Junyang Shao

Bio: Junyang Shao is an academic researcher from European Business School London. The author has contributed to research in topics: Purchasing & Euclidean distance. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 25 citations.

Process-based relational perspective : A framework for buyer-supplier interactions

Abstract: Buyer-supplier relationships and interactions between the two parties have long been a popular topic of industrial marketing and purchasing. This paper proposes a process-based framework for buyer-supplier interactions from a dyadic relational perspective, with focus on the buyer side, and derives managerial implications for business practice. This paper is based on the interaction approach of IMP group and argues that the purchasing and marketing processes are interactive and each step of the respective process is done in sync with the other processes. This process interaction is thereby illuminated at both strategic and functional levels. At the strategic level, purchasing strategies of the buying company are developed from the relational perspective. At the functional level, the characteristics of process interaction during the different purchasing process stages are analyzed, integrating two perspectives: direct and indirect interaction types and degrees of interaction involvement. Managerial implications are then discussed. followed by conclusions and further research suggestions.

Process-Based Relational View: A Framework for Buyer-Supplier Interfaces

Abstract: Buyer-supplier relationships and the interaction between the two parties have long been a popular topic of industrial marketing and purchasing. Despite the rich body of literature on the related topics, special focus on processbased relational view could be a new perspective which finally might lead to new findings. The purpose of this paper is to develop a process-based framework for buyersupplier interfaces from a dyadic perspective, which is based on the interaction approach of Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group (IMP), and complemented by transaction cost theory. It is argued that the sourcing process and the marketing process on each side of the buyer-supplier interface are interactive, where each step of the processes is being done in sync. This interaction is then illuminated, with focus on the sourcing process from the buyer side. The paper integrates the relational view into the investigation of sourcing process, discusses the interaction along a commonly defined sourcing process, and derives propositions concerning the strategic interaction, interaction degree and impacts of buyer-supplier relationships on the sourcing process.

Lifting Network Protocol Implementation to Precise Format Specification with Security Applications

Abstract: Inferring protocol formats is critical for many security applications. However, existing format-inference techniques often miss many formats, because almost all of them are in a fashion of dynamic analysis and rely on a limited number of network packets to drive their analysis. If a feature is not present in the input packets, the feature will be missed in the resulting formats. We develop a novel static program analysis for format inference. It is well-known that static analysis does not rely on any input packets and can achieve high coverage by scanning every piece of code. However, for efficiency and precision, we have to address two challenges, namely path explosion and disordered path constraints. To this end, our approach uses abstract interpretation to produce a novel data structure called the abstract format graph. It delimits precise but costly operations to only small regions, thus ensuring precision and efficiency at the same time. Our inferred formats are of high coverage and precisely specify both field boundaries and semantic constraints among packet fields. Our evaluation shows that we can infer formats for a protocol in one minute with>95% precision and recall, much better than four baseline techniques. Our inferred formats can substantially enhance existing protocol fuzzers, improving the coverage by 20% to 260% and discovering 53 zero-days with 47 assigned CVEs. We also provide case studies of adopting our inferred formats in other security applications including traffic auditing and intrusion detection.

Glass classification study based on principal component analysis and systematic clustering

Abstract: Ancient Chinese glass is similar in appearance to Western glass, but the chemical composition and its content are very different. In order to properly explore the classification laws of different categories of glass and further study their subclassification, this paper starts from the sample data and uses systematic clustering and principal component analysis to develop a glass classification study based on the index Euclidean distance.

Managing interfaces with suppliers

Abstract: In recent years, both the academic and practitioner-based literatures have witnessed a spate of interest in the management of supplier relationships. In particular, the movement from transaction to relational modes of buyer–supplier interaction has been highlighted as a dramatic shift. This article reexamines the nature of management of supplier relationships from the perspective of resource interfaces. We propose a categorization of four different interfaces based on how a focal customer can access its suppliers' resources. The four different interfaces serve different purposes and have various implications for static (productivity) and dynamic (innovativity) efficiency. We conclude by highlighting the costs and benefits of establishing and maintaining different supplier interfaces. The main implication stemming from our analysis is that buying firms need a variety of supplier interfaces to pursue productivity and innovativity objectives.

Aligning Corporate Strategy, Procurement Strategy and E-Procurement Tools

Abstract: This paper presents a framework for assessing alignment between corporate strategy, procurement strategy and purchasing tools. The framework is built on generation of rents as its common denominator for assessing alignment between the levels. Three types of rents are identified, monopoly rents (utilising market power, squeezing out cost), Ricardian rents (realising value from scarce intrafirm resources or constellation of interfirm resources), and entrepreneurial rents (seizing opportunities that arise from innovations). The framework is then used for assessing the strategic origin of the following e-procurement applications: e-sourcing, e-tendering, e-informing, e-reversed auctions, e-MRO, web-based ERP, and e-collaboration. The results indicate that the e-procurement tools are fully viable for creating monopoly rents, moderately viable for creating Ricardian rents and only somewhat viable for creating entrepreneurial rents. Therefore, it is necessary to first understand how the firm generates rents before procurement strategy and e-procurement tools are implemented in order to avoid misalignment. (Less)

A Meta-Analysis of the “Purchasing and Supply Management Practice–Performance Link”

Abstract: Resource-based theory (RBT) suggests that purchasing and supply management (PSM) practices can help buying firms enhance their performance. Consequently, the �PSM practice�performance link� has undergone intense empirical investigation over the last two decades. Although most studies report a positive relationship between PSM practices and firm performance, it remains unclear whether and to what extent PSM practices relate to performance. We assess the empirical literature by conducting a meta-analysis of 99 PSM studies from an RBT perspective. Our results indicate strong support for the positive relationships among PSM practices and firm performance. Our findings contribute to the literature by underlining the relevance of PSM, identifying aspects of the PSM function that can be considered �strategic� and detecting areas that require additional empirical investigation. Our research also provides guidance to managers as to which PSM practices demonstrate the strongest potential for contributing to buying firm performance.

Financing buyer–supplier dyads: an empirical analysis on financial collaboration in the supply chain

Abstract: Awareness of capital commitment in the context of supply management has increased tremendously in recent years. However, researchers often only consider the intra-organisational perspective of financing. Consequently, a great optimisation potential, especially in globally dispersed supply chains, remains unlocked. To address this research gap, this paper presents a conceptual research model with hypotheses derived from principal–agent theory to explain the role of collaboration in the context of financing a buyer–supplier dyad and its effect on the resulting financing performance. A cross-industry survey yielding 145 responses was used to empirically test the hypotheses. The results indicate that both strategy alignment between purchasing and finance departments (intra-firm financial collaboration) as well as in the buyer–supplier dyad (inter-organisational financial collaboration) have a significant positive effect on the overall financing performance. These findings provide researchers and practitioners...