A research problem is and elaborate statement related to any area of concern, a situation to be improved upon, an issue to be resolved or a disconcerting question that is present in academic literature, in principles or in any existing practice that requires pointing to a prerequisite for evocative comprehension and measured investigation (Zikmund et al. 2013). A research problem does not express what is required to be done, how it must be done, suggest an ambiguous or comprehensive proposition, or offer a value question. Defining the problem in any research is the fuel that drives the scientific research process and is even the basis of any research method and experimental design, extending from real experiments to case studies (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). A research definition is the first statement that is formed in any research paper, and even define the research area while including a quick outline of how the hypothesis was .reached at. A research problem requires to be specified clearly and concisely for generation of research questions. It is related to multiple academic fields of study and has a base in research literature (Creswell 2013). The main research problem in this article has been identified as the requirement of analyzing the supply chain practices and supply chain food quality performance indicators inside the beef processing industry in Australia. This Australian industry is a significant contributor to the Australian economy. It is the fourth highest commodity export earner in the country’s market, making it a significant player. The last few years has been volatile and not profitable enough because of the price fluctuations in a lot of fields. In such kind of business environment, significant impact can be seen from advanced supply chain systems. However, very few studies have covered the topic of how supply chain practices impact on meat industry. Moreover, majority of the studies were based on few case studies and research that rarely used quantitative methods. Therefore this study intended to address the issue of research gap and look into how progressive supply chain systems have a capacity to offer assistances to Australian beef processing industry accomplishment. Therefore the research problem solely concentrated on the supply chain practices and food quality supply chain performance indicator in the Australian beef processing manufacturers. The formed problem statement combined the information of the swift variations going on in the beef industry with the supply chain management literature. The problem statement addressed the different supply chain practices like strategic alliance (SA), information sharing (IS), customer focus (CF), information quality (IQ), lean system (LS) and some of the antecedent cooperative conduct of trust and commitment. These factors were judged by their impact on the supply chain performance. It is even mentioned that the performance is measured by the food quality of Australian beef processors. The problem statement of this article fulfills the criterion of being clear and concise. The elements mentioned inside the problem statement are all related to different academic fields of study and together address the main agenda of the research problem.
For the development of the hypotheses, secondary data has been collected and discussed in the article (Irwin 2013). All the collected information are related to the supply chain practices and what impact they can have on the Australian beef industry. Previous literature on the same has shown that five dimensions of supply chain are specifically more important in this industry: strategic alliance, customer focus, information sharing, information quality and lean system. The secondary information has been collected on this aspect with an objective that the improvements of these aspects would bring in more profitability for supply chain by improving revenue generation and reduction in costs of firms. Each dimensions of the supply chain practices has been discussed separately under sub headings so that they can be properly discussed and elaborated upon. A separate table has been provided to present a gist regarding the opinions presented by previous studies related to the dimensions of supply chain practices. The dimension of strategic alliance has been discussed with an aim to help influence the tactical and operational competences of individual partaking organizations to aid them attain substantial continuing assistances. Studies have revealed that such alliances between suppliers, manufacturers, logistics service providers and customers significantly contribute to the increase in competitive advantage and even bring in efficient operations and value creation. Different industry sectors have different studies that are related to this aspect, all of them showing that there are many components that are significant to the Australian beef industry. On the other hand, limited research has been carried out on the tactical supplier partnerships in agri-business supply chains and beef supply chain management (Sambasivan et al.2013). In regards to this, the current research is doing a substantial investigation on the impact of strategic alliance in the Australian beef industry and the supply chain performance. The second element of customer focus covers one of the major challenge in this industry – providing steady service level through its extensive range of customers. Closely knit customer relationships are important for any business and the Australian beef industry is no exception. It is important for the maintenance and deliverance of consistent quality in many supply chains (Christopher 2016). The element of information sharing is crucial for businesses to get into and share information along the supply chain, making the accomplishing supply chain procedures more effectual and cost active. Studies have pointed internet or other web-based technologies as having a positive impact on this process. Several studies have covered the level of information sharing in different sectors and have found that it has a vital influence on the operational performance (Wu, Chuang and Hsu 2014). While sharing of information has provide to be important, the quality also has a vital impact on the supply chain performance. Information quality gets determined by accuracy, timeliness and proper formatting of information. Previous study reveals that the dysfunctional effects of wrong or deferred information can harm operational efficiency. The discussion on this topic proves that the supply chain effectivity is effected by both information sharing and the quality. It is expected that information quality is positively related to supply chain performance in the beef processing industry (Zhou et al.2014). In terms of lean thing in supply chain management, the organizations together recognize the value stream for respective product from conception to ingestion and enhance this value stream irrespective of customary serviceable or corporate limitations. Lean operating practices are the strongest driver of any highly incorporated and down-sized supply chain that assures cost savings and productive working partner relationships. Lean thinking has captured an important place in the implementation inside the food supply chain, making its adoption suitable for all the participants in the red meat industry. Even though the adoption might increase profitability, there is a chance that dependency on buyers might increase and lower the levels of profitability (Myerson 2012). This discussion has stated that lean thinking is restricted for many participants in the beef supply chain, while all the partners in supply chain work together for better performance.
For this article on Australian beef industry, a supply chain management survey was carried out with the help of distribution of mail questionnaire to beef processors. The survey was conducted to ask participants form this industry on their views regarding the different aspects of supply chain, all the while focusing on the discussed indicators. All total 600 questionnaires were mailed or e-mailed straight to the tested businesses in Australia from AUSMEAT web site, Top 25 ranking red meat processors and value added (published by the MLA), MINTRAC, Yellow-pages online. After getting reminded twice, 162 completed questionnaires were given back. 22 of them were ineffectual owing to being partly completed questionnaires. Generally, the operative response rate was 23 percent. The issue that lies in this section is the unavailability of sufficient data related to the methods being used to collect the data. The methods include survey questionnaires, which were distributed via mail or email. There is no discussion regarding what kind of questions were included in the questionnaires, how many were there, what was the major focus of those questionnaires and so on. Not discussing the questionnaires have made it difficult to determine the course of the data analysis and what ultimate results the report is looking for. The sampled businesses that were sent the questionnaires were given no introduction, which is important for the readers so that they can understand what businesses are being researched upon or what is the situation of their operations. With no introduction to the sampled companies, there is a lack in the understanding of the background of the data collected form the survey. A complete investigation on that aspect would have helped complete the collected information. The timespan provided to the samples for answering the questionnaires were also not mentioned, which would have helped answer partly why so less number of questionnaires were returned. It is important that samples get the time and are comfortable enough to partake in the survey to ensure success of that survey. Even though the sample profile was provided in a table later on in the article.it is not sufficient to determine the characteristics of the samples. The method of sending the questionnaires were mentioned, however there is no mention if they were cross checked before sending, or if they have actually reached the sampling companies or not, which would also answer the low number of feedback returns.
In the data analysis section, first a confirmatory factor analysis was shepherded to examine the dependability, un-dimensionality, convergent and differentiate cogency of each construct. Then Cronbach’s alpha was used for testing the internal constancy and a high dependability of scales. Discriminant and convergent cogency were measured by means of factor analysis. In order to evaluate discriminant validity, factor loadings are being utilized for each item. The loadings imitate the power of the association amongst an item and a specific construct or factor. The greater the loading, the enhanced the depiction that specific item has on the factor. Lastly, in an attempt to discover the fundamental association amongst supply chain practices and supply chain performance indicators, a stepwise multiple regression analysis was executed. Supply chain practices: strategic alliance, information sharing, customer focus, information quality, and lean system, and antecedent cooperative behavior: trust and commitment (independent variables) were regressed on food quality, supply chain performance indicator (dependent variable). In advance of execution of the stepwise multiple regression analysis, all independent variables were tested to approve that they did not disrupt the expectations of normality, multicollinearity and homoscedasticity. In confirmatory factor analysis the anticipated factor structure of various watched variables is converted into the entire covariance matrix over these variables. Next, this matrix is changed in accordance with the genuine covariance matrix, and in this manner contrasted and it. The inconsistency between the two, the “goodness of fit” (GOF), is communicated by various indices. An evaluation of how well the anticipated factor structure is supported by the sample information, and whether it could be summed up to the populace, is often in light of the estimations of these indices (Kline 2013). Cronbach’s alpha is a measure of central consistency, that is, the means by which firmly related an arrangement of products are as a group. It is thought to be a measure of scale consistency. Notwithstanding measuring internal consistency, one wishes to give confirm that the scale being referred to be unidimensional, extra examinations can be performed. In fact speaking, Cronbach’s alpha is not a measurable test – it is a coefficient of unwavering quality (or consistency) (Bonett and Wright 2015). Multiple regression is an augmentation of basic (bi-variate) regression. The objective of multiple regression is to empower a specialist to evaluate the connection between a dependent (predicted) variable and a few independent (predictor) variables. The final product of multiple regression is the advancement of a regression condition (line of best fit) between the dependent variable and a few independent variables (Keith 2014). Stepwise multiple regression would be utilized to answer an alternate inquiry. The concentration of stepwise regression would be the subject of what the best mix of independent (predictor) variables is foresee the dependent (predicted) variable (Cohen et al.2013).
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