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Modular product design is a practice manufacturers frequently adopt to develop new products. Some literature has reported the importance of the modular product design and its effect on supply chain management. However, until now, very few empirical researches have examined the relationship of product modularisation and supply chain design and coordination. Furthermore, the exploration on how manufacturers capitalize upon product modularization with supply chain design and coordination is rarely reported. This paper addresses this gap.

This paper conducted a case study to review the experience of an Audio Consumer Electronics Manufacturer (ACEM) in Hong Kong and China. This company has successfully integrated modular product design with supply chain design and coordination for more than five years.

Results indicate that product modularization affects supply chain design, whereas product innovation influences on supply chain coordination.

This study explores new relationships between supply chain and modular product design into three propositions for further studies. The first proposition shows that supply chain for modular product design has one more level than integrated product design in multiple‐tier supply chain. The second proposition shows that, regardless of either a modular or integrated product, an innovative product requires closer supply chain coordination than a conventional product in new product development. The final proposition shows that product modularization with close supply chain design and coordination brings down the inventory level, improve the quality of conformance and reduce development lead time.

In the literature, a number of models have been developed that explain the adoption behavior of a technological innovation. Similarly, most research explaining the continuance behavior of an information system (IS) ignores the adoption processes. It is observed that researchers seem uninterested in explaining the extension of an IS. The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated model that explains the adoption, continuance, and extension of a technological innovation – taking radio frequency identification (RFID) as the case.

Motivated by the exploratory nature of the current research, a qualitative field-study approach is adopted.

Technology-organization-environment (TOE) factors influence RFID adoption while continuance is dependent on confirmation from the initial adoption. Finally, the extension decision is influenced by the TOE factors, self-efficacy, and situational factors.

The research was conducted in eight livestock farms in Western Australia and hence the factors explored can be location specific. This is the first methodological initiative explaining the extension behavior of a technological innovation.

IS researchers may gain insight toward understanding the diffusion of innovation in the agricultural sector while agricultural agencies and farms can use the findings for their extension plan.

This study is a single initiative developing an integrated model that explains the adoption diffusion of a technological innovation.

This paper aims to evaluate emergency department (ED) design space planning approaches and draw lessons for developing more resilient and integrated ED guidelines. Two key objectives have been set; these include: exploring potential factors affecting the ED performance, and investigate how ED space planning is addressed internationally through the evaluation of international case studies and design guidelines.

A robust research method has been adopted including comprehensive literature review in addition to 76 case studies from Italy and the USA.

Findings show that the important factors in defining ED space requirements are attendance variability, vulnerable groups and mass casualty events. The study concludes that current design guidelines and approaches need to be updated to meet with the current and future demand by taking into account design performance: effectiveness, efficiency and resilience, to avoid underestimating ED space; and that the US EDs are in a better position, than Italian EDs, to increase capacity when needed.

The contribution of this study is in providing a tangible “understanding” of factors influencing ED design and prepares a firm ground to develop more resilient and integrated design guidelines, able to meet current, exceptional and long-term needs of EDs. The study also shows that research can provide a valuable contribution to improve ED design which needs to feed more in practice to improve design process and guidelines.

A trade federation. An umbrella organisation representing the electronics interconnection industries in the global market place.

The design of the emergency department (ED) requires high precision in the process of distributing spaces. An increase in population and continuous development during the past years caused the addition of new services, changes in patients’ numbers, movement flow and treatment procedures which makes the existing layout plan of the ED no longer appropriate for its current needs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to generate a process of finding better alternatives for ED’s spatial planning.

The genetic algorithm method as a part of the systematic layout planning strategy was adopted for decision-making in redesigning the ED layout and finding the most appropriate alternative. This methodology was applied to a teaching hospital in Jordan to create layout alternatives with better functional dimensions.

The design that is based on the study of the movement of users and the relationship of spaces increases the layout performance.

The structural method of this study can be adopted for different hospital designs, but the results are limited only to the study case itself because of the different factors and data for each building.

This study demonstrates the process of making the most appropriate decision to redesign the ED in the hospital; therefore, the method can be adopted in restructuring the scheme of different hospitals and evaluated, especially before implementation.