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1 – 10 of 19Ivan Kovac, Ante Vuletic and Danijel Mlinarić
The purpose of this paper is to investigate corporate environmental responsibility of Croatian road freight transport companies. Additionally, enterprises' ecological…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate corporate environmental responsibility of Croatian road freight transport companies. Additionally, enterprises' ecological responsibility is established in relation to company size.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data was collected through a questionnaire. For this research, 150 Croatian road freight companies were randomly selected, of which 58 completed the questionnaire. Regression and variance analyses were conducted to analyse the data.
Findings
The findings of the study revealed that the companies' level of ecological sustainability reflects their established organisational culture. Companies with more employees and higher revenues had a higher level of ecological responsibility.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the small sample size, the generalisability of the results is questionable. The results of the primary research confirmed that as the company size increased, so did its established organisational culture regarding ecological sustainability. A higher level of ecological sustainability would provide better financial results and other advantages for small companies.
Originality/value
The theoretical contribution of the paper is presented in the literature review, which provides a summary of the importance of establishing sustainable policy for transport companies. Due to the creation of the Croatian road freight market and pressures created by new competitors from the other member countries of European Union, Croatian road freight companies must understand the positive connection between ecological sustainability and an established organisational culture.
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This paper aims to analyze the influence of international trade of goods of Croatia in the period from 2001 till 2010. The study shows contribution of exports and imports of goods…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the influence of international trade of goods of Croatia in the period from 2001 till 2010. The study shows contribution of exports and imports of goods on the real GDP growth, in time which represented the global economic crisis, of Croatia in comparison to other European countries in the region. International trade has developed as a fast solution from the crisis of every affected national economy.
Design/methodology/approach
To determine previous comprehension of the problems of this research, the data were collected by documentary analysis of domestics and foreign scientific and academic literature. The data were complemented by statistics provided by Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Croatian National Bank, Eurostat and authors' own calculations of the data collected. The paper aims to clarify the level of international trade of goods, imports dependency, exports propensity, and degree of openness and involvement of Croatia in the international trade of goods.
Findings
This study implies that for the Croatian economy, its growth and the development, it is important to raise profit in exports which would result in higher coverage of imports by exports. Main focus in this research is to explore the Croatian industry, its development, competitiveness and international integration; thereby investigate foreign trade of goods. Exports of goods don't have a significant positive contribution to the realised GDP growth rate of Croatia such as other countries in the region.
Originality/value
It is suggested that international market success depends on the competitive ability of all business subjects included in the international trade.
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This paper surveys the literature on supply chain integration (SCI) to identify the state of research in the various types of studied industries and manufacturing environments…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper surveys the literature on supply chain integration (SCI) to identify the state of research in the various types of studied industries and manufacturing environments. The purpose of this paper is to identify academic discoveries that could provide offshore wind projects with means to overcome their current supply chain challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive literature review was conducted involving 162 articles published in 29 peer-reviewed journals. The papers were analyzed in terms of the dimensions of SCI, research methodology, unit of analysis, level of analysis, type of industry and manufacturing environment being studied, integrative practices, integrative barriers and the link between SCI and performance.
Findings
While SCI has been evolving to become an influential topic in the field of supply chain management, scholars have overlooked industrial contingencies by ignoring the differences between the studied industrial contexts, especially project-based manufacturing environments. The present review also reveals that no study of SCI has been conducted on the construction of renewable energy projects. Another finding is that case studies and research articles using networks as a unit of analysis are underrepresented.
Originality/value
This is the first work to advocate for an industrial contingency approach in the analysis of SCI. Thus, it proposes the offshore wind farm-construction industry as a potential study subject to broaden the knowledge in SCI in project manufacturing environments.
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Ivan Paunovic, Nóra Obermayer and Edit Kovari
Both Hungary and Germany belong to the old-world wine-producing countries and have long winemaking traditions. This paper aims at exploring and comparing online branding…
Abstract
Purpose
Both Hungary and Germany belong to the old-world wine-producing countries and have long winemaking traditions. This paper aims at exploring and comparing online branding strategies of family SME (small and medium sized enterprises) wineries at Lake Balaton (Hungary) and Lake Constance (Germany), as two wine regions with similar geographic characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper, based on a total sample of 37 family wineries, 15 at Lake Balaton and 22 at Lake Constance, investigates the differences in brand identity on the website, brand image in social media and online communication channels deployed in both wine regions. The study applies a qualitative methodology using MaxQDA software for conducting content analysis of texts in websites and social media. Descriptive statistics and t-test were conducted to compare the usage of different communication channels and determine statistical significance.
Findings
At Lake Balaton, the vineyard, the winery and the family, while at Lake Constance, the lake itself and the grape are highlighted regarding family winery brand identity. The customer-based brand image of Hungarian family wineries emphasizes wine, food and service, with the predominant use of Facebook. In the German family wineries, the focus of brand identity is on wine, friendliness and taste and includes more extensive usage of websites.
Originality/value
The paper deploys a novel methodology, both in terms of tools used as well as geographic focus to uncover online branding patterns of family wineries, thereby providing implications for wine and tourism industries at lake regions. It compares the share of selected most-used words in the overall text in websites and in social media, and presents the key findings from this innovative approach.
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Shong-lee Ivan Su, Xuemei Fan and Yongyi Shou
The study aims to explore and develop a smart route planning system for the cross-docking delivery operations of a large supermarket chain using an action research (AR) approach…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to explore and develop a smart route planning system for the cross-docking delivery operations of a large supermarket chain using an action research (AR) approach and assessing through a design science research (DSR) lens.
Design/methodology/approach
This study took a problem-solving AR (PAR) approach toward the delivery operational issue of the case firm. The research process has accorded with the solution incubation and the refinement phases defined by a DSR framework. An intervention-based research framework for DSR is developed to assess the validity of this study as a DSR research and derive mid-range theories.
Findings
Dramatic operational and financial improvements were achieved for the case firm. Significant and unintended environmental and social benefits were also found. A design proposition (DP) and several mid-range theories are proposed as an extension of AR research to DSR research.
Research limitations/implications
A problem-solving DSR research can be better assessed by the intervention-based DSR framework developed in this study. DSR studies should be encouraged for both practical and theoretical advancement purposes.
Practical implications
A challenging business problem-solving study can be tackled effectively through an industry/academic collaboration taking a PAR approach to deliver substantial values and organization transformational results.
Social implications
Drivers and store associates are safer with smart delivery operations in the case firm.
Originality/value
There are still limited PAR design science case studies in the supply chain/logistics research literature. The research experience and findings gained from this study provide more insights toward how this type of research can be conducted and assessed.
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Identifies key activities that network users can perform in orderto use the network effectively. Offers recommended reading, frombeginner to expert user status. Explains some…
Abstract
Identifies key activities that network users can perform in order to use the network effectively. Offers recommended reading, from beginner to expert user status. Explains some commonly used terms (e.g. Turbo Gopher with Veronica!). Lists useful Internet resources.
Paola Signori, Daniel John Flint and Susan Golicic
The purpose this paper is to profile individual-level perspectives on sustainability and supply chain partnering, introduces the concept of sustainable supply chain orientation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose this paper is to profile individual-level perspectives on sustainability and supply chain partnering, introduces the concept of sustainable supply chain orientation (SSCO), and suggests pathways between executive profiles toward SSCO.
Design/methodology/approach
The research relies on inductive, theory-building grounded theory and phenomenological data collection and interpretations in the wine industry. In-depth interviews were conducted over five years with 112 senior managers from 88 organizations in the global wine industry representing nine wine regions in four countries.
Findings
Ten profiles were developed depicting executives’ perspectives on embracing sustainability, the extent to which motivations for various forms of sustainability and partnering compete, and being self-or supply chain partner focussed. A SSCO depicts a leader who embraces sustainability, sees alignment in motivations and is supply chain partner focussed.
Research limitations/implications
The paper contributes to the sustainable supply chain management and general business orientation discourses by introducing the concept of SSCO and profiling executives’ perspectives that may help to define pathways toward SSCO. It may be limited by its inductive method and the industry context. Limitations suggest future research in discovering additional profiles and pathways as well as validating them.
Practical implications
Findings reveal the importance of understanding what sustainability means to business executives of firms in hyper-competitive markets with global supply chains. Managers will recognize that there are many possible routes toward SSCO, each one revealing potentially unique differentiation opportunities while also providing clues to competitors’ strategies.
Originality/value
This work introduces the concept of SSCO and contributes a classification scheme consisting of detailed business executive profile descriptions and specific pathways toward SSCO followed by those executives.
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Purpose – This chapter aims to show how media law strongly contributed to shape in Hungary what has been pictured as a U-turn. This illiberal trend was subsequently strengthened…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter aims to show how media law strongly contributed to shape in Hungary what has been pictured as a U-turn. This illiberal trend was subsequently strengthened during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methodology/Approach – It considers that law also constitutes and not only orders political and social relationships. Law, including media law, has been in Hungary one of the main factors of change or rather of political-social construction. This chapter therefore moves from the study of positive law and analyzes Hungarian media laws within the theoretical framework of illiberal democracy, drawing from contributions to political science and socio-legal studies. Findings – This chapter demonstrated that media laws have outlined in Hungary a centralized regulatory system with broad powers, which lacks political independence, therefore encouraging self-censorship and limiting freedom of expression and pluralism. These laws contributed to shape the illiberal U-turn occurred in the country before the pandemic, but the coronavirus offered the occasion to reinforce government powers, giving the leeway to rule with no or minimum scrutiny for an indefinite period and further limiting dissent. The analysis enabled to argue that neither the media regulation established during the past decade nor the laws adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic are compatible with a modern democracy. Originality/Value – Based on existing literature, little research has been conducted on the appearance and endurance of non-democratic regimes, and supposedly even less within the context of the coronavirus pandemic which started only a few months ago, compared to the contributions available on democratization processes and democratic consolidation.
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