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Human resources are considered the most important component of a corporation's competitive advantage in global markets. Society, workers and shareholders expect corporations to manage and utilise human resources not only for the competitive advantage of a corporation but of a nation. Corporations are expected to disclose information relating to the management of human resources in their annual reports. This study analysed the annual reports of a sample of publicly traded corporations in six countries (USA, Canada, Germany, UK, Japan, and S. Korea) for the purpose of an international comparison of human resource information disclosure. Results of the analysis revealed that corporations in different countries differed in the disclosure of human resources information. In particular, those in Europe disclosed more human resources information than those in Asia and North America. The corporations in the financial services sector, which employed over two thirds of the workforce in the developed countries were also different from those in the manufacturing sector in disclosure of human resources information. The details of the differences between the two sectors, and among the six nations of the three continents, in terms of the incidence (frequency) and the word count (content) of information disclosed on different hitman resources issues in the annual reports are presented in the paper.

This study examines the relative perceptions of manufacturing and service quality executives about the use and benefits of quality management programs. In particular, survey responses from 358 of the largest U.S.manufacturing and service corporations were used to assess the impact of quality program practices, training,support, and results. This exploratory research suggests that quality management systems have been morethoroughly developed by manufacturing firms relative toservice companies. Many quality management practices have resulted in greater perceived competitive results in the manufacturing environment. The greater success ofthose quality practices in manufacturing firms may be related to the increased training in these programs and higher levels of management and employee support. The greater success of some quality management practices may also provide important insights to manufacturing and service organizations on gaining competitive advantage, especially in terms of customer relationships.

This paper aims to investigate if the world top manufacturing corporations' cost structures are moving from tangible to intangible activities and their impact on profitability.

The theoretical approach is interdisciplinary, combining global value chains, international manufacturing networks, cost management literatures. The empirical approach has a sample out of financial statements' data from 220 multinational corporations between 2006 and 2017, grouping them by technological intensity. It is created the “COGS-share” indicator – the ratio between the costs of goods sold and overall costs and expenses – as a proxy for the firms' expenses of tangible and intangible value chain activities. It is tested as an explanatory variable for the companies' profits through dynamic panel data econometric models.

The results show that the cost structure still is very concentrated in tangibles. Though costs of both tangible and intangible activities negatively impact profits, they affect value generation differently: the higher the share of intangible in comparison to tangible activities in overall cost and expenses, the greater the profits in most manufacturing groups, regardless of their technological intensity.

The empirical analysis simplifies the composition of value chains per activity because financial statements data are aggregates, preventing detailed analysis by markets, business units or products. Stocks' levels are assumed to be at the desired level during the time series. The dataset does not allow value curves to be drawn because direct wages' data and more precise information on cost (especially deferred assets and wages) are missing.

The presented approach, particularly the COGS-share indicator, contribute to assess value generation from activities for improving corporate strategies and public policies on operations and cost management of global value chains.

Supporting upgrading decisions that impact value production, allocation and distribution between workers, firms and countries.

Interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical assessment of the manufacturing companies' cost structures and profits based on financial statements data for the better understanding of value generation from tangible and intangible activities.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and disseminate knowledge about quantum-inspired computing technology's potential to solve complex challenges faced by the operational agility capability in Industry 4.0 manufacturing and logistics operations.

A multi-case study approach is used to determine the impact of quantum-inspired computing technology in manufacturing and logistics processes from the supplier perspective. A literature review provides the basis for a framework to identify a set of flexibility and agility operational capabilities enabled by Industry 4.0 Information and Digital Technologies. The use cases are analyzed in depth, first individually and then jointly.

Study results suggest that quantum-inspired computing technology has the potential to harness and boost companies' operational flexibility to enhance operational agility in manufacturing and logistics operations management, particularly in the Industry 4.0 context. An exploratory model is proposed to explain the relationships between quantum-inspired computing technology and the deployment of operational agility capabilities.

This is study explores the use of quantum-inspired computing technology in Industry 4.0 operations management and contributes to understanding its potential to enable operational agility capability in manufacturing and logistics operations.

This essay examines a common assertion among middle-class shoppers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, that place of manufacture, rather than brand markers, largely determines the quality of goods. For shoppers in Ho Chi Minh City, unity of place, people, raw materials, and trade secrets at the source – a corporation’s home country – is essential to the production of high quality goods. This stands in contrast to the brand logic through which corporations outsource their production presumably without compromising product quality. By privileging production sites over brands, shoppers in Ho Chi Minh City interpret the recent increase of famous foreign brand name goods in Vietnam as an increase of domestic, rather than foreign goods.

This study applied the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to examine the awareness of green management among executives in the Top 5000 corporations (as listed in the China Credit Information Service (CCIS)). Perceived risk, perceived benefit, justice, moral obligation, control force, and control beliefs were considered antecedents to the three components of the TPB (attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavior control, PBC). The correlation between intention and implementation of green management strategies was examined, as was the combined influence of these two factors on organizational performance. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

333 valid questionnaires were returned from a sample of the Top 5000 corporations listed in the CCIS. Structural equation modelling was used to verify the causal relationship amongst the green management variables and performance perspectives.

The results indicate that perceived risk and perceived benefit have a strong correspondence to the expressed attitudes related to green management strategies; justice and moral obligation are correlated with the subjective norm; control force and control belief are correlated with perceived behavior control (PBC). Working in conjunction, the three components of the TPB exert a strong influence on the intentions of managers and their likelihood of implementing green management strategies. These factors further affect organizational performance.

When corporations in the service industry are compared with those in the manufacturing industry, the following five paths show significant differences: control force to PBC, control belief to PBC, attitude to strategic intention, subjective norm to strategic intention, and PBC to strategic intention. These results demonstrate that different industry clusters may lead to different path strengths as a corporation adopts green management strategies.

This study used the TPB to explore green management adoption and was able to clarify the relationship between green management strategies and organizational performance. It is hoped that this study might provide academic as well as practical value.

At present, manufacturing firms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are considering the adoption of quality control (QC) techniques. Conducts a survey to investigate the awareness of quality and to shed some light on the extent of the practice and content of the QC process in manufacturing firms in KSA.

Technological outsourcing requires possessing the technological capability level by enterprises taking the outsourced activity and further mandates build-up capabilities. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing nations such as Ethiopia are usually equipped with low level of technological capability and could benefit from government-supported or government-initiated outsourcing networks. The current study aims to preliminarily assess performance of outsourcing initiative taken by the Hibret Manufacturing and Machine Building Industry, a subsidiary of a national corporation, in developing technological capability of SMEs in Ethiopia.

The study used a qualitative research approach through interviews with the parent company officials and owners of SMEs and site visit to these SMEs. Findings are organized in a way to draw lessons to be learned from technological outsourcing examined.

Technological learning, acquisition of new technologies, market access and process innovation are few capabilities achieved by the involved SMEs. To facilitate and harness these opportunities and further assist in policy ratification, a conceptual framework has been presented and elaborated.

Further investigation into outsourcing procedure and biases are expected to shed further light onto the outsourcing initiative by the parent company. This study drew results from investigation of the SMEs involved. Additional investigation of other SMEs is expected to reveal additional insights.

There is a dearth of literature focusing on exploration of technological outsourcing in low-income developing countries, such as Ethiopia, to build SMEs’ technological capabilities. This research presents insightful contribution to strategic outsourcing to build local technological capability in developing economies.

The ubiquitous information society gave birth to quasi‐explicit, or formative, knowledge. Formative knowledge is like explicit knowledge in that it can be copied, but unlike explicit knowledge because it is not fixed. Some manufacturers are beginning to adopt approaches to knowledge management that rely on formative knowledge. Such an approach enabled Honda to start production of its newest Civic model almost simultaneously at 12 plants around the globe in 2000. Strong fear of formative knowledge “consumption” by lead consumers made Honda use CAD/CAE networks to nurture a worldwide community of engineers to design the Civic. This innovation reduced Honda’s average model transfer time to about a half that of Toyota. Honda’s achievement suggests that a new approach to knowledge management is possible, one that lies between Japanese‐style knowledge management centered on human mediation and tacit knowledge and Western‐style knowledge management based on information technology and explicit knowledge.