| Chapter 1: | Objectives, methodology, approach and definition of terms |
This is a limited free preview of this book. Please buy full access.
To preserve the anonymity of the clients, the results of the empirical study are presented on a neutral basis, without mentioning the names of the respective companies. However, the characteristics relevant to these companies (indications of their industry affiliations, for example) are represented, as these are germane to the study.
The exploratory examination of the SCOR model is based upon the analysis of the scientific and application-related research already conducted in the field. It is also based on the authors extensive practical experience gained during a tenure for years as a business consultant, particularly with respect to the field of Supply Chain Management, and specifically the SCOR model. The examination of the SCOR model involves a comparison of the theses developed during the course of the work and their results, accumulated by empirical examination. An evaluation, to include recommendations for the improvement of the model, appears at the end of the work.
In the first stage, the study applies scientific statistical methods in order to test the conformity of the developed model. The findings of the empirical study then provide the basis for recommendations that follow for the improvement of the SCOR model, or for Supply Chain analysis. The conclusion provides modern concepts and tools for Supply Chain formation, as well as suggestions for further research in the fields of Supply Chain Management and SCOR.
The theses that are outlined, although not yet verified, within the work refer to the connections between the interval-scaled model parameters of the SCOR model.16 The verification of the connections advocated in the hypotheses will succeed these by means of additional descriptive-statistical clarifications. Although the theses themselves are, at this stage of research in the field, often not completely verified, special attention is paid to those companies that differ from a given basic tendency in order that such deviational cases can be clarified.17
The findings are thus articulated in accordance with the submitted theses. In the findings, the material data or the correlation of the individual variables (according to the thesis in question) are primarily verified on an empirical basis.