IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/proeco/v124y2010i2p310-330.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The evolutionary complexity of complex adaptive supply networks: A simulation and case study

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Gang
  • Yang, Hongjiao
  • Sun, Linyan
  • Ji, Ping
  • Feng, Lei

Abstract

A supply chain should be treated not just as a supply chain but also as a complex adaptive supply network (CASN). However, the literature on supply chain management has given little attention to the evolutionary complexity of the network structure and collaboration mechanism of CASNs. In this paper, we first model and simulate the evolution of CASNs based on complex adaptive system and fitness landscape theory. The simulation results indicate the evolutionary complexities such as emergence, quasi-equilibrium, chaos, and lock-in of CASNs. Then, a case study of the evolution of the LVEA (low voltage equipment apparatus) supply network in the emerging Chinese market has been explored to validate the findings from the simulation and develop a better understanding of the general principles influencing the emergence, adaptation and evolution of CASNs in the real world. Based on the simulation and the case study, we propose some propositions about the factors and principles influencing the evolutionary complexity of CASNs. The external environment factors and firm-internal mechanisms appear to be the dominant forces that shape the gradual evolution of CASNs. Factors in the external environment, such as government regulation, market demand and market structure appear to have a long-term impact on the evolution, while a firm's strategies, product structure, technology, and organization appear to be the internal factors that exert an immediate influence on the evolution of CASNs. Among these factors, cost and quality considerations appear to be the primary forces that influence the structure complexity, centralization and formalization of CASNs.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Gang & Yang, Hongjiao & Sun, Linyan & Ji, Ping & Feng, Lei, 2010. "The evolutionary complexity of complex adaptive supply networks: A simulation and case study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 310-330, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:124:y:2010:i:2:p:310-330
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925-5273(09)00430-7
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wilkinson, Ian & Young, Louise, 2002. "On cooperating: firms, relations and networks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 123-132, February.
    2. Alfaro, Miguel D. & Sepulveda, Juan M., 2006. "Chaotic behavior in manufacturing systems," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 150-158, May.
    3. Carbonara, Nunzia & Giannoccaro, Ilaria & Pontrandolfo, Pierpaolo, 2002. "Supply chains within industrial districts: A theoretical framework," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 159-176, March.
    4. Li, Suhong & Ragu-Nathan, Bhanu & Ragu-Nathan, T.S. & Subba Rao, S., 2006. "The impact of supply chain management practices on competitive advantage and organizational performance," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 107-124, April.
    5. Nagatani, Takashi & Helbing, Dirk, 2004. "Stability analysis and stabilization strategies for linear supply chains," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 335(3), pages 644-660.
    6. Akanle, O.M. & Zhang, D.Z., 2008. "Agent-based model for optimising supply-chain configurations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 444-460, October.
    7. Beamon, Benita M., 1998. "Supply chain design and analysis:: Models and methods," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 281-294, August.
    8. Kinra, Aseem & Kotzab, Herbert, 2008. "A macro-institutional perspective on supply chain environmental complexity," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 283-295, October.
    9. Stephen Guisinger, 2001. "From OLI to OLMA: Incorporating Higher Levels of Environmental and Structural Complexity into the Eclectic Paradigm," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 257-272.
    10. Danny Miller, 1992. "Environmental Fit Versus Internal Fit," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 159-178, May.
    11. Crespo Marquez, Adolfo & Blanchar, Carol, 2004. "The procurement of strategic parts. Analysis of a portfolio of contracts with suppliers using a system dynamics simulation model," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 29-49, March.
    12. Masaaki Kotabe & Xavier Martin & Hiroshi Domoto, 2003. "Gaining from vertical partnerships: knowledge transfer, relationship duration, and supplier performance improvement in the U.S. and Japanese automotive industries," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 293-316, April.
    13. Kamalini Ramdas & Robert E. Spekman, 2000. "Chain or Shackles: Understanding What Drives Supply-Chain Performance," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 30(4), pages 3-21, August.
    14. Holweg, Matthias & Bicheno, John, 2002. "Supply chain simulation - a tool for education, enhancement and endeavour," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 163-175, July.
    15. Bruce Kogut, 2000. "The network as knowledge: generative rules and the emergence of structure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 405-425, March.
    16. Potter, Andrew & Mason, Robert & Naim, Mohamed & Lalwani, Chandra, 2004. "The evolution towards an integrated steel supply chain: A case study from the UK," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2), pages 207-216, May.
    17. Yang, Jie & Wang, Jinjun & Wong, Christina W.Y. & Lai, Kee-Hung, 2008. "Relational stability and alliance performance in supply chain," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 600-608, August.
    18. Wu, Y. & Zhang, D.Z., 2007. "Demand fluctuation and chaotic behaviour by interaction between customers and suppliers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 250-259, May.
    19. Wikner, J. & Towill, D. R. & Naim, M., 1991. "Smoothing supply chain dynamics," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 231-248, December.
    20. Mitchell P. Koza & Arie Y. Lewin, 1999. "The Coevolution of Network Alliances: A Longitudinal Analysis of an International Professional Service Network," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(5), pages 638-653, October.
    21. Larsen, Erik R. & Morecroft, John D. W. & Thomsen, Jesper S., 1999. "Complex behaviour in a production-distribution model," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(1), pages 61-74, November.
    22. Fiala, P., 2005. "Information sharing in supply chains," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 419-423, October.
    23. Arie Y. Lewin & Chris P. Long & Timothy N. Carroll, 1999. "The Coevolution of New Organizational Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(5), pages 535-550, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kemp-Benedict, Eric, 2013. "Resource Return on Investment under Markup Pricing," MPRA Paper 49154, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Fan, Huan & Li, Gang & Sun, Hongyi & Cheng, T.C.E., 2017. "An information processing perspective on supply chain risk management: Antecedents, mechanism, and consequences," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 63-75.
    3. Canan Kocabasoglu‐Hillmer & Sinéad Roden & Evelyne Vanpoucke & Byung‐Gak Son & Marianne W. Lewis, 2023. "Radical innovations as supply chain disruptions? A paradox between change and stability," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 59(3), pages 3-19, July.
    4. Goknur Arzu Akyuz & Guner Gursoy, 2020. "Strategic management perspectives on supply chain," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 70(2), pages 213-241, May.
    5. Sarah Schiffling & Claire Hannibal & Matthew Tickle & Yiyi Fan, 2022. "The implications of complexity for humanitarian logistics: a complex adaptive systems perspective," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 319(1), pages 1379-1410, December.
    6. Marcus A. Bellamy & Rahul C. Basole, 2013. "Network analysis of supply chain systems: A systematic review and future research," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 235-249, June.
    7. Li, Gang & Fan, Huan & Lee, Peter K.C. & Cheng, T.C.E., 2015. "Joint supply chain risk management: An agency and collaboration perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 83-94.
    8. Katsoras, Efthymios & Georgiadis, Patroklos, 2022. "An integrated System Dynamics model for Closed Loop Supply Chains under disaster effects: The case of COVID-19," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    9. Izunildo Cabral & Antonio Grilo, 2018. "Impact of Business Interoperability on the Performance of Complex Cooperative Supply Chain Networks: A Case Study," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2018, pages 1-30, February.
    10. Lorentz, Harri & Kittipanya-ngam, Pichawadee & Singh Srai, Jagjit, 2013. "Emerging market characteristics and supply network adjustments in internationalising food supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(1), pages 220-232.
    11. David L. Olson & Scott R. Swenseth, 2014. "Trade‐offs in Supply Chain System Risk Mitigation," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 565-579, July.
    12. Dass, Mayukh & Fox, Gavin L., 2011. "A holistic network model for supply chain analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(2), pages 587-594, June.
    13. He, Zhou & Wang, Shouyang & Cheng, T.C.E., 2013. "Competition and evolution in multi-product supply chains: An agent-based retailer model," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 325-336.
    14. Roberto Dominguez & Salvatore Cannella, 2020. "Insights on Multi-Agent Systems Applications for Supply Chain Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-13, March.
    15. Cecile Gerwel Proches & Shamim Bodhanya, 2015. "Exploring stakeholder interactions through the lens of complexity theory: lessons from the sugar industry," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 49(6), pages 2507-2525, November.
    16. Efthymios Katsoras & Patroklos Georgiadis, 2022. "A Dynamic Analysis for Mitigating Disaster Effects in Closed Loop Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, April.
    17. Huo, Baofeng & Gu, Minhao & Jiang, Bin, 2018. "China-related POM research: Literature review and suggestions for future research," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 134-153.
    18. Cannella, Salvatore & Dominguez, Roberto & Framinan, Jose M., 2017. "Inventory record inaccuracy – The impact of structural complexity and lead time variability," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 123-138.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Prajogo, Daniel & Olhager, Jan, 2012. "Supply chain integration and performance: The effects of long-term relationships, information technology and sharing, and logistics integration," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(1), pages 514-522.
    2. Miragliotta, Giovanni & Brun, Alessandro & Soydan, Ilker A., 2009. "Coordinating multi-business sales through management simulators," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(2), pages 533-549, October.
    3. Henk W. Volberda & Nicolai J. Foss & Marjorie A. Lyles, 2010. "PERSPECTIVE---Absorbing the Concept of Absorptive Capacity: How to Realize Its Potential in the Organization Field," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 931-951, August.
    4. Kyu Kim, Kyung & Yul Ryoo, Sung & Dug Jung, Myung, 2011. "Inter-organizational information systems visibility in buyer-supplier relationships: The case of telecommunication equipment component manufacturing industry," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 667-676, December.
    5. Vijayasarathy, Leo R., 2010. "Supply integration: An investigation of its multi-dimensionality and relational antecedents," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 489-505, April.
    6. Mathieu Bécue & Jean Belin & Damien Talbot, 2014. "Relational rent and underperformance of hub firms in the aeronautics value chain," Post-Print halshs-02337588, HAL.
    7. Wang, Xun & Disney, Stephen M. & Wang, Jing, 2012. "Stability analysis of constrained inventory systems with transportation delay," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 223(1), pages 86-95.
    8. Ogulin, R. & Selen, W. & Ashayeri, J., 2010. "Determinants of Informal Coordination in Networked Supply Chains," Discussion Paper 2010-133, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    9. Amol Adkonkar & Anand Sharma & Pooja Arora, 2024. "Validation of Instrument Measuring the Impact of SCM Practices and SCM Agility on Competitive Advantage and Organization Performance in Indian Pharmaceutical Firms," Paradigm, , vol. 28(1), pages 65-83, June.
    10. Reid, Gavin C. & Smith, Julia A., 2009. "A coevolutionary analysis of organisational systems and processes: Quantitative applications to information system dynamics in small entrepreneurial firms," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 762-781.
    11. Wang, Shih-Yuan & Chang, Sheng-Lin & Wang, Reay-Chen, 2009. "Assessment of supplier performance based on product-development strategy by applying multi-granularity linguistic term sets," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 215-226, February.
    12. Jiang, Shisong & Gong, Limin & Wang, Hua & Kimble, Chris, 2016. "Institution, strategy, and performance: A co-evolution model in transitional China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3352-3360.
    13. Kastsian, Darya & Mönnigmann, Martin, 2011. "Optimization of a vendor managed inventory supply chain with guaranteed stability and robustness," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(2), pages 727-735, June.
    14. Fleisch, Elgar & Tellkamp, Christian, 2005. "Inventory inaccuracy and supply chain performance: a simulation study of a retail supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(3), pages 373-385, March.
    15. Gholz, Eugene & James, Andrew D. & Speller, Thomas H., 2018. "The second face of systems integration: An empirical analysis of supply chains to complex product systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8), pages 1478-1494.
    16. Luís Alberto Godinho Coelho & Rui Manuel Mendes Mansidão, 2014. "Logistics Performance: a Theoretical Conceptual Model for Small and Medium Enterprises," CEFAGE-UE Working Papers 2014_12, University of Evora, CEFAGE-UE (Portugal).
    17. Lahiri, Somnath & Kedia, Ben L., 2011. "Co-evolution of institutional and organizational factors in explaining offshore outsourcing," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 252-263, June.
    18. Ogulin, R. & Selen, W. & Ashayeri, J., 2010. "Determinants of Informal Coordination in Networked Supply Chains," Other publications TiSEM 6bbf5984-752c-4760-b899-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    19. Castro, Ignacio & Casanueva, Cristóbal & Galán, José Luis, 2014. "Dynamic evolution of alliance portfolios," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 423-433.
    20. Wajahat Hussain & Jabir Hussain & Sajjad Akbar & Numair Ahmad Sulehri & Zahra Maqbool, 2014. "The Effects of Supply Chain Management Practices (Strategic Suppliers Partnership, Information Sharing, and Postponement) On Organizational Performance in Consumer Goods Manufacturing Industry of Paki," International Journal of Management Sciences, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 2(8), pages 351-361.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:124:y:2010:i:2:p:310-330. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpe .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.