for the relationship contains with 10 themes to be worked on in order to develop relational governance. 

ABSTRACT. Extant literature on sustainable supplier development typically relates to the manufacturing industry. The public healthcare sector, with its strong, negative impact on the environment, tends to be overlooked. Our study aims at generating knowledge on supplier development practices of hospitals and their impact on the sustainability performance of these same hospitals. We used an embedded case study within the facilities segment of a large Dutch hospital group. Although various forms of direct and indirect supplier development were applied, we observed a striking lack of measurable targets and insufficient monitoring. The results show a worrisome lack of commitment rather than a sense of urgency.

ABSTRACT. Although supplier development is a mature tool to increase performance and capabilities, little is known about the impact on sustainable supplier practices and the role of buyer power use. This study investigates the moderating effect of buyer power, explaining the effectiveness of (direct and indirect) supplier development. We developed and tested a conceptual model with survey data from 130 managers in Dutch supplying companies. The results indicate a positive impact of direct (active involvement) and indirect (communication) supplier development on sustainable supplier practices. Furthermore, we found no moderation effects related to direct supplier development, whereas indirect supplier development benefited from coercive buyer power. Remarkably, the use of non-coercive power appears to reduce the effectiveness of indirect supplier development.

ABSTRACT. Sustainable development has become a key challenge in purchasing. This paper addresses sustainable supplier selection by developing a measurement approach for evaluating a supplier’s sustainability performance. Therefore, the paper reviews influencing factors of sustainable supplier selection and classifies them. This paper discusses performance measurement approaches and develops a concept using the performance prism approach. This paper supports corporate functions in selecting sustainable suppliers. It assists in analyzing relevant stakeholders, defining appropriate supply chain strategies, and assessing supplier processes. Also, this article provides suggestions for future research.

ABSTRACT. Buyers have adopted various Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure their suppliers’ performance. However, suppliers face a dilemma over whether they should make strategic decisions based on their long-term business development objectives, or buyers’ KPIs measurement. Particularly, while sustainability has become popular, different sustainability-related KPIs have been further adopted by different buyers. This research aims to evaluate how buyers' sustainability-related KPIs influence suppliers’ sustainability development. The results of this study revealed that buyers' sustainability-related KPIs can improve Chinese manufacturers’ sustainability development. Buyers’ power strengthens the influence of their KPIs on Chinese manufacturers’ sustainability development, but their economic sustainability KPIs. The findings will also assist managers in making decisions in the right direction by aligning their sustainable management strategies with their buyers’ KPIs measurements.

ABSTRACT. We adopt the Attention-Based View to explore the maturity of mandatory modern slavery disclosures in the UK’s logistics and freight industry. A content analysis is conducted of 63 logistics firms’ modern slavery statements as mandated in the UK’s Modern Slavery Act (2015). The firms are all suppliers to the UK public sector. Results highlight that: supply chain mapping and due diligence lack corporate saliency; attention is shaped by direct competitors rather than customers; and modern slavery reporting in the logistics and freight industry is poor. PSM’s potential role in influencing logistics firms’ attention on modern slavery is discussed.

ABSTRACT. There is a turn of the industry towards an asset-light business model, which has fundamentally reshaped the hotel industry towards divesting their real estate properties to concentrate on growing in scale through managing and franchising hotels. Although franchise chains are increasingly committed to sustainability transitions, no research to date has focused on modern slavery in the specific case of franchising. Therefore, this paper aims to explore modern slavery risk management in such a business model through a qualitative approach to explore How does the franchised Business Model challenge the management of modern slavery risk in the Hotel sector?

ABSTRACT. The aim of this paper is to critically examine emerging frameworks for modern slavery risk assessment due diligence and to consider their implications for the public procurement and commissioning of essential services such as long-term care. Through a desk-based review of the SHIVA foundation’s self-assessment scorecard and a preliminary analysis of its use for the development of due diligence action planning in one English local authority, the strengths and weaknesses of this voluntary approach for the eradication of modern slavery are considered and the implications for UK and EU public procurement policy, practice, theory and research in this area discussed.

ABSTRACT. The paper conceptually explores the notion of ‘worker voice’ within the context of modern slavery (forced labour) within UK supply chains and introduces its relevance and implications for studying the case of labour exploitation within the ready-made garment (RMG) industry within Leicester, UK. The paper highlights the need to recognize the challenges and nuances of ‘worker voice’ in the modern slavery context and articulates an initial framework of dimensions that can serve to usefully and organize future research on worker voice in the modern slavery context.

ABSTRACT. A case study in the automotive industry of the bundling problem has been conducted utilizing the design science methodology. This work builds on information processing theory to create a practical tool based on artificial intelligence that is augmenting the skills of expert buyers through a recommendation engine to generate data-driven insights empirically identifying saving potentials. The study contributes to the literature on bundling that has mainly been looking backward using historical data to infer saving potentials in the future. Based on the evaluation of the artifact, design principles were deducted for analytical solutions providers and procurement organizations worldwide.

ABSTRACT. Abstract In today’s world, businesses are striving to digitalise their processes, productions, and supply chains. There are many new software applications or platforms emerging to digitalise the supply chain. Unlike a firms’ internal digitalisation activities, supply chain digitalisation demands the involvement of external partners, such as suppliers. Suppliers serving multiple customers, however, might find it difficult to incorporate into different customers’ digital supply chain systems. This study investigates on how to gain suppliers’ acceptance for integration into a customer’s digital supply chain system. The research focuses on understanding the suppliers’ perspective when a customer approaches with a digital initiative by identifying suppliers’ expectations about the system, challenges during integration, and support that they expect from the customer firm for a smooth integration of the digital supply chain system. The study applies a mixed methodology approach with qualitative interviews and a large-scale survey conducted among 220 internationally located suppliers. As a result, we identified 11 factors that drive suppliers’ acceptance for customer introduced digital supply chain systems.

ABSTRACT. This paper uses the elements of logistics to frame a sustainable model that serves as a lens through which the green purchasing power of global clicks and bricks grocery retailers can be used as a catalyst for suppliers’ compliance to environmental standards. An exploratory systematic literature review was used to purposefully select ten (10) different product lines, based on their significant financial flows, high frequency of purchase, significant environmental impacts, source of production, and potential for data access. It was discovered that the products lines across the logistic elements are associated with a varying degree of environmental emissions.

ABSTRACT. This research starts from a managerial question, which is to understand how open innovation projects can be integrated in the very controlled strategy of an organization in the defense sector. To do so, we rely on the study of 12 different cases within the same company and analyze them through the prism of dynamic capabilities applied to open innovation. By adopting a project-level unit of analysis, we reveal new dynamic capability execution activities, both internally and with partners, and identify four approaches adopted to integrate open innovation into strategy: abandonment, integration into a roadmap, strategy creation, and marginalization.

ABSTRACT. Nuclear energy has been viewed as key in the transition towards a low-carbon energy future, with small modular reactors (SMRs) emerging as a promising novel technology. Yet, the legitimacy of SMRs remains a contested issue. In this paper, we explore how audiences construct legitimacy perceptions of SMRs, using a topic modelling analysis of media coverage. We examine how audiences how audiences evaluate the potential benefits and drawbacks of this technology. Our approach acknowledges the complex interplay of values, beliefs, and events that contribute to the construction of technological legitimacy.

ABSTRACT. In the last decades, healthcare organizations have been pressured to lower costs and obtain improved results. The sector is known to conduct purchasing activities mainly based on the price of the supplies. The emphasis on cost jeopardizes strategies that can deliver better patient outcomes and bring innovation. Innovation is adopted in the healthcare sector mainly by incorporating innovations from suppliers. This paper illustrates two extreme cases of innovation adoption in healthcare organizations. The research brings an innovation purchasing matrix that shows two optimal areas in which innovation should be incorporated: price-centric and valuecentric.

ABSTRACT. This research focuses on circular purchasing by proposing a conceptual model that improves understanding of how this purchasing policy contributes to innovation in companies. We tested the model’s hypotheses using data collected from 247 French companies. The results of the analysis show that circular purchasing promotes innovation in companies. Moreover, the study indicates that a more responsible global strategy promotes a circular purchasing policy and is influenced by better collaboration, communication, and coordination with suppliers.

ABSTRACT. Public procurement relies on life cycle costs to achieve best value for money in projects. Current life cycle cost research focuses on its application, use in supplier selection, and management of selected suppliers. These issues are mainly discussed from the public perspective, not taking the supplier's viewpoint. Also, little attention has been given to the willingness of suppliers to exchange life cycle costs during the procurement process. Thus, the survey conducted in the German defence industry shows that suppliers are already familiar with life cycle costs, but not yet to a comprehensive extent. This study contributes to the suppliers' view of life cycle costs in a public context.

ABSTRACT. Political decision-makers are showing great interest in the ability of public procurement to promote the innovative capacity of private companies through public contracts. Suppliers are increasingly seen as a source of innovation in the public sector. In this context, the use of innovation contests in public procurement is increasingly observed. Challenges represent a special type of innovation contests. A goal of the paper is to be it the concept of Challenges exploratively to examine and the use in the public procurement. In this paper, an exploratory case study was conducted to examine selected design elements of challenges and to identify factors critical to the success of challenges. This study helped to increase understanding about this type of innovation contest and to identify alternatives to previously used innovative public procurement tools. The results indicate that challenges have the potential to efficiently develop and utilize supplier innovations in public procurement.

ABSTRACT. To date, public procurement has been subjected to an increase in asymmetry of information and overall market failures. Market failures in public procurement are responded by the introduction of more centralized control and hierarchy. However, we notice an increased interest in more proactive and positive measures to prevent market failures. The new theory of market stewarding takes a step further, proposing a shift towards public contracting authorities that proactively curate the market and implement tailored rules and processes to prevent market failures. Therefore, in this paper we investigate what are the behaviours of the market creating market failures, and how market stewarding can fix those dynamics.

ABSTRACT. The paper synthesises and consolidates the current public sector negotiation literature to establish a coherent platform through which to inform new policies and directions that will be needed as we move into a more flexible, dynamic, and changing regulatory environment. We perform an extensive and systematic literature review of 116 papers. Descriptive findings show that the trajectory of research in this field is broadly on the rise, however, studies are largely atheoretical with the majority of the research being non-empirical, i.e., modelling or conceptual in nature. From a thematic analysis, six themes are emerging from our work with an emphasis on the efficiency of the negotiation process, the impact of laws and the role of individual negotiators.

ABSTRACT. The paper studies how firms’ procurement can use and adapt their supply-facing risk infrastructure to better respond to supply disruptions. A survey was conducted about the firm and procurement responses to low-frequency high-impact events such as the Covid- 19 disruptions. Using data from 116 Swedish manufacturing firms in different industries, we analyze how and what parts of the supply-facing risk infrastructure contribute to firm resilience during high-impact events. The findings suggest that the supply base structure and procurement involvement in firm-level decision-making (e.g., participation in S&OP) have a significant impact on the resilience of the firm during such events. The results also indicate that large firms are more resilient than SMEs. Furthermore, the study finds that process reconfigurations (e.g., changing frequency and participation in activities) have significant implications on the learning and capitalizing of disruption, but not for detecting, absorbing, and responding to ongoing disruption. The study contributes to a conceptualization of firm resilience, by clearly distinguishing between the two phases of response (detect, absorb, and respond) and learning (learn and capitalize), and identifies that both internally and externally focused procurement strategies are important for building firm resilience.

ABSTRACT. The automotive industry has, in the past 2 years, faced a severe shortage of semiconductor components. Several approaches have been taken to secure supply of components and minimize the impact of shortages on automakers’ production volume. This study applies the Social Network perspective to the case of a commercial vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) during the semiconductor shortage crisis. The paper aims to investigate how the Purchasing and Supply Management (PSM) approaches adopted by automakers change the supply network for electronics and semiconductor components, and how the PSM approaches and these changes impact automakers’ ability to secure supply. The findings show that PSM approaches have three levels of interaction with the supply network: internal, external supplier, and external supply network approaches. While only external PSM approaches change the supply network, all PSM approach levels help secure component supply.

ABSTRACT. In this research, we explore the concept of supply chain resilience and which skills are most relevant for supply chain managers to deal with changes (limitations/risks/etc). To shed light on these topics, we employed an exploratory approach. Based on the results of a survey distributed amongst supply chain professionals in The Netherlands, we offer insights about the skills required of supply chain decision makers to ensure organizational resilience, as well as which conceptualization of resilience (engineering versus social-ecological) is dominant amongst these managers. We provide insights for educators to take into account when developing the intended learning outcomes of supply chain education.

ABSTRACT. Our study investigates triggers, enablers and activities of buyer sensemaking and sensegiving in the aftermath of buyer-supplier relationship (BSR) disruptions. Presenting a preliminary model based on 10 case-based semi-structured interviews we make a first effort to integrate common theoretical perspectives on how supply chain partners process information and attribute responsibilities through (social) exchange. Sensemaking and sensegiving are triggered and enabled by distinct aspects of the disruption and the subsequent exchange. Our study uncovers the interactions between sensemaking and sensegiving and presents a range of cooperative and competitive sensegiving activities.

ABSTRACT. Despite the heightened attention to supply chain management ethics, little empirical work on ethical issues has been published in the purchasing and supply management field. This study aims to gain insights into the ethical decision-making of procurement professionals. Through experimental vignettes, we will examine the conditions under which procurement professionals engage in (un)ethical practices. We will account for participants’ ethical ideology and include individual factors that have proven to be associated with ethical decision-making. The findings will allow us to better understand the ethical decision-making of procurement professionals and allow organisations to act proactively rather than reactively to potential unethical behaviour.

ABSTRACT. This paper aims to theorise the role of firm capabilities to recover from future disruptions in a sustainable way. The scope is longitudinal data collected from "Ventilator challenge UK"── a consortium formed by the UK government, which embraced the leading automotive, aerospace and healthcare manufacturers to build at least 20 years' worth of ventilators in 12 weeks. We aim to extend the current view of uncertainty buffering from inventories, capacities and lead time perspective by a new measure to mitigate uncertainty ─ capability buffer, that considers sustainable response for future disruptions.

ABSTRACT. This paper focuses on purchasing’s role in integration with internal functions such as engineering/design as well as integration with external actors such as suppliers and customers. The empirical focus is on several development projects in a high-tech engineering-to-order project-organization with products that are very low-volume, have long lead times, with many suppliers and few customers. Drivers, inhibitors, and levels of integration are explored through the developed analytical framework which includes all three dimensions of integration. The framework is geared towards explaining the opportunities and challenges of each dimension and based on the empirical context i.e., a project-oriented organization. The analytical framework can be used to analyze how focal firms creates value through both external integrations of suppliers and customers, also including the value captured through the internal integration mechanisms.