Effects Of Labor Flexibility On Supplying Flexibility Of Suppliers In Supply Chains

With an increasing complex and changing environment, Corporations and scholars have paid more and more attention to flexibility of supply chain.Previous scholars have discussed a lot about manufacturing flexibility, moreover different conceptual models of supply chain flexibility and supplying flexibility has been mentioned in some studies. However, empirical study on supply chain flexibility relatively much less than manufacturing flexibility, especially flexibility of the other nodes or logistics with the supply chain is seldom discussed and need more research. Regarding with the consideration, this research builds an analyzing framework for the relationship between labor flexibility and supplying flexibility. In the thesis, selecting industry of ship manufacturing and its suppliers as samples, effects of labor flexibility on supplying flexibility of suppliers with supply chains is explored empirically, and the action principle is tried to find via examining the internal relationships of labor flexibility and supplying flexibility. To achieve the above research goals, the main issues as the following are studied.①Constructs of supplying flexibility with suppliers;②Relationship between labor flexibility and volume flexibility of suppliers;③Relationship between labor flexibility and delivery flexibility of suppliers;④Relationship between labor flexibility and mix flexibility of suppliers;⑤Relationship between labor flexibility and after service flexibility of suppliers;⑥Integrated relationship between labor flexibility and supplying flexibility of suppliers。With data collection and the data analysis, the key conclusions are drawn as following.①Supplying flexibility is constructed by volume flexibility, delivery flexibility, mix flexibility and after service flexibility;②Numerical flexibility and functional flexibility have positive but unsignificant effect on volume flexibility;③Numerical flexibility and functional flexibility have positive but unsignificant effect on delivery flexibility;④Functional flexibility has positive and unsignificant effect on mix flexibility, while numerical flexibility has negative and unsignificant effect on mix flexibility;⑤Functional flexibility has positive and significant effect on after service flexibility, while numerical flexibility has negative and unsignificant effect on after service flexibility;⑥Functional flexibility can somewhat help with improving suppliers'responsiveness.Comparing with previous research, the findings of this research are building the constructs and a measurable model of supplying flexibility, structural equation models of relationship between labor flexibility and every construct of supplying flexibility, an integrated structural equation model of relationship between labor flexibility and supplying flexibility.