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Open Building and IFD (Industrial Flexible Demountable) building are philosophies that aim to create high quality buildings with increased flexibility and better environmental characteristics. However, a successful adoption of IFD principles has not yet occurred because of concerns for the types of connections that are needed between building components. Therefore, this paper describes PhD research at the University of Twente that has the objective of designing a typology of flexible interfaces for IFD building that can be widely applied in the construction industry and aims to standardize connections, at the various levels of technical composition of a building, to create compatibility between building products from different suppliers. Such a typology of interfaces will increase the re-use and recycling of building parts, resulting in the increased sustainability of the building process. Furthermore, it will help accelerate the industrialization of the housing industry and mass customization of housing. A preliminary case study, in which a sustainable, flexible bathroom is designed, illustrates the various types of interfaces that can be applied, based on existing research. The paper illustrates the importance of interfaces, and aims to increase environmental benefits of buildings (less construction waste), improve the social aspects (higher user satisfaction in buildings) and achieve economical advantages (lower overall costs) by designing new interfaces.

Different techniques applied for the fabrication of thick‐film fine lines have been analysed. The basics, achievements, advantages and disadvantages of improved screen printing, screen printing with metal masks, the direct writing method, offset printing and photoformed or photoetched thick‐film are presented. In addition, current trends in front metallisation of silicon solar cells are described. Based on a critical review, the use of thick‐film fine lines for this purpose is discussed.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

The authors reviewed the academic literature across a range of disciplines on contingent workers and identified common themes utilizing the concept of sustainable career. They set out an agenda for future research.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format

In response to the lack of connection between employee development and employee engagement, this study explores the existing empirical findings regarding these two concepts. Based on the conservation of resources theory, the authors propose a novel theoretical framework that can better leverage the identified antecedents and relationships for future research.

An integrative literature review of 64 empirical studies published in peer-reviewed journals was conducted.

Three different levels of antecedents, including the work environment, social exchange and individual characteristics, are identified. Employee development and employee engagement exhibit reciprocal relationships. Considering the role of job performance as a catalyst, the authors propose an upward gain spiral model to advance both research and practice.

This integrative literature review aims to facilitate discussions based on three distinct sub-dimensions: physical, emotional and cognitive energies, relevant to both employee development and employee engagement. Through this distinction, a more comprehensive understanding of the connection between employee development and employee engagement can be cultivated.

The literature is full of studies of production functions with capital and labour aggregate indices, mainly for the economies or manufacturing industries of the USA and Canada. Traditional Cobb‐Douglas and CES specifications treated aggregate labour on the assumption that heterogeneous labour categories were highly substitutable. Berndt and Christensen proposed that a consistent aggregate of diverse labour exists if certain Allen‐Uzawa partial elasticities of substitution (AUES, denoted σij, i, j = factor inputs) are equal.

A mixed two‐level system is considered for parts distribution. Three approaches are studied for the division of the total item set S into subsets S⊂1 and S⊂2. The subset S⊂1 includes items directly served by the company to the end‐users and subset S⊂2 includes items served through dealers. These approaches are dealer item‐based, company item‐based and system‐based. The systems approach is compared with the two item‐based approaches from the dealer′s and company′s point of view. A market sensitivity model is developed in the systems approach, which considers the effect of customer service (primarily average delivery time and number of items in set S⊂2) on the captured market share. Optimisation of total expected profit, based on a system′s approach, leads to higher profit levels and to a larger subset S⊂2 than obtained from the two item‐based approaches.

This paper will detail the development of a multi-objective mathematical programming model for audit sampling of balances for accounts receivable. The nonlinear nature of the model structure will require the use of a nonlinear solution algorithm, such as the GRG or the genetic algorithm embedded in a Solver spreadsheet modeling system, to obtain appropriate results.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an Internet of Things (IoT)-based framework for supply chain (SC) performance measurement and real-time decision alignment. The aims of the proposed model are to optimize the performance indicator based on integrated supply chain operations reference metrics.

The SC multi-dimensional structure is modeled by multi-objective optimization methods. The operational presented model considers important SC features thoroughly such as multi-echelons, several suppliers, several manufacturers and several products during multiple periods. A multi-objective mathematical programming model is then developed to yield the operational decisions with Pareto efficient performance values and solved using a well-known meta-heuristic algorithm, i.e., non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. Afterward, Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method is used to determine the best operational solution based on the strategic decision maker’s idea.

This paper proposes a dynamic integrated solution for three main problems: strategic decisions in high level, operational decisions in low level and alignment of these two decision levels.

The authors propose a human intelligence-based process for high level decision and machine intelligence-based decision support systems for low level decision using a novel approach. High level and low level decisions are aligned by a machine intelligence model as well. The presented framework is based on change detection, event driven planning and real-time decision alignment.

Ineffective management inventory of medical products such as blood and vaccines can create severe repercussions for hospitals, clinics or medical enterprises, such as surgery delays and postponements. Inventory sharing is a form of horizontal collaboration that can provide solutions to key actors of the healthcare supply chain (HSC), yet no prior study reviewed this topic.

This study conducts a systematic literature review of thirty-nine inventory-sharing studies in the context of HSCs published from 2012 until early 2022. The descriptive and thematic analyses include chronological distribution, geographical location, comparison between developed/developing regions, stakeholder and incident analysis.

Thematic analysis classified inventory sharing among five product supply chains (blood, medical supplies, medicines, vaccines and generic medical products). Benefits include shortage reduction, cost minimisation, and wastage mitigation. Barriers include (1) IT infrastructure, (2) social systems, (3) cost and (4) supply chain operations. Perishable inventory policies include Fresher-First (FF), Last-Expire-First-Out (LEFO), First-In-First-Out (FIFO) and First-Expire-First-Out (FEFO). The analysis also showed differences between developed and developing countries. The study identifies several future research opportunities that include (1) product utilisation rate, (2) cost reductions, (3) shortage mitigation and (4) waste reduction.

No prior study has systematically reviewed inventory sharing in HSCs to reveal benefits, barriers, patterns and gaps in the current literature. It makes five propositions and develops a research model to guide future research. The study concludes with theoretical and managerial implications.

A trend has been developing in the United States towards the use of vertical marketing systems. Of the many types of vertical marketing systems, franchising has become one of the most dominant. This is evidenced, in part, by the nearly one‐third of retail sales in 1973 that were through franchised retailers (US Department of Commerce, 1974). The success of the franchise form of distribution hinges upon franchisors and franchisees both contributing skills and resources, frequently however franchisees and franchisors become dissatisfied with the other's contributions and actions. This dis‐satisfaction in some cases leads to substantial friction. Although it is not clear that conflict (friction) will always decrease channel efficiency it is probably safe to assume that continued conflict would be dysfunctional in a franchise channel. It is therefore the purpose of this article to discuss and empirically test several propositions about the franchisee's satisfaction with his franchisor.