دانلود رایگان مقاله بازنگری چرخه تحقیقات عملیات انجام تحقیقات عملی سراسر روابط خریدار تامین کننده

abstract

Buyer-supplier relationships in purchasing and supply chain management practice are instrumental and often “messy”. Indeed, the buyer and the supplier generally interact while pursuing their own interest, which are often subject to change over time. The action research method can help address the complexity of buyer-supplier relationships, generating important theoretical insights and relevant managerial implications. First, action research helps the researcher to better understand the problem by integrating diverse perspectives. Second, it allows the researcher to influence the buyer-supplier relationship directly, providing mutually beneficial solutions. This study proposes action research as a suitable interactive method that could complement other methodologies in the field of purchasing and supply chain management, as well as in other fields. An expanded action research framework – the “action research cycle reloaded” – is proposed and the role of the action researcher in the buyer-supplier context is discussed. The framework is applied to study the design and implementation of a supplier performance measurement system in the banking industry.

5. Conclusions

5.1. Action research compared to other case-based methods Within this section, strengths and peculiarities of action research are discussed in relation to other case-based methods. First of all, an action research project always starts from a real organisational problem (Pasmore et al., 2008). Pre-steps within the action research cycle reloaded (see Section 3.2.1) ensures alignment with this condition. In the case described above, both the buyer and the supplier acknowledge the importance of the supplier PMS from the beginning, though showing different concerns and requirements. The buyer wanted the system to be smart, easy to use, and harmoniously embedded within the existing ICT architecture. The supplier wanted the system to be reliable and objective and to foster collaboration, rather than simply evaluation. Once these elements had been highlighted, the project goals were refined and the project started with a formal kick-off.