The Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector in Egypt and Africa continues to grow at a fast pace and is undergoing significant shifts toward digitalization. Despite the clear benefits of information sharing, many retailers are reluctant to share their data with manufacturers, posing challenges to effective retailer-manufacturer collaboration, particularly in the context of big data analytics. This hesitation stems from concerns about maintaining informational advantages, ensuring data security, and addressing the complexities involved in implementing data-sharing initiatives. Supply chain governance theories emphasize the importance of both contractual and relational mechanisms in facilitating data sharing. Addressing these challenges, this study employs a Design Science research methodology to develop a socio-technical artifact designed for implementing big data sharing and analytics within Egypt's FMCG sector. The artifact aims to address issues related to power dynamics, divergent goals, and risks associated with supply chain relationships and data sharing. It seeks to overcome both technical and social obstacles to foster effective collaboration. This study provides theoretical insights into the governance mechanisms required for successful big data sharing and analytics initiatives. Additionally, it offers practical guidance for overcoming barriers to collaboration, contributing to the advancement of retailer-manufacturer partnerships in the digital era.

This study investigates Blockchain based Supply chain (BC-SC) announcements impact on the stock market. Using a sample of 104 announcements between 2016 and 2021, we conduct an international event study to determine the market reaction. We find that an overall positive market reaction of 1.45% to all BC-SC announcements on the announcement day. In addition, we find that the stock market reaction slightly differs when different SC challenges are targeted by the announcing firm. When blockchain is used for traceability purposes, the market response is less positive when compared to other SC challenges like resolving disputes, maintaining cargo integrity and data security. We further find that firms that are part of BC industrial collaborations experience a more positive stock market response, when compared to firms using private or public BC networks. When looking into firm characteristics, we find that innovative firms experience greater positive reaction to BC-SC announcements. Interestingly, we find that smaller firms do not experience a strong positive market response. Leveraging the diverse industries in our sample, we investigated the effect of early adoption of BC-SC with respect to the industry. The late BC-SC adoption in the manufacturing sector only received a significantly positive market reaction. Overall, it seems that the market views many BC initiatives as adding to the competitiveness and long-term profitability of organizations. It also shows that BC, as a multi-stakeholder technology should be evaluated from both a strategic and operational perspective. Other implications and research directions are also identified; especially given the limitations of the study and the relatively early BC-SC supply chain developments.

The topics of globalization and sustainability are very much intertwined. Globalization plays an important role in the redistribution of resources, thereby bringing significant sustainability implications to the involved countries. Each topic on its own is complex to study, and when combined this adds multiple intricacies. Two parallel research streams have developed to address these complexities:global value chains (GVCs) and global supply chains (GSCHs). While both research streams have managed to maintain their separate domains, there is now much-needed convergence, especially when it comes to sustainability. This chapter reviews both research streams, and presents the most common debates and shortcomings of each. Recommendations call for the integration of theseresearch streams, and to assume an emergent network approach, where the final configuration of a value chain largely depends on the network behaviour rather than on deterministic decisions of a lead firm.

Technological advancement is occurring at unprecedented rates. Not only does that make scientific innovations more critical, but also very expensive. Experimenting costs for new technologies is outgrowing available funding and resources. Imaging microscopy for research, as an example, can cost in the millions of US dollars. New generations of these complex scientific research technologies are frequent and may have similar life cycles as smart phones. In these dynamic technological situations, it becomes challenging for scientists and innovators to afford the necessary equipment and maintenance for these technologies. Given the high costs and specialization level of scientific facilities, a sharing model may be a feasible option; especially in emerging economies where resources are limited. Sharing has been a long-standing concept in human interaction. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have led to a recent rise of the "sharing economy" or "collaborative consumption". Much of the recent discussion around the sharing economy has been focused on disruptive retail, individual consumer, oriented companies such as Uber and Airbnb. The potential for sharing economy principles can expand beyond these consumer transportation and hospitality sectors.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of power and dependence as separate constructs on opportunism. Power-dependence studies have been previously used to explain opportunistic behavior in strategic outsourcing relationships. However, there have been no clear distinctions about the separate effects of each regardless of the different theoretical dispositions each construct uses with respect to the dynamics of strategic outsourcing. Design/methodology/approach This study used multiple theoretical perspectives to analyze the courses of six dyadic strategic outsourcing relationships from the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt. The study employed an exploratory research approach to retrospectively examine the development of dependency and power-balance variables throughout the pre- and post-contractual phases. Findings The paper concludes with a time-phased theoretical framework and a set of propositions that further segment the post-contractual relationship phase. The segmentation allows for better studying the outsourcing phenomenon and differentiates between having power, recognizing power and exercising power. Research limitations/implications The paper theorizes that buffering against opportunism requires a certain state of power-balance awareness, as power was found to be dynamic, relative and arguably perceptual. This awareness would not be needed if the outsourcing relationship was static, but given the time argument in this study, awareness of the power-balance shifts becomes necessary in managing strategic outsourcing relations. Practical implications The comprehensive framework represents a guiding tool for managers who are planning to, or are currently involved in, strategic outsourcing relationships. Originality/value This study applied a time dimension to studying opportunism in strategic outsourcing relationships, and used this perspective to examine the length of the period of mutual dependency and power-balance between buyers and suppliers. The notions of power-balance awareness and latent sources of power are introduced.

Multi-tier sustainable supply chain management investigation is in its relative infancy. The design and implementation of studies in this field need careful consideration. This paper uses a relationship perspective to examine three-tier levels of supply chains. Specifically, the paper introduces and supports the use of various antecedent factors for effective sustainable adoption of lower tier (third-tier) companies or sub-suppliers. A study design and analytical methodology, using rough set theory and a clustering approach, is introduced to identify relationships amongst the three levels. Data acquisition is currently in process in a developing country, Egypt, in the textile industry to evaluate the relationships and develop theory. Initially, in this paper an illustrative set of data is used to illustrate the effectiveness and novelty of the design and approach to arrive at some potential theoretical relationships. The approach and methodology can be useful to researchers seeking to do general supply chain and sustainability research in multi-tier settings; or other complex research that can benefit from simplified and exploratory empirical quantitative research.

Purpose - This paper supports the call for using a separate research stream for long-term recovery vs disaster relief in humanitarian studies. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the thematic shift towards service operations during this developmental phase and explores the role of social entrepreneurial organizations. It builds from the literature on service operations management and social entrepreneurship to promote theory in humanitarian operations management. Design/methodology/approach - This exploratory study uses literature concepts and field data from multiple development case studies of social entrepreneurial organizations and social enterprises in Africa and the Middle East to analyze service operations. Findings - Clear contributions to the role of social entrepreneurship in providing humanitarian and development services were identified and categorized according to service operations management stages. Practical implications - This paper has important practical implications. The positioning of social entrepreneurial organizations as humanitarian service providers would open opportunities for new collaborations between donors and social organizations. Mainstream NGOs dominate the scene of servicing local communities; leaving aside social entrepreneurial organizations with substantial room for innovation that they might bring to the sector. In addition, social entrepreneurial organizations' ability to build business models and design sustainability and scalability aspects for their operations may bring long-term development to impoverished communities. Global NGOs as well as government actors who carry out the first three stages of humanitarian operations could plan on working with (or even help creating) social entrepreneurial organizations to help with long-term recovery. Originality/value - This study examines the implications of two bodies of literature; service operations management and social entrepreneurship on humanitarian operations management research. It concludes with a conceptual framework emphasizing the contributions of social entrepreneurship in planning, development, delivery, and distribution of services in the long-term recovery humanitarian and development operations.

Outsourcing is a strategic action usually accompanied by fundamental transformation. Dyadic relationships represent the core of outsourcing agreements where dependence and power play a fundamental role. The power shift that occurs between the buyer and supplier leads to a lock in situation. Opportunistic behavior is difficult to detect in the pre-contractual stage, yet it is considered one of the most concerning post-contractual threats. We suggest a dynamic longitudinal model that examines the factors affecting dependence of outsourcing firms on their suppliers. The framework is developed from the perspective of the outsourcing firm, and anticipates how the dyadic relationship is shaped pre and post-contractually. In cases where mutual dependence is not feasible, outsourcing firms enter into an unbalanced power relationship. The study uses a case study method to test the model and investigate the outsourcing relationships in the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt. Data and preliminary analysis are discussed. The model also provides managers with mitigating variables that can act as a governing mechanism for the relationship and to ensure success of the outsourcing strategy.

Our study explores the effect of technological overlap on the success or failure of merger and acquisition deals taking into consideration the change management procedures applied by the company management, and bearing in mind the market penetration strategy used by the new entity in planning its entrance to the market.

Purpose – This study aims to detect and mitigate opportunistic behavior in call centers through proper performance management and to provide companies considering outsourcing and/or offshoring their call center services with the important performance factors. Design/methodology/approach – The study introduces performance management as an important mediating process affecting BPO performance, and presents insights to the performance management of call centers, particularly related to detecting opportunistic behavior. Building from contractual and agency theory, KPI data from two different companies using two different pricing schemes was analyzed. The data represented 107 weeks under each contract type covering specific Service Level Agreement measures. Findings – The study indicates the importance of having in place a performance management system to manage BPO, and presents the notion of proxies to detect difficult to measure service level performance targets. The study confirms the existence of opportunistic behavior from the vendor side, and offers a structured method to detect and control for opportunistic behavior. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited to the call center outsourcing in the telecom industry. Price per call (PPC) and price per time (PPT) were the only pricing models studied. Practical implications – The study supports telecom companies that are interested in outsourcing their call center services with the important factors they need to consider during the outsourcing process, particularly in light of the vendor opportunistic behavior. Originality/value – The study contributes to the limited literature on performance management in BPO, and offers a structured method to test for the existence of opportunistic behavior.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the effect of supply chain linkages and information sharing on supply chain performance and export performance of textile and clothing (T&C) firms in Egypt.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical framework developed from the literature was suggested and tested using an online survey. The focus of this research is the export side of the T&C industry in Egypt. The sampling frame consisted of 310 T&C exporting firms, from which 63 samples were obtained. Linear regression was used to measure the relationships.FindingsThe results showed upstream (supplier) and downstream (customer) linkages and Information sharing to be positively related to both supply chain performance and export performance. The best predictors of export performance were found to be (in order of decreasing importance): supply chain performance; supplier linkages; and linkages (supplier and customer taken together).Practical implicationsThe results of this study give T&C firms in Egypt greater insight on how they may become globally competitive and leverage their proximity to key T&C markets. Egyptian T&C firms should invest in long‐term relationships with their suppliers and invest in business processes that involve their customers and that provide for a higher quality and level of information sharing.Originality/valueThere are no studies that empirically demonstrate how a management paradigm change towards a focus on supply chain management practices influences the performance of the T&C industry in the global market. The paper adds to the literature supporting the positive effect of supply chain management practices on firm performance. Also, new indicators for measuring export performance are suggested and tested.