Search results
1 – 10 of over 3000Eduardo Valente, Roberto Patrus and Rosana Córdova Guimarães
The purpose of this paper is to analyze why people have become suppliers in the sharing economy (SE) as Uber drivers in a developing country.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze why people have become suppliers in the sharing economy (SE) as Uber drivers in a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
From a background on SE, car sharing and gig economy, the authors carried out a qualitative research. The analysis was based on 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with Uber drivers, and on the authors’ participant observation as Uber drivers and passengers in the third largest Brazilian city, Belo Horizonte.
Findings
Empirical evidence shows that becoming an Uber driver is more a matter of solving unemployment on a more permanent way rather than a search for a temporary and flexible work to supplement income. Although there are benefits related to flexibility, income and social interactions, negative externalities identified herein lead to the conclusion that the overall work relations and conditions are negative.
Originality/value
Much in the literature of the SE is focused on understanding consumer behavior; this research, on the contrary, is focused on understanding producers, which indicates an incipient perspective. The contributions of this paper show that the SE merges into different distributive decentralized means of production that are seeing as profit/income generated from shareable assets.
Details
Keywords
Kristin B. Munksgaard and Kirsten Frandsen
The form and content of relationship value dominates the literature. This paper contributes by studying companies’ actions based on their value perceptions, a field which has…
Abstract
Purpose
The form and content of relationship value dominates the literature. This paper contributes by studying companies’ actions based on their value perceptions, a field which has attracted less attention. Scholars advocate more studies on how companies’ value perceptions shape actions in relationships and how this leads to outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal critical case study of a customer/supplier relationship constitutes the empirical basis of the paper. Interviews and observation studies were conducted over a period of three years, giving access to special insight into the actors’ value perceptions and related actions.
Findings
Value perceptions shape actions performed individually, jointly or in the wider network. Moreover, misperceptions of the counterparty’s value perceptions may result in a maelstrom of interactions with no specific value outcome. Acting based on value perceptions is a complex matter due to its evolving nature, which leads to development becoming a value driver.
Research limitations/implications
The interdependencies between different value perceptions and their relational value drivers have special effects on actions and outcomes, also, value in actions needs to be studied.
Practical implications
Management needs to explore value from different perspectives to understand the counterparty’s value perceptions and communicate own perceptions. It is not sufficient to create value based on one value driver. Instead, it is vital to be able to connect value drivers to balance and prioritise relevant actions.
Originality/value
This paper stands out as one of the first contributions to relationship value literature that addresses and analyses value from both a customer perspective and a supplier perspective in a dyadic business relationship.
Details
Keywords
Onn Laingoen, Tawatchai Apidechkul, Panupong Upala, Ratipark Tamornpark, Chaleerat Foungnual and Rattakarn Paramee
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the cost-effectiveness of tuberculosis (TB) treatment and care in two Thai hospitals located on the borders with Myanmar and Laos.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the cost-effectiveness of tuberculosis (TB) treatment and care in two Thai hospitals located on the borders with Myanmar and Laos.
Design/methodology/approach
A retrospective data collection was conducted to analyze all costs relevant to TB treatment and care from Mae Sai and Chiang Sean Hospitals. The cost related to TB treatment and care and the number of successful TB treatment from January 1 to December 31, 2017 were used for the calculation. The cost-effectiveness ratio (C/E) and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) were the outcomes.
Findings
In 2017, the total cost of the TB treatment and care program at Mae Sai Hospital was 482,728.94 baht for 57 TB patients. The cast per treated case per year was 8,468.93 baht. The C/E was 10,971.11 baht per successful TB treatment (44 successful cases). The total cost of the TB treatment and care program at Chiang Sean Hospital was 330,578.73 baht for 39 TB patients. The cost per treated case per year was 8,476.38 baht. The C/E was 22,038.58 baht per successful TB treatment (15 successful cases). The ICER was 5,246.56 baht. The Mae Sai Hospital model was more cost-effective in terms of the treatment and care provided to Burmese patients with TB than the Chiang Sean Hospital model for Laotian patients with TB.
Originality/value
To improve the cost-effectiveness of TB treatment and care programs for foreign patients in hospitals located on the Thai border, focus should be placed on patient follow-up at the community or village level.
Details
Keywords
Riccardo Giannetti, Lino Cinquini, Paola Miolo Vitali and Falconer Mitchell
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a substantial organization gradually builds a management accounting system from scratch, changing its accounting routines by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a substantial organization gradually builds a management accounting system from scratch, changing its accounting routines by learning processes. The paper uses the experiential learning theory and the concept of learning style to investigate the learning process during management accounting change. The study aims to expand the domain of management accounting change theory to emphasize the learning-related aspects that can constitute it.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides an interpretation of management accounting change based on the model of problem management proposed by Kolb (1983) and the theory of experiential learning (Kolb, 1976, 1984). The study is based on a 14-year longitudinal case study (1994‐2007). The case examined can be considered a theory illustration case. Data were obtained from a broad variety of sources including interviews, document analysis and adopting an interventionist approach during the redesign of the costing system.
Findings
The paper contributes to two important aspects of management accounting change. First, it becomes apparent that the costing information change was not a discrete event but a process of experience and learning conducted through several iterations of trial-and-error loops that extended over the years. Second, the findings reveal that the learning process can alter management accounting system design in a radical or incremental way according to the learning style of the people involved in the process of change.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the adopted research approach, results could be extended only to other organizations presenting similar characteristics. Several further areas of research are suggested by the findings of this paper. In particular, it would be of interest to investigate the links between learning styles and communication and its effect on management accounting change.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the management of learning during management accounting change, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of this process.
Originality/value
This paper is one response to the call for an interdisciplinary research approach to the management accounting change phenomena using a “method theory” taken from the discipline of management to provide an explanation of the change in management accounting. In respect of the previous literature, it provides two main contributions, namely, the proposal of a model useful both to interpret and manage learning processes; the effect of learning style on management accounting routines change.
Details
Keywords
Kim Haugbølle and Lau M. Raffnsøe
Sustainable building design suffers from a lack of reliable life cycle data. The purpose of this paper is to compare life cycle costs of sustainable building projects, examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainable building design suffers from a lack of reliable life cycle data. The purpose of this paper is to compare life cycle costs of sustainable building projects, examine the magnitude of various cost drivers and discuss the implications of an emerging shift in cost drivers.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on data from 21 office buildings certified in Denmark according to the sustainable certification scheme DGNB.
Findings
The paper supports previous findings that construction costs and running costs each roughly make up half of the life cycle costs over a 50-year period. More surprising is the finding that the life cycle costs for cleaning are approximately twice as high as the supply costs for energy and water.
Research limitations/implications
The data set is based on actual construction costs of office buildings constructed in 2013-2017. Although all running costs are calculated rather than measured, they are based on a more detailed, specific and industry-supported set of calculation assumptions than is usual for life cycle costing studies because of extensive collaborative work in a number of concomitant national research and development projects.
Practical implications
Authorities, clients and building professionals heavily emphasise energy-saving measures in new Danish buildings. The paper suggests redirecting this effort towards other more prominent cost drivers like cleaning and technical installations.
Originality/value
This paper provides a notable contribution to the academic understanding of the significance of different cost drivers as well as the practical implementation of life cycle costing.
Details
Keywords
Jafar Rezaei, Roland Ortt and Paul Trott
The purpose of this paper is to examine high-tech small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supply chain partnerships. Partnerships are considered at the level of business function…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine high-tech small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supply chain partnerships. Partnerships are considered at the level of business function rather than the entire organisation. Second, the drivers of SMEs to engage in partnerships are assessed to see whether functions engage in partnerships for different reasons. Third, performance per function is assessed to see the differential effect of partnerships on the function’s performance.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the relationship between the drivers of SMEs to engage in partnerships, four types of partnerships (marketing and sales, research and development (R&D), purchasing and logistics, and production) and four types of functional performances of firms (marketing and sales, R&D, purchasing and logistics, and production) are examined. The data have been collected from 279 SMEs. The proposed hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results indicate that there are considerable differences between business functions in terms of the degree of involvement in partnerships and the effect of partnerships on the performance of these functions. This paper contributes to research by explaining the contradictory results of partnerships on SMEs performance.
Practical implications
This study helps firms understand which type of partnership should be established based on the firm’s drivers to engage in supply chain partnership; and which partnership has a significant effect on which type of business performance of the firm.
Originality/value
The originality of this study is to investigate the relationship between different drivers to engage in supply chain partnership and different types of partnerships and different functional performance of firm in a single model.
Details
Keywords
Malin Johansson and Jan Olhager
The purpose of this paper is to present recent empirical results concerning offshoring and backshoring of manufacturing from and to Sweden, to increase the understanding of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present recent empirical results concerning offshoring and backshoring of manufacturing from and to Sweden, to increase the understanding of manufacturing relocation in an international context. In particular, extent, geographies, type of production, drivers, and benefits of moving manufacturing in both directions are investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on survey data from 373 manufacturing plants. The same set of questions is used for both offshoring and backshoring between 2010 and 2015, which allows similarities and differences in decision-making and results between the two relocation directions to be identified.
Findings
There are many significant differences between offshoring and backshoring projects. Labour cost is the dominating factor in offshoring, as driver and benefit, while backshoring is related to many drivers and benefits, such as quality, lead-time, flexibility, access to skills and knowledge, access to technology, and proximity to R&D. This is also reflected in the type of production that is relocated; labour-intensive production is offshored and complex production is backshored.
Research limitations/implications
Plants that have both offshored and backshored think and act differently than plants that have only offshored or backshored, which is why it is important to distinguish between these plant types in the context of manufacturing relocations.
Practical implications
The experience of Swedish manufacturing plants reported here can be used as a point of reference for internal manufacturing operations.
Originality/value
The survey design allows a unique comparison between offshoring and backshoring activity. Since Swedish firms in general have been quite active in rearranging their manufacturing footprint and have experience from movements in both directions, it is an appropriate geographical area to study in this context.
Details
Keywords
One of the distinctive features in Korea and the U.S. trucking industries is the huge difference in the share of owner-operators. While it is around 10~15 percent in the U.S.…
Abstract
One of the distinctive features in Korea and the U.S. trucking industries is the huge difference in the share of owner-operators. While it is around 10~15 percent in the U.S., 80~90% of drivers operate their own truck in Korea. Different from historical explanations of previous researches, this paper deals with this feature theoretically. We examine what brings the difference in asset ownership structures between the Korean and the U.S. trucking industries. Using an analytic framework, we investigate the determinants of truck ownership and the changes in ownership patterns. The model introduces several parameters related to productivities of drivers’ efforts and contractibility to affect drivers’ decision, and values of these parameters in both countries are discussed qualitatively and found to be consistent with the aforementioned characteristics.
Details
Keywords
Anja Perry and Sebastian Netscher
Budgeting data curation tasks in research projects is difficult. In this paper, we investigate the time spent on data curation, more specifically on cleaning and documenting…
Abstract
Purpose
Budgeting data curation tasks in research projects is difficult. In this paper, we investigate the time spent on data curation, more specifically on cleaning and documenting quantitative data for data sharing. We develop recommendations on cost factors in research data management.
Design/methodology/approach
We make use of a pilot study conducted at the GESIS Data Archive for the Social Sciences in Germany between December 2016 and September 2017. During this period, data curators at GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences documented their working hours while cleaning and documenting data from ten quantitative survey studies. We analyse recorded times and discuss with the data curators involved in this work to identify and examine important cost factors in data curation, that is aspects that increase hours spent and factors that lead to a reduction of their work.
Findings
We identify two major drivers of time spent on data curation: The size of the data and personal information contained in the data. Learning effects can occur when data are similar, that is when they contain same variables. Important interdependencies exist between individual tasks in data curation and in connection with certain data characteristics.
Originality/value
The different tasks of data curation, time spent on them and interdependencies between individual steps in curation have so far not been analysed.
Details
Keywords
Lina Dagilienė, Viktorija Varaniūtė and Judith Maja Pütter
Taking into account retailers' critical position in the value chain, their sector's economic significance and environmental externalities, in addition to the institutional agenda…
Abstract
Purpose
Taking into account retailers' critical position in the value chain, their sector's economic significance and environmental externalities, in addition to the institutional agenda, this paper aims to explore the drivers influencing retailers to shift to more sustainable business models.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilises the institutional competing logic, including in-depth interviews with major supermarket retail chains and one expert group discussion. The data gathered in Germany and Lithuania were complemented by desk research analysis, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and management reports.
Findings
The paper provides empirical insights into how multiple drivers through institutional competing logic are brought about influencing the shift to more sustainable business models. The results show that retail chains in both countries implement their sustainability based on triple environmental-legal-financial drivers. However, different types of retail chains–namely premium retailers, typical retailers and discounters–implement their sustainability discourse differently.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the chosen research approach, the results may lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.
Social implications
Interestingly, retailers “shift” their responsibility to the consumers rather than encourage themselves to make more sustainable choices. The authors observe a more passive and responsive role of retailing chains because of the inherent trade-off between revenue growth and sustainable consumption.
Originality/value
The original contribution lies in exploring how retail chains adapt institutional competing logic and are influenced by multiple drivers when implementing their sustainability activities. In addition, the authors propose a conceptual model for retailers' sustainability management, as well as formulate three research propositions.
Details