| This dissertation addresses manufacturers' ability to influence their supply chain base (SCB) in order to adapt to their competitive environment. From the perspective of a manufacturer, the supply chain comprises a network of suppliers and customers, and is theoretically viewed as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS). The SCB is the set of suppliers and customers whose strategies, products, technologies, and systems can be influenced by the manufacturer. Different degrees of SCB adaptivity emerge, which we define as the ability of the SCB to reconfigure and adjust its operations in the face of changing competitive environments.; In this dissertation, we consider the following questions: (1) How can SCB adaptivity be operationally defined? (2) How does SCB adaptivity lead to combinative competitive capabilities? (3) What is the influence of SCB adaptivity on business performance? Drawing on literature streams in supply chain management, operations strategy, organizational change and learning, and complexity theory, along with a series of structured interviews with practitioners, we develop and test the constructs and operational measures of SCB adaptivity and model the nomological set of relationships among constructs that form the basis of our theory. We then develop and test a model describing the outcomes of SCB adaptivity and its influence on competitive capabilities and firm performance.; Using data from 294 supply chain managers, we test for the effects of exploitation and exploration activities on SCB adaptivity and for the effects of SCB adaptivity on combinative competitive capabilities. Based on CAS theory, we develop eight competencies that characterize exploitation and exploration SCB practices: partner compatibility, supplier information exchange, customer information exchange, implementation capacity, management openness, supplier empowerment, customer openness, and landscape awareness.; Our empirical results show that SCB adaptivity directly and positively affects combinative competitive capabilities. Further, we find that SCB adaptivity does not impact business performance directly, but rather is mediated through combinative competitive capabilities, which provide the requisite variety for firms to survive and thrive in dynamic environments. Ultimately, it is possible and desirable for manufacturers to strengthen exploration and exploitation practices simultaneously in order to enhance the adaptivity of SCB and improve business performance. |
