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1 – 10 of over 49000Michael McCarney, Chris Ian Goodier and Alistair Gibb
This paper aims to identify and discuss how process and people factors influence the successful implementation of organisational interface management in offsite bathroom…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify and discuss how process and people factors influence the successful implementation of organisational interface management in offsite bathroom construction.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review identified 16 process and people factors. A mixed method approach was used to analyse data from eight offsite bathroom case study projects. A ranking approach determined the main process and people factors, consequently analysed using (Minitab) Frequency analysis, the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and thematic analysis to establish the contributing sub-factors and their inter-relationships, to each other and to the literature. These factors and sub-factors formed the final conceptual model, bringing together interface management and offsite bathroom construction.
Findings
The nine factors instrumental to the conceptual model include six process factors: procurement, design management, supply chain management, health and safety, tolerance and quality and three people factors: communication, client/design team and project manager, reflecting the construction industry focus on hard processes over soft. The role of the project manager and communication, however, are the main factors which contribute to overall project success. Direct management of the offsite works by the contractor’s project manager is also highly significant.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include the (UK) geographical focus of the research and the focus on bathroom pods in buildings.
Social implications
The research recognises three people (social) factors: communication, client/design team and project manager, with the first and third being the main factors which contribute to overall project success.
Originality/value
Originality stems from the focus on organisational interface management and how this relates to offsite bathroom construction (a practice gaining considerable momentum in industry) and the resultant model. Being grounded on more than one body of academic literature as well as 8 case studies and 82 industry interviews, there is value to both researchers and construction industry practitioners alike.
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The key to effective management in times of tumult is organisation fit — the integration or congruence of the organisation. Tumult increases the need to manage the two major areas…
Abstract
The key to effective management in times of tumult is organisation fit — the integration or congruence of the organisation. Tumult increases the need to manage the two major areas of fit more closely — organisation domain and external environment. Fit must be considered with equal emphasis in the short, mid and long term. An on‐going, strategic assessment of organisational fit is needed. The nature of the change process and the change variables must be identified. There are six ways that management can intervene between change variables to enhance their fit and four organisation interfaces which are directed towards adaptation to the external environment. This multi‐level change typology identifies three methods of directly managing organisation fit — intrusion, interface and intervention. These methods are discussed and interventions and interfaces described.
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Margherita Pero and Lucio Lamberti
The purpose of this paper is to explore the marketing‐supply chain management (SCM) interface in new product development (NPD) processes through a contingent approach.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the marketing‐supply chain management (SCM) interface in new product development (NPD) processes through a contingent approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The study endorses Thompson's taxonomy of interfaces – pooled interdependence, sequential interdependence and reciprocal interdependence – to classify the approaches observed through case study research on two innovation processes within the same unit. A number of contingent variables is hypothesized as possible factors impacting on the very interface adopted by the company. Thompson's taxonomy and the contingent variables constitute the conceptual framework of the study.
Findings
Results show that the conceptual framework provides encouraging results in interpreting the marketing‐SCM interface design by companies, even if some refinements, especially as far as the interface taxonomy are concerned, appear necessary to provide a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.
Research limitations/implications
Since the study is based on two cases, outcomes cannot be generalized. Nonetheless, the preliminary results and the rich understanding of the phenomenon provided by the in‐depth case studies suggested a number of research proposition to frame future research on the topic.
Originality/value
The paper observes the marketing‐SCM interface in a contingent way, providing a new interpretive framework for its analysis and design, and showing how the encouraged view in literature towards marketing‐SCM integration may be problematic and counterproductive in specific circumstances.
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Yannis Steffen Oetken, Christian Hofstadler and Felix Meckmann
The individual levels involved in real estate management are thoroughly discussed in the literature. This paper provides a structured meta-analysis of the different theoretical…
Abstract
Purpose
The individual levels involved in real estate management are thoroughly discussed in the literature. This paper provides a structured meta-analysis of the different theoretical approaches in German-speaking countries. It also investigates the integration of transaction management and technical due diligence into the concepts of organisation theory. In this process, the interfaces are analysed and optimised models are developed for transferring the technical due diligence findings to the operational level.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews with transaction management experts were conducted based on a narrative literature review. These interviews shed light on how the components of transaction management and due diligence are integrated into the transaction process, with a particular focus on technical due diligence. They also provide insights into how the related results are taken into account in relation to the transaction, and how they are transferred into the operational phase.
Findings
It becomes apparent that the role of transaction management is not clearly defined and delimited in the structural model of the real estate industry. Technical due diligence findings are usually transferred to the operation of the property via several, manual interfaces with corresponding losses of knowledge. The related models derived and developed for the purpose of operational optimisation define the role of transaction management against a technical background and identify the interfaces to be considered.
Practical implications
The significance of transaction management for subsequent operations is discussed and elaborated on. More specifically, transferring safety-relevant, high-priority findings from the technical due diligence exercise plays a crucial role for the modelling stage. On the implementation level, the derived models serve as a basis for customising the internal organisational structure.
Originality/value
In Germany, there has hardly been any research into the involvement of technical experts in the real estate transaction process to date. This paper provides initial approaches to optimising organisational structures and sustainably integrating technical due diligence findings into real estate operations.
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Edward A. Morash, Cornelia Dröge and Shawnee Vickery
Investigates performance relationships for interfunctional process integration and specific logistics interface capabilities. The results indicate that competitive advantage is…
Abstract
Investigates performance relationships for interfunctional process integration and specific logistics interface capabilities. The results indicate that competitive advantage is more likely to emanate from interfunctional process integration than individual function (sub) optimization. Also identifies logistics’ unique role as a boundary‐spanning interface between marketing, production, and new product development, as a potential source of competitive advantage. In terms of overall business performance, logistics followed by new product development are shown to have the greatest impact on profitability and growth. Further, logistics interface capabilities of customer service and logistics quality have the greatest independent impacts on business performance. In total these results imply that logistics, new product development, and demand‐management capabilities may provide firms with that extra competitive edge which shows up in “bottom line” performance. States that the relatively neglected areas of logistics boundary spanning and production customer service also deserve attention.
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Edward A. Morash, Cornelia Dröge and Shawnee Vickery
Investigates performance relationships for interfunctional process integration and specific logistics interface capabilities. The results indicate that competitive advantage is…
Abstract
Investigates performance relationships for interfunctional process integration and specific logistics interface capabilities. The results indicate that competitive advantage is more likely to emanate from interfunctional process integration rather than individual function (sub) optimization. Logistics’ unique role as a boundary spanning interface between marketing, production, and new product development, is also identified as a potential source of competitive advantage. In terms of overall business performance, logistics followed by new product development are shown to have the greatest impact on profitability and growth. Further, logistics interface capabilities of customer service and logistics quality have the greatest independent impacts on business performance. In total, these results imply that logistics, new product development, and demand‐management capabilities may provide firms with that extra competitive edge which shows up in “bottom‐line” performance. States that the relatively neglected areas of logistics boundary spanning and production customer service also deserve attention.
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Lars-Erik Gadde and Finn Wynstra
In a relationship both sides are important for the development. This is one reason why purchasing has always been as central as marketing in the empirical studies in IMP. The…
Abstract
In a relationship both sides are important for the development. This is one reason why purchasing has always been as central as marketing in the empirical studies in IMP. The manner in which the features of business networks affect the role of purchasing and the roles of the suppliers and supply management is here in focus. The existence and importance of business relationships have normative consequences for purchasing that are very distinct and break clearly with some of the traditional normative recommendations for purchasing. The authors believe that ‘buying organisations increasingly need to develop interactive interfaces with their suppliers. One reason is that collaborative innovation and therefore the development role of PSM (purchasing and supply management) is becoming more important’. The conclusion is clear: If the buying organisations want to get more out of the suppliers than the supply of a standard product at a certain price, they have to engage in a more extensive interaction and develop a broader and closer business relationship that must be properly managed. That implies giving up some autonomy and accepting dependence on suppliers as developmental partners.
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This paper describes a framework in developing MIS‐user interfaces to highlight how generic management information systems can be made more useful to managerial decision making…
Abstract
This paper describes a framework in developing MIS‐user interfaces to highlight how generic management information systems can be made more useful to managerial decision making. The suggested framework has been implemented in a medium‐sized job shop manufacturing company. Object‐oriented programming technology is used to provide flexible access to information stored by a generic MIS, namely ManuSoft. To improve the usefulness of the MIS, 20 interfacing programs relating to the information requirements at operational, planning and strategic levels have been developed and implemented. For purposes of illustration, three such programs have been described in this paper.
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Steffen Muxoll Bastholm and Kristin B. Munksgaard
The strategic importance of the purchasing function increases, as its task become more dynamic in various interfaces with different suppliers. Changes in these customer–supplier…
Abstract
Purpose
The strategic importance of the purchasing function increases, as its task become more dynamic in various interfaces with different suppliers. Changes in these customer–supplier interfaces pose specific challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the purchasing function handles the interplay of interface changes.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies a qualitative single case study design. Data are collected through observations and interviews conducted before, during and after a concrete change of interface taking place between a buying firm and its suppliers and customers.
Findings
Three main findings are identified to redefine the tasks of the purchasing function. The first concerns the new ways of defining the purchasing tasks. The main issue is to balance tasks with the simultaneous changes influencing other interfaces and relationships. The second is the division and alignment of tasks in intra- and inter-organizational networks with regards to who decides and coordinates what. Third, the inter-connected performance relates to how other actors perform their tasks. For the purchasing function, managing supplier interfaces influences and is influenced by how the firm simultaneously manages its user interface.
Practical implications
For management, a new way to evaluate the performance of the purchasing function is needed by including relationship management and interactive capabilities.
Originality/value
This study contributes with new insights into how managing the dynamics of changing interfaces requires interactively defined purchasing tasks, division and alignment of tasks and inter-connected performance vis-à-vis others in the wider network setting.
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Kristina Säfsten, Glenn Johansson, Nicolette Lakemond and Thomas Magnusson
The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of challenges related to interfaces in industrial innovation processes, together with suggestions on how these…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of challenges related to interfaces in industrial innovation processes, together with suggestions on how these interface challenges can be managed. The paper investigates similarities and differences between the interfaces and identified challenges in terms of required managerial issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The result presented in this paper is based on in-depth case studies of ten product development projects from five different manufacturing firms in Sweden. The empirical results are supplemented with results from a review of relevant literature.
Findings
To manage the interface challenges market uncertainty, technological uncertainty, product complexity and/or degree of change in product, production complexity and/or degree of change in production, geographical and/or organisational dispersion between technology development and product development, and between product development and production, it was found that several issues have to be considered. Most of the identified managerial issues concern transfer synchronisation, transfer management and transfer scope. The authors have shown that despite many differences between the different phases in the innovation process, a quite concordant picture emerges when it comes to how to manage interface challenges.
Practical implications
The classification of managerial issues into transfer synchronisation, transfer management and transfer scope provides an overview of areas that need to be addressed to manage interface challenges during the industrial innovation process. This knowledge provides some guidance for managers aiming at a smooth transition process, from technology development to production.
Originality/value
By addressing both the interface between technology development and product development, and between product development and production in the same study, the authors have been able to provide a comprehensive overview of managerial issues related to interfaces challenges in industrial innovation processes in manufacturing firms.
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