• IE interfaces
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2012

Discovering the suppliers capable of manufacturing the parts that satisfy buyer requirements via current online market places remains difficult due to semantic differences between what the suppliers can produce and what the buyer wants to acquire. One of the promising approaches to overcome the semantic difference is to adopt an ontology to describe the suppliers' manufacturing capabilities and the buyer requirements that range widely from manufacturing costs to eco-friendly design. Such an ontology dedicated to supplier discovery has yet to be developed. MSDL(Manufacturing Service Description Language) provides the basis for defining terms and their relationships in the ontology. Thus, the objective of this paper is to extend MSDL into a new ontology suitable for supplier discovery in mold manufacturing industry. In addition, a new ontology development method for supplier discovery will be proposed. Finally prototype demonstrations are provided to show a feasibility of the proposed ontology in mold manufacturing domains.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.73-95
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• 2015

Firms have reexamined and restructured their supply chain based on a long-term and partnership perspective as a firm's competitive advantage increasingly relies on its supply chain capability. A number of scholar works has provided evidence to support the positive effects of supply chain collaboration; however, the relationship between collaboration and performance is still inconclusive. This study refuses to have blinded faith on supply chain collaboration, but rather this paper suggests that the contribution of collaboration to supply chain performance improvement can be limited and vary along the contextual characteristics of a buyer-supplier relationship. Moreover, we argue that the relationship between supply chain collaboration and performance can be curvilinear. This paper provides and test hypotheses regarding the relationship between supply chain collaboration and performance. By using data of the Manufacturing Panel Survey (MPS), this study empirically validates the hypotheses. Overall, the results of the study support our hypotheses about a limited contribution of supply chain collaboration to manufacturing performance, which is opposite to a conventional expectation. Particularly, the effects of supply chain collaboration differ depending on the dimensions of performance such as customer satisfaction, quality, cost, delivery, and flexibility as well as the dependency in the buyer-supplier relationship. Moreover, the results of the study indicate that supply chain collaboration and performance may have curvilinear relationships in a certain context. Through a comprehensive model and empirical evidence, this study presents a better understanding of supply chain collaboration and provokes an open discussion about the effects of collaboration. This study also provides insightful implications for managers of buyers as well as suppliers who wish to foster stronger supply chain performance via a deep buyer-supplier relationship and collaboration.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.53-62
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• 2018

Purpose - In the development of new products, suppliers involvement and developing products jointly can be said to be strategic activities that utilize the lack of knowledge from external organizations. In this new product development, supplier involvement has been proven to have a positive impact on new product development performance for a long time by previous research. However, sufficient academic research has not been conducted on the influence of supplier involvement in various product strategies or sales strategies that buyers make in order to secure a competitive advantage in the market. This study argues that product strategy and sales strategy used by buyers in the development of new products will control the effect of supplier involvement on new product development performance in order to compensate the lack of these academic aspects. Research design, data, and methodology - Specifically, we selected the modularization strategy of the product as the product strategy, which is considered as an important strategy in the new product development through the preceding research, and the mass customer satisfaction strategy was chosen as the sales strategy. In order to achieve these research objectives, regression analysis was conducted using data from manufacturing productivity panel collected jointly by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Industry and the Korea Productivity Center. Results - As a result, supplier involvement and new product development performances (development cost efficiency, customer satisfaction) were positively related. The product modularity strategy proved to have an interactive effect on the relationship between supplier involvement and new product development performances (development cost efficiency, customer satisfaction). However, it has not been confirmed that there is a statistically significant interaction effect between supplier involvement and new product development performances. Conclusions - Supplier involvement has positive relationships with NPD performance. In addition, product modularity strategies have interaction effects with supplier involvement and affect new product development performance (development cost efficiency and customer satisfaction). The results of this study are of academic significance in the case of lack of empirical studies on the effect of supplier participation on the effect of buyer 's strategy when a supplier participates and develops new products jointly.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.65-86
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• 2018

This study focuses on the relationship structure of SMEs with outsourcing based on buyer-supplier relationships and aims to test the role of trust management and mutual growth in the activities of SMEs. Trust management and mutual growth have a context in which the outsourcing type is determined through the company's slack resources, partnership relations, and buyer-supplier relationship. In this context, research hypotheses were set up, research model was designed and an empirical analysis was conducted by using structural equation modeling. For the empirical analysis, hypotheses were tested using data obtained from questionnaires of 206 SMEs nationwide. As a result, trust management and mutual growth have a significant effect on outsourcing type and performance, and mediation effect of cooperation relationship and buyer-supplier relationship was in the process.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.37-52
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• 2019

This study examines the effects of supplier dependence on supply chain relationships, communication practices, and relationship performance in manufacturing-part companies. The structural equation modeling technique with AMOS 23.0 was used to test hypotheses using data collected in the research model. The results show that supplier dependence positively affects supply chain relationships and communication practices. In addition, the results confirm the effect of supply chain relationships and communication practices on relationship performance. It is also demonstrated that supply chain relationships and communication practices through supplier dependence play a key role in improving relationship performance for supply chain management. Furthermore, it contributes to the practice of supply chain management as well as to efficiency through collaborative activities of supplier-buyer in the supply chain processes.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2003

Given the recent trend in business markets to seek and conscientiously develop long-term relationships, it has become increasingly important to understand why such long-term relationships are developed and how they are maintained. Despite their obvious importance, the antecedent conditions and processes of long-term relationships between industrial buyers and suppliers have not been systematically studied. In this research, I report a study of the antecedents of industrial buyer-seller relationships and the relational performance. What kinds of factors contribute to the development of long-term relationships\ulcorner How do these factors influence the corporate performance in the business markets\ulcorner The primary motivation of this study was drawn from an interest in answering these research questions. Managerial implications of the study results are also discussed.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.9-18
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• 2023

Purpose: The ability of a firm to acquire resources through marketing networks is crucial for its competitiveness. Nonetheless, the influence of these networks on the performance of a firm's innovation is still uncertain, particularly in the face of environmental uncertainty. This research investigates the impact of marketing networks, specifically network embeddedness and structural holes, on the performance of innovation in situations characterized by environmental uncertainty. Research design, data and methodology: The empirical examination was carried out within the framework of internal network entities, specifically the manufacturer-supplier-sub supplier relationships, involving the primary suppliers of a Korean engineering firm. Construct measures utilized in this study were derived from existing measures and prior research. A questionnaire survey was conducted with a major first-tier supplier of a Korean engineering firm. Proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Results: The survey findings suggest that only network embeddedness has an impact on the perception of major first-tier suppliers regarding the buyer's innovation performance. Conclusions: To strengthen the empirical evidence regarding the effects of marketing networks on innovation performance, future research should take into account cultural factors such as collectivism, which is indicative of the distinctive business-to-business marketing relationships observed in the Korean context.

• Proceedings of the Korean Operations and Management Science Society Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.95-98
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• 2000

The rapid expansion of the WWW is well known and has huge potential for enabling companies, large and small, to gain new marketplaces globally at low cost, or to be disintermediated by others doing so. A totally new competitive environment opening up new opportunities is upon us. As a result, the electronic commerce is growing quickly and the importance of electronic marketplace is emphasized. From the view of SCM, applying the business-to-business electronic commerce to the relationship between firms is expected to make major changes. This study focuses on the effects of the introduction of web-based purchasing systems on the buyer-supplier relationship. We conduct a case study on the Korean firms The major findings of this study are summarized as follows. First, in introductory phase, some buying firms fail to design the appropriate mechanism for business relationships. It can weaken the cooperation between buyers and suppliers. Second, for critical or customized parts, it is possible to gather the information about potential suppliers and to make business relations using it. Third, using web-based purchasing systems, capable suppliers can take more opportunities to leverage its competence for business relations. So we can expect the positive feedback.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.71-95
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• 2008

Transaction between industrial suppliers and their buyers in business markets increasingly take place in the form of long-tenn business relationships. These relationships are governed through formal or informal agreements. Dynamic business markets are also forcing B2B marketers to create flexibility in their firms. However, buyers are bound in their rationality and find it impossible to contemplate all possible future contingencies. The more formal and detailed the contracts they conclude, the likelier it becomes that at least one buyer is going to perceive a need to adjust the initial agreement as environmental events unfold. In this case, the actor relies upon industrial supplier's competence. Our study purpose is to examine the consequences of supplier's competence on the industrial customer-supplier long-tenn relationship. Antecedent variables of supplier competence include R&D, flexibility, brand asset, market sensing, and customer support service. We presented a comprehensive constructive model consisting of components of supplier's competence and the antecedent factors. Research hypotheses were developed and data were gathered from respondents who work in the cosmetics industry. The results discussed here represent a first step towards a better understanding of the role of supplier competence in the B-to-B cosmetics industry. Managerial implications and the limitations of this research were also discussed.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.83-111
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• 2009

Despite the growing emphasis on the importance of knowledge exchange among supply chain participants, few companies have fully exploited the knowledge resources held by their supply chain partners. Among many reasons for this phenomenon, recent literature on inter-firm knowledge exchange identifies knowledge complementarities between the supply channel partners as an important determinant of knowledge exchange. Firms participating in a supply chain are likely to exchange partners' complementary knowledge. In order to extract value from them, it is important to recognize the difference between the potential value and the implementation of this potential value. However, the literature fails to distinguish between potential knowledge complementarities and implemented knowledge complementarities. In order to realize the value of potential knowledge complementarities, knowledge should be exchanged and effectively integrated in the supply channel. Further, investigating inter-firm knowledge exchange from both partners' perspectives is important especially when there are interdependencies between the channel partners. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of potential knowledge complementarities on knowledge exchange in buyer-supplier relationships by looking at both partners' perspectives. This research also includes trust in partner's competence and inter-organizational information systems (IOIS) as they are relevant when the complementary knowledge flows between organizations. The data required for this field study was collected from 70 buyers and their suppliers in three multinational enterprises in two different industries (Automobile manufacturing and Telecommunication services) headquartered in Korea. The results indicate that potential knowledge complementarities between buyer and supplier do not directly influence knowledge exchange, but indirectly through trust in partner's competence. And the results indicate that competence-based trust and IOIS have direct effects on knowledge exchange. Empirical results also show that IOIS moderates the relationship between potential knowledge complementarities and knowledge exchange. This study is a first attempt to empirically verify the theoretical model about potential knowledge complementarities and to investigate the impact of potential knowledge complementarities on interfirm knowledge exchange. From a theoretical perspective, this study not only clarifies the distinction between potential knowledge complementarities and implemented knowledge complementarities, but also develops an instrument to measure the concept of potential knowledge complementarities in the context of operational and planning knowledge in a supply chain. Further, we develop a theoretical framework suggesting that potential knowledge complementarities of partners in a supply chain affect knowledge exchange directly and indirectly through competence-based trust. The findings from this study have some managerial implications for practicing managers as well. First, buyers should search for suppliers that have potential complementary knowledge, which can be integrated to create synergy through interfirm knowledge exchange. Furthermore, firms must develop mechanisms to identify potential complementary knowledge of partners. Second, firms should continue their endeavor to develop their own unique knowledge so that their knowledge can benefit the entire supply channel. Finally, trust among supply chain partners turns out to be an important factor for interfirm knowledge exchange. Therefore, effective management for engendering trustworthy buyer-supplier relationships should receive appropriate attention from managers.