ABSTRACT EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUPPLY NETWORK CONFIGURATION, INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION SHARING AND PERFORMANCE By MARCIA DALEY August 2008 Committee Chair: Dr. Subhashish Samaddar Major Department: Decision Science Critical to the success of a firm is the ability of managers to coordinate the complex network of business relationships that can exist between business partners in the supply network. However many managers are unsure on how best to leverage their resources to capitalize on the information sharing opportunities that are available in such networks. Although there is significant research on information sharing, the area of inter-organizational information sharing (IIS) is still evolving and there is limited research on IIS in relation to systemic factors within supply networks. To help fill this gap in the literature, a primary focus of this dissertation is on the relationship between the design of the supply network and IIS. The design of the supply network is characterized by the supply network configuration which is comprised of (1) the network pattern, (2) the number of stages in the supply network, and (3) where the firm is located in that supply network. Four different types of IIS are investigated, herein. These types of IIS are a function of the frequency with which information is shared and the scope of information shared. Type 1 (Type 2) IIS is the low (high) frequency state where only operational information is shared. Similarly, Type 3 (Type 4) is the low (high) frequency state where strategic information is shared. The argument is that the type of IIS varies depending on the configuration of the supply network and that this relationship is influenced by the coordination structure established between firms in the network. The second focus of this dissertation deals with the relationship between IIS and performance. Research findings on the benefits to be gained from IIS have been ambiguous, with some researchers claiming reduced cost in the supply network with IIS, and others finding minimal or no benefits. To add clarity to these findings, the role that uncertainty plays in the relationship between IIS and performance is examined. The thesis presented is that the positive relationship between IIS types and the performance of the supply network is impacted by process uncertainty (i.e. the variability in process outcomes and production times), and partner uncertainty. Social network theory and transaction cost economics provide the theoretical lens for this dissertation. A model is developed and will be empirically validated in a cross-sectional setting, utilizing a sampling frame randomly selected and comprised of supply management executives from various industries within the United States.

In this thesis the properties of proteins and membranes are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The subject is decomposed into parts addressing free energy calculations in proteins, mechanical inclusion models for lipid bilayers, phase transitions and structural correlations in lipid bilayers and atomistic lipid bilayer models. The work is based on results from large scale computer simulations, quantum mechanical and continuum models. Efficient statistical sampling and the coarseness of the models needed to describe the ordered and disordered states are of central concern. Classical free energy calculations of zinc binding, in metalloproteins, require a quantum mechanical correction in order to obtain realistic binding energies. Classical electrostatic polarisation will influence the binding energy in a large region surrounding the ion and produce reasonable equilibrium structures in the bound state, when compared to experimental evidence. The free energy for inserting a protein into a membrane is calculated with continuum theory. The free energy is assumed quadratic in the mismatch and depend on two elastic constants of the membrane. Under these circumstances, the free energy can then be written as a line tension multiplied by the circumference of the membrane inclusion. The inclusion model and coarse grained particle simulations of the membranes show that the thickness profile around the protein will be an exponentially damped oscillation. Coarse-grained particle simulations of model membranes containing mixtures of phospholipid and cholesterol molecules at different conditions were performed. The gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition is successively weakened with increasing amounts of cholesterol without disappearing even at a concentration of cholesterol as high as 60%. A united atom parameterization of diacyl lipids was constructed. The aim was to construct a new force field that retains and improves the good agreement for the fluid phase and at the same time produces a gel phase at low temperatures, with properties coherent with experimental findings. The global bilayer tilt obtains an azimuthal value of 31◦ and is aligned between lattice vectors in the bilayer plane. It is also shown that the model yield a correct heat of melting as well as heat capacities in the fluid and gel phase of DPPC. / <p>QC 20140919</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:49:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseMSN.pdf: 2169517 bytes, checksum: eac00c121837c7980b03e8f180c827d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-02-06 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / This research has compared the coordination and relation structures in two truck manufactures in Brazilian automotive industry. The network analysis level has been consolidated as an adequate approach in order to understand the cooperation/competition binomial, which involves the markets and the relationship among economic actors. In the network analysis, it has been assumed that the environment in which the organizations work is structured by technological and productive vehicles, established between companies and institutions. Within the field of economic sociology and the organization theory there is an increasing concern in order to understand how a structural position and the type of relationship among the economic actors in a certain network have influenced the organization performance and its strategic behavior. Over the last decade, it has been observed a deep structural change within the Brazilian automotive section, with direct consequences in the suppliers network. The direct consequence of this change is the set of opportunities that truck manufactures and autopart suppliers can obtain from their relational and structural positions within the Brazilian automotive sector. The central issue of this work is related to how the different relational and structural positions of the autopart suppliers in the automobile network influence the diffusion levels of knowledge, the truck manufacture control over the suppliers and their relationship of power. The conclusions of this research have revealed that the cohesive and dense relationship has great possibilities to promote diffusion channels between truck manufacture and autoparts in order to generate distinctive and highly institutionalized control structures on the suppliers and, also to redistribute the power of decision to autopart suppliers. / Esta pesquisa compara as estruturas de relacionamento e coordenação na rede de fornecedores de duas montadoras de caminhões instaladas no Brasil. O nível de análise das redes tem se consolidado como uma abordagem adequada para a compreensão do binômio competição/ cooperação que permeia os mercados e as relações entre os atores econômicos. Na análise das redes, pressupõe-se que o ambiente em que as organizações operam é estruturado por vínculos produtivos e tecnológicos, estabelecidos entre empresas e instituições. Dentro do campo da sociologia econômica e da teoria das organizações, há uma crescente preocupação em se compreender como a posição estrutural e o tipo de relacionamento entre os atores econômicos de uma determinada rede influenciam no desempenho e no comportamento estratégico das organizações. Na última década, configura-se uma profunda mudança estrutural do setor automotivo brasileiro, com conseqüências diretas na rede de fornecedores. A conseqüência direta dessa mudança é o conjunto de oportunidades para montadoras e fornecedores de autopeças, a partir do seu novo posicionamento estrutural e relacional dentro do setor automobilístico brasileiro. A questão central a que este trabalho remete é como as diferentes posições estruturais e relacionais dos fornecedores de autopeças na rede automobilística condicionam os níveis de difusão do conhecimento, controle da montadora sobre os fornecedores e suas relações de poder. As conclusões da pesquisa revelam que as relações densas e coesas nos casos estudados têm maiores possibilidades de promover canais de difusão dos conhecimentos técnicos e gerenciais entre montadoras e autopeças, de gerar estruturas de controle dos fornecedores distintas e altamente institucionalizadas e ainda de redistribuir o poder decisório aos fornecedores de autopeças.