Alan Mackelprang

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Biography

Currently the director of the Ph.D. in Logistics and Supply Chain Management program, his research interests include examining interdependencies among supply chain partners, JIT/Lean production, manufacturing flexibility as well as supply chain integration. He has published in the Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Business Logistics, Decision Sciences Journal and the International Journal of Production Economics among others. Mackelprang was awarded the Decision Science Institute’s 2012 Elwood S. Buffa award for best dissertation as well as the 2016 Carol Latta Early Career award. He has also won the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals 2012 Young Researcher Award. He currently serves as Department Editor for the Journal of Operations Management and serves on the Board of Directors of the Decision Sciences Institute.

Areas of Expertise (4)

Lean Manufacturing

Supply Chain Integration

Supply Chain Contagion

Manufacturing Flexibility

Accomplishments (6)

Outstanding Reviewer Academy of Management Meeting

2018 Operations and Supply Chain Management Division

Outstanding Reviewer

2017 Journal of Operations Management

Finalist Chan Hahn Award for Best Paper

2017 Academy of Management Meeting (Operations and Supply Chain Management Division)

Early Career Award

2016 Carol Latta (DSI)

Best Empirical Paper

2016 DSI National Meeting, Austin, TX

Outstanding Reviewer

2016 POM Journal (POMS)

Education (3)

Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina: Ph.D., Management Science 2011

William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Rochester: M.S., Business Administration 2005

W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University: B.S., Finance 2004

Affiliations (4)

• Journal of Supply Chain Management : Editorial Board
• Journal of Operations Management: Department Editor (Operational Systems)
• Production and Operations Management (Journal) : Editorial Board
• Decision Sciences Institute (Board of Directors-VP Finance)

Links (2)

• Faculty Bio
• Google Scholar Citations

Articles (5)

Supplier Innovation Strategy and Performance: A Matter of Supply Chain Market Positioning: Supplier Innovation Strategy and Performance

Decision Sciences

Alan W. Mackelprang, Ednilson Bernardes, Gerard J. Burke, Chris Welter

2017 Extant research consistently illustrates the positive benefits customers get from having more innovative suppliers. However, do suppliers benefit financially from positioning themselves as leading innovators? Utilizing a secondary dataset of 1039 supplier to customer base observations, and grounding our study in the structure-conduct-performance framework, we examine the extent to which suppliers are able to benefit from pursuing a more leading or lagging innovation strategy within their industry. While in general we find that suppliers employing a leading innovator strategy have higher levels of financial performance, such an effect is not universal. Rather, the ability of the supplying firm to leverage their innovation strategy into increased performance is highly contingent upon not only the innovation levels of their own industry, but also the innovation levels of the industries which they supply. Our results, therefore, suggest that it would be advantageous for suppliers to take a supply chain perspective and strategically incorporate the innovation characteristics of their customers when determining whether to pursue a leading or lagging innovation strategy.

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The relationship between strategic supply chain integration and performance: a meta‐analytic evaluation and implications for supply chain management research

Journal of Business Logistics

Alan W Mackelprang, Jessica L Robinson, Ednilson Bernardes, G Scott Webb

2014 Although research evaluating the impact of supply chain integration on performance has advanced substantially in the last decade, inconsistency and considerable variability of empirical findings leave unanswered questions for both research and practice. Using a meta‐analysis, we examine empirical studies to clarify the actual relationship, suggest new directions, and ultimately contribute toward the development of supply chain management theory. We focus on “strategic” supply chain integration rather than on functional or operational/tactical studies, which would weaken the practical value of the analysis and findings. To ascertain focus and homogeneity of the sample, we adopt a rigorous search protocol and sample construction. We find that integration–performance relationships are complex and nuanced such that integration should not be universally viewed as improving performance. We identify relationships that are more generalizable and also those that need additional scrutiny. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings and provide directions for future research.

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Are internal manufacturing and external supply chain flexibilities complementary capabilities?

Journal of Operations Management

Manoj K Malhotra, Alan W Mackelprang

2012 Manufacturing flexibility is often viewed as a strategic capability that enables firms to more effectively meet heterogeneous market demands arising, in part, from increased product proliferation. However, recent studies suggest that the operational challenges associated with meeting this objective may be heavily dependent not only upon a firm's internal modification, mix, and new product flexibilities, but also upon the flexibility of its inbound and outbound supply chain partners. Drawing upon the theory of Complementarity, we examine if simultaneous utilization of both internal and external flexibilities does in fact create synergies that can improve a firm's delivery performance. Based on a sample of 158 U.S. manufacturing plants, we find that the extent to which performance enhancing synergies are generated is primarily dependent upon the type of internal flexibility that is paired with supply chain flexibilities. Additionally, we find that when synergies do exist, external supplier and logistics flexibilities generally tend to enhance the scope of flexible response, while internal flexibilities generally tend to enhance the achievability of a flexible response. Taken together, our findings suggest that the ability of firms to actually reap the synergistic benefits of an integrated system of supply chain flexibility is much more complex and nuanced than previously believed or expected.

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Relationship between just-in-time manufacturing practices and performance: A meta-analytic investigation

Journal of Operations Management

Alan W Mackelprang, Anand Nair

2010 Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing is among the most commonly researched topics in the area of operations management. This study examines the relationship between JIT manufacturing practices and performance outcomes by means of meta-analysis of correlations approach. Based on an in-depth analysis of literature spanning from 1992 to 2008, the results of this meta-analytic investigation support a positive relationship between JIT manufacturing practices and aggregate performance. However, the findings suggest that not all individual JIT practices are associated with all types of performance outcomes. This study highlights the JIT practices that have the greatest impact on individual performance outcomes and emphasizes the role of moderating factors in the relationship between JIT practices and performance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed and directions for future theory building in JIT are presented.

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The Influence of Types of Training on Service System Performance in Mass Service and Service Shop Operations

International Journal of Production Economics

Alan W Mackelprang, Jayanth Jayaram, Kefeng Xu

2012 This research specifically examines the direct and indirect effects of job specific training and training in quality management techniques, on service system performance. To further explicate these relationships and to provide more specific managerial relevance, we examine these relationships across two common, but under-researched types of service processes, i.e., mass services and service shops. Survey data collected from 281 service firms in China was analyzed utilizing a Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach to structural equation modeling and multi-group model comparisons. Our results indicate that in generic service settings, quality management related training has a larger positive impact on service system performance than does job specific training. However, this effect is not universal. In “Service Shop” settings, job specific training was found to have a larger impact on service system performance, while in “Mass Service” settings quality management training was found to have the higher total impact on service system performance. This study is the first to distinguish between job specific training and quality management training and their differential effects on employee capability and service system performance. Additionally, through examining these relationships across two under-researched service process types, not only are greater managerial insights gained, but also the context-specific nature of our findings is further explicated. Finally, the emerging importance of China in global operations makes this study all the more important.

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