The Influences of Organizational Behavior on Corporate Packaging Decision-Makers for Durable (Repairable) Goods Producers

摘要

Corporations rely on functional packaging to communicate, protect, and add utility throughout supply chains while still maximizing profits and minimizing costs. This research explores the role organizational behavior plays in influencing packaging decisions as well as corporate risks and consequences. Despite the need for fact-based decisions, packaging decision-makers (PDMs) are also influenced by organizational behavior. These behaviors can be described as structure-based or relationship-based. Structure-based behaviors include the PDM's organizational: accountability, responsibilities, hierarchical reporting level, and structural construct. Relationship-based organizational behaviors include the PDM's environmental frame and corporate change. While grouping behaviors according to their structural or relationship basis is useful, they are not mutually exclusive as structural behaviors can influence relationships and visa versa. Case study research was used to explore packaging decision-making of durable goods producers. Specific embedded case research included packaging decision-making for assembly components, finished goods, and serviceable repair parts. This breadth of embedded cases enabled both intra-case and inter-case analysis. In-depth interviews were conducted to determine how select organizational behaviors influence PDMs and packaging decisions. The organizational behaviors that influence PDMs and packaging decisions are not always static, as firms seek out the best approach to managing packaging decisions. Organizational changes are made to PDMs for various reasons including cost reductions, repairing corporate reputations, and executing corporate strategies. Organizational changes reflect corporations' perceived value of packaging with respect to new and emerging corporate strategies. Case examples of organizational change reveal the type and magnitude of corporate risks with respect to their management of PDMs. Case examples of organizational change also provide insight to which behaviors are manipulated by corporations in order to obtain the desired results. These examples also demonstrate that various organizational behaviors can be simultaneously altered with beneficial results. Of significance was the finding that corporations do not always have PDMs for each of embedded case in their supply chain. In some cases this is a deliberate organizational choice. It is not clear that corporations are fully aware of the risks and benefits associated with this organizational behavior. Corporations that reinstated their PDMs have clearly experienced the consequences of their organizational behavior.