(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-07-27)
Bellamy, Marcus A.
Effective supply chain management requires focal firms to develop capabilities to manage a myriad of multi-tier, interconnected relationships often spanning multiple industries. Conventional assessments of supply chain relationships as linear or dyadic structures, rather than as a network, limit academician and managerial approaches to overcome challenges to effectively manage supply chains. Further, empirical research on innovation and performance implications of supply network structure and its corresponding relationship dynamics is still fairly nascent. My research focuses on leveraging supply network relationships to drive performance. Specifically, in my dissertation I examine how the structural, knowledge, and dependency differences in a firm’s supply network can affect knowledge and information flow, and ultimately the firm’s innovative, operational, and financial performance. My first study (CH. 2) contributes to current research at the interface of supply chain management and innovation. My second (CH. 3) and third paper (CH. 4) incorporate the intensity of each supply network link, reflective of focal firms as customers (suppliers) that may rely heavier on a supplier (customer) based on their percentage of cost (revenue) that goes to (is generated from) that supplier (customer). All three papers extend current research findings by bringing a more holistic assessment of firms that are embedded in a supply network, addressing the need for deeper structural analysis.