Interview protocol
| Questions in the interview protocol | Main construct addressed |
|---|---|
| What AI techniques do you use for supplier scouting? | AI techniques and algorithms |
| Which algorithms support these applications? | AI techniques and algorithms |
| How do purchasing category features (strategic relevance, customization, etc.) affect the supplier scouting process and its uncertainty? | Environmental uncertainty |
| What is the impact of the supply market features (regulation, market turbulence, competition, etc.) on the supplier scouting process, and how can they affect the possibility of adopting the AI? | Environmental uncertainty |
| How much variability lies in the scouting process: is it made of repetitive tasks coded by standard procedures, or can it significantly vary based on interdependencies with other business units? | Task uncertainty |
| What role do data and information play in the supplier scouting process? | Task uncertainty |
| What data sources (e.g. sensor data, social data, transactional data, operational data, partner data, machine-to-machine data or cloud-service data) are the most relevant to the supplier scouting process? | Task uncertainty |
| Which data types (structured or unstructured) are the most relevant for the supplier scouting process? | Task uncertainty |
| How does asset specificity and the type of supplier relationship (e.g. spot transaction, mid-term relationship, partnership, strategic alliance, upstream integration, etc.) affect the adoption of AI in the supplier scouting process? | Partnership uncertainty |
| How does internal formalization (formal control or coordination) affect the scouting process and the exchange of information with the suppliers? | Structural mechanisms |
| How does the relationship among the actors involved (in terms of commitment, conflict resolution, joint action, etc.) affect the information exchange with the suppliers? | Process mechanisms |
| How are buyer firms' capabilities to process data, in terms of different types of data, quality of the firms' databases, and ease of exchange? | Technological mechanisms |
| How is the transparency of buyer firms' IT systems? | Technological mechanisms |
| How is the collaboration and integration with technological providers and procurement solutions providers? | Technological mechanisms |
| How is the collaboration with other information providers that provide supplier data for the scouting process? | Technological mechanisms |
| Questions in the interview protocol | Main construct addressed |
|---|---|
| What AI techniques do you use for supplier scouting? | AI techniques and algorithms |
| Which algorithms support these applications? | AI techniques and algorithms |
| How do purchasing category features (strategic relevance, customization, etc.) affect the supplier scouting process and its uncertainty? | Environmental uncertainty |
| What is the impact of the supply market features (regulation, market turbulence, competition, etc.) on the supplier scouting process, and how can they affect the possibility of adopting the AI? | Environmental uncertainty |
| How much variability lies in the scouting process: is it made of repetitive tasks coded by standard procedures, or can it significantly vary based on interdependencies with other business units? | Task uncertainty |
| What role do data and information play in the supplier scouting process? | Task uncertainty |
| What data sources (e.g. sensor data, social data, transactional data, operational data, partner data, machine-to-machine data or cloud-service data) are the most relevant to the supplier scouting process? | Task uncertainty |
| Which data types (structured or unstructured) are the most relevant for the supplier scouting process? | Task uncertainty |
| How does asset specificity and the type of supplier relationship (e.g. spot transaction, mid-term relationship, partnership, strategic alliance, upstream integration, etc.) affect the adoption of AI in the supplier scouting process? | Partnership uncertainty |
| How does internal formalization (formal control or coordination) affect the scouting process and the exchange of information with the suppliers? | Structural mechanisms |
| How does the relationship among the actors involved (in terms of commitment, conflict resolution, joint action, etc.) affect the information exchange with the suppliers? | Process mechanisms |
| How are buyer firms' capabilities to process data, in terms of different types of data, quality of the firms' databases, and ease of exchange? | Technological mechanisms |
| How is the transparency of buyer firms' IT systems? | Technological mechanisms |
| How is the collaboration and integration with technological providers and procurement solutions providers? | Technological mechanisms |
| How is the collaboration with other information providers that provide supplier data for the scouting process? | Technological mechanisms |
Source(s): Table created by authors
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