In this dissertation, we study several quantitative approaches centered on supply chain management, sustainability development, performance measurement frameworks, and environmental regulation mechanisms. The topic of sustainability has been of great interest for the past few years in academia. Many governments also have taken actions to incentivize firms to reduce their negative environmental and social impacts. It is unclear, however, how successful policy makers have been in reducing the sustainability threats. This raises the question of ``how can policy makers play an effective role in helping businesses become more sustainable, while complying with entrepreneurs and investors' expectations?'' This dissertation is organized on the basis of six chapters. Having reviewed the literature and research directions of sustainable supply chain management in Chapter 1, we present a review of sustainability performance measurement frameworks in Chapter 2. In addition to proposing a framework to assess sustainability efficiency in supply chains, we discuss research questions with a focus on the social aspect of sustainability development. In Chapter 3, we develop a two-stage data envelopment analysis model with an application to the energy sector. This approach measures relative efficiencies of a number of comparable decision makers and does not require predetermined weights of indicators. We relax some restricting assumptions used in previous studies and obtain a nonlinear problem, for which we develop a solution method. Chapter 4 investigates a more general multi-stage assessment framework that monitors suppliers, manufacturers, distributers, and retailers' sustainable practices. The major finding is developing a multi-stage data envelopment analysis to measure supply chains' sustainability efficiency. In Chapter 5, we investigate market-based schemes with a focus on curbing pollution emitted by business entities and develop a game-theoretic formulation. Finally, we summarize the major contributions of this dissertation and future research directions in Chapter 6. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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This study contributes to the performance measurement (PM) literature by providing validated measures of PM system use and increased understanding of the impact of PM use on organizational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to articulate and test the relationships between PM system use, organizational learning, and organizational performance by taking into account the effects of PM-related technical factors (namely, PM system maturity and review process (RP) maturity). The concept of PM use was explored through the examination of its underlying processes, as reflected in the literature and two case studies, and a set of practices delineating PM use processes were proposed. Following a scale development approach, a measurement instrument of PM use was developed and validated with empirical data collected through a web-based questionnaire. The results from factor analysis showed the need to revise the initial set of PM use practices into five dimensions: monitoring, problem-finding, problem-solving, validating causal relationships, and validating improvement actions. Additionally, new measures were developed to assess PM and RP maturity factors. The factor analysis results identified four maturity variables: managed RP, optimized RP, PM design and PM implementation. Data from 216 managers participating in RP meetings were used to test the hypothesized relationships via partial least square (PLS). The results provide varying support for the hypotheses defined. First, the results show that monitoring directly impacts organizational performance while problem-finding, problem-solving and validating causal relationships indirectly impact organizational performance through shared vision and team learning. These indirect effects were positive in some cases and negative in others, depending on the direction of the relationship between the use variable and the organizational learning variable. Second, validating improvement actions did not influence organizational outcomes. Finally, the only moderating effect found was managed RP on the relationship between validating causal relationships and financial performance. Because of the weak support for moderating effects, an alternative model was proposed, exploring these maturity variables as antecedents of PM use. The results provided substantial support for this alternate model. Practical implications and areas for future research are also identified and discussed. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this research is to learn about quality measurement practices in a wood products supply chain. According to the Supply Chain Management paradigm, companies no longer compete as individual entities, but as part of complex networks of suppliers and customers, linked together by flows of materials and information. Evidence suggests that a high degree of integration between supply chain members is essential to achieve superior market and financial performance. This study investigates the potential benefits from adopting supply chain quality management practices, focusing specifically on quality measurement. A case-study was conducted to accomplish the objectives of the research. An exemplary wood products supply chain was studied in great detail. The current state was compared with best practices, as reported in the literature. Supply chain quality metrics were used to assess current performance and a simulation model was developed to estimate the impact of changes in significant factors affecting quality, such as production volume, on the supply chain's quality performance. Quality measurement practices in the supply chain of study are described in detail in this dissertation. A high degree of internal integration was observed in the focal company, attributed in great part to the leadership of management, which formulates comprehensive quality planning, specifying quality measurement practices and goals. These practices provide the company with a competitive advantage, and have undoubtedly contributed to its relatively strong market share and financial performance. Significant improvements in defect rate and on-time performance at all levels in the supply chain have been achieved in great part thanks to current initiatives. There is room for improvement, however, regarding external integration; the supply chain of study could benefit from more information sharing with its external suppliers and increasing its supplier development efforts. There is also a lack of true measures of supply chain quality performance that could facilitate tracing variances back to their origin upstream the supply chain. Supply chain metrics must reflect the contribution of each supply chain member to the overall performance, and span the entire supply chain. This is the first study that looks in depth at quality measurement practices from a supply chain perspective. It is also one of very few studies of supply chain management applied to the wood products industry. Examples are presented of how a supply chain performance measurement system can be developed. Results from this research show that it is important to adopt a supply chain perspective when designing a performance measurement system, not least to avoid sub-optimization. Poor quality at any point in the supply chain eventually translates into higher prices for the final customer, is detrimental to customer dissatisfaction, and hurts profitability; with the end result of declining competitiveness of the entire system. / Ph. D.

Background: Cross-country(XC) skiing is a demanding sport that requires both physical and technical expertise. Traditional training focuses on physical conditioning and equipment, often excluding the technical aspects of skiing. The arrival of advanced performance measurement technologies, such as Skisens' power meter, presents an opportunity to integrate detailed technical feedback directly into skiing equipment. Objectives: This thesis explores the software requirements (elicitation phase) and value proposition of integrating a power meter into XC-skiing equipment based on Skisens technology. The primary objectives are to identify essential software requirements from various stakeholders (skiers, coaches, and a domain-expert in developing smart ski products) and assess the technology’s potential impact on skiing performance and training efficiency. Methods: The research consists of a mixed-methods approach, combining an empirical study that includes surveys and interviews with the stakeholders, and a literature review that examines the benefits of performance measurement technologies in sports. Results: Findings indicate a significant interest among stakeholders in using power meters to enhance skiing performance. Key software requirements include real-time data visualization, seamless integration with existing devices, and customizable data presentation formats so it can simplify comparative and in-depth analysis. Conclusions: Integrating a power meter into XC-skiing equipment can provide valuable insights into technical performance, offering benefits for skiers at all levels. The technology must balance detailed data provision with user-friendly interfaces and robust hardware. Addressing these requirements can significantly advance training methods and performance analysis in XC-skiing.

This dissertation explores the use of the efficiency performance measurement paradigm (EM), in terms of its concepts and applications, as an ex-ante mechanism to evaluate enterprise performance and inform enterprise design. The design of an enterprise is driven by decisions that include, but not limit to, which strategies to implement, how to allocate resources, how to shift operating patterns, and how to boost coordination among enterprises, among others. Up to date, EM has been mainly used as a descriptive mechanism, but the fundamental reason for measuring performance in an ex-post fashion, i.e., how well an enterprise does, is also valid in the context of design decisions, i.e., ex-ante evaluation. The contrast between the ex-post and ex-ante use of EM relates to the measurement purpose, i.e., why to measure. Ex-post measurement focuses on evaluating 'what happened' (non-disruptive) while ex-ante measurement emphasizes in informing design decisions exploring changes in current settings (more disruptive). Within this context and to achieve the purpose above, this dissertation is supported by theoretical insights and complemented with three empirical studies. The theoretical insights relate to facts that support, connect to, and challenge (i.e., facilitate or impede) the ex-ante use of EM for enterprise evaluation and informing enterprise design. Those insights are based on the efficiency performance measurement, organizational design and enterprise systems engineering literature. Meanwhile, the three empirical studies situate the application of EM as an ex-ante mechanism to inform evacuation management, bank branch management, and power plants. The theoretical and empirical results indicate that EM is well suited for both evaluating enterprise performance and informing design decisions. The main contribution of this dissertation to enterprise stakeholders is that EM can be not only used to answer how well the enterprise did, but also how well it could do if certain design decisions are taken. / Ph. D.

The Global Supply Chain Forum (Stanford Global Supply Chain Forum Web Resource, http://www.stanford.edu/groups/scforum) defines supply chain management (SCM) as “Supply chain management is the integration of key business processes from end user through original suppliers that provides products, services and information that add value for customer and other stakeholders.” The rapid development of the Internet has dramatically changed the traditional definitions of manufacturer, suppliers and customers. Newer approaches to supply chain management attempt to organize the supply chain as a network of cooperating intelligent agents, each performing one or more supply chain functions and each coordinating actions with one another. This research is aimed at creating a viable model of a single manufacturer single supplier collaborative supply chain system using a Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) system. The research further uses known inventory performance parameters to performance benchmark the VMI system with traditional push-pull systems, develop a collaborative forecasting spreadsheet solution and a best alternative ordering policy amongst EOQ, Monthly, JIT and VMI policies under known lead time and a variety of demand distribution functions. / Master of Science

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