مطالعه رابطه ای عملکرد کسب و کار ، رقابت و مهارت زنجیره تامین در صنعت نفت و گاز

This paper assesses the link between dimensions of agile supply chain, competitive objectives and business performance in the UK North Sea upstream oil and gas industry. A questionnaire was designed and administered covering important criteria of agility identified from the literature. The questionnaire was sent to a sample of 880 supply chain managers within the UK oil and gas industry and a net response rate of 17.8% was achieved. Statistical tests for validity and reliability were carried out. Also, the KS statistical test for normality was undertaken on the data. All the tests affirm that the data came from a normal distribution. Non-response bias analysis was conducted through wave analysis using one-way ANOVA and no statistically significant difference was revealed by the t-test result. By examining the whole supply chain associated with agile practices in an important sector, the paper identifies the most important dimensions and attributes of supply chain agility and provides a deeper insight into those characteristics of agility that are most relevant within the oil and gas industry.

oper, 2000). In tracing the evolution of supply chain management (SCM), Lambert and Cooper (2000), Lamming (1996) and Lamming et al. (2000) observe that the term SCM was introduced by management consultants in the early 1980s and has since generated wide and keen interest across disciplines. Initially, supply chain management was perceived simply as the logistics of manufacturing and distribution, which extends from outside the firm to include customers and suppliers. However, SCM is now conceptualised and applied as the integration of all the business processes across the supply chain. Thus the new model of SCM encompasses all the other business functions, including extended, multi-tiered suppliers and end customers (Pihkala et al., 1999). The continuously evolving and dynamic nature of the supply chain presents many interesting challenges for effective system coordination. Supply chain members cannot compete as independent members. The product used by the end customer passes through a number of entities that contribute in the value addition of the product before it is consumed. Furthermore, modern traits like globalization, outsourcing and reduction in supply base have exacerbated uncertainty within, and risk exposure of, supply chains. Supply chains have become more prone to sudden disruptions. Systems thinking, which considers both the whole and the constituent parts of ecosystems (Gharajedaghi, 2005 and Skyttner, 2006), is providing a new perspective for examining and managing supply chains as both uncut and cut (partial) entities that continuously exchange energies and products. Recently, Ngai et al. (2012) highlighted the importance of energy saving in production, particularly in textile processing using soft systems methodology. The reported empirical investigations and results in this paper contribute to effective management of oil and gas production and distribution, which in turn will support global energy needs and sustainable resource management. In trying to understand the circumstances leading to the evolution of SCM, Hill (2000) asserts that companies rarely own the resources and activities to make a product or provide a service from the beginning to the end. Indeed, Ramdas and Spekman (2000) contend that, since purchased goods and services account for 50 to 70% of manufacturing company’s potential value, a firm’s competitive advantage depends largely on the links it forges with external organisations rather than its internal capabilities. Furthermore, Richardson (1972), and Grandori and Soda (1995) argue, from a transaction cost economics point of view, that the organisation of industry should take cognisance of similarities and complementarities of activities. In addition, Loasby (1998) points to the fact that “all firms depend on the capabilities of their suppliers, and every firm that is not a retailer depends on the capabilities of those who provide it links to the final consumer.” In fact some of the activities in the value stream of the product or service delivery system are often not undertaken by the organisation itself, but rather sourced from external vendors. This underpins the need to manage effectively the internal and external phases of the supply chain as an integrated whole. The oil and gas supply chain, especially the upstream segment, is inherently typified by the above characteristics, with large numbers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that provide services and technology to support the operations of the major oil companies. How well these service providers are managed as part of the total supply chain of the major companies is of significant importance to the effectiveness and efficiency of the oil and gas supply chain. Further, the agility of these firms across the oil and gas supply chain and the impact of supply chain performance are of great importance in achieving related supply chain competitiveness. The survey results reported in this study seek to establish, on the one hand, relationships between the dimensions of agility and related attributes, and, on the other hand, business performance and competitive bases. The paper is divided into four parts. The first part is the literature review that examines issues in supply chain management as well as, in particular, an overview of oil and gas supply chain. The second part discusses the methodology including research questions, sample profile and data collection. The third part presents the results and analysis in an attempt to answer the research questions. The fourth and final section is the conclusions and suggestions for further research.

It has been observed in this study that, increasingly, competitive advantage is currently predicated on the combined capabilities of the integrated network of organizations, i.e., on the supply chain. It is argued that understanding the dynamics of competition amongst supply chains is more important to the individual firm than analysing contests between firms. Additionally, markets nowadays exhibit obvious traits of increasing complexity and volatility and decreasing predictability. Hence, today the need to leverage the capabilities of the whole supply chain to satisfy customer demand is ever present and is greater than previously. Characteristic turbulence in the business environment leads to the need for agile supply chains. But the strategy for competing on the basis of agility is a managerial imperative not only for the individual constituents of the chain but for the entire supply chain. Flexible and agile supply chains outperform less agile competitors. This paper has demonstrated that contrary to perception in some sections of the literature, much volatility does exist in the oil and gas industry. Oil and gas are often classified as commodities; as such it has been claimed in some literatures that their supply chains should focus on cost. However, this classification looks only at the final product (at the point of consumption), and neglects the range of complex activities associated with exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons. The production of crude oil is an example of heavy industrial activity, in which the extraction method is complex and constrained by critical delivery date, cost and quality. High levels of complexity and uncertainty are typical of the environment in which hydrocarbons are sought and extracted. We assert that agility is very much determined by the operating environment and the business sector or industry of the given supply chain. Most of previous works on agility have been in discrete manufacturing. There has been a conspicuous lack of results on agility in the process industry. This paper does, therefore, contributes to filling the gap. By assessing the spread and depth of agile practices within the oil and gas supply chain, this paper has provided new oil and gas industry-focused insights into agility. Specifically, this comprehensive study reveals the empirical relations between dimensions of agility and the attainment of competitive objectives and business performance. The results from this study suggest a direct-effect model in which the dimensions of supply chain agility (i.e., customer enrichment, cooperating to compete, mastering change, and leveraging the impact of people and information) moderate competitive objectives and business performance. Thus, the paper has explicitly demonstrated that agility has a significant influence on competitive objectives and business performance of the sample firms used in this study. The aggregate effects of dimensions of agility indicate that whereas “cooperating to compete” impacts only turnover, “mastering change” and “leveraging impact of people” correlates with all aspects of business performance. Furthermore, “mastering change and uncertainty” correlates highest with turnover, while “leveraging the impact of people and information” leads to enhanced customer loyalty. The study also found that “on-time delivery” and “reconfigurable products” (attributes of “enriching the customer”) correlate positively with all the performance measures of “enhanced market share”, “customer loyalty” and “performance relative to competitors”. This thus reemphasizes the diverse nature of the industry, in which both customized and standard products are exchanged. However, it is worth noting that the ability to provide reconfigurable products posted a stronger correlation than on-time delivery. It is also instructive that “providing standard products” also significantly correlates with “enhanced net profit and market share”. Accordingly, this result (in which both the contending competitive objectives are at play), points to the diversity of competitive nuclei of members of the oil and gas supply chain, in which some firms supply standard products while others supply more customised products and services. This study found that where supply chains are considered as long-term partnerships, they lead to enhanced customer loyalty. This could be due to the fact that more time is dedicated to creating the right product to meet the customer requirement, such that customer satisfaction is achieved in the product or service. This customer satisfaction then translates into repeat orders. This finding corroborates an earlier study by Swafford et al., 2006a and Swafford et al., 2006b, in which it was found that supplier relations enable improved responsiveness and customer satisfaction. The result of the analysis also reveals that prosperity in a dynamic business environment can be attainted only through innovation and risk taking. This is evident from the fact that organizations that encourage innovation attain enhanced financial and market-based performance measures. Additionally, where organizations encourage risk taking, by trying new and better solutions, they score high on enhanced market-based business performance measures. Finally, the study also found statistical evidence to support the impact of capturing demand information on both financial and non-financial business performance measures. Additionally, empowerment techniques such as team work and involvement in decision making all impact positively on non-financial measures such as customer loyalty and performance relative to competitors. This study also tested the relationship between supply chain agility and competitive objectives. Results indicate that the competitive objective of innovation correlates significantly with the agility dimension of “mastering change and uncertainty”. Opportunistic cooperation to enhance competitiveness, ability to master change and uncertainty, as well as leveraging the impact of people and information all impact positively on the speed of response (or time-based competition) and innovation. This finding corroborates the work of Dubois and Fredriksson (2008). Overall, the study found strong positive correlation between supply chain agility and competitive objectives of proactivity, quality, innovation, delivery and speed. However, only weak correlation was seen between agility and dependability, flexibility and cost reduction. The practical implications of this study include the fact that it provides some guidance to supply chain managers with respect to the specific relations between the attributes of various dimensions of agility and competitive objectives as well as business performance. For example, in a dynamic business environment (characteristic of the oil and gas industry), cooperation among the industry players could help achieve efficiency and innovation as well as mitigate the effects of costly operations. Hence, considering the relationships among the variables, organizations can achieve higher levels of agility within their supply chain and ultimately higher business performance. This sector-focussed study has provided significant and interesting insights, but more questions arise. For example, the industry is both complex and fragmented. Thus there is the need to undertake further research to broaden the lens of the investigations and look in-depth at each of the stratum of the industry (i.e., operators, contractors and suppliers). This will determine the critical factors that impact and determine the agility of their respective supply sub-chains.