In 1990s, with dramatic price reductions, reverse e-auctions were projected to be a widely used procurement tool. However, not all buyers saw the economic benefits of reverse e-auctions and the current usage is more limited than expected. This study identifies important organizational...

Applying concepts from the behavioral complexity literature ([Ashby, 1952] and [Denison et al., 1995]) we examine if supply managers' multiple roles (behavioral repertoire) and the ability to shift among these roles (behavioral differentiation) are related to their interpersonal relationships...

After more than two decades since quality became part of managers' everyday lexicon, total quality management (TQM) and ISO 9000 have taken the centre stage. However, there has been much debate about how they might be related to each other. This research is a new contribution to the knowledge on...

The practice of target pricing has been a key factor in the success of Japanese manufacturers. In the more commonly known demand-side approach, the target price for the supplier equals the manufacturer's market price less a percent margin for the manufacturer but no cost-improvement expenses are...

type="main" xml:id="jscm12070-abs-0001" <p>We introduce a new type of critical supplier—the nexus supplier—that becomes evident when we consider suppliers from a network perspective. The extant literature focuses on the importance of strategic suppliers and identifies strategic suppliers as...</p>

Many oil industry spokesmen who pleaded for a free market in the era of regulation are now urging the opposite: federal protection from low-cost imported oil. It is ironic that some economists should find merit in these arguments, particularly now that the very idea of free trade is facing the...