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1 – 10 of over 162000Martin Dörnhöfer and Willibald A. Günthner
The purpose of this paper is to assess the current state of performance measurement (PM) in academic literature and in the automotive supply chain (SC). The research question is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the current state of performance measurement (PM) in academic literature and in the automotive supply chain (SC). The research question is to what extent PM systems (PMS) in academic literature and in industry are applicable in automotive logistics.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a combination of a systematic literature review (SLR) and an industry survey. The SLR is used to identify literature on design aspects for PMS and current PMS reported in academic literature. The survey adds an industry perspective and is used to validate the design aspects found in literature. The synthesis aims to deliver both, current research gaps and needs in industry.
Findings
The findings from SLR indicate, there is a broad base of literature regarding design aspects for PMS. Literature on PMS in context of automotive logistics is nevertheless rare. The industry survey leads to the conclusion that conformity with design aspects from literature increases added value of PMS. Nevertheless, current PMS show improvement needs in automotive context. Academic literature lacks detailed process orientation, transparency and is seen as too high level to be helpful for practitioners. For systems in industry, the SC perspective can be improved. In addition, applicability for continuous improvement is identified as research need in industry and literature.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the selected survey approach, additional research is required to obtain more generalizable results. To increase reliability and validity, a selection of the findings should be further analyzed, e.g. by focusing on regions outside Western Europe or a more in depth analysis of selected aspects. In addition insights into selected research topics highlighted in the paper should be assessed in detail by applying different methodologies (e.g. case studies) to validate the findings.
Originality/value
The findings add to the research on PMS. Latest academic literature is reviewed. The findings are combined with an industry perspective. The combination of SLR and a broad survey enables us to draw conclusions which are relevant for researchers and practitioners alike. Where academic research should focus more on the practical applicability, industry can benefit from the findings by integrating a more holistic perspective into their PMS, especially with a SC wide evaluation.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the respondents’ fraud phenomenon in online panel surveys, delineate data quality issues from surveys of broad…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the respondents’ fraud phenomenon in online panel surveys, delineate data quality issues from surveys of broad and narrow populations, alert fellow researchers about higher incidence of respondents’ fraud in online panel surveys of narrow populations, such as logistics professionals and recommend ways to protect the quality of data received from such surveys.
Design/methodology/approach
This general review paper has two parts, namely, descriptive and instructional. The current state of online survey and panel data use in supply chain research is examined first through a survey method literature review. Then, a more focused understanding of the phenomenon of fraud in surveys is provided through an analysis of online panel industry literature and psychological academic literature. Common survey design and data cleaning recommendations are critically assessed for their applicability to narrow populations. A survey of warehouse professionals is used to illustrate fraud detection techniques and glean additional, supply chain specific data protection recommendations.
Findings
Surveys of narrow populations, such as those typically targeted by supply chain researchers, are much more prone to respondents’ fraud. To protect and clean survey data, supply chain researchers need to use many measures that are different from those commonly recommended in methodological survey literature.
Research limitations/implications
For the first time, the need to distinguish between narrow and broad population surveys has been stated when it comes to data quality issues. The confusion and previously reported “mixed results” from literature reviews on the subject have been explained and a clear direction for future research is suggested: the two categories should be considered separately.
Practical implications
Specific fraud protection advice is provided to supply chain researchers on the strategic choices and specific aspects for all phases of surveying narrow populations, namely, survey preparation, administration and data cleaning.
Originality/value
This paper can greatly benefit researchers in several ways. It provides a comprehensive review and analysis of respondents’ fraud in online surveys, an issue poorly understood and rarely addressed in academic research. Drawing from literature from several fields, this paper, for the first time in literature, offers a systematic set of recommendations for narrow population surveys by clearly contrasting them with general population surveys.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Ismail Sila and Maling Ebrahimpour
There has been a plethora of published research related to total quality management (TQM) in the last few decades. However, very few studies focused on cataloging critical factors…
Abstract
There has been a plethora of published research related to total quality management (TQM) in the last few decades. However, very few studies focused on cataloging critical factors of TQM. One of the objectives of this literature review was to investigate the state of TQM by examining and listing various TQM factors identified based on survey studies conducted in different countries and published in a variety of journals over the past decade. An examination of 76 survey studies that used an integrated approach to TQM showed that the TQM factors could be grouped under 25 categories. An analysis of the 347 survey based research articles published between 1989 and 2000 using these 25 factors as a framework revealed the most frequently covered TQM factors in the literature. Another goal of the paper was to analyse the objectives of these articles by year and type of journal they were published in to determine the trends in TQM survey based studies and recommend future direction for research. The analysis showed that the objectives of the 347 studies could be grouped under six categories.
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Shankar Sankaran, Ralf Müller and Nathalie Drouin
The purpose of this article is to investigate collaboration in project management research. Although the literature shows an increase in collaboration between scientists and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to investigate collaboration in project management research. Although the literature shows an increase in collaboration between scientists and social scientists for various reasons, it is unclear how and why such collaboration takes place in project management research. The literature does show that co-authorship of articles published in project management journals is on the rise due to increased collaboration between researchers in developed countries and emerging economies as well as developing countries. However, no detailed study has been conducted to investigate how such collaboration occurs in practice in project management research. This article addresses this gap.
Design/methodology/approach
We use a multi-method approach (action research as a meta-methodology and surveys) using qualitative data to reflect on a successful collaborative externally funded research project. At the end of the study, a survey was used to investigate how collaboration occurred among the 26 researchers involved, who were spread over nine countries to collect data on a sponsored research project led by the authors who were the principal investigators. We also compare our findings from the original project with findings from a second survey of a purposeful sample of ten project management researchers who have conducted or are conducting collaborative research in order to validate our findings.
Findings
Through this study, we were able to compare the reasons for increased collaboration in scientific research reported in the literature with what we learnt from our own experience in collaborating on a large-scale project across geographical boundaries and cultures around the world. We were also able to get some insights on enablers and barriers to collaboration from peers who have collaborated on project management research from the second survey. We found that, although some of the reasons explained in the literature were confirmed in our study (e.g. the reputation of lead researchers), some other reasons (e.g. the prestige of institutions) were not that important. The conclusions section of this article provides a more detailed comparison. We also found that using a project management approach would deliver better outcomes. The literature on scientific collaboration was divided on the value of a project management approach and preferred a combination of firmness and flexibility. We found that using action research as a meta-methodology to reflect on our research gave us further insights into why we did what we did at certain critical points in our research that moved us forward.
Research limitations/implications
Our study used two surveys with a limited number of researchers to compare what was found in the literature on reasons for collaboration in scientific research and how research outcomes were measured using citation rates. Conducting interviews or focused groups could have provided more nuanced findings. However, our findings did show that collaboration is beneficial to both experienced and early career researchers and helps them to publish in higher-ranked journals resulting in better visibility for the research. This is an interesting observation and merits further investigation. Theoretical implications: Findings from this research contribute to the broad literature on collaborative research in science and social science with a focus on practice-based fields such as project management where collaboration between academics and practitioners is becoming important.
Practical implications
The study provides some insights into the reasons for processes used and benefits from collaboration in project management research. Our findings have also been validated with our peers. Thus, this study will be useful for setting up and managing collaborative research in project management.
Social implications
Effective collaboration in research can provide social value through mentoring of early career researchers.
Originality/value
This is the first detailed study of collaborative research in project management. It also proposes an action research model that can be used to retrospectively analyse long-term research projects to reflect upon and improve.
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As we approach the millennium, we find ourselves in a world that places ever greater weight and significance on the outcome of polls, surveys, and market research. The advent of…
Abstract
As we approach the millennium, we find ourselves in a world that places ever greater weight and significance on the outcome of polls, surveys, and market research. The advent of modern polling began with the use of scientific sampling in the mid‐1930s and has progressed vastly beyond the initial techniques and purposes of the early practitioners such as George Gallup, Elmo Roper, and Archibald Crossley. In today's environment, the computer is an integral part of most commercial survey work, as are the efforts by academic and nonprofit enterprises. It should be noted that the distinction between the use of the words “poll” and “survey” is somewhat arbitrary, with the mass media seeming to prefer “polling,” and with academia selecting “survey research.” However, searching online systems will yield differing results, hence this author's inclusion of both terms in the title of this article.
Xiaohong Liu and Alan C. McKinnon
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which theory-driven supply chain management (SCM) research is of practical relevance. It does this on the basis of empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which theory-driven supply chain management (SCM) research is of practical relevance. It does this on the basis of empirical research in China.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-pronged approach was adopted. First, 57 theory-driven SCM studies based in China published in ten leading journals between 2006 and 2015 were surveyed. Second, a questionnaire survey of Chinese managers identified their practical concerns and assessed their alignment with the content of the academic papers.
Findings
Some academic research on SCM does probe industry-relevant problems. From an academic perspective, this confirms that theory-driven SCM research can be of practical value. Overall, however, the survey found that much of the SCM research works do not translate into actionable knowledge for practitioners. Academic research in this field could pursue a more pragmatic path and enhance its practical utility. Two critical components of this path, “practical observation” and “practical verification,” are highlighted.
Research limitations/implications
As the literature review was confined to ten leading journals, relevant papers in other journals were possibly excluded. The research was confined to China and so the results are not necessarily generalizable to other countries.
Practical implications
Chinese academics and practitioners could collaborate in defining research agendas and directions. This would help researchers direct their theory building to issues of relevance to business.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the relevance of theory-driven SCM research from academic and practitioner perspectives in China. It shows how this research might have greater impact on business practice.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and synthesis of some important literature on dividend policy, chronicle changing perspectives and trends, provide stylized…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and synthesis of some important literature on dividend policy, chronicle changing perspectives and trends, provide stylized facts, offer practical implications, and suggest avenues for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide a survey of literature surveys with a focus on insights for paying cash dividends.
Findings
The analysis of literature surveys on dividend policy provides some stylized facts. For example, US evidence indicates that the importance of cash dividends as a part of investors’ total returns has declined over time. Share repurchases now play an increasingly important role in payout policy in countries permitting stock buybacks. The popular view is that dividend policy is important, as evidenced by the large amount of money involved and the attention that firms, security analysts, and investors give to dividends. Firms tend to follow a managed dividend policy rather than a residual dividend policy, which involves paying dividends from earnings left over after meeting investment needs while maintaining its target capital structure. Certain determinants of cash dividends are consistently important over time in shaping actual dividend policies including the stability of past dividends and current and anticipated earnings. No universal set of factors is appropriate for all firms because dividend policy is sensitive to numerous factors including firm characteristics, market characteristics, and substitute forms of dividends. Universal or one-size-fits-all theories or explanations for why companies pay dividends are too simplistic.
Practical implications
The dividend puzzle remains an important topic in modern finance.
Originality/value
This is the first a survey of literature surveys on cash dividends.
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Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles and Robert Detmering
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.
Findings
The paper provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.
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Tingting Huang and Kazuhiko Yasuda
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the current status of enterprise resource planning (ERP) field and address some issues in literature reviews, the authors conduct a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the current status of enterprise resource planning (ERP) field and address some issues in literature reviews, the authors conduct a comprehensive literature survey of extensive literature reviews of ERP in organizational contexts and map all the existing research issues that have been mentioned.
Design/methodology/approach
Two groups of keywords are set to search papers through academic search engine and academic databases. Total 86 literature reviews have been accumulated and categorized into three main categories and five sub-categories. The authors adopt multi-method approach to analyze the survey result. It consists of review type, geographical area, publication type, theory, and process approach.
Findings
Literature reviews need more continuity, objectivity, and integrality. More efforts should be made to increase methodologically sound and theoretically grounded research. In ERP research field, the topics in the post-implementation phase are heating up recently but still in its initial stage as well as small and medium enterprises research. The development of ERP in specific area or industry is considered to be critical. More longitudinal case study should be launched. Looking for the distribution of research across geographical areas is a potential perspective of researching as well.
Originality/value
This is the first comprehensive research that aims to analyze all the literature review in ERP field. The specific analysis provides critical detail for researchers to find the needed research. The discussion of this paper can be very valuable and helpful for assisting researchers to find their directions, and contributing to the development of literature reviews in ERP research field.
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