http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/7387/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/38934/ 2012-12-01T00:00:00Z Firms increasingly rely on suppliers to perform tasks in new product development (NPD). Research has only recently begun to focus on the processes to manage this supplier development responsibility, and has hardly investigated how firms collect and analyze information regarding the cost and performance of alternative supplier offerings. Our study addresses this gap, through a field survey among 144 paired samples of project leaders and cost analysts involved in the same NPD projects. On the basis of literature and qualitative research, we conceptualize a substantive model. We first use a substantive validity assessment to vet the measures for the proposed constructs. We then test the substantive model with structural equation modeling using a multiple-sample analysis. The results strongly show that monetary quantification of differences and detail gathering play significant roles in successfully leveraging supplier development responsibility. The findings support the hypothesis that the extent of development responsibility that suppliers have leads the development team to a more focused monetary quantification of the differences in alternative supplier offerings. Monetary quantification of differences has a significant, positive effect on the extent of supporting-detail gathering and on the development speed of the project, whereas supporting-detail gathering has a significant, positive effect on the product advantage of the new product as well as development speed. These findings are robust across the two functional perspectives. Our study complements the literature on interfirm control and monitoring by demonstrating the effects of selective and focused output controls. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/39948/ 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Although there is contradicting evidence on the impact of a company’s proactive environmental strategy on its environmental performance, recent research shows such an approach can indeed make a difference. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/39947/ 2011-09-01T00:00:00Z In business markets price still plays a significant part in selling and buying decisions. Suppliers strive to get an equitable or fair return on the value of their offerings and buyers look for bargains and usually find them, thanks to over-eager suppliers. However, recent experiments show that there are other more effective and successful ways of selling without giving away too much value. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/23281/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Abstract: There is a growing body of knowledge on the link between environmental management and supply chain management, but there is contradicting evidence on the impact of a proactive environmental strategy on environmental performance. Therefore, this paper investigates the impact of proactive environmental strategy on environmental performance as mediated by environmental investments. We also consider the antecedents of the adoption of proactive environmental strategy. We develop and test hypotheses, using data collected from 96 Turkish manufacturers through an online questionnaire. The model was tested using Partial Least Squares (PLS), a structural equation modelling method. The results show that a proactive environmental strategy leads to higher environmental investments; both internally and externally in collaboration with suppliers. Our findings support our hypothesis that environmental investments acts as a mediating variable between proactive environmental strategy and environmental performance. The results also show that customer pressure and, particularly, organizational commitment positively impact the extent to which firms adopt a proactive environmental strategy. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/38802/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Abstract: In late 2003, Willem van Oppen, Chief Procurement Officer of KPN, the incumbent telecommunications service provider in the Netherlands, had to confront an outsourcing project gone sour. Two years prior, in one of the first major outsourcing deals at KPN, a substantial part of its IT services were outsourced to Atos Origin. However, KPN felt it was facing a supplier that had not demonstrated the value-adding capabilities which KPN strongly emphasized throughout the outsourcing decision process. Atos Origin was experiencing continuous problems in the daily operation of KPN’s IT support processes and seemed reluctant to make any fundamental improvements. Some managers were pushing the newly established procurement organization and, in particular, the IT category managers to get a better grip on the outsourcing deal, and some were even challenging the outsourcing decision itself. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19464/ 2010-03-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19317/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Purpose: A conceptual framework is proposed and tested to better understand customers' purchase of higher-value, higher-price offerings in business markets. Ambiguity about superior value and consequences of obtaining superior value are the constructs in this framework. Ambiguity about superior value is meant to capture the concern and doubt that managers at customer firms have about whether their business will actually realize the cost savings or ability to earn incremental revenue and profits that suppliers claim for their offerings. Consequences of obtaining superior value refers to the outcomes that a customer manager anticipates or experiences in making a purchase decision for higher-value, higher-price offerings. Methodology: Two operationalizations of each construct are studied in a pair of experiments with purchasing managers and plant maintenance managers. Findings: Value evidence and incentive to change each receive significant support as mechanisms to reduce ambiguity about superior value. Notably, reference customers and pilot programs appear to be equally effective as value evidence in reducing ambiguity about superior value. In addition, the results provide strong empirical support that incentive to change operates as a threshold phenomenon, as predicted from social judgment theory. While no significant differences in purchase preferences are found for area of responsibility (purchasing versus plant maintenance managers), significant support is found for performance review and reward system as a manipulation of consequences of obtaining superior value. Contribution: The conceptual framework and empirical results significantly contribute to our understanding of how suppliers in business markets can use monetary as well as nonmonetary means to persuade customers to purchase higher-value, yet higherprice offerings. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/33122/ 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z Background and study aims: Gastrointestinal endoscopy investigations are frequently requested by gastroenterologists, general practitioners and other physicians. In addition to the classic methods of report writing, several electronic endoscopic report systems are currently available. The aim of the study was to evaluate the costs of three different ways of producing reports; by hand, by dictation, or by computer. Methods: Three methods of report writing were compared, with special attention to costs. The endoscopy process was analyzed, from arrival of the patient to sending the report to the referring doctor, and including production of endoscopic images or video, logging of used endoscopes and their disinfection, and storage costs for endoscopy data. Results: During the first 5 years, the mean costs per procedure were C= 4.78 for handwritten, C= 6.39 for dictated and C= 8.90 for computerized reports. Due to depreciation, after this initial period, the respective costs declined to C= 4.37, C= 5.20 and C= 5.13, respectively. Despite high initial costs, a cost-benefit analysis already revealed a financial benefit from a computerized system after 3 years. Conclusions: The electronic production of an endoscopic report turned out to be the most expensive way of report writing during the first 5 years, due to high initial costs. After 5 years the costs of the different systems were comparable with each other. Cost-benefit analysis showed a positive financial benefit for computerized reports after 3 years. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17111/ 2009-08-05T00:00:00Z Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop theory on effective buyer-seller interaction for different types of business services. A classification of business services which identifies four service types based on how they are used by the buying company is used. Design/methodology/approach - Propositions based on earlier work in this area and validate these empirically by studying interaction in nine ongoing service exchanges at two different buying companies are developed. Findings - For the three service types that could be identified in the case companies, the extent to which companies display a pattern of interaction that is in line with the proposed pattern has a positive effect on service exchange success has been largely found. Some aspects of the proposed patterns, however, seem less critical for success than others, leading to minor revisions in the effective patterns of interaction. Research limitations/implications - The main limitation of this study is that only the interaction patterns for three of the four service types could be empirically validated in this paper. Further studies, exclusively aimed at testing the effectiveness of the revised interaction patterns, need to encompass all four service types. Practical implications - The research eventually holds valuable implications for buying firms regarding the explicit and effective differentiation in interacting with their external service providers. Conversely, service providers should think about how their customers use their service to involve the appropriate seller representatives and address the right issues in the ongoing interaction. Originality/value - The paper contributes to the body of knowledge in operations management by focusing on the design and management of a series of service encounters in business-to-business relationships. It is a first step towards empirical validation in an area with scant theoretical development. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16358/ 2009-06-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/13576/ 2008-01-31T00:00:00Z Existing studies of supplier involvement in new product development have mainly focused on project-related short-term processes and success factors. This study validates and extends an existing exploratory framework, which comprises both long-term strategic processes and short-term operational processes that are related to supplier involvement. The empirical validation is based on a multiple-case study of supplier collaborations at a manufacturer in the copier and printer industry. The analysis of eight cases of supplier involvement reveals that the results of supplier–manufacturer collaborations and the associated issues and problems can best be explained by the patterns in the extent to which the manufacturer manages supplier involvement in the short term and the long term. The results of this study reveal that the initial framework is helpful in understanding why certain collaborations are not effectively managed yet conclude that the existing analytical distinction among four different management areas does not sufficiently reflect empirical reality. This leads to the reconceptualization and further detailing of the framework. Instead of four managerial areas, this study proposes to distinguish between the strategic management arena and the operational management arena. The strategic management arena contains processes that together provide long-term, strategic direction and operational support for project teams adopting supplier involvement. These processes also contribute to building up a supplier base that can meet current and future technology and capability needs. The operational management arena contains processes that are aimed at planning, managing, and evaluating the actual collaborations in a specific development project. The results of this study suggest that success of involving suppliers in product development is reflected by the firm's ability to capture both short- and long-term benefits. If companies spend most of their time on operational management in development projects, they will fail to use the leverage effect of planning and preparing such involvement through strategic management activities. Also, they will not be sufficiently able to capture possible long-term technology and learning benefits that may spin off from individual projects. Long-term collaboration benefits can only be captured if a company can build long-term relationships with key suppliers, with which it builds learning routines and ensures that the capability sets of both parties are aligned and remain useful for future joint projects. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10456/ 2007-06-25T00:00:00Z This paper examines how firms succeed to leverage supplier involvement in product development. The paper extends earlier work on managing supplier involvement by providing an integrated analysis of results, processes and conditions both at the level of individual development projects and the overall firm. Following a multiple-case study approach with theoretical sampling, the study is carried out by examining eight projects in which four manufacturers from different industries involve multiple suppliers. The findings suggest that successful supplier involvement is dependent on the coordinated design, execution and evaluation of strategic, long-term processes and operational, short-term management processes and the presence of enabling factors such as a cross-functional oriented organization. The required intensity of these processes and enablers depends on contingencies such as firm size and environmental uncertainty. In contrast with previous research, we find no indications that managing supplier involvement requires a different approach in highly innovative projects compared to less innovative projects. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7949/ 2006-09-07T00:00:00Z Existing studies of supplier involvement in new product development have mainly focused on project-related short-term processes and success-factors. This study validates and extends an existing exploratory framework, which comprises both long-term strategic processes and short-term operational processes that are related to supplier involvement. The empirical validation is based on a multiple-case study of supplier collaborations at a manufacturer in the copier and printer industry. The analysis of eight cases of supplier involvement reveals that the results of supplier-manufacturer collaborations and the associated issues and problems can best be explained by the patterns in the extent to which the manufacturer manages supplier involvement in the short-term ànd the long-term. We find that our initial framework is helpful in understanding why certain collaborations are not effectively managed, yet conclude that the existing analytical distinction between four different management areas does not sufficiently reflect empirical reality. This leads us to reconceptualize and further detail the framework. Instead of four managerial areas, we propose to distinguish between the Strategic Management arena and the Operational Management arena. The Strategic Management arena contains processes that together provide long-term, strategic direction and operational support for project teams adopting supplier involvement. These processes also contribute to building up a supplier base that can meet current and future technology and capability needs. The Operational Management arena contains processes that are aimed at planning, managing and evaluating the actual collaborations in a specific development project. The results of this study suggest that success of involving suppliers in product development is reflected by the firm’s ability to capture both short-term and long-term benefits. If companies spend most of their time on operational management in development projects, they will fail to use the ‘leverage’ effect of planning and preparing such involvement through strategic management activities. Also, they will not be sufficiently able to capture possible long-term technology and learning benefits that may spin off from individual projects. Long-term collaboration benefits can only be captured if a company can build long-term relationships with key suppliers, where it builds learning routines and ensures that the capability sets of both parties are aligned and remain useful for future joint projects. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7439/ 2006-02-17T00:00:00Z Finn Wynstra is professor by special appointment in Purchasing and Supply Management at RSM Erasmus University, on behalf of the Dutch Association for Purchasing Management (NEVI) and the 'Vereniging Trustfonds EUR'. He studied Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and conducted his PhD research at the Department of Technology Management, Technical University Eindhoven, and Uppsala University (Sweden). His research is focused on the role of suppliers in product innovation and has been published in, among others, Accounting, Organizations & Society, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management and Journal of Supply Chain Management. Finn Wynstra is co-author of two books (Buying Business Services, and Developing Sourcing Capabilities, Wiley) and Editor of Journal of Purchasing an Supply Management http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/363/ 2003-06-02T00:00:00Z A conceptual framework is developed and tested in which supplier downstream position in the supply chain, supplier innovation strategy and customer development commitment are seen as the antecedents of supplier product development activity. Using partial least squares (PLS), we analyze the results of a survey of 161 Swedish automotive suppliers and test a series of nested models to test our hypotheses. We demonstrate that the position of the supplier in the supply chain and its strategic focus on innovation not only have a direct impact on (actual) supplier product development activity, but that there is also an interaction effect, implying that the effects of strategy are contingent on the supplier???s supply chain position. Additionally, we find that customer development commitment does not have any significant direct effect on supplier product development activities, but that this relation is fully mediated by supplier innovation strategy. The meaning of the findings for developing a more extensive conceptual framework for understanding supplier product development activities, some managerial implications, and future research are discussed.