Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Branford McAllister

Abstract

There is a performance gap between supply chain leaders versus laggards in critical areas such as service and shareholder value. Although research indicates that the reasons for the performance differences are choosing the wrong performance measures and setting goals too low, there remains a lack of knowledge and understanding regarding the decision-making strategies used by supply chain leaders in selecting key performance measures and goals for their respective organizations. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to improve the understanding of the decision-making strategies used by supply chain leaders in their selection of key performance measures and associated goals. The conceptual framework was decision-making theory. The research question concerned the decision-making strategies used by supply chain leaders in choosing the key performance measures and goals for their organizations. Fifteen senior supply chain professionals from organizations recognized in the Gartner Top 25 Supply Chains for 2016 were interviewed. Major findings were that a majority of participants employed multiple decision-making strategies both in choosing performance measures and in determining goals. Naturalistic decision-making strategies were used by all participants in performance measure selection although heuristics decision-making strategies were used most frequently in setting goals. To create positive social change, supply chain leaders should use multiple decision-making strategies with a focus on naturalistic decision-making for performance measure selection and heuristics decision-making strategies for goal setting. Doing so may increase stakeholder value benefitting employees, the company, and the communities in which the company operates.

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