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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Reverse resource exchanges in service supply chains
T2 - the case of returnable transport packaging
AU - Selviaridis, Konstantinos
AU - Matopoulos, Aristides
AU - Szamosi, Leslie
AU - Psychogios, Alexandros
N1 - This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
PY - 2016/5/9
Y1 - 2016/5/9
N2 - Purpose – The paper seeks to understand how reverse resource exchanges and resourcedependencies are managed in the service supply chain (SSC) of returnable transport packaging(RTP).Design/methodology/approach – A single case study was conducted in the context ofautomotive logistics focusing on the RTP service supply chain. Data was collected throughsixteen (16) interviews primarily with managers of a logistics service provider (LSP) anddocument analysis of contractual agreements with key customers of the packaging service.Findings – Resource dependencies among actors in the SSC result from the importance of theRTP for the customer’s production processes, the competition among users for RTP and thenegative implications of the temporary unavailability of RTP for customers and the LSP (in termsof service performance). Amongst other things, the LSP is dependent on its customers and thirdparty users (e.g., the customer’s suppliers) for the timely return of package resources. The roleof inter-firm integration and collaboration, formal contracts, as well as customers’ power andinfluence over third party RTP users are stressed as key mechanisms for managing LSP’sresource dependencies.Research limitations/implications – A resource dependence theory (RDT) lens is used toanalyse how reverse resource exchanges and associated resource dependencies in SSCs aremanaged, thus complementing the existing SSC literature emphasising the bi-directionality ofresource flows. The study also extends the recent SSC literature stressing the role ofcontracting by empirically demonstrating how formal contracts can be mobilised to explicateresource dependencies and to specify, and regulate, reverse exchanges in the SSC.Practical implications – The research suggests that logistics providers can effectively managetheir resource dependencies and regulate reverse exchanges in the SSC by deployingcontractual governance mechanisms and leveraging their customers’ influence over third partyRTP users.Originality/value – The study is novel in its application of RDT, which enhances ourunderstanding of the management of reverse exchanges and resource dependencies in SSCs.
AB - Purpose – The paper seeks to understand how reverse resource exchanges and resourcedependencies are managed in the service supply chain (SSC) of returnable transport packaging(RTP).Design/methodology/approach – A single case study was conducted in the context ofautomotive logistics focusing on the RTP service supply chain. Data was collected throughsixteen (16) interviews primarily with managers of a logistics service provider (LSP) anddocument analysis of contractual agreements with key customers of the packaging service.Findings – Resource dependencies among actors in the SSC result from the importance of theRTP for the customer’s production processes, the competition among users for RTP and thenegative implications of the temporary unavailability of RTP for customers and the LSP (in termsof service performance). Amongst other things, the LSP is dependent on its customers and thirdparty users (e.g., the customer’s suppliers) for the timely return of package resources. The roleof inter-firm integration and collaboration, formal contracts, as well as customers’ power andinfluence over third party RTP users are stressed as key mechanisms for managing LSP’sresource dependencies.Research limitations/implications – A resource dependence theory (RDT) lens is used toanalyse how reverse resource exchanges and associated resource dependencies in SSCs aremanaged, thus complementing the existing SSC literature emphasising the bi-directionality ofresource flows. The study also extends the recent SSC literature stressing the role ofcontracting by empirically demonstrating how formal contracts can be mobilised to explicateresource dependencies and to specify, and regulate, reverse exchanges in the SSC.Practical implications – The research suggests that logistics providers can effectively managetheir resource dependencies and regulate reverse exchanges in the SSC by deployingcontractual governance mechanisms and leveraging their customers’ influence over third partyRTP users.Originality/value – The study is novel in its application of RDT, which enhances ourunderstanding of the management of reverse exchanges and resource dependencies in SSCs.
KW - Service Supply Chain
KW - Logistics Service Providers
KW - Packaging
KW - Case studies
U2 - 10.1108/SCM-07-2015-0265
DO - 10.1108/SCM-07-2015-0265
M3 - Journal article
VL - 21
SP - 381
EP - 397
JO - Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
JF - Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
SN - 1359-8546
IS - 3
ER -