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The purpose of this paper is to find an optimized thin-film amorphous silicon solar cell design by numerically optimizing the light trapping efficiency of a pyramid-structured back-reflector using a frequency-domain finite element Maxwell solver. For this purpose short circuit current densities and absorption spectra within the investigated solar cell model are systematically analyzed. Furthermore, the authors employ a topology simulation method to accurately predict the material layer interfaces within the investigated solar cell model. The method simulates the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that is typically used to fabricate thin-film solar cells by combining a ballistic transport and reaction model (BTRM) with a level-set method in an iterative approach. Predicted solar cell models are far more realistic compared to solar cell models created assuming conformal material growth. The purpose of the topology simulation method is to increase the accuracy of thin-film solar cell models in order to facilitate highly accurate simulation results in solar cell design optimizations.

The authors perform numeric optimizations using a frequency domain finite element Maxwell solver. Topology simulations are carried out using a BTRM combined with a level-set method in an iterative fashion.

The simulation results reveal that the employed pyramid structured back-reflectors effectively increase the light path in the absorber mainly by exciting photonic waveguide modes. In using the optimization approach, the authors have identified solar cell models with cell periodicities around 480 nm and pyramid base widths around 450 nm to yield the highest short circuit current densities. Compared to equivalent solar cell models with flat back-reflectors, computed short circuit current densities are significantly increased. Furthermore, the paper finds that the solar cell models computed using the topology simulation approach represent a far more realistic approximation to a real solar cell stack compared to solar cell models computed by a conformal material growth assumption.

So far in the topology simulation approach the authors assume CVD as the material deposition process for all material layers. However, during the fabrication process sputtering (i.e. physical vapor deposition) will be employed for the Al:ZnO and ITO layers. In the framework of this ongoing research project the authors will extend the topology simulation approach to take the different material deposition processes into account. The differences in predicted material interfaces will presumably be only minor compared to the results shown here and certainly be insignificant relative to the differences the authors observe for solar cell models computed assuming conformal material growth.

The authors systematically investigate and optimize the light trapping efficiency of a pyramid nano-structured back-reflector using rigorous electromagnetic field computations with a 3D finite element Maxwell solver. To the authors’ knowledge such an investigation has not been carried out yet in the solar cell research literature. The topology simulation approach (to the best of the authors’ knowledge) has previously not been applied to the modelling of solar cells. Typically a conformal layer growth assumption is used instead.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to evaluate the roles of a transactive memory system and the supply network flexibility (SNF) of the firm as antecedents of a firm’s supply chain agility (FSCA), also incorporating the moderating role of the transactive memory system; and, second, to evaluate the relationship between FSCA and operations performance (OP).

Four hypothesized relationships are tested with survey data from 190 high-tech firms using structural equation models.

FSCA can be enhanced through the transactive memory system and SNF, although a higher degree of transactive memory system weakens the positive relationship between SNF and FSCA. A positive relationship is identified between FSCA and OP, while FSCA mediates the relationship between SNF and OP.

Managers can increase FSCA and improve OP by developing both the transactive memory system and SNF. Given that firms have limited resources, investment in internal capabilities should be prioritized as this appears to be more effective at developing FSCA.

The findings expand the literature by exploring two antecedents of FSCA and by analyzing the impact of FSCA on different measures of OP. Few prior studies have highlighted the importance of the transactive memory system to the operations function.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the antecedents of dynamic supply chain capabilities (DSCCs). The authors test entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and supply chain learning orientation (SCLO) as two antecedents of DSCCs.

The paper uses structural equation modelling to test a hypothetical model. Data are gathered from a survey of 275 operations managers in Pakistan’s turbulent manufacturing industry.

The findings suggest that the weaker direct effects of EO, in comparison to the indirect effects, indicate that an SCLO mediates the relationship between EO and DSCCs.

It is widely accepted that firms do not compete with each other, instead, it is end-to-end supply chains that fight for market dominance. Many scholars use the dynamic capabilities view to understand supply chain level competition. However, the dynamic capabilities view is firm-centric in its examination of how companies transform internal resources to compete in the external environment. The theoretical contribution of this paper is a roadmap of how to build dynamic, supply-chain level and capabilities by determining the key antecedents. This paper explains that DSCCs emerge when buyers and suppliers share strategic orientations. Firms with an EO and the ability to learn with supply chain partners are well-positioned to develop DSCCs. This provides a new angle to theory testing by indicating that dynamic capabilities are enabled by an EO and an ability to learn with supply chain partners.

Managers are given the building blocks of DSCCs, starting with fostering an entrepreneurially-oriented mindset in the company and then learning with supply chain partners. Entrepreneurially-oriented managers are encouraged to take risks and co-develop innovative ideas with suppliers during the supply chain learning process.

This study is one of the earliest efforts to determine the strategic orientations that antecede the emergence of DSCCs.

What role do people's attitudes toward social policies play for the politics of welfare state reform? This chapter contributes to a growing scholarship on policy responsiveness in welfare state research with a longitudinal comparative case study of the Bismarckian welfare states of France and Germany. Quantitative analyses of changes in mean attitudes as well as polarization and inequalities of attitudes based on the 1996, 2006, and 2016 waves of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) Role of Government module are triangulated with a thick description of social policy changes. While recommodifying and defamilializing reforms in Germany transformed the welfare state fundamentally, there was more continuity in the French welfare state, in spite of a stronger focus on labor market activation policies. The quantitative results suggest that lower attitudinal stability toward the welfare state in Germany and lower polarization evoked a higher willingness for reform than in France, where more polarized attitudes and overall marginal changes in attitudes gave French governments less maneuverability in adopting reforms. In both countries, I find no evidence for an upper-class bias in policy responsiveness. In sum, my research supports the claim that change in public opinion toward the welfare state and diverging attitudes within societies play a role for the timing and direction of reforms.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between environmental dynamism and supply chain flexibility (SCF) and to evaluate if two dynamic capabilities, i.e. operational absorptive capacity (OAC) and organisational learning (OL), are necessary competences for firms to develop such a responsive supply chain strategy as flexibility.

Hypothesised relationships are tested with survey data from 302 Spanish manufacturing firms using structural equations modelling.

Environmental dynamism is positively associated with both OAC and OL, and both dynamic capabilities enable SCF. The authors also find that the relationship between environmental dynamism and SCF is partially mediated by both dynamic capabilities.

The study contributes to the literature, for example, by determining when it is advantageous to develop SCF, by specifying what capabilities a firm needs to develop to align SCF with the environment, and by opening the black box that is the relationship between the environment and SCF.

Managers should develop SCF via OAC and OL when they detect a high degree of environmental dynamism. Knowing when this is necessary relies on a good understanding of the environment. OAC is found to be a stronger enabler of SCF than OL. The findings provide managers with an insight into why some firms are able to develop more effective responses to dynamic environments than others.

This study is one of only a limited number of studies that adopt a dynamic capabilities approach to supply chain management. Prior literature has shown that dynamic capabilities can aid in developing strategic, structural, and operational flexibility. The authors extend this literature by showing that OAC and OL have an effect on SCF.

Sexual harassment and violence are taboo topics at German universities. Accordingly, there is a large gap in research on the prevalence and functioning of sexual harassment and assault in higher education as well as on social, cultural, and organizational conditions that foster and reproduce gender-based violence at universities. Previous research and our own data suggest that there is a perception among students, faculty and staff that normalizes, trivializes, and even legitimizes the problem. Based on a quantitative survey with students on the prevalence of sexual harassment and violence as well as the results of our analysis of how German universities deal with the issue, we relate this perception to the organizational structures of the higher-education system and discuss historically evolved hierarchies and androcentric structures as well as their reformulation in the wake of neoliberalization as causal for the tabooing and hiding of sexual harassment at German universities.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the role of operations management in society. The article detects trends, raises critical questions to operations management research and articulates a research agenda to increase the value of such research in addressing societal problems.

This paper evaluates the papers presented at the EurOMA 2019 conference to detect trends and discuss the contributions of operations management research to society. It further goes to identify gaps in the research agenda.

The article finds several important streams of research in operations management: sustainable operations and supply chains, health care and humanitarian operations, innovation, digitalisation and 4.0, risk and resilience. It highlights new trends such as circular economy research and problematises when to stop implementing innovation and how to address and report their potential failure. Importantly, it shows how it is not just a question of offshoring vs reshoring but of constant change in manufacturing that operations management addresses.

The article highlights not just novel research areas but also gaps in the research agenda where operations management seeks to add value to society.

The purpose of this paper is to develop taxonomy of sourcing decision-making (SDM) archetypes and explore how different contextual factors influence these archetypes when global sourcing of complex components is considered a viable option.

A multiple case study approach with five in-depth cases is employed. In total, 19 interviews as well as publicly available and internal data from large buying firms headquartered in Austria and Germany were collected and analyzed.

The results reveal three different SDM archetypes which are described in detail (i.e. “consensus,” “argumentation” and “cabal”). Furthermore, it is found that these archetypes are mainly influenced by three contextual factors: sourcing maturity, product complexity and leadership style. The final model comprises six propositions which illustrate how these contextual factors determine companies’ SDM archetypes.

The study contributes to theory development at the intersection of organizational buying behavior and the (global) SDM literature. Thereby, it answers the call for more rigorous investigation of the influence of contextual factors on SDM processes.

The findings enable practitioners to better understand and consequently manage SDM processes and their outcomes. By supporting decision-makers in identifying SDM archetypes, this study allows sourcing managers and teams to make better decisions by avoiding problems that occur in situations in which the preferred decision-making type would result in suboptimal decisions.

The study provides a first step toward taxonomy of SDM archetypes and is among the first that explores their underlying contextual factors.

The central goal of this research is to understand the effects of organizational culture and organizational resilience over the riskiness versus non-riskiness categorization of subcontractors. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This study utilizes multiple sources of data collected in two different time setting. At time one, data were collected from the subcontractors (n=50) of a leading services providing company in Turkey. In order to validate these findings, second wave of data collection was followed one year later. This time, the data were collected from the subcontractors (n=59) of another services providing company in Turkey. Cluster approach was applied.

Results from the cluster analyses revealed interesting insights. Subcontractors that were characterized by high-performance orientation, high uncertainty avoidance and high future orientation were categorized as non-risky. Therefore, the hypotheses found support. Furthermore, in terms of the organizational resilience dimensions, subcontractors having high structural reliance, organizational capability and processual continuity were also categorized as non-risky. The validation study carried out with different subcontractors also revealed the same patterns of findings.

This study revealed that organizational culture and organizational resilience carry critical implications during the subcontractor selection process. Focal companies that seek to expand their work with subcontractors should seek cultural fit and resilience.

This study is the first study to examine the effects of organizational culture and organizational resilience over subcontractor riskiness in the same framework. Furthermore, data were collected from different sources, in two different times and using different approaches.

The purpose of this study is to examine how organisations report on the detection and remediation of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains and to understand their approaches to disclosing information in response to modern slavery legislation.

An analysis of secondary data based on the statements is released in response to the 2015 UK Modern Slavery Act by 101 firms in the clothing and textiles sector.

Many firms use the same practices to detect and remediate modern slavery as for other social issues. But the hidden, criminal nature of modern slavery and the involvement of third party labour agencies mean practices need to either be tailored or other more innovative approaches developed, including in collaboration with traditional and non-traditional actors. Although five broad types of disclosure are identified, there is substantial heterogeneity in the statements. It is posited however that firms will converge on a more homogenous set of responses over time.

The study is limited to one industry, responses to UK legislation and the information disclosed by focal firms only. Future research could expand the focus to include other industries, country contexts and stakeholders.

Managers must consider how their own firm’s behaviour contributes to the modern slavery threat, regulates both their stock and non-stock supply chains and ensures modern slavery is elevated from the procurement function to the boardroom. In making disclosures, managers may trade-off the potential competitive gains of transparency against the threat of information leakage and reputational risk should their statements be falsified. The managers should also consider what signals their statements send back up the chain to (sub-)suppliers. Findings also have potential policy implications.

The study expands the authors’ understanding of: modern slavery from a supply chain perspective, e.g. identifying the importance of standard setting and risk avoidance; and, supply chain information disclosure in response to legislative demands. This is the first academic paper to examine the statements produced by organisations in response to the UK Modern Slavery Act.