Effective supply chain management (SCM) has become a potentially valuable way of securing competitive advantage and improving organizational performance since competition is no longer between organizations, but among supply chains. This research conceptualizes and develops five dimensions of SCM practice (strategic supplier partnership, customer relationship, level of information sharing, quality of information sharing, and postponement) and tests the relationships between SCM practices, competitive advantage, and organizational performance. Data for the study were collected from 196 organizations and the relationships proposed in the framework were tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that higher levels of SCM practice can lead to enhanced competitive advantage and improved organizational performance. Also, competitive advantage can have a direct, positive impact on organizational performance.

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The impact of supply chain management practices on competitive advantage and organizational performance

Information technology and the Internet have had a dramatic effect on business operations. Companies are making large investments in e-commerce applications but are hard pressed to evaluate the success of their e-commerce systems. The DeLone & McLean Information Systems Success Model can be adapted to the measurement challenges of the new e-commerce world. The six dimensions of the updated model are a parsimonious framework for organizing the e-commerce success metrics identified in the literature. Two case examples demonstrate how the model can be used to guide the identification and specification of e-commerce success metrics.

Measuring e-Commerce Success: Applying the DeLone & McLean Information Systems Success Model

Economic analysis of law usually proceeds under the assumptions of neoclassical economics. But empirical evidence gives much reason to doubt these assumptions; people exhibit bounded rationality, bounded self-interest, and bounded willpower. This article offers a broad vision of how law and economics analysis may be improved by increased attention to insights about actual human behavior. It considers specific topics in the economic analysis of law and proposes new models and approaches for addressing these topics. The analysis of the article is organized into three categories: positive, prescriptive, and normative. Positive analysis of law concerns how agents behave in response to legal rules and how legal rules are shaped. Prescriptive analysis concerns what rules should be adopted to advance specified ends. Normative analysis attempts to assess more broadly the ends of the legal system: Should the system always respect people's choices? By drawing attention to cognitive and motivational problems of both citizens and government, behavioral law and economics offers answers distinct from those offered by the standard analysis.

A Behavioral Approach to Law and Economics

Uniqueness has positive connotations of freedom and independence in American culture, whereas conformity has positive connotations of connectedness and harmony in East Asian culture. The present research examined how these cultural values and individual preferences for uniqueness and conformity influence each other. In Studies 1 and 2, East Asian and European American preferences for uniqueness were measured using abstract figures. In Study 3, the choice of pens by East Asians and European Americans was examined as a function of whether the pen appeared unique. In Study 4, Korean and American magazine ads were analyzed with a focus on themes of conformity and uniqueness. In all studies, East Asians preferred targets that represented conformity, whereas European Americans preferred targets that represented uniqueness. The results highlight the relationship between individual preference and the adoption and perpetuation of cultural values. If a person orders a decaffeinated cappuccino with nonfat milk in a cafe in San Francisco, he or she can feel good about having a preference that is not exactly regular. That person can feel right about being able to get the drink exactly the way he or she wants it and will be vindicated as the waiter brings the precise drink ordered without comment or question. In the United States, drinking a decaffeinated cappuccino with nonfat milk feels as good as drinking a regular cup of coffee, perhaps even better. The best taste is one's individualized taste, and being sure of one's own particular taste contributes to being an appropriate person in this cultural context. If a person orders the same drink—a decaffeinated cappuccino with nonfat milk—in a caf6 in Seoul, however, he or she may feel strange about being the only person who is getting this specialized beverage. That person will face others who are likely to be forming the impression that he or she is a person who does not get along with the group very well, and, moreover, that person will have to confront a waiter who may be annoyed at the request. Eventually, the person may even be humbled by the verdict that the cafe cannot make this idiosyncratic drink just for her. In this Korean cultural context, it does not feel right or good to drink a cup of decaffeinated cappuccino with nonfat milk. In Korea, the normal, regular, and traditional are usually the best tastes for the individual, and a

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Deviance or uniqueness, harmony or conformity? A cultural analysis.

Development and validation of a measurement instrument for studying supply chain management practices

Although information exchange among trading partners is consistently mentioned as a key requirement of successful supply chain management implementation, research on information exchange is scarce. This lack of research provides little guidance and support for those managers interested in improving their logistics operations through increased information exchange. The main goal of this paper is to identify potential antecedents of information exchange. Questionnaires were sent to logistics managers at manufacturing firms in several industries. The results of this exploratory study are detailed and the implications for logistics managers discussed.

Identifying antecedents of information exchange within supply chains

The objective of this paper is to examine the country of origin (COO) research as it applies to services. This stream of research has seemed to focus on products since the 1960s, but has been applied to services in only a very few areas. This dearth of research is surprising as trade in international services has increased greatly in recent years and continues to grow. This study thoroughly examines the related journal articles and attempts to answer the question: “Does COO research apply to services?” Our investigation found three classes of literature focusing on services, and details the studies in each. The study concludes with recommendations for future research.

At your service!Does country of origin research apply to services?

Analysis of print ad features: services versus products

Today, one of the most important and creative challenges in international advertising is communicating to people of diverse cultures and nations The challenge arises because of increasing globalization of economies, cultural and national differences, and advanced media technology A review of the literature suggests a need for comparative analysis of advertising practices Analyses, empirically, magazine advertisements from the US, UK, France, India and Korea to identify cross‐cultural similarities and differences in the visual appeal

Bob D. Cutler

Papers

Identifying antecedents of information exchange within supply chains

At your service!Does country of origin research apply to services?

Analysis of print ad features: services versus products

The Visual Components of Print Advertising: A Five‐country Cross‐cultural Analysis

Print advertising at the component level: A cross-cultural comparison of the United States and Japan