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1 – 10 of 21The paper covers mega infrastructure construction supply chain (MICSC) in Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) projects, where the frequent occurrence of risk incidents has…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper covers mega infrastructure construction supply chain (MICSC) in Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) projects, where the frequent occurrence of risk incidents has greatly affected human life. The research aims to establish a risk evaluation index system for MICSC in EPC projects, exploring what risk factors lead to risk incidents and measure the importance and causality of all these risk factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The research applies a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis methodology to process data sequentially. In the first place, risk factors for MICSC in EPC projects are extracted and identified from literature survey and expert interviews. In the second place, an integration model fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (f-AHP) and fuzzy Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (f-DEMATEL) is constructed to comprehensively analyze all these risk factors.
Findings
12 primary risk factors and 36 secondary risk factors comprise the risk evaluation index system for MICSC in EPC projects from 178 literature and 5 professionals. The results indicate that Political Situation (F1), Social Security (F2) and Management Mode (F8) are critical risk factors, where F1 and F2 are cause factors and F8 is an effect factor.
Originality/value
There are three main contributions of this paper. First and foremost, from the perspective of the research content, no other study has been able to assess risk factors for MICSC in EPC projects, while embedding nine phases of the whole project life cycle and six subjects of stakeholders into a risk evaluation index system. Additionally, from the perspective of research method, a combined model incorporating f-AHP and f-DEMATEL is constructed to avoid the one-sidedness of a single model. Last but not least, from the perspective of practical significance, focusing on the critical risk factors, a series of effective measures are formulated to make appropriate management decisions for nodal enterprises of MICSC, which can improve their risk management capabilities.
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Brajesh Mishra, Avanish Kumar and Ishaan Mishra
The study explores the evolution of Indian domestic electronics manufacturing post-economic reforms and also investigates the lack of natural growth stages among Indian…
Abstract
Purpose
The study explores the evolution of Indian domestic electronics manufacturing post-economic reforms and also investigates the lack of natural growth stages among Indian start-up/SME electronics manufactures.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical framework is inspired by Dawar and Frost's survival strategy theory that local companies may follow to overcome competitive threats from MNCs. The study adopts a qualitative methodology, more precisely, a phenomenological approach to walking through policy/regulatory reforms amid market distortions, technological gaps and colonial mindset from the perspective of Indian domestic electronics manufacturers. The study has adopted Gioia method of data analysis to inductively suggest a few research propositions.
Findings
The phenomenological approach revealed eight essential structure (essence) narratives to explore the complex issue that plague the industry: make in India, made in India, preferential market access strategy, equitable market access strategy, blue ocean strategy, competitive positioning strategy, technical capability and importance of policy/regulatory arbitrage.
Practical implications
The situation of Indian electronics manufacturing units is comparable to the bonsai tree situation, where natural evolution in business stages does not exist; they are born and die as start-ups/MSMEs. The study advocates for equitable market access by removing market distortions. The long-term solution may lie in making available locally manufactured products as a dependable alternative to the imported products or produced locally by MNC OEMs in terms of cost, quality, technology, volume, after-sale service and integrated supply chain.
Originality/value
While the favorable FDI policies, digital India and make-in India initiatives have strengthened domestic electronics production, it is yet to significantly impact India's position in global trade, including manufacturing and exports.
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Chijioke Emmanuel Emere, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, Wellington Didibhuku Thwala and Opeoluwa Israel Akinradewo
Successful project delivery for sustainable building construction (SBC) has been linked to certain features. Previous studies have emphasised the need to improve SBC practice in…
Abstract
Purpose
Successful project delivery for sustainable building construction (SBC) has been linked to certain features. Previous studies have emphasised the need to improve SBC practice in South Africa. The purpose of this study is to explore the SBC features for project delivery in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire elicited the primary data from 281 built environment professionals, mainly in South Africa’s Gauteng province. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. This study used the principal component analysis technique to ascertain the principal SBC features.
Findings
Three components of SBC features, namely, sustainable resource use and compliance, sustainable waste minimisation and recycling and sustainable designs and materials, were developed from the principal component analysis. The factor loadings of the constituent variables ranged from 0.570 to 0.836. The reliability of each component was evaluated, and the results were 0.966, 0.931 and 0.913.
Practical implications
The revelations from this study will aid the decision-making of the relevant stakeholders towards establishing improvement initiatives and mitigating the reluctance to shift from conventional building methods and poor knowledge sharing of SBC benefits.
Originality/value
This is one of the most recent South African studies that sheds light on the components of a successful SBC deployment. The findings of this study added to knowledge by confirming three fundamental features of SBC. This study recommends adequately considering the principal features for successful SBC project delivery in South Africa.
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As supply chain excellence matters, designing an appropriate health-care supply chain is a great consideration to the health-care providers worldwide. Therefore, the purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
As supply chain excellence matters, designing an appropriate health-care supply chain is a great consideration to the health-care providers worldwide. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to benchmark several potential health-care supply chains to design an efficient and effective one in the presence of mixed data.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this objective, this research illustrates a hybrid algorithm based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) and goal programming (GP) for designing real-world health-care supply chains with mixed data. A DEA model along with a data aggregation is suggested to evaluate the performance of several potential configurations of the health-care supply chains. As part of the proposed approach, a GP model is conducted for dimensioning the supply chains under assessment by finding the level of the original variables (inputs and outputs) that characterize these supply chains.
Findings
This paper presents an algorithm for modeling health-care supply chains exclusively designed to handle crisp and interval data simultaneously.
Research limitations/implications
The outcome of this study will assist the health-care decision-makers in comparing their supply chains against peers and dimensioning their resources to achieve a given level of productions.
Practical implications
A real application to design a real-life pharmaceutical supply chain for the public ministry of health in Morocco is given to support the usefulness of the proposed algorithm.
Originality/value
The novelty of this paper comes from the development of a hybrid approach based on DEA and GP to design an appropriate real-life health-care supply chain in the presence of mixed data. This approach definitely contributes to assist health-care decision-makers design an efficient and effective supply chain in today’s competitive word.
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Liping Li, Chuan Chen, Igor Martek and Guanghua Li
Given their interrelationship, international market selection (IMS) and entry mode selection (EMS) must be considered jointly if an optimal entry strategy is to be realized…
Abstract
Purpose
Given their interrelationship, international market selection (IMS) and entry mode selection (EMS) must be considered jointly if an optimal entry strategy is to be realized. However, researchers in the field of international construction have the tendency to consider IMS and EMS independently or sequentially. Therefore, this paper aims to explore a holistic framework that can accommodate IMS and EMS concurrently and test it using empirical data.
Design/methodology/approach
his study includes theoretical and empirical research. In theoretical part, an integrated decision model of IMS and EMS is proposed adopting literature review and theoretical derivation, then hypotheses are developed for the impact of decision-making factors. In the latter part, the IMS and EMS of 54 Chinese contractors in 67 countries were investigated, empirical data are collected according to hypotheses, an ordinal logistic regression model is established for statistics analysis. Finally, findings are drawn by comparing literature-based hypotheses with data-based analysis results.
Findings
Results show that empirical data fit theoretical model well. Findings are: IMS and EMS can be integrated into a holistic decision-making framework when be properly sequenced. When IMS and EMS are determined simultaneously, the decision can benefit from a sharing of common information. And the roles of at least 13 common factors are empirically demonstrated in this study.
Research limitations/implications
The integrated decision sequence proposed in this study is applicable for a specific market, and cannot compare multiple alternative markets directly. The decision-making factors identified in this paper do not cover the enterprise strategic objectives and some other factors. Empirical data and some theoretical assumptions are based on the international market entry strategy of Chinese contractors. Therefore, the conclusions may not be completely applicable to global contractors though have certain reference value.
Originality/value
Based on the idea of holistic decision-making of IMS and EMS, this study proposes an international market entry strategy (IMES) sequence and an explicit model for determinants, then tests them with empirical data. This paper provides a new idea to manage IMS and EMS concurrently, which can improve the efficiency of IMES decision-making and avoid missing optimal alternatives. This study paves the way for a practical model and provides reference for contractors' international market entry strategy.
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Brajesh Mishra and Avanish Kumar
Globally, the governance has shifted from positivist to the regulatory-centric approach, necessitating accurate contouring of regulatory governance framework. The study proposes a…
Abstract
Purpose
Globally, the governance has shifted from positivist to the regulatory-centric approach, necessitating accurate contouring of regulatory governance framework. The study proposes a novel approach to unravel the regulatory governance framework in the context of the Indian electronics industry – extendable to other sectors in India and other emerging economies.
Design/methodology/approach
The research objective has been operationalized through document analysis and thematic analysis of semi-structured interview transcripts in three steps: (1) arrive at parameters of the regulatory governance framework, (2) identify instruments against each parameter and (3) characterize parameters in terms of dominant instruments and their underlying modalities. The authors have adopted a set of 6 Cs modalities (control, communications, competition, consensus, code and collaboration) and regulatory space theory to analyze existing modalities mix in the dominant instruments.
Findings
In summary, the study has (1) identified eight macro and twenty micro regulatory governance parameters, (2) mapped regulatory governance parameters with instruments and institutions (3) revealed the top two dominant modalities for each regulatory governance parameter.
Practical implications
The existing modality characteristics of regulatory governance parameters can be used by manufacturers, investors and other stakeholders to make a realistic assessment of regulatory governance and reduce regulatory risk and regulatory burden.
Originality/value
The multidimensional use of parameters, instruments and modalities broadens the understanding of the existing regulatory governance framework and may assist the regulators in optimizing it to meet market requirements.
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Tanvir Alam Shahi Md. and Sarolta Somosi
The present study aims to provide a roadmap for meeting the carbon-free, green energy production target within the stipulated period while also considering climate targets through…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to provide a roadmap for meeting the carbon-free, green energy production target within the stipulated period while also considering climate targets through a sustainable auctioning scheme.
Design/methodology/approach
The research outlines the opportunity to design auctions based on qualitative research, the impact of auctions on energy costs and thus the feasibility of suggested auctioning schemes based on country-specific empirical evidence and benefits.
Findings
The conclusions show that this may result in various advantages for emerging economies relating to technology-neutral site-specific auctions if designed according to state-specific socio-economic conditions.
Originality/value
The planned addition to the state-of-the-art in the renewable energy (RE) field of this paper is that it intends to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The analysis has concepts for research, practice and/or community. Thus, it can serve as a primary source of literature reference for those willing to learn more about the aspects of cost related to RE.
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James Kroes, Anna Land, Andrew Steven Manikas and Felice Klein
This study investigates whether the underrepresentation of women in executive-level roles within the supply chain management (SCM) field is justified or the result of gender…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates whether the underrepresentation of women in executive-level roles within the supply chain management (SCM) field is justified or the result of gender injustices. The analysis examines if there is a gender compensation gap within executive-level SCM roles and whether performance differences or other observable factors explain disparities.
Design/methodology/approach
Publicly reported executive compensation and financial data are merged to empirically test if gender differences exist and investigate whether the underrepresentation of women in executive-level SCM roles is unjust.
Findings
Women occupy only 6.29% of the positions in the sample of 447 SCM executives. Unlike prior studies, we find that women executives receive higher compensation. The analysis does not identify observable factors explaining the limited inclusion of women in top-level roles, suggesting that gender injustices are prevalent in SCM.
Research limitations/implications
This study only considers observable factors and cannot conclusively determine if discrimination is occurring. The low level of inclusion of women in executive roles suggests that gender injustice is intrinsic within the SCM profession. These findings will hopefully motivate firms to undertake transformative actions that result in outcomes that advance gender equity, ultimately leading to social justice for female SCM executives.
Originality/value
The use of social justice and feminist theories, a focus on SCM roles, and an empirical methodology utilizing objective measures represents a novel approach to investigating gender discrimination in SCM organizations, complementing prior survey-based studies.
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Dragana Rejman Petrovic, Ana Krstic, Ivana Nedeljković and Predrag Mimovic
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the intensity and success of the digitalization process, by measuring the efficiency of the use of information and communication technologies…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the intensity and success of the digitalization process, by measuring the efficiency of the use of information and communication technologies in business in the Republic of Serbia (RS) in the period from 2006 to 2019.
Design/methodology/approach
The data envelopment analysis method is applied and due to the sensitivity of the results to measurement errors, the robustness analysis of the obtained values of average efficiency is performed, using the bootstrapping method.
Findings
The results show an intensive, expansive and relatively efficient process of digital business transformation in the RS. The results indicate inefficient use of software packages, While the efficiency of e-commerce in companies in most years is over 80%.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to the RS, so the conclusions cannot be generalized in a broader context.
Practical implications
The biggest problem in the implementation of digital business transformation in the RS is the understanding of management and employees in organizations that digital business transformation will take place only if software solutions are purchased and installed, with less attention paid to their proper application and low use of their maximum capabilities.
Originality/value
Digital transformation measurement is the subject of a very small number of studies. Through a review of the literature, the authors of this paper do not find the use of data envelopment analysis to measure the efficiency of digital business transformation in the way they present it in this paper.
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Sherin Kunhibava, Aishath Muneeza, Zakariya Mustapha, Mohammad Ershadul Karim and Auwal Adam Sa’ad
This study aims to explore several challenges in the use of regulatory technologies (RegTech) in Islamic and conventional financial markets and share recommendations in this…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore several challenges in the use of regulatory technologies (RegTech) in Islamic and conventional financial markets and share recommendations in this regard.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research methodology was used to identify the existing challenges. Literature was reviewed and analyzed, and seven experts were interviewed or consulted online and their feedback examined. The judgment of the case B2C2 Ltd v Quoine Pte Ltd. was reviewed.
Findings
This study reveals a lack of relevant regulatory frameworks capable of meeting some of the evolving challenges, lack of awareness among market players and lack of expertise in RegTech. The list of additional challenges includes the issue of legacy technology, the weaknesses of human programmers and the need for a multifaceted solution for compliance requirements.
Research limitations/implications
This study notes the novelty of RegTech in the financial world, especially in the Islamic financial market. Thus, there is a dearth of relevant literature. This study assists relevant conventional and Islamic financial market entities and authorities in determining the potential impact of RegTech on their respective businesses and the financial system.
Practical implications
This study proffers recommendations to assist in addressing the challenges facing its users and paving the way for innovative solutions that will facilitate and enhance the use of RegTech in financial markets. Regulators and other stakeholders of the financial industry will learn from the challenges identified and can review the recommendations for adoption. Apart from that, the decision of B2C2 Ltd v Quoine has practical implications for RegTech users, as the court in B2C2 Ltd v Quoine accessed the “knowledge” of the programmers of deterministic software at the time of the coding.
Originality/value
RegTech can offer cost-effective and efficient means to comply with regulations and ensure the accuracy of the information provided to regulators. This study provides a better understanding of the challenges associated with its use. The recommendations include enactment of a blueprint for a digitally enabled regulatory framework, creating awareness of RegTech via stakeholder roundtable discussions, development of human talent, formulating human governance standards and finding innovative ways to manage risks.
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