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The paper aims to provide the necessary basis for a novel interdisciplinary research field. Various types and implementations of crowdsourcing have emerged in the market; many of them are related to logistics. While we can identify plenty of crowd logistics applications using information technology capabilities and information sharing in practice, theories behind this phenomenon have received only limited attention. This paper accounts for filling this research gap by analyzing the crowd’s contributions in logistics of goods and information.

This paper is part of an ongoing research endeavor in the field of location-based crowdsourcing. It represents conceptual work that builds on a literature review enriched with an in-depth analysis of real-world examples in the field of crowd logistics. Using a scoring method, we provide an example how a company may evaluate the alternatives of crowd logistics. The main approach is an analysis of variants of how the social crowd may be integrated in logistics processes. The work is conceptual in its core. Thereby, we use real-world examples of crowdsourcing applications to underpin the evaluated variants of crowd logistics.

The paper presents relevant theoretical background on crowd logistics. The authors differentiate between variants of crowd logistics with their flow of materials, goods and information. Thereby they zoom in the type, significance and process flow of the crowd’s contributions. They discuss potential advantages and challenges of logistics with the performing crowd and deeply discuss opportunities and challenges from a business and from an individual’s perspective. Finally, they highlight a route map for future research directions in this novel interdisciplinary research field.

As this work is conceptual in its core, generalizations may be drawn only with great care. Still, we are in a position to propose a route map for further research in this area in this paper. Also the integration of an analysis of a scale of real-world applications allows us to highlight our research’s practical relevance and implications.

The main contribution of this paper is an in-depth analysis and consolidation of innovative crowd logistics applications to provide an overview on recent implementations. The authors propose a categorization scheme and contribute with a route map for further research in the field of crowd logistics.

Reports from the Hanover Fair on new developments in robotic automation, outlines the latest robot hardware and software innovations to be launched on the market, and describes new applications being taken up by industry.

In this paper, we first present the conceptual framework for the customer satisfaction‐oriented evaluation of process improvements that is embedded in an improvement cycle. The basic feature of the evaluation model is the relationship between the overall customer satisfaction value of a company and its process‐specific customer satisfaction values. The results of an empirical research project show that this model is an interesting alternative to traditional primarily finance‐oriented techniques for identifying potential process improvements. In the third part of the paper, some extensions of the model, based on the customer satisfaction‐oriented evaluation of process improvements, are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether transformational leadership behavior is a function of the leader’s own self-respect and his/her evaluation of being capable, significant, and worthy (self-esteem). It is also tested whether transformational leadership is related to innovation success.

Data were collected from 411 entrepreneurs and managing directors of small- and medium-sized Austrian companies. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (PLS).

A strong and significant relationship between self-esteem and transformational leadership was found. Furthermore, data analyses revealed that transformational leadership has a positive impact on innovation success.

This study reveals the important but heretofore neglected role of self-esteem, defined as a manager’s overall self-evaluation of his/her competences, as an important predictor of transformational leadership.

Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in their efforts to develop and market new products. Looks at the issues from different strategic levels such as corporate, international, military and economic. Presents 31 case studies, including the success of Japan in microchips to the failure of Xerox to sell its invention of the Alto personal computer 3 years before Apple: from the success in DNA and Superconductor research to the success of Sunbeam in inventing and marketing food processors: and from the daring invention and production of atomic energy for survival to the successes of sewing machine inventor Howe in co‐operating on patents to compete in markets. Includes 306 questions and answers in order to qualify concepts introduced.

This paper aims to adopt Cameron and Quinn’s analysis of organizational culture and March’s learning framework to analyze the type of organizational culture (OC) that promotes learning competences and whether exploration and exploitation competences (ambidexterity) improve the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM) results (excellent results). In addition, this research tests if these competences exercise a mediating effect in the relationship between OC and performance.

A model is proposed whose relationships have been tested using structural equations. The sample was obtained from the SABI database. Two hundred valid questionnaires were returned via a webpage, in which four managers from each of the 200 organizations responded.

The results support the proposed relationships. Adhocracy, hierarchy and market culture have a positive relationship with excellent results. A hierarchical culture develops exploitation competences, and a market culture develops learning ambidexterity. Moreover, exploration and exploitation increase results. Finally, these two cultures indirectly influence results through exploration and exploitation competences.

The proposed model can help managers who implement the EFQM model to better understand how the culture of their organization promotes learning and how these two variables improve their performance.

Because the EFQM model requires organizations to use a knowledge management system to enhance the effect of the enabliers criteria on excellent results, the managers of these companies must know that only market and hierarchy cultures are suitable for it. Besides, this study highlights the importance of two cultural values for the implementation of the EFQM Model and, therefore, to promote excellent results: market orientation and process control.

This study fills an existing gap in the literature by combining exploitation, exploration, OC and EFQM results in a single model and highlights the importance of market orientation and process control for excellent results and knowledge exploration and exploitation.

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach based on the thinking process of the theory of constraints (TP–TOC) to support decision-makers, managers and professionals of health to diagnose and improve healthcare systems focusing on the service quality deployed to patients.

A case study was developed in a SUS-affiliated philanthropic hospital in southern Brazil, through the analysis of its ED processes and application of the TP–TOC. The Current Reality Tree and the Evaporating Cloud tools of the TOC were used to identify the root causes (RC) and their connections with undesirable effects.

The analysis of this case helped to understand and identify the causes of the current problems in the analyzed processes related to internal management and external causes. The proposed approach allowed the hospital team to progress in the understanding of such causes in a sequential manner, giving conditions to apport different perceptions and to identify relevant facets and causes related to the problem. The research provided a systemic and an integrated vision of the losses in the organizational processes and indicated the steps to be prioritized in order to eliminate such losses.

The paper proposed an approach that allowed the systematic and systemic analysis of organizational processes through the application of the TP–TOC. The recognition of the existence of RC responsible for processes losses represents an excellent opportunity for improvement because it allows managers to focus their efforts on the more productive areas.