The purpose of this thesis is to gain exposure to current supply chain research topics through attendance of four seminars. The first portion of this paper includes summaries of each of the four seminars that I attended. These summaries are followed by an analysis of sustainable Styrofoam alternatives with a focus on factors deterring widespread use of these alternatives. This topic relates to the first seminar I attended, presented by Dr. Karen Donohue from the University of Minnesota. Specific areas of Donohue’s presentation — the shift toward e-commerce, and consolidated shipping with reduced packaging— sparked my interest in available alternatives for a popular, but unsustainable, packaging material: Styrofoam. I primarily considered journals and articles for the second portion of this thesis, but I also investigated these alternatives through visiting manufacturer websites discussing available products, production processes, and other available information.
This project explores the current state of electronic dance music festivals and evaluates the role of a supply chain strategy in executing successful events. First by assessing market requirements from relevant attendees, several key themes are then identified and discussed. The related supply chain objectives are then determined based on the market requirements with specific tactics on how to achieve the objectives.
Buyers often make supplier selection decisions under conditions of uncertainty. Although the analytical aspects of supplier selection are well developed, the psychological aspects are less so. This article uses supply chain management and behavioral decision theories to propose that attributes of the purchasing situation (category difficulty, category importance, and contingent pay) affect cognition that, in turn, affects a supply manager's choice. We conducted a supplier selection behavioral experiment with practicing managers to test the model's hypotheses. When the context involves an important or difficult sourcing category, higher risk perceptions exist that increase preference for a supplier with more certain outcomes, even when that choice has a lower expected payoff. However, the presence of contingent pay decreases risk perceptions through higher perceived supplier control. We also find that a manager's risk propensity increases preferences for a supplier with less certain outcomes regardless of perceived risk. Our model and results provide a theoretical framework for further study into the cognitive aspects of supplier selection behavior and provide insight into biases that influence practicing supply chain managers.
This thesis also includes a literature review on the subject of consumer responses to service failure. Specifically, it covers 10 articles related to the overarching subject of consumer responses to service failures in a variety of scenarios and industries. Additionally, it includes a section of potential areas for future research, with an emphasis on the growing online cloud services industry. There is room for additional research to be completed in terms of determining where consumers will place their blame for service failures that occur on cloud service platforms such as online gaming.