Abstract
This paper provides a systems-based approach to the exploration of the relationship and integration between Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) factors as part of a Sustainable Operations Management (SOM) agenda. The authors have chosen electronic procurement (e-Procurement) as a suitable context in this light. Through a review of extant literature, a Systems Archetype (SA) model was developed (based on the ‘Accidental Adversaries’ archetype) and findings from a quantitative pilot study exploring key factors pertinent to e-Procurement SRM were gathered, and hence evaluated against SOM factors. The objective of this research was to describe and visualise the causal interrelationships involved in SRM-SOM through the application of a SA (as an Operations Research tool). The authors believe that this research also provides a unique approach to developing and harnessing the useful and unique properties of Systems Thinking (ST), by attempting to reduce and organise the (generally ad hoc and wide-ranging) sequence of subjective perspectives commonly experienced in causal mapping experiments. The paper builds upon the extant literature, and provides further basis for continuing research in the areas of ST, SAs and the application of operational research to plan sustainable operations.
References
Aboelmaged MG (2010). Predicting e-procurement adoption in a developing country: An empirical integration of technology acceptance model and theory of planned behaviour. Industrial Management & Data Systems 110 (3): 392–414.
Ambrose E, Marshall D, Fynes B and Lynch D (2008). Communication media selection in buyer-supplier relationships. International Journal of Operations & Production Management 28 (4): 360–379.
Atkinson CJ and Checkland PB (1988). Extending the metaphor ‘system’. Human Relations 41 (10): 709–725.
Attaran M (2001). The coming age of online procurement. Industrial Management & Data Systems 101 (4): 177–181.
Bakker E, Zheng J, Knight L and Harland C (2008). Putting e-commerce adoption in a supply chain context. International Journal of Operations & Production Management 28 (4): 313–330.
Bell S and Morse S (2007). Problem structuring methods: Theorizing the benefits of deconstructing sustainable development projects. Journal of the Operational Research Society 58 (5): 576–587.
Bettley A and Burnley S (2008). Towards Sustainable Operations Management Integrating Sustainability Management into Operations Management Strategies and Practices. Handbook of Performability Engineering, Springer, London, UK.
Braun W (2002). The system archetypes, http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/~gossimit/pap/sd/wb_sysarch.pdf, accessed October 2011.
Carr SA and Kaynak H (2007). Communication methods, information sharing, supplier development and performance: An empirical study of their relationships. International Journal of Operations & Production Management 27 (4): 346–370.
Carter TC (2003). Supplier relationship management: Models, considerations and implications for DOD, http://www.stormingmedia.us/45/4502/A450224.pdf, accessed 10 January 2012.
Chase RB, Jacobs FR and Aquilano NJ (2006). Operations Management for Competitive Advantage, 11th edn. McGraw-Hill Irwin: New York.
Checkland PB (1981). Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. John Wiley & Sons: Chichester.
Checkland PB and Scholes J (1997). Soft Systems Methodology in Action. Wiley & Sons: Chichester.
Choy KL, Lee WB and Lo V (2004). An enterprise collaborative management system—A case study of supplier relationship management. Journal of Enterprise Information Management 17 (3): 191–207.
Corbet LM (2009). Sustainable operations management: A typological approach. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management 2 (1): 10–30.
Davila A, Gupta M and Palmer R (2003). Moving procurement systems to the internet: The adoption and use of e-procurement technology models. European Management Journal 21 (1): 11–23.
Duran-Encalada JA and Paucar-Caceres A (2011). A system dynamics sustainable business model for Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex): Case based on the global reporting initiative. Journal of the Operational Research Society 63 (8): 1065–1078.
Dyer JH, Cho DS. and Chu W. (1998). Strategic supplier segmentation: The next ‘best practice’ in supply chain management. California Management Review 40 (2): 57–77.
Eulálio G, Campelo F and Stucky W (2007). The supplier relationship management market trends. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 1 (4): 99–105.
Forrester JW (1961). Industrial Dynamics. Pegasus Communications: Waltham, MA.
Forrester JW (1994). System dynamics, systems thinking, and soft OR. System Dynamics Review 10 (2–3): 245–256.
Gebauer J, Beam C and Segev A (1998). Impact of the internet on procurement, http://www.dau.mil/pubscats/PubsCats/AR%20Journal/arq98/beam.pdf, accessed 15 July 2011.
Gunasekaran A, McGaughey ER, Ngai EWT and Rai BK (2009). E-procurement adoption in the southcoast SMEs. International Journal of Production Economics 122 (1): 161–175.
Hughes J (2010). What is supplier relationship management and why does it matter?, DILForientering, http://www.vantagepartners.com/ISM_DILF_What_is_SRM.aspx, accessed 10 January 2012.
Iskandar BY, Kurokawa S and Blanc LL (2001). Adoption of electronic data interchange: the role of buyer-supplier relationships. Engineering Management, IEEE Transactions 48 (4): 505–517.
Jalal SF, Chaharsooghi SKC and Limayem M (2009). Simplifying procurement process through e-commerce in B2B market of Iran. Asia Pacific Management Review 14 (4): 427–442.
Kleindorfer PR, Singhal K and Wassenhove LNV (2005). Sustainable operations management. Production and Operations Management 14 (4): 482–492.
Kwon I-WG and Suh T (2004). Factors affecting the level of trust and commitment in supply chain relationships. The Journal of Supply Chain Management 40 (2): 4–14.
Lane DC (1993). With a little help from our friends. In: Zepeda E and Machuca JAD (eds).The Role of Strategic Modelling in International Competitiveness. Proceedings of International System Dynamics Conference. System Dynamics Society: Cancun, Mexico, pp. 235–244.
Linton JD, Klassen RD and Jayaraman V (2007). Sustainable supply chains: An introduction. Journal of Operations Management 25 (6): 1075–1082.
Luscombe B (2010). Why e-mail may be hurting off-line relationships, http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1998396,00.html#ixzz1UHwTGS2M, accessed 12 July 2011.
Lysons K and Farrington B (2012). Purchasing and Supply Chain Management, 8th edn. Pearson Education Limited: London.
Meier RL, Humphreys MA and Williams MR (1998). The role of purchasing in the agile enterprise. International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management 34 (4): 39–45.
Mingers J and Rosenhead J (2004). Problem structuring methods in action. European Journal of Operational Research 152 (3): 530–554.
Moeller S, Fassnacht M and Klose S (2008). A framework for supplier relationship management (SRM). Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing 13 (4): 69–94.
Monczka RM, Callahan TJ and Nichols EL (1995). Predictors of relationships among buying and supplying firms. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 25 (10): 45–59.
Monczka RM, Handfield RB, Scannell TV, Ragatz GL and Frayer DJ (2000). New Product Development: Strategies for Supplier Integration. ASQ Quality Press: Milwaukee, WI.
Murray JG (2009). Towards a common understanding of the differences between purchasing, procurement and commissioning in the UK public sector. Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management 15 (3): 198–202.
Newsome IM (2008). Using system dynamics to model the impact of policing activity on performance. Journal of the Operational Research Society 59 (2): 164–170.
Nguyen TD and Nguyen TTM (2011). Enhancing relationship value between manufacturers and distributors through personal interaction: evidence from Vietnam. Journal of Management Development 30 (4): 316–328.
Osmonbekov T, Bello DC and Gilliland DI (2002). Adoption of electronic commerce tools in business procurement: enhanced buying center structure and processes. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 17 (2–3): 151–166.
Park J, Shin K, Chang TW and Park J (2010). An integrative framework for supplier relationship management. Industrial Management & Data Systems 110 (4): 495–515.
Pinnington BD and Scanlon TJ (2009). Antecedents of collective-value within business-to-business relationships. European Journal of Marketing 43 (1/2): 31–45.
Poirier CC (2010). Supplier relationship management: An advanced supply chain management technique, http://www.scribd.com/doc/39098530/SRMAn-Advanced-SCM-Technique, accessed 10 January 2012.
Rai A, Tang X, Brown P and Keil M (2006). Assimilation patterns in the use of electronic procurement innovations: A cluster analysis. Information & Management 43 (3): 336–349.
Senge P, Kleiner A, Roberts C, Ross RB and Smith BJ (1994). The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. Doubleday: New York.
Sharif AM (2005). Can systems dynamics be effective in modelling dynamic business systems? Business Process Management Journal 11 (5): 612–615.
Sterman JD (2000). Business Dynamics, Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World. Irwin/McGraw-Hill: New York.
Tatsis V, Mena C, Van Wassenhove L and Whicker L (2006). E-procurement in the Greek food and drink industry: drivers and impediments. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management 12 (2): 63–74.
Verespej M (2002). E-procurement explosion. Industry Week 251 (2): 8–24.
Voorhuis J and van Loo M (2010). Strategic supplier relationship management. Accenture LLP, USA.
Wagner SM and Essig M (2006). Electronic procurement applications and their impact on supplier relationship management. International. Journal of Services Technology and Management 7 (5/6): 439–462.
Winger AR (2005). Face-to-face communication: Is it really necessary in a digitizing world? Business Horizons 48 (3): 247–253.
Wognum PM, Fisscher OAM and Weenink SAJ (2002). Balanced relationships: Management of client-supplier relationships in product development. Technovation 22 (6): 341–351.
Wolstenholme E (2003). Towards the definition and use of a core set of archetypal structures in system dynamics. System Dynamics Review 19 (1): 7–26.
Wolstenholme E (2004). Using generic system archetypes to support thinking and modelling. System Dynamics Review 20 (4): 341–356.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sharif, A., Alshawi, S., Kamal, M. et al. Exploring the role of supplier relationship management for sustainable operations: an OR perspective. J Oper Res Soc 65, 963–978 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.2013.145
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.2013.145