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1 – 10 of 821Celian Colon and Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler
Global and interconnected supply chains are increasingly exposed to systemic risks, whereby individual failures propagate across firms, sectors and borders. Systemic risks have…
Abstract
Purpose
Global and interconnected supply chains are increasingly exposed to systemic risks, whereby individual failures propagate across firms, sectors and borders. Systemic risks have emerged from the decisions of individual firms, e.g., outsourcing and buffer reduction, and are now beyond their control. This paper aims to identify appropriate approaches to mitigating those risks.
Design/methodology/approach
Systemic risks require analyzing supply chains beyond a dyadic perspective. This study approaches the problem through the lenses of complex systems and network theories. Drawing on the lessons learned from other systemic-risk-prone systems, e.g. energy and financial networks, both in research and practice, this study analyzes the adequate level of governance to monitor and manage systemic risks in supply chains.
Findings
The authors argue that governance institutions should be mandated to overview and reduce systemic risks in supply chains from the top down, as central bankers do for the financial system. Using firm-level data and tools from network analysis and system dynamics, they could quantify systemic risks, identify risk-prone interconnections in supply chains and design mitigating measures. This top-down approach would complement the bottom-up supply chain management approach and could help insurers design policies for contingent business interruptions.
Originality/value
Instead of looking at supply chains purely from the firms’ angle, the perspective of insurers and governments is brought in to reflect on the governance of risks.
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Stephen Mixter and Michael Owendoff
The 11th September terrorist attacks on America continue to affect the corporate real estate industry, and this paper is intended to address a number of those ongoing effects. It…
Abstract
The 11th September terrorist attacks on America continue to affect the corporate real estate industry, and this paper is intended to address a number of those ongoing effects. It first discusses property insurance coverage in general and then proceeds to analyse whether damage from acts of terrorism is covered under pre‐11th September and post‐11th September property insurance polices. It also addresses the current status of proposed US Government intervention as a terrorism insurance backstop. It then describes the strategies which certain clients located within the areas directly affected by the terrorist attacks implemented in order to be able to gain immediate access to alternative space. Finally it examines selected lease clauses to which landlords and tenants should pay closer attention in light of the terrorist attacks, including operating expense provisions, force majeure provisions, waiver of subrogation provisions, use prohibitions and alteration provisions.
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Andreas Norrman and Ulf Jansson
Supply chain risk management (SCRM) is of growing importance, as the vulnerability of supply chains increases. The main thrust of this article is to describe how Ericsson, after a…
Abstract
Supply chain risk management (SCRM) is of growing importance, as the vulnerability of supply chains increases. The main thrust of this article is to describe how Ericsson, after a fire at a sub‐supplier, with a huge impact on Ericsson, has implemented a new organization, and new processes and tools for SCRM. The approach described tries to analyze, assess and manage risk sources along the supply chain, partly by working close with suppliers but also by placing formal requirements on them. This explorative study also indicates that insurance companies might be a driving force for improved SCRM, as they now start to understand the vulnerability of modern supply chains. The article concludes with a discussion of risk related to traditional logistics concepts (time, cost, quality, agility and leanness) by arguing that supply chain risks should also be put into the trade‐off analysis when evaluating new logistics solutions – not with the purpose to minimize risks, however, but to find the efficient level of risk and prevention.
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Shazib Ahmad, Saksham Mishra and Vandana Sharma
Purpose: Green computing is a way of using the computer resource in an eco-friendly while maintaining and decreasing the harmful environmental impact. Minimising toxic materials…
Abstract
Purpose: Green computing is a way of using the computer resource in an eco-friendly while maintaining and decreasing the harmful environmental impact. Minimising toxic materials and reducing energy usage can also be used to recycle the product.
Need for the Study: The motivation of the study is to use green computing resources to decrease carbon emissions and their adverse effect on the environment.
Methodology: The study uses a qualitative method of collecting resources and data to address the opportunities, challenges, and future trends in green computing for Sustainable Future Technologies. The study focusses on multiple kinds of cloud computing services collected and executed into single remote servers. The service demand processor offers these services to the client per their needs. The simultaneous requests to access the cloud services, processing and expertly managing these requests by the processors are discussed and analysed.
Findings: The findings suggest that green computing is an upcoming and most promising area. The number of resources employed for green computing can be beneficial for lowering E-waste so that computing can be environmentally friendly and self-sustainable.
Practical Implications: Green computing applies across all industries and service sectors like healthcare, entertainment, tourism, and education. The convergence of technologies like Cloud Computing, AI, and Internet of Things (IoT) is greatly impacting Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) market.
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Alexander von Selasinsky, Daniel Kurt Josef Schubert, Thomas Meyer and Dominik Möst
The paper aims to analyse whether experiencing a supply interruption affects the valuation of security of electricity supply.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to analyse whether experiencing a supply interruption affects the valuation of security of electricity supply.
Design/methodology/approach
A blackout in Munich, Germany, in November 2012 is utilised as a natural experiment by conducting a contingent valuation survey around two months after the event. The characteristics of the supply interruption allow for distinguishing between households that were affected by the blackout and those who were not. This provides the opportunity to compare the willingness to pay (WTP) for avoiding and the willingness to accept (WTA) for enduring a supply interruption between affected and non-affected Munich households.
Findings
The results show that households who were affected by the outage had a higher WTP for avoiding a hypothetical supply interruption. Although affected households also had a higher WTA for enduring an outage, the WTA-differences between the two groups are not statistically significant. Furthermore, the results indicate that experience with power outages can increase the perceived relevance of the policy objective “security” at the expense of the objective “environmental sustainability”.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature in three general respects. First, the assessment of the relationship between outage experience and the valuation of supply security is based on a natural experiment which avoids most of the shortcomings of previous studies. Second, the paper uses both the WTP and the WTA measure to approximate the valuation of supply security and discusses the differences in their outcomes. Third, these monetary valuations are complemented and compared with general attitudes towards a reliable electricity system.
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Benedikt Gerst and Christian Grund
Career interruptions of employees imply important issues for both firms and individuals, including a possibly lower compensation after returning to a job. Different compensation…
Abstract
Purpose
Career interruptions of employees imply important issues for both firms and individuals, including a possibly lower compensation after returning to a job. Different compensation components are explored, as bonus payments frequently complement fixed salaries for many employees, making various channels of lower compensation possible. This paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a yearly salary survey among a rather homogeneous group of professionals and middle managers from the German chemical sector, which contains detailed information on compensation components next to individual and job characteristics. The incidence and duration of past career interruptions act as the most important independent variables. Mincer-type wage regressions are complemented by estimations on wage increases.
Findings
The results show that career interruptions are more related to lower subsequent bonus payments than they are to fixed salaries. Furthermore, interruptions caused by unemployment are associated with higher interruption pay gaps than those resulting from other reasons such as parental leave. The results even hint for catch-up effects following parental leave with regard to higher wage increases compared to individuals without interruptions. Career interruptions are more prevalent for female managers offering an explanation for a considerable part of gender pay gaps. Wage losses after career interruptions are more pronounced for male employees than they are for females, though.
Originality/value
This study extents the literature by disentangling the relation of career interruptions and different compensation components, bonus payments next to fixed salaries in particular. The role of interruption type and gender are also taken into account so that the paper deepens the understanding of the role of past career interruptions for employees’ remuneration.
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This purpose of this article is to look at how companies focused on optimizing their supply chain through global sourcing and just‐in‐time (JIT) delivery systems to dramatically…
Abstract
Purpose
This purpose of this article is to look at how companies focused on optimizing their supply chain through global sourcing and just‐in‐time (JIT) delivery systems to dramatically cut the cost of production, now must learn to reduce their exposure to a variety of complex risks.
Design/methodology/approach
The article traces how in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, many manufacturers around the world suddenly discovered how exposed their operations were to unanticipated interruption in their supply chain.
Findings
The author suggests steps companies can take to analyze risk, to prevent supply chain disruption and to manage its consequences when it happens.
Practical implications
For identifiable individual risks, a company can choose a variety of mitigation approaches: avoid; transfer; mitigate; minimize; respond; monitor; accept.
Originality/value
The paper presents at a five‐level approach where improved risk management can be tackled at five levels of increasing sophistication: level 1 – efficient firefighting; level 2 – insurance; level 3 – core risk management; level 4 – return‐risk optimization; and level 5 – distributed operations for uncertainty and complexity.
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Maicon Gouvêa de Oliveira, Glauco Henrique de Sousa Mendes, Andrei Aparecido de Albuquerque and Henrique Rozenfeld
The purpose of this study is to identify the elements of the product-service system (PSS) business model of a Brazilian company that has been running it for almost 50 years. It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the elements of the product-service system (PSS) business model of a Brazilian company that has been running it for almost 50 years. It describes the PSS business model and gives special attention to the financial aspects of PSS implementation and to contingent factors of this emerging country.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on a single case study. Data have been collected through interviews and document analysis. Results and implications are obtained using Canvas framework to structure information and comparison between theory and practice.
Findings
Results described in this paper show that the PSS design and implementation can be strongly influenced by financial and contingent factors. This case indicates that the implementation of PSS business models can follow diverse paths and configurations to fit with companies’ organizational features, local regulations and economic factors, including mixed transactional models and less demanding financial assessments.
Originality/value
This paper provides a roadmap of lessons learned from a multinational manufacturer that has been following the PSS business model for almost 50 years. This paper offers key insights concerning financial aspects and contingency factors that might influence servitization adoption.
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Henry F.L. Chung and Tsuang Kuo
This study aims to present two new contingent frameworks that hypothesize the moderation role of managerial ties (MTs) in the international competitive strategy-export financial…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present two new contingent frameworks that hypothesize the moderation role of managerial ties (MTs) in the international competitive strategy-export financial and strategic performance framework. The purposes of this study are to explore whether a common standardized or individual customized conceptualization consisting of MTs, international competitive strategy and performance can be used to achieve export financial and strategic performance; to offer contingent factors for the current international competitive strategy-export performance framework; and to generalize the roles of MTs in the developed vis-à-vis developing region.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the experience of 114 exporting firms operating in the European Union region to test its theoretical frameworks. MTs include both business and political ties.
Findings
Business and political ties have completely different moderation effects on the relation between international differentiation/low-cost strategy and export financial/strategic performance. Business ties have a positive influence on the international differentiation strategy-export strategic performance and international low-cost strategy-export financial performance dyads, but a negative effect in the international low-cost strategy-export strategic performance framework. In contrast, political ties are revealed to have a negative effect on the international differentiation/low-cost strategy-export financial performance framework.
Originality/value
This research advances extant international competitive strategy-export performance literature by revealing the bright and dark sides of business ties and the down side of political ties in the framework. Performance should be investigated in terms of financial and strategic performance. The moderation effect of business ties is more complex than that reported in the developing region; thus, a cross-regional generalization on these ties’ effects is more difficult to establish. In contrast, the dark side effect of political ties is consistent across developed and developing regions; a cross-regional generalization on these ties is more viable. Collectively, the results show that a standardized process for achieving both export financial and export strategic performances is not feasible, while a customized process for each export performance is needed.
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