Purpose This study examines the relationship between supply chain stakeholder pressure from customers and suppliers for the adoption of social and environmental sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices given the simultaneous conditional effects of both entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and sustainability orientation (SO). Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a survey of US firms focused on their relationship with their top supplier or buyer by spend. This study used conditional process analysis to measure the relationship between stakeholder pressure and adoption of SSCM practices as well as the double moderation effects of EO and SO on this relationship. Findings The results show that both EO and SO simultaneously function as moderators of the effect of supply chain stakeholder pressure on the adoption of social and environmental SSCM practices. However, EO will only get firms so far in the adoption of SSCM practices. Once a strong SO takes effect, higher practice adoption ensues but the effect of stakeholder pressure weakens. Practical implications For those firms that have lower levels of SO, EO and supply chain stakeholder pressure are still essential drivers for the adoption of SSCM practice. The results of this study suggest that focal firms should work closely with suppliers to increase their levels of SO while also maintaining pressure for the adoption of SSCM practices. Originality/value This study shows the concurrent effect of two organizational level drivers on the adoption of SSCM practices, indicating that efforts in developing a strong SO are more likely to prepare firms for the adoption of SSCM practices.

The Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) has been developed for use in assessing psychopathy in community samples. Recent research into so-called ‘successful psychopaths’ and ‘corporate psychopaths’ has highlighted the potential prevalence of psychopathy in the community at large, and more specifically psychopathy amongst business executives. In this paper we study high functioning business executives and focus on the measurement of psychopathy, specifically the viability of various factor structures of the PPI-R. We employed two large business associations’ databases and obtained a usable sample of 501 responses. The results support the second-order factor of Fearless Dominance (along with the first-order factors of Social Influence, Fearlessness, and Stress Immunity). In addition, the results indicate the second-order factor of Self-Centered Impulsivity with the first-order factors of Machiavellian Egocentricity, Blame Externalization, Rebellious Nonconformity, and Carefree Nonplanfulness. Our results also support previous studies which suggest that Coldheartedness as a latent trait did not seem to relate to Fearless Dominance or Self-Centered Impulsivity. In addition to discussing our results, we also explore limitations and future research in understanding how psychopathy manifests itself in the high-functioning business population.

The buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs) literature to date has neglected the implications of individual personality differences amongst the parties to any relationship, thereby ignoring the complex dynamics of human interaction and behaviors on the progress and performance in such relationships. This Notes & Debates paper takes the view that personality matters, particularly toxic personality traits, and argues that for purchasing & supply researchers a cross-disciplinary approach to the study of BSRs will advance our understanding. Our study brought together psychology and supply management researchers. We begin by arguing that much of the extant literature demotes behavior and personality to peripheral, exogenous, or even irrelevant to the study of BSRs. Second, by focusing on the emergent research into corporate psychopathy, we explore one specific aspect of individual personality differences - psychopathic personality disorder. Third, we present our findings from a study of psychopathy in two executive samples, one consisting of exclusively procurement executives, to illustrate some of the personality traits likely to prevail within BSRs. Key to our argument, we found significant individual differences across our samples. Indeed, the incidence of psychopathic traits was higher than reported in the few prior studies of corporate psychopathy. We also found significant gender differences, marked not only by slightly higher levels of psychopathy in males than females, but by differences in the disposition of psychopathy. We also found that the relationship between psychopathy and seniority was significant, indicative of a relationship between executive status and potentially toxic behaviors. Future studies of BSRs thus need to recognize and account for individual differences in BSRs; such differences are not inconsequential.

This book examines psychopathic personality disorder for both criminal/forensic populations and discusses the emerging phenomenon of the corporate psychopath. It focuses on the nature, behaviours and consequences of psychopathy in executives and across the organization.

While the drivers for the adoption of sustainable supply chain management practices have been widely studied, most studies focus on the isolated effect of individual drivers. In this study, we examine the relationship between stakeholder pressure and the adoption of social and environmental sustainability supply chain practices given the simultaneous conditional effects of both entrepreneurial orientation and sustainability orientation. A survey of U.S. firms shows that both entrepreneurial orientation and sustainability orientation simultaneously function as moderators of the effect of stakeholder pressure on the adoption of social and environmental sustainability supply chain practices. That is, as stakeholder pressure increases, adoption will be higher for firms with higher entrepreneurial orientation. However, as sustainability orientation increases, adoption of practices will be higher, but the effect of the stakeholder pressure-entrepreneurial orientation interaction diminishes. The main theoretical contribution of this study lies in showing the concurrent effect of two different organizational level drivers on the adoption of social and environmental sustainability supply chain practices. Entrepreneurial orientation will only get firms so far in the adoption of sustainable supply chain practices. Once a strong sustainability orientation takes effect, higher practice adoption ensues independently of stakeholder pressure and entrepreneurial orientation. Therefore, this study indicates that efforts in developing a strong sustainability orientation are more likely to better prepare firms for the adoption of sustainable supply chain management practices.

Systems thinking is deeply connected to the concepts of supply chain and sustainability and yet, the study of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices has been fragmented, with most studies investigating practices in isolation. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that integrates SSCM practices. We start by conducting a systematic literature review of existing research on SSCM practices. Keyword searches of academic articles in published in English up to January 2016 were conducted in four major databases. Only studies designed around one or more SSCM practices were included in the final sample, which comprised of 96 articles. The systematic literature review identified six categories of SSCM practices: organizational and strategic management; sustainability and corporate social responsibility standards; specific social and environmental practices; sustainable procurement; relationship with suppliers; and strategic partnerships. We drew from systems theory to propose an integrative framework of SSCM practices based on findings of the systematic literature review. Integration of practices can decrease the need for trade-offs when implementing sustainability in supply chains and may improve supply chain effectiveness. In addition, this study suggests potential avenues for developing research and practice of SSCM in a way that better addresses major sustainability challenges.

Sustainability is a multifaceted concept that requires coordinated action of multiple organizational functions and supply chains. However, research in Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) bes...

PurposeSocially sustainable supply chain (SSSC) practices address pressing social issues and may provide operational benefits as well as positive impacts on society. However, due to gaps in the current knowledge, it is difficult to know what practices will provide benefits and what management orientations can maximize the impact of these practices on operational performance. The purpose of this paper is to advance the knowledge on the effect of social sustainability orientation on operational performance by examining the mediating roles of basic and advanced SSSC practices and the moderating role of long-term orientation (LTO).Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a survey of US-based companies about their relationships with key suppliers. Confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression were used to test the proposed moderated mediation model.FindingsSurprisingly, sustainability orientation predicts operational performance through advanced but not basic SSSC practices. Results also indicate that the effect of sustainability orientation on operational performance is significantly moderated by LTO.Research limitations/implicationsResults are limited by the US context, the cross-sectional nature of the research, the use of a single-respondent survey instrument and the challenges of measuring LTO.Practical implicationsManagers and policymakers should be aware of the limitations of adopting basic SSSC practices on the performance of their operations. Advanced practices provide a more robust business case and significantly and positively impact operational performance. In addition, the interaction of a sustainability orientation and LTO can lead to even greater improvements in firms’ operational performance. Firms with the highest levels of social sustainability and LTOs attain superior operational performance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the growing literature on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and extends this literature by focusing on social sustainability practices, identifying specific practices that impact and the orientations that maximize operational performance. The authors contribute to the growing literature on the importance of manager’s temporal orientation and provide nuance to emerging SSCM theory by exposing the interplay of these orientations and the impact of SSSC practice adoption.

The purpose of this research is to identify the impact on operations managers of their perceptions of customer requirements and competitor performance on their determination of operations priorities. Data were obtained from a multiple respondent survey. Analysis involved an ordered choice model. The process of strategic prioritisation differs according to the specific performance dimension. Quality-based objectives are focused on the voice of the customer; cost-based objectives are influenced by a balance of importance to customer and performance against competitor. Other criteria (flexibility, dependability, speed) objectives are more influenced by perceptions of competitive benchmarking. This large sample survey of operations managers’ perceptions offers a valuable insight into their motivation for focusing on different operations criteria.

Our study investigates the benefits of adopting responsible practices across the supply chain. In particular, here we examine the relationship between responsible supply chain practices, operational outcomes and the factors that impact that relationship by examining the influence of a strategic sustainability orientation in the execution and outcome of responsible supply chain management (RSCM) practices and policies. This paper builds on earlier discussions of the development of a measurement instrument for RSCM (Marshall, McCarthy, Heavey, & McGrath, 2014). Here we focus on analysis of data from US-based respondents and address the research question “what are the moderating and mediating effects of a sustainability orientation of supply chain practices upon operational performance?” We found that the impact of innovation, strategic, and long-term orientations towards RSCM has a significant impact on operational outcomes. Our study is an empirical survey-based analysis and contributes to the literature on the link between corporate social responsibility and supply chain performance.

This chapter discusses the role of procurement strategies in supporting key account management/strategic account management (KAM/SAM) relationship. The point of building collaborative relationships with suppliers is very much in response to the demands presented by rapid technological innovation, shortening life cycles and step-change transformation. SAM is increasingly being considered as one of the components of supply chain performance. Interest in global supply chains reflects their increasing importance to economic life. As global economic systems have become highly interconnected, with many consumer products tracing their supply chains across multiple continents involving a range of industries, organizations cannot operate as if they are in a vacuum. It is found that in addition to the shifts in global economic activity, localized events are having a more pronounced impact on global business prospects.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether an employee reports an accurate view of the relative performance level of the organisation for which they work.Design/methodology/approachUtilizes a survey of 2,517 senior managers, managers and team leaders from 120 different organisations in nine different countries.FindingsThere is significant and consistent overestimation of performance with 75 percent of the management team reporting that their organisation is above average, and only 5 percent rating their organisation as below average compared to its competitors. A very significant finding is that where there is likely to be a greater degree of knowledge of competitor's performance estimation improves.Practical implicationsThe implication of this misrepresentation of the true position is to make it less likely that an improvement initiative will succeed as managers will not be sufficiently motivated to improve an apparently satisfactory status quo. The paper calls for greater focus both on the activity of benchmarking and in the process of spreading knowledge of the benchmarking activity.Originality/valueThis paper extends issues such as the Lake Wobegon effect and socially desirable reporting which have been investigated in depth in the area of personal self‐assessment and applies them into a different arena, that of the employee's view of the performance of the organisation.

The authors present a comparative study of 2 in-company educational programs aimed at developing frontline operator capabilities in forensic methods. They discuss the relationship between the application of various forensic tools and conceptual techniques, the process (i.e., curriculum) for developing employee knowledge and capability, and the impact on process improvement. The authors conclude that the use of e-learning via online learning management support and associated media has a positive impact on learner retention and application of concepts and techniques.