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We study the role of different contract types in coordinating the joint product improvement effort of a client and a customer support center. The customer support center's costly efforts at joint product improvement include transcribing and analyzing customer feedback, analyzing market trends, and investing in product design. Yet this cooperative role must be adequately incentivized by the client, since it could lead to fewer service requests and hence lower revenues for the customer support center. We model this problem as a sequential game with double-sided moral hazard in a principal-agent framework (in which the client is the principal). We follow the contracting literature in modeling the effort of the customer support center, which is the first mover, as either unobservable or observable; in either case, the efforts are unverifiable and so cannot be contracted on directly. We show that it is optimal for the client to offer the customer support center a linear gain-share contract when efforts are unobservable, even though it can yield only the second-best solution for the client. We also show that the cost-plus contracts widely used in practice do not obtain the optimal solution. However, we demonstrate that if efforts are observable then a gain-share and cost-plus options- based contract is optimal and will also yield the first-best solution. Our research provides a systematic theoretical framework that accounts for the prevalence of gain-share contracts in the IT industry's joint improvement efforts, and it provides guiding principles for understanding the increased role for customer support centers in product improvement.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the effect of specific subsets of digital technologies and governance mechanisms (i.e. relational and contractual) on the efficiency of the automotive supply chain (SC).Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the Transaction Costs Economic (TCE) theory, and on the literatures on the governance and Digital Transformation of SCs, the research employs a multi-respondent survey on a sample of 101 Italian automotive suppliers. It analyses the interplay between investments in network and physical–digital interface technologies and buyer–supplier relationship governance models in a joint product development effort. The related effects on costs, from the automotive suppliers' perspective, are considered.FindingsThe results confirm the TCE assumptions on governance mechanisms being appropriate to enhance cost performance, but in particular show that digital technologies shape the governance of buyer–supplier relationships with different patterns. The features of synchronisation and accessibility, as ensured by network technologies, are found to strengthen the impact of contractual governance, while the adoption of physical–digital interface technologies, and their enhanced features of virtualisation and traceability, further enhance the impact of relational governance on the efficiency improvements of suppliers.Practical implicationsSC actors need to recognise the importance of long-term collaboration and superior coordination through investments in specific subsets of digital technologies, to ensure a higher product and production data codifiability, transparency and thus integration at both an intra- and an inter-firm level.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to have considered Digital Transformation in SCs from the suppliers' perspective and its implications on the efficiency of relationship governance with buyers.

Purpose In the ever-increasing dynamics of global business markets, firms must use all possible sources to innovate continually. This study aims to explore how supply chain innovation can be fostered through joint efforts between firms and their supply chain partners. Design/methodology/approach At least two areas advocate innovation through external relations, namely, supply chain collaboration and open innovation. This study aims to provide a holistic insight into how vertical and horizontal partnerships can be implemented to help supply chains become more innovative, building upon commonalities and differences between the two areas. Findings This study proposes a conceptual framework for supply chain innovation based on the following three ambidextrous capabilities: purpose (i.e. knowledge exploration and exploitation), span (horizontal and vertical collaboration) and orientation (i.e. incremental and radical innovation). With five propositions, the link between the three ambidextrous capabilities and supply chain innovation is explained. The implementation of the framework is articulated through an illustrative real-life case. Originality/value The concept of open innovation in supply chain settings is progressively essential yet under-researched. This study is an early attempt to draw on the available theories and literature on open innovation and supply chain collaboration and elaborates how supply chains can facilitate and adopt a more open approach toward innovation.

Carbon emissions are receiving greater scrutiny in many countries due to international forces to reduce anthropogenic global climate change. Carbon taxation is one of the most common carbon emission regulation policies, and companies must incorporate it into their production and pricing decisions. Activity-based costing (ABC) and the theory of constraints (TOC) have been applied to solve product mix problems; however, a challenging aspect of the product mix problem involves evaluating joint manufactured products, while reducing carbon emissions and environmental pollution to fulfill social responsibility. The aim of this paper is to apply ABC and TOC to analyze green product mix decision-making for joint products using a mathematical programming model and the joint production data of pharmaceutical industry companies for the processing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in drugs for medical use. This paper illustrates that the time-driven ABC model leads to optimal joint product mix decisions and performs sensitivity analysis to study how the optimal solution will change with the carbon tax. Our findings provide insight into ‘sustainability decisions’ and are beneficial in terms of environmental management in a competitive pharmaceutical industry.

Biochar has been recently heralded as an amendment to revitalize degraded soils, improve soil carbon sequestration, increase agronomic productivity and enter into future carbon trading markets. However, scientific and economic technicalities may limit the ability of biochar to consistently deliver on these expectations. Past research has demonstrated that biochar is part of the black carbon continuum with variable properties, due to the net result of production (e.g., feedstock and pyrolysis conditions) and post-production factors (storage or activation). Therefore, biochar is not a single entity, but rather spans a wide range of black carbon forms. Biochar is black carbon, but not all black carbon is biochar. Agronomic benefits arising from biochar additions to degraded soils have been emphasized, but negligible and negative agronomic effects have also been reported. Fifty percent of the reviewed studies reported yield increases following black carbon or biochar additions, with the remainder of the studies reporting alarming decreases to no significant differences. Hardwood biochar (black carbon) produced by traditional methods (kilns or soil pits) possessed the most consistent yield increases when added to soils. The universality of this conclusion requires further evaluation due to the highly skewed feedstock preferences within existing studies. With global population expanding while the amount of arable land remains limited, restoring soil quality to nonproductive soils could be a vital key to meeting future global food production, food security and energy supplies; biochar may play a role in this endeavor. Biochar economics are often marginally viable and are tightly tied to the assumed duration of agronomic benefits. Further research is needed to determine the specific conditions under which biochar can provide real economic and agronomic benefits and to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms responsible for these benefits.

In this paper, we investigate whether innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are more likely to be discouraged from applying for external finance than non-innovators. These so-called discouraged borrowers are credit worthy SMEs who choose not to apply for external finance despite the fact that this is needed. We find that SMEs undertaking pure product and joint product and process innovation have a significantly higher incidence of borrower discouragement than non-innovative counterparts. Moreover, radical and incremental product innovators are more likely to be discouraged relative to non-innovative counterparts. Innovative activity can increase borrower discouragement for a myriad of reasons including fear of rejection, reluctance to take on additional risk, negative perceptions of the funding application process and perceived negative economic conditions. Overall, our results suggest a need for targeted policy interventions in order to alleviate borrower discouragement within innovative SMEs, as well as a closer alignment between innovation and SME finance policy.Plain English SummaryInnovative SMEs play a crucial role in driving technological change and productivity growth. Therefore, understanding the factors shaping access to finance for innovative SMEs is of crucial importance to the economy. We investigate the potential impact of innovation activity on the incidence of borrower discouragement, credit worthy firms who choose not to apply for external finance despite the fact that it is required. The results of our empirical investigation suggest that SMEs undertaking pure product and joint product and process innovation have a significantly higher incidence of borrower discouragement than non-innovative counterparts. The principal implication of this study is that innovation is a factor, which self-limits access to finance for innovative SMEs. We offer recommendations to mitigate borrower discouragement in this context.

The continuing losses of biodiversity around the world remain problematic for nature conservation. A fundamental issue that has triggered debates in nature conservation is the relationship between human culture, heritage and history, and nature expressed as ecology or biodiversity. Traditionally, nature conservation has been pursued separately from aspects of cultural heritage; a situation which seems perplexing when we consider the importance of traditional management in the maintenance of biodiversity in many areas now ‘protected’ for nature. To address these broad issues, fundamental to future landscape sustainability, we need to have clear definitions of concepts and terms. This paper considers the historical development of the key concepts that frame biocultural diversity and the paradigms relating to biocultural assets or eco‐cultural landscapes. This is pertinent to both researchers and to practitioners or policymakers, and we suggest ways biocultural diversity can improve global conservation efforts. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

A growing body of supply chain management (SCM) literature has relied on the premises of the resource‐based view (RBV) and its extensions like the relational view (RV) to investigate resources and their relationship to performance. Recently, the practice‐based view (PBV) has been proposed as a complementary theoretical foundation for strategic management research. While the PBV primarily focuses on the firm, we note that SCM practices often span firm boundaries and extend to supply chain partners. In addition, there is an opportunity to explicitly consider firm performance as both individual performance and relational performance. We do this by proposing the supply chain practice view (SCPV), in which we extend the PBV to the interorganizational level of analysis—both in terms of practices and performance. We also build upon and extend the PBV's discussion of the interaction of practices and resources by advocating that there are no discrete boundaries between practices and resources and between firm and relational performance; we conceptualize these dimensions as continua as opposed to sets of dichotomies. The SCPV complements the PBV, as well as the RBV and RV, and provides an alternative theoretical lens for the SCM discipline.

Purpose Extant research shows collaboration among supply chain (SC) partners can address the significant environmental impacts of industrial food systems, but can be risky and resource-intensive. Past studies have predominantly treated buyer–supplier sustainability collaborations as a single aggregate concept missing the theoretical richness. This study aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of these collaborations for jointly improving sustainable food supply networks. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study was conducted covering 8 SCs in the Dutch food processing industry, using data from 27 interviewees and extensive secondary material. Findings By applying the dynamic relational view, this study identifies three types of buyer–supplier collaboration, reflecting three paths of sustainable value creation: (1) the bilateral path, featuring equal participation and extensive collaboration, yielding substantial environmental and economic benefits; (2) the buyer-driven path, where the buyer leads the collaboration to address sustainability issues that are raised by stakeholders, relying on supplier expertise to improve SC traceability and sustainability reputation, albeit at higher costs; (3) the supplier-driven path, where the supplier leads the collaboration for incremental environmental and economic improvements. Practical implications The taxonomy results provide practical guidelines to assist managers in selecting the most suitable collaboration type for their specific sustainability goals and more effectively address sustainability challenges. Originality/value The three identified types of collaboration form a novel taxonomy for improving sustainability in food supply networks, representing different paths for SC partners to achieve progressively more substantial sustainability improvements. This taxonomy challenges the perspective that adopting sustainability invariably leads to increased costs by providing evidence of simultaneous economic and environmental improvements.

We review thirty years of qualitative research from the Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior. Four themes emerge from this analysis: 1) CS/D&CB as a process, not an end state; 2) CS/D&CB as a social process; 3) CS/D&CB causation outside of the expectancy/disconfirmation paradigm; and 4) qualitative CS/D&CB studies driven by quantitative assumptions. These themes suggest a second-level interpretation of the results focused on theoretical complexity. We conclude the article by commenting on qualitative methodologies and proposing elements that should be required for qualitative research to be published in the journal in the future.