Prior to this, she directed the Food Industry Management program at Michigan State University. He... more Prior to this, she directed the Food Industry Management program at Michigan State University. Her teaching interests include logistics and supply chain management, and marketing. Her research interests include supply chain integration, supply chain security, and alliances and collaborative commerce. Judy is a recipient of the MSU Teacher-Scholar Award. Judy has published work in a variety of marketing and supply chain management journals, participated as a speaker in professional and academic meetings, and is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and the Institute of Supply Management.
The remarkable consistency of buyer and supplier perspectives was the most striking feature of th... more The remarkable consistency of buyer and supplier perspectives was the most striking feature of this research. Although significant differences did exist, the dominant perspective illustrated a strong cohesion between partners. AS such, it would appear that these alliances do represent "best in class" relationships and thus may provide valuable insight for academics and practitioners into what makes alliances succeed--or fail.
Journal of Business-to-business Marketing, Jan 29, 2002
ABSTRACT Today's rapidly changing and competitive marketplace has forced channel mem... more ABSTRACT Today's rapidly changing and competitive marketplace has forced channel members to devote increased attention and resources to providing consumers with a seamless delivery of products and services. This seamless delivery occurs through social ...
Firms are building collaborative relationships with their supply chain partners in order to achie... more Firms are building collaborative relationships with their supply chain partners in order to achieve efficiencies, flexibility, and sustainable competitive advantage. However, it is unclear if collaborative relationships provide benefits that compensate for the additional expense associated with such relationships. Further, it is unclear what factors promote successful collaborations. This research examines collaborative relationships in two separate studies using structural equation modeling: one study examines buyers’ perceptions and the second study examines suppliers’ perceptions. The two studies are then compared using invariance testing in order to determine economic and relational factors that drive satisfaction and performance from each party's perspective. Results show that collaborative activities, such as information sharing, joint relationship effort, and dedicated investments lead to trust and commitment. Trust and commitment, in turn, lead to improved satisfaction and performance. Results from the two independent studies exhibit similarities and differences; while the conceptual model is highly similar, certain paths vary in their significance and/or their importance across buyer and supplier firms such that buyers focus more on relationship outcomes while suppliers look to safeguard their transaction specific investments through information sharing and joint relationship effort. Managerial and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
Despite significant attention being paid to the merits of an integrated supply chain, research co... more Despite significant attention being paid to the merits of an integrated supply chain, research continues to show integration implementation is not as easy as managers may hope. Integration efforts are often hindered by the separation between operations‐focused and customer‐facing orientations, which promote different measures, objectives, processes, and decisions. This paper provides a tool, called the Customer/Product Action Matrix, that enables managers to develop tactical and strategic plans that incorporate both operations‐focused and customer‐facing considerations to better enhance customer service while prioritizing product mix decisions.
Ensuring a supply chain is secure from intentional as well as unintentional incidents is critical... more Ensuring a supply chain is secure from intentional as well as unintentional incidents is critical in today's global economy. However, some firms place a greater level of strategic importance on supply chain security than others. This research compares firms in the food industry that place a high level of strategic importance on security to firms that do not place a high level of strategic importance on security. The research assesses the measures employed by each group and resulting performance. Findings indicate that firms considering security to be a strategic priority perceive higher levels of security implementation and better security performance. Firms that place a high strategic priority on security show a greater ability to detect and recover from security incidents both inside the firm and across the supply chain in comparison to firms that place a low strategic priority on security. Cluster analysis grouped firms into high and low security performance categories in a manner consistent with the strategic priority construct and demonstrates the security measures that are likely to define high and low security performance.
Prior to September 11th, 2001 the private sector was well aware of the threat of terrorism. Howev... more Prior to September 11th, 2001 the private sector was well aware of the threat of terrorism. However, the terrorist threats they perceived were different than those perceived today. In the early 1990s, firms were mostly concerned about overseas employee kidnapping (Harvey 1993). Ports were more concerned with theft and smuggling (Thibault et al. 2006). Beyond airline hijackings, the use of supply chain assets as a method to inflict damage was far from the minds of corporate America. The remainder of this chapter will focus on a particularly important and vulnerable subset of the broader supply chain concept: food supply chains. The first section will explore the importance and challenges associated with food supply chain security. Section 2 will detail best in class security practices used by firms in the food industry. Section 3 discusses the role of security in the supplier selection decision. Finally, the chapter concludes with managerial implications.
In today's competitive environment, consumers have high expectations regarding product availabili... more In today's competitive environment, consumers have high expectations regarding product availability. Out-of-stock (OOS) occurrences can have a detrimental impact to both retailers and manufacturers in terms of lost sales as well as reduced consumer loyalty. In this article, we investigate the impact of repeated OOS occurrences under different supply chain design scenarios, which mix the channel replenishment strategy with the inventory responsibility for in-store shelf management on the retailer versus on the manufacturer. We frame our agent-based simulation to examine the change in manufacturer's market share that results from OOS scenarios not only under different supply chain distribution scenarios (i.e., traditional versus direct store delivery or DSD), but also with different consumer preference characteristics (i.e., high and low brand loyalty) and varied levels of demand. The agent-based simulation allows us to examine the impact of consumer learning under repeated OOS situations. Our results provide new insights for manufacturers regarding repeated supply chain OOS situations.
The International Journal of Logistics Management, Nov 13, 2017
Purpose Managing internal supply chains is becoming increasingly complex, requiring managers to b... more Purpose Managing internal supply chains is becoming increasingly complex, requiring managers to balance diverse needs. As a result, managers continuously face the need to change how they organize their internal supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to examine this phenomenon by addressing why multinational supply chain management organizations (SCMOs) change their designs, as well as how managers respond to pertinent change phenomena using complementary theoretical perspectives. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data, collected from 50 executives within 24 multinational manufacturers, is used to develop an understanding of the organizational design change phenomena. A theory elaboration approach is taken to illustrate how various theoretical perspectives explain organizational design change. Findings This study identifies and elaborates organizational design change phenomena in the context of multinational SCMOs, including internal and external drivers of design change. Managers also discussed key supply chain management capabilities that were developed in order to meet perceived changes in business needs. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to academic understanding of organizational design issues affecting SCMOs. Four theoretical perspectives are elaborated upon to illustrate their applicability for examining SCMO organizational design issues. Practical implications This study provides managerial application of several organizational design change theories by elaborating principles for framing, interpreting, and implementing design change initiatives in internal SCMOs. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to investigate organizational design change in multinational SCMOs. This research highlights the complexity and evolving nature of SCMO organizational design decisions by describing the adaption, integration, and reconfiguration of firm resources and competencies in changing environments.
I n response to globalization, diversification, and other organizational drivers, managers contin... more I n response to globalization, diversification, and other organizational drivers, managers continue to seek organizational designs that promote integration. We study this phenomenon by focusing on requirements and mechanisms for internal supply chain integration (SCI). Using qualitative interview data, we examine how managers in manufacturing firms integrate internal supply chain activities. We elaborate and extend the information processing view by studying why organizations integrate (integration requirements) and how integration mechanisms are associated with different integration requirements. Four patterns of integration requirement-mechanism linkages emerged from our study, depicting integration mechanisms that are associated with a particular integration requirement, and those that are not. We provide a detailed examination of the multidimensional nature of integration requirements, as well as an increased understanding of how integration mechanisms are used to manage different integration requirements. These findings offer deeper insights into organizational integration, enhancing the understanding of integration in the context of internal supply chains, while also contributing to the literature on organizational design. For supply chain managers, these findings describe ways in which organizational design decisions can support internal SCI efforts with varying aims.
It is generally acknowledged that information exchange plays an important role in strategic allia... more It is generally acknowledged that information exchange plays an important role in strategic alliances. However, little is known with respect to the perceptions each alliance partner has concerning information exchange as well as how to measure these perceptions. Key managers and executives in the food and health and personal care industries in North America participated in a mail survey to investigate these phenomena. The survey approach used a dyadic research design to identify the key elements of information exchange that impact alliance satisfaction. Based on the alliance partner's channel position as a buyer (manufacturer) or supplier (product or service supplier), the similarities and differences in perspective and subsequent managerial implications are analyzed and discussed.
This research examines collaborative and transactional relationships in buying firms to determine... more This research examines collaborative and transactional relationships in buying firms to determine whether collaborative relationships offer greater benefits than transactional relationships, and to ascertain which relational factors drive satisfaction and performance for both collaborative and transactional relationship types. Factor analysis, t-tests and step-wise regression were used to analyze data from a survey of buying firms. Results show that collaborative relationships
SUMMARYThere is recognition that competition is shifting from a “firm versus firm perspective” to... more SUMMARYThere is recognition that competition is shifting from a “firm versus firm perspective” to a “supply chain versus supply chain perspective.” In response to this shift, firms seeking competitive advantage are participating in cooperative supply chain arrangements, such as strategic alliances, which combine their individual strengths and unique resources. Buyer‐supplier sourcing relationships are a primary focus of alliance improvement efforts. While interest in such arrangements remains strong, it is well accepted that creating, developing, and maintaining a successful alliance is a very daunting task. This research addresses several critical issues regarding that challenge. First, what factors contribute most to long‐term alliance success? Second, what conditions define the presence of those success factors? Third, do buyers and suppliers in an alliance agree on those success factors and defining conditions? The research results demonstrate a remarkably consistent perspective among alliance partners regarding key success factors, despite the acknowledgment that the resultant success is based on a relatively even, but not equal, exchange of benefits and resources. Additionally, within an alliance's intended “win‐win” foundation, suppliers must recognize their innate dependence on customers. Finally, significant opportunities for improvement exist with respect to alliance goal clarification, communication, and performance evaluation.
Given today's increasingly competitive environment, firms in every industry are searching for new... more Given today's increasingly competitive environment, firms in every industry are searching for new ways to increase their competitive advantage. Many firms have realized that, due to a variety of different reasons (e.g., fast-paced technological advances), significant performance improvements cannot be achieved alone. As such, the traditional response of performance enhancement through acquisition is no longer the only option. Strategic alliances are a new alternative that enable partnering firms to combine their individual strengths while compensating for their internal resource scarcities without making the investment required for actual ownership. While interest in alliances is growing, firms are often unsure how to build and maintain successful alliances. This research examines alliances between manufacturers and their suppliers in the food and health/personal care industries to determine what factors lead to successful, long term alliances. 37 pages Acknowledgments This research could not have been completed without the help and support of many companies and individuals. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to: • The Marketing Science Institute (MSI) and the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) for their financial support of this research. • The individuals and companies from the food and health and personal care industries that participated in this research which examined alliances between manufacturers and material suppliers. There were 189 people who completed research questionnaires and 104 companies that agreed to participate. We are truly grateful for your time and participation.
Production and Operations Management, Jul 30, 2012
ABSTRACT As the global competitive landscape intensifies, firms have looked to their supply chain... more ABSTRACT As the global competitive landscape intensifies, firms have looked to their supply chain organizations to improve cost, visibility, and cycle time performance across functions, products, and markets. As a result, the scope of supply chain related operations have increasingly cut across organizational boundaries. To understand and capture such cross-organizational activities, researchers have broadened the focus of their studies and included multiple stakeholders in their analysis (e.g., integration, sustainability, and buyer-supplier relationships). However, multi-stakeholder research has also increased the complexity and effort required to conduct studies across organizational boundaries. Unfortunately, many studies that use multi-stakeholder constructs fail to fully address their multi-sided nature during both construct conceptualization and data collection. Several studies suggest that neglecting the multi-sided nature of certain constructs can affect the research validity and reliability and may invalidate research inferences and results, although such concerns have not been empirically demonstrated. The current study addresses this gap by performing a series of tests using data from 105 matched pairs of buyers and their suppliers to illustrate key methodological considerations for conducting multi-stakeholder research. This study also offers practical guidance regarding assumptions routinely made in single rater research and proposes when single rater data may be appropriate for multi-stakeholder research.
Prior to this, she directed the Food Industry Management program at Michigan State University. He... more Prior to this, she directed the Food Industry Management program at Michigan State University. Her teaching interests include logistics and supply chain management, and marketing. Her research interests include supply chain integration, supply chain security, and alliances and collaborative commerce. Judy is a recipient of the MSU Teacher-Scholar Award. Judy has published work in a variety of marketing and supply chain management journals, participated as a speaker in professional and academic meetings, and is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and the Institute of Supply Management.
The remarkable consistency of buyer and supplier perspectives was the most striking feature of th... more The remarkable consistency of buyer and supplier perspectives was the most striking feature of this research. Although significant differences did exist, the dominant perspective illustrated a strong cohesion between partners. AS such, it would appear that these alliances do represent "best in class" relationships and thus may provide valuable insight for academics and practitioners into what makes alliances succeed--or fail.
Journal of Business-to-business Marketing, Jan 29, 2002
ABSTRACT Today's rapidly changing and competitive marketplace has forced channel mem... more ABSTRACT Today's rapidly changing and competitive marketplace has forced channel members to devote increased attention and resources to providing consumers with a seamless delivery of products and services. This seamless delivery occurs through social ...
Firms are building collaborative relationships with their supply chain partners in order to achie... more Firms are building collaborative relationships with their supply chain partners in order to achieve efficiencies, flexibility, and sustainable competitive advantage. However, it is unclear if collaborative relationships provide benefits that compensate for the additional expense associated with such relationships. Further, it is unclear what factors promote successful collaborations. This research examines collaborative relationships in two separate studies using structural equation modeling: one study examines buyers’ perceptions and the second study examines suppliers’ perceptions. The two studies are then compared using invariance testing in order to determine economic and relational factors that drive satisfaction and performance from each party's perspective. Results show that collaborative activities, such as information sharing, joint relationship effort, and dedicated investments lead to trust and commitment. Trust and commitment, in turn, lead to improved satisfaction and performance. Results from the two independent studies exhibit similarities and differences; while the conceptual model is highly similar, certain paths vary in their significance and/or their importance across buyer and supplier firms such that buyers focus more on relationship outcomes while suppliers look to safeguard their transaction specific investments through information sharing and joint relationship effort. Managerial and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
Despite significant attention being paid to the merits of an integrated supply chain, research co... more Despite significant attention being paid to the merits of an integrated supply chain, research continues to show integration implementation is not as easy as managers may hope. Integration efforts are often hindered by the separation between operations‐focused and customer‐facing orientations, which promote different measures, objectives, processes, and decisions. This paper provides a tool, called the Customer/Product Action Matrix, that enables managers to develop tactical and strategic plans that incorporate both operations‐focused and customer‐facing considerations to better enhance customer service while prioritizing product mix decisions.
Ensuring a supply chain is secure from intentional as well as unintentional incidents is critical... more Ensuring a supply chain is secure from intentional as well as unintentional incidents is critical in today's global economy. However, some firms place a greater level of strategic importance on supply chain security than others. This research compares firms in the food industry that place a high level of strategic importance on security to firms that do not place a high level of strategic importance on security. The research assesses the measures employed by each group and resulting performance. Findings indicate that firms considering security to be a strategic priority perceive higher levels of security implementation and better security performance. Firms that place a high strategic priority on security show a greater ability to detect and recover from security incidents both inside the firm and across the supply chain in comparison to firms that place a low strategic priority on security. Cluster analysis grouped firms into high and low security performance categories in a manner consistent with the strategic priority construct and demonstrates the security measures that are likely to define high and low security performance.
Prior to September 11th, 2001 the private sector was well aware of the threat of terrorism. Howev... more Prior to September 11th, 2001 the private sector was well aware of the threat of terrorism. However, the terrorist threats they perceived were different than those perceived today. In the early 1990s, firms were mostly concerned about overseas employee kidnapping (Harvey 1993). Ports were more concerned with theft and smuggling (Thibault et al. 2006). Beyond airline hijackings, the use of supply chain assets as a method to inflict damage was far from the minds of corporate America. The remainder of this chapter will focus on a particularly important and vulnerable subset of the broader supply chain concept: food supply chains. The first section will explore the importance and challenges associated with food supply chain security. Section 2 will detail best in class security practices used by firms in the food industry. Section 3 discusses the role of security in the supplier selection decision. Finally, the chapter concludes with managerial implications.
In today's competitive environment, consumers have high expectations regarding product availabili... more In today's competitive environment, consumers have high expectations regarding product availability. Out-of-stock (OOS) occurrences can have a detrimental impact to both retailers and manufacturers in terms of lost sales as well as reduced consumer loyalty. In this article, we investigate the impact of repeated OOS occurrences under different supply chain design scenarios, which mix the channel replenishment strategy with the inventory responsibility for in-store shelf management on the retailer versus on the manufacturer. We frame our agent-based simulation to examine the change in manufacturer's market share that results from OOS scenarios not only under different supply chain distribution scenarios (i.e., traditional versus direct store delivery or DSD), but also with different consumer preference characteristics (i.e., high and low brand loyalty) and varied levels of demand. The agent-based simulation allows us to examine the impact of consumer learning under repeated OOS situations. Our results provide new insights for manufacturers regarding repeated supply chain OOS situations.
The International Journal of Logistics Management, Nov 13, 2017
Purpose Managing internal supply chains is becoming increasingly complex, requiring managers to b... more Purpose Managing internal supply chains is becoming increasingly complex, requiring managers to balance diverse needs. As a result, managers continuously face the need to change how they organize their internal supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to examine this phenomenon by addressing why multinational supply chain management organizations (SCMOs) change their designs, as well as how managers respond to pertinent change phenomena using complementary theoretical perspectives. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data, collected from 50 executives within 24 multinational manufacturers, is used to develop an understanding of the organizational design change phenomena. A theory elaboration approach is taken to illustrate how various theoretical perspectives explain organizational design change. Findings This study identifies and elaborates organizational design change phenomena in the context of multinational SCMOs, including internal and external drivers of design change. Managers also discussed key supply chain management capabilities that were developed in order to meet perceived changes in business needs. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to academic understanding of organizational design issues affecting SCMOs. Four theoretical perspectives are elaborated upon to illustrate their applicability for examining SCMO organizational design issues. Practical implications This study provides managerial application of several organizational design change theories by elaborating principles for framing, interpreting, and implementing design change initiatives in internal SCMOs. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to investigate organizational design change in multinational SCMOs. This research highlights the complexity and evolving nature of SCMO organizational design decisions by describing the adaption, integration, and reconfiguration of firm resources and competencies in changing environments.
I n response to globalization, diversification, and other organizational drivers, managers contin... more I n response to globalization, diversification, and other organizational drivers, managers continue to seek organizational designs that promote integration. We study this phenomenon by focusing on requirements and mechanisms for internal supply chain integration (SCI). Using qualitative interview data, we examine how managers in manufacturing firms integrate internal supply chain activities. We elaborate and extend the information processing view by studying why organizations integrate (integration requirements) and how integration mechanisms are associated with different integration requirements. Four patterns of integration requirement-mechanism linkages emerged from our study, depicting integration mechanisms that are associated with a particular integration requirement, and those that are not. We provide a detailed examination of the multidimensional nature of integration requirements, as well as an increased understanding of how integration mechanisms are used to manage different integration requirements. These findings offer deeper insights into organizational integration, enhancing the understanding of integration in the context of internal supply chains, while also contributing to the literature on organizational design. For supply chain managers, these findings describe ways in which organizational design decisions can support internal SCI efforts with varying aims.
It is generally acknowledged that information exchange plays an important role in strategic allia... more It is generally acknowledged that information exchange plays an important role in strategic alliances. However, little is known with respect to the perceptions each alliance partner has concerning information exchange as well as how to measure these perceptions. Key managers and executives in the food and health and personal care industries in North America participated in a mail survey to investigate these phenomena. The survey approach used a dyadic research design to identify the key elements of information exchange that impact alliance satisfaction. Based on the alliance partner's channel position as a buyer (manufacturer) or supplier (product or service supplier), the similarities and differences in perspective and subsequent managerial implications are analyzed and discussed.
This research examines collaborative and transactional relationships in buying firms to determine... more This research examines collaborative and transactional relationships in buying firms to determine whether collaborative relationships offer greater benefits than transactional relationships, and to ascertain which relational factors drive satisfaction and performance for both collaborative and transactional relationship types. Factor analysis, t-tests and step-wise regression were used to analyze data from a survey of buying firms. Results show that collaborative relationships
SUMMARYThere is recognition that competition is shifting from a “firm versus firm perspective” to... more SUMMARYThere is recognition that competition is shifting from a “firm versus firm perspective” to a “supply chain versus supply chain perspective.” In response to this shift, firms seeking competitive advantage are participating in cooperative supply chain arrangements, such as strategic alliances, which combine their individual strengths and unique resources. Buyer‐supplier sourcing relationships are a primary focus of alliance improvement efforts. While interest in such arrangements remains strong, it is well accepted that creating, developing, and maintaining a successful alliance is a very daunting task. This research addresses several critical issues regarding that challenge. First, what factors contribute most to long‐term alliance success? Second, what conditions define the presence of those success factors? Third, do buyers and suppliers in an alliance agree on those success factors and defining conditions? The research results demonstrate a remarkably consistent perspective among alliance partners regarding key success factors, despite the acknowledgment that the resultant success is based on a relatively even, but not equal, exchange of benefits and resources. Additionally, within an alliance's intended “win‐win” foundation, suppliers must recognize their innate dependence on customers. Finally, significant opportunities for improvement exist with respect to alliance goal clarification, communication, and performance evaluation.
Given today's increasingly competitive environment, firms in every industry are searching for new... more Given today's increasingly competitive environment, firms in every industry are searching for new ways to increase their competitive advantage. Many firms have realized that, due to a variety of different reasons (e.g., fast-paced technological advances), significant performance improvements cannot be achieved alone. As such, the traditional response of performance enhancement through acquisition is no longer the only option. Strategic alliances are a new alternative that enable partnering firms to combine their individual strengths while compensating for their internal resource scarcities without making the investment required for actual ownership. While interest in alliances is growing, firms are often unsure how to build and maintain successful alliances. This research examines alliances between manufacturers and their suppliers in the food and health/personal care industries to determine what factors lead to successful, long term alliances. 37 pages Acknowledgments This research could not have been completed without the help and support of many companies and individuals. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to: • The Marketing Science Institute (MSI) and the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) for their financial support of this research. • The individuals and companies from the food and health and personal care industries that participated in this research which examined alliances between manufacturers and material suppliers. There were 189 people who completed research questionnaires and 104 companies that agreed to participate. We are truly grateful for your time and participation.
Production and Operations Management, Jul 30, 2012
ABSTRACT As the global competitive landscape intensifies, firms have looked to their supply chain... more ABSTRACT As the global competitive landscape intensifies, firms have looked to their supply chain organizations to improve cost, visibility, and cycle time performance across functions, products, and markets. As a result, the scope of supply chain related operations have increasingly cut across organizational boundaries. To understand and capture such cross-organizational activities, researchers have broadened the focus of their studies and included multiple stakeholders in their analysis (e.g., integration, sustainability, and buyer-supplier relationships). However, multi-stakeholder research has also increased the complexity and effort required to conduct studies across organizational boundaries. Unfortunately, many studies that use multi-stakeholder constructs fail to fully address their multi-sided nature during both construct conceptualization and data collection. Several studies suggest that neglecting the multi-sided nature of certain constructs can affect the research validity and reliability and may invalidate research inferences and results, although such concerns have not been empirically demonstrated. The current study addresses this gap by performing a series of tests using data from 105 matched pairs of buyers and their suppliers to illustrate key methodological considerations for conducting multi-stakeholder research. This study also offers practical guidance regarding assumptions routinely made in single rater research and proposes when single rater data may be appropriate for multi-stakeholder research.
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Papers by Judith Whipple