PhD Defence: Robert Suurmond
In his dissertation ‘In Pursuit of Supplier Knowledge: Leveraging capabilities and dividing responsibilities in product and service contexts’ Robert Suurmond studies the integration of supplier knowledge through the lenses of dynamic capabilities and the division of responsibilities in the contexts of products and services.
Robert Suurmond defended his dissertation in the Senate Hall at Erasmus University Rotterdam on Friday, 22 February 2019 at 09:30. His supervisors were Prof. Jan Dul (RSM) and Prof. Finn Wynstra(RSM). Other members of the Doctoral Committee are Prof. Vareska van de Vrande (RSM), Prof. Fred Langerak (Technical University Eindhoven) and Dr. Larry Menor (Ivey Business School, Western University).
About Robert Suurmond
Robert Suurmond was born on 9 July 1989 in Gouda, The Netherlands. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Supply Chain Management from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. After graduation in December 2013, Robert joined the PSM@RSM team in the Department of Technology and Operations Management to pursue his PhD.
His main research interests lie at the intersection of purchasing/supply management and innovation to elaborate insights about (supplier) knowledge integration in the development of products and services. Robert presented parts of his research at international conferences including at Academy of Management, EurOMA, and IPSERA. At IPSERA 2018, his paper on supplier involvement in NPD was selected as the runner-up for the best conference paper award. In Fall 2017, he was a visiting scholar at Ivey Business School in London, Ontario, where he worked with dr. Larry Menor. In addition to research, Robert teaches in Purchasing and Supply (Chain) Management, Strategic Sourcing, Meta-Analysis and Research Methods, and has supervised many master thesis projects. Currently, Robert holds a position as Assistant Professor in the department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management at the School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University.
Thesis Abstract
In this dissertation, I study the integration of supplier knowledge through the lenses of dynamic capabilities and the division of responsibilities in the contexts of products and services. In Chapter 2, I provide a meta-analysis of the effects of supplier involvement on New Product Development performance, in order to resolve prior inconclusive and mixed findings. I therefore reconceptualize supplier involvement as two distinct practices to leverage absorptive and connective capacities for external knowledge integration and provide detailed results. I conduct further research on supplier knowledge integration in the context of business-to-business services. In Chapter 3, I develop a taxonomy of quality in outsourced business services based on a qualitative comparative analysis of outsourced facility services, such as cleaning. I show that different organizations reach high levels of service performance in distinct ways, depending on varying combinations of relational, structural, and service-specific conditions. In Chapter 4, I explore services in triadic buyer-supplier-customer outsourcing arrangements using a multiple-case study of services at Dutch universities, such as print services. I show that the design and operation of services and service systems revolves around the complex interplay of members’ roles and responsibilities and a set of distinctive service capabilities. In combination, this research provides important theoretical advances on the capabilities and responsibilities to manage the integration of supplier knowledge with the buyer’s product and service development or sourcing processes. In an era of increasingly networked organizations, the findings provide distinct practical recommendations for buying organizations that pursue supplier knowledge.
Photos: Chris Gorzeman / Capital Images
