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Knowledge elicitation and mapping in the design of a decision support system for the evaluation of suppliers’ competencies

Lorella Cannavacciuolo (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy)
Luca Iandoli (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy)
Cristina Ponsiglione (Department of Industrial Engineering, University Federico II, Naples, Italy)
Giuseppe Zollo (Department of Industrial Engineering, University Federico II, Naples, Italy)

VINE

ISSN: 0305-5728

Article publication date: 9 November 2015

12007

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a methodology for the mapping and evaluation of suppliers’ competencies and know-how. The authors operationalize the concept of organizational competence and provide companies with a customized management tool to map suppliers’ critical competencies for screening strategic from non-strategic suppliers and providing inputs for suppliers’ development.

Design/methodology/approach

Competencies assessment, carried out through a fuzzy knowledge management system (VINCI), is performed through the aggregation of indicators related to the control of critical resources, the degree of implementation of critical processes, the competitive positioning and the financial situation of a supplier. Competencies description and operationalization are based on the bottom-up elicitation of the subjective knowledge managers actually use to assess suppliers’ capability. Such subjective knowledge is then validated and formalized through a top-down approach based on strategic literature.

Findings

The authors tested VINCI on a sample of 38 suppliers of a large company. The results show that the methodology provides its users with a highly customizable knowledge map and its associated decision support tool that keeps into account the peculiar strategic needs of the company in the management of an existing portfolio of suppliers.

Practical implications

VINCI outcomes can be used to perform benchmarking analyses, define entry criteria and thresholds for suppliers’, identify improvement targets and service levels to be considered in the definition of supply contracts, supporting the alignment of supplier’s management with business strategy.

Originality/value

The most important original contribution of this work resides in the operationalization and measurements of firms’ competencies based on the elicitation of subjective knowledge that managers use in the actual assessment. A further distinctive feature of this paper is that the method is applied to small and medium companies, whereas large part of the literature on core or organizational competencies assessment is focused on large companies.

Keywords

Citation

Cannavacciuolo, L., Iandoli, L., Ponsiglione, C. and Zollo, G. (2015), "Knowledge elicitation and mapping in the design of a decision support system for the evaluation of suppliers’ competencies", VINE, Vol. 45 No. 4, pp. 530-550. https://doi.org/10.1108/VINE-01-2015-0011

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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