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CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Cranfield CERES Cranfield University - School of Management PhD submission 2005 – 6 Charles Stephens Enablers and inhibitors to horizontal collaboration between competitors: an investigation in UK retail supply chains Supervisor: Dr Paul Chapman © Cranfield University, 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder. Table of contents 1.1 Introduction........................................................................................1 1.2 Scoping the Research: The UK Food Retailing Market .....................7 1.2.2 A new paradigm: Co-operation between Competing Retailers .12 1.2.3 Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) .......................................13 1.3 Cross Chain Collaboration through Opportunity Technologies? ......17 1.3.1 The contribution of PD Contractors to ECR..............................19 1.3.2 Transaction Cost Economics....................................................22 1.3.3 Managed Primary Networks .....................................................27 1.4 Collaboration in Practice..................................................................33 1.5 Conclusion.......................................................................................39 2.1 Exploratory phase – UK Food Retailers...........................................45 2.2 Secondary Research .......................................................................48 2.2.1 Parity between Retailer Systems..............................................51 2.3 Establishing Contacts ......................................................................56 2.4 Joint Retailer Seminar .....................................................................58 2.5 Broadmead and Tradeteam Case Studies.......................................60 2.6 Summary .........................................................................................62 3.1 Introduction......................................................................................63 3.2 Systematic Reviews ........................................................................63 3.2.1 Review Protocol .......................................................................64 3.3 Choice of Terms – Three Spheres of Interest..................................65 3.3.1 Operational context: Logistics and Physical Distribution ..........66 3.3.2 Logistics: Implications for Search Terms..................................71 3.3.3 Strategic context: Competition Strategies.................................72 3.3.4 Competition: Implications for Search Terms.............................77 3.3.5 Commercial Context: Grocery Retailing ...................................77 3.3.6 Grocery Retailing: Implications for Search Terms ....................80 3.4 Methodology and Results – First Iteration .......................................81 3.5 Outcomes from the literature review: enablers and inhibitors for collaborative arrangements ........................................................................84 3.5.1 Summary ..................................................................................91 ii 3.6 Conclusions from the literature ........................................................92 4.1 Choice of stance on Research Philosophy ....................................103 5.1 Review of Alternative Strategies....................................................110 5.2 Case Research..............................................................................112 5.3 Case Design ..................................................................................116 5.3.1 Multiple Cases........................................................................119 5.4 Research Framework ....................................................................121 5.5 Some limitations on the case study design....................................125 5.6 Case Protocol – operationalising the research ..............................129 5.6.1 Unit of Analysis.......................................................................129 5.6.2 Link between propositions and data to be collected ...............130 5.6.3 Generalisation / Replication....................................................130 5.6.4 Research instruments.............................................................130 5.7 Methodology – Conclusion ............................................................133 6.1 Explanation of categories, characteristics and possible data codes 136 6.1.1 1. Impact on Customers .........................................................138 6.1.2 2. Perceptions of quality of each firm’s own systems relative to competitors (Own quality) .....................................................................139 6.1.3 3. Perceptions of each firm’s own competitive strength relative to competitors (Own strength)...................................................................139 6.1.4 4. Perceptions of contribution of logistics to competitiveness (PD Contribution) .........................................................................................140 6.1.5 5. Make or buy: Attitudes to use of contractors vs in-house operations (Brokers) .............................................................................140 6.1.6 6. Firm’s interpretation of importance and probability of external environmental factors (External drivers) ...............................................141 6.2 Entering the field............................................................................142 6.3 Exploratory phase – UK Food Retailers.........................................143 6.4 Converting data into evidence .......................................................145 6.4.1 Context M & S ........................................................................146 6.4.2 Context: Asda.........................................................................150 6.4.3 Context: Safeway ...................................................................154 6.5 Joint Retailer Seminar ...................................................................155 iii 6.6 Discussion of findings....................................................................157 6.6.1 Asda .......................................................................................159 6.6.2 Safeway..................................................................................162 6.6.3 Marks and Spencer ................................................................164 6.6.4 Tesco and Somerfield.............................................................168 6.7 Conclusion.....................................................................................170 7.1 Case Study Protocol......................................................................176 7.2 Brief History of Urban Transhipment .............................................177 7.3 The Bristol Experiment ..................................................................179 7.4 Findings.........................................................................................180 7.4.1 Logistics system sophistication ..............................................183 7.4.2 Market Structure.....................................................................184 7.4.3 Nature of competition .............................................................185 7.4.4 Cost drivers ............................................................................186 7.4.5 External Influences.................................................................187 7.5 Discussion – Implications for the Model.........................................188 7.5.1 Distance / Service (“Customer Offering”)................................191 7.5.2 Strength / Quality (“Competitive positioning”) .........................192 7.5.3 Value ......................................................................................193 7.5.4 Contractors / Environmental (External factors).......................194 7.6 Conclusions ...................................................................................196 8.1.1 Exel Logistics .........................................................................198 8.2 Development of Tradeteam ...........................................................199 8.3 Research Protocol .........................................................................201 8.4 Findings - Contextual Issues .........................................................202 8.4.1 Logistics Systems...................................................................204 8.4.2 Market structure .....................................................................204 8.4.3 Competition and Supply Chains .............................................205 8.4.4 External Influences.................................................................206 8.5 Discussion – Implications for the model.........................................207 8.5.1 Distance / Service (“Customer Offering”)................................208 8.5.2 Strength / Quality (“Competitive Positioning”).........................210 8.5.3 Value ......................................................................................212 8.5.4 Contractors / Environmental (External factors).......................213 iv 8.6 Conclusions ...................................................................................215 9.1 Logistics system characteristics ....................................................218 9.2 Market structure.............................................................................220