Supplier integration in category management means that a supplier takes part in the activities that are traditionally performed by retailers. These activities are the selection of which products to sell, decisions on how to price and market the products, and making sure that the products are delivered to the stores in a timely manner. Depending on the situation, an integration of suppliers in these activities can be more or less suitable. As more research is needed to understand when supplier integration in category management is suitable, the purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how situational factors affect the relationship consequences of supplier integration in category management. Specifically, the relationship consequences are expressed in terms of relationship performance and interdependence between the firms. The study builds on empirical data about British and Swedish builders’ merchants and their suppliers, with a particular focus on timber suppliers. Data has mainly been collected through participative observations and interviews. Five situational factors that improve the relationship performance of supplier integration in category management are identified: large retailer firms, supplier product knowledge, homogeneity of market demands for the supplier’s products, mutual trust and a shared view on customer value between the supplier and retailer. Three situational factors are identified that affect the interdependence between the retailer and the supplier when supplier integration in category management is implemented: supplier product knowledge, whether the supplier or the retailer initiates the integration and whether coercive or non-coercive power has to be used in the implementation. This thesis contributes to retail literature by highlighting the need to include situational factors in the analysis of supplier integration, clarifying which activities are comprised by category management and suggesting a theoretical foundation based on the resource-based view and the transaction cost framework to analyse relationship performance in retailer-supplier dyads. When making decisions on integration, managers of retailers and their suppliers are advised to consider the fit with their overall strategy, the fit with the surrounding situation and the effects both in terms of interdependence and relationship performance.

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The last decade has witnessed substantial changes in organizational structure, inter-organizational relations and the nature of competition. In particular, the realization of interdependencies across firm boundaries has brought forth a range of mechanisms for coordination among firms in vertically related stages of production, or among direct competitors in the same industry. Our objective is to study inter-organizational relations in an oligopolistic setting to explore the interactions between efficiency and strategic incentives for organizations to engage in various forms of coordination, vertically or horizontally. Specifically, we employ a game-theoretic approach to analyze organizational structure and coordination incentives in relation to process innovation, transfer pricing, and degree of competition between products. This study is divided into four parts. / In the first part, we look at the impact of manufacturer's investments in process innovation to reduce production costs on distribution channel structure, and vice versa. We show that the optimal channel structure decision depends on interactions between two parameters: degree of product differentiation and the extent of production cost reduction. These parameters represent the two primary 'generic strategies' that most organizations follow in order to gain competitive advantage. Second, we show that decentralized manufacturers invest less in process innovation than integrated manufacturers do. However, manufacturers may prefer decentralized, non-coordinated channels to perfectly coordinated channels when product substitutability is high, contrary to efficiency and transaction-cost based arguments for increased coordination. / In the second part, we relax the assumption that a manufacturer has a choice only between integration (or 'hierarchy') and decentralization (or 'market'). Various means of channel coordination are analyzed, and ownership is assumed to be distinct from the particular coordination mechanism employed. It is shown that the consideration of the competitive environment changes incentives for, and benefits to, coordination in various Production, Inventory, and Pricing decisions among members of a supply chain. / In the third part, we focus on horizontal cooperation among firms, ignoring the vertical relations. We consider the possibility of technological spillovers in the process innovation efforts of the manufacturers, and their incentives to engage in cooperative R&D agreements with rivals in the same industry. We develop a two-stage game model with manufacturers producing differentiated products, and establish fairly general conditions under which different cooperative arrangements would be beneficial both for manufacturers and consumers. / In the fourth part, we merge the above two dimensions, i.e., we investigate the interactions between horizontal cooperative agreements among rival manufacturers and vertical coordination arrangements along the supply chain. The models above are extended to incorporate the triple influence of technological spillovers and research joint ventures, along with demand and cost side parameters, on supply chain coordination incentives. We argue that a better understanding of such interactions is crucial in explicating a more relevant theory of the firm.

The dissertation outlines the historical development of organisational complexity theory based on a review of the literature. Particular attention is given to the way in which complexity impacts on the performance of organisations. Systems theories, turbulence and chaos theory, learning and change, and organisational learning are discussed. The challenges to remain competitive which organisations are facing are compared with the approaches which have been taken in the company Siemens Ltd, using a framework which is based on an expanded interpretation of learning organi sations. The impact of the training on a number of young high-potential managers who have been trained using a learning-organisation systemic approach, is investigated. The results suggest that the changing environment of business and the novel form of training which was offered have combined to make the learning which took place deeply personal and central to positive changes to management which are taking place in the company. Recommendations are made of how a systems-thinking approach (and becoming a learning organisation ) can be applied broadly to companies that wish to improve the contributions of their managers in order to improve their comp etitiveness. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Diss. Linköping : Univ., 2005. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2002. / Typescript. Bibliographical references: leaf 343-373.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-152). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-213).

Thesis (M.M.S.)--Carleton University, 1993. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.