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Article
Publication date: 20 June 2019

Bardia Naghshineh and Maryam Lotfi

Supply chain resilience (SCR) has recently become an important issue for organizations all around the world. In order to decrease the risk of failures, managers and decision…

Abstract

Purpose

Supply chain resilience (SCR) has recently become an important issue for organizations all around the world. In order to decrease the risk of failures, managers and decision makers are constantly looking for practices to enhance SCR. The purpose of this paper is to propose a research model that mainly focuses on the effect of information sharing (IS) to enhance SCR.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey method is used in this research. Data were collected from the supply chain, procurement, executive and IT managers of 82 of Tehran’s stock exchange production companies. Structural equation modeling with SmartPLS3 software is used to analyze the collected data.

Findings

Research results show that IS significantly enhances SCR.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected at one point in time, and therefore a longitudinal study can further investigate the results of this study. The research was carried out in production companies in Iran. Future research can examine the research model in other industry sectors, e.g. services, in other countries to validate the accuracy of the findings.

Practical implications

The findings of this research should help managers, and decision makers create more resilient supply chains for their own and partners’ organizations.

Originality/value

The research model provides insightful results regarding the significance of IS in the SCR context.

Details

Continuity & Resilience Review, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-7502

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2021

Maryam Lotfi and Abby Larmour

The COVID-19 outbreak highlights that many supply chains are exposed to unforeseen disruptions, that risks are unavoidable, and that the international nature of supply chains can…

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Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 outbreak highlights that many supply chains are exposed to unforeseen disruptions, that risks are unavoidable, and that the international nature of supply chains can seriously disrupt normal operations. Therefore, the need for Supply Chain Resilience (SCRES) is more imperative than ever. Furthermore, collaboration in supply chains may have benefitted the response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The aim of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of how collaboration with both types of horizontal and vertical collaboration in the supply chain affects its resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

A thematic analysis of the literature is used to investigate the concepts of both vertical and horizontal collaboration and supply chain resilience separately, then integrating identified themes to understand the relationship between them through a thematic map.

Findings

The thematic analysis indicates that the more firms collaborate in the supply chain, the more resilient they will be. Furthermore, both horizontal and vertical collaboration between supply chain partners will enhance resilience. This relationship is positively moderated by governance in the partnership and negatively moderated by competition in the partnership.

Originality/value

This is one of the first papers to provide in-depth insights into how collaboration, with both types of horizontal and vertical collaboration, affects supply chain resilience. Neither of previous articles provide an understanding of how both types of collaboration enables supply chain resilience.

Details

Continuity & Resilience Review, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-7502

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 December 2017

Maryam Lotfi and Soroosh Saghiri

Regarding today’s volatile and turbulent markets accompanied by natural disasters and political upheavals, being resilient has become crucially important for many firms. It is…

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Abstract

Purpose

Regarding today’s volatile and turbulent markets accompanied by natural disasters and political upheavals, being resilient has become crucially important for many firms. It is widely accepted that the firm’s operations need to be cost efficient as well as customer responsive. Lean and agile have been proven to be pertinent strategies toward efficiency and responsiveness. But the operations also need to be resilient against disruptions to quickly return to their original state or even a better one. While the question of how leanness and agility impact operational performance outcomes has been researched, the question of how resilience can boost operational performance outcomes is yet to be investigated. The purpose of this paper is to show how resilience is distinguished from leanness and agility. It then examines the impact of resilience, along with leanness and agility, on operational performance outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

A structural model is drawn up based on the literature to relate lean, agile and resilient practices to performance outcomes. Leanness, agility and resilience are measured through bundles of practices and operational performance outcomes are measured in terms of cost, quality, delivery, flexibility and time to recovery. The model is tested using SPSS 19 and AMOS 19 based on the data collected via survey from a sample of 151 automotive parts suppliers.

Findings

The results show that a higher level of resilience will lead to a better performance in terms of delivery, cost and time to recovery, while it does not have a significant impact on flexibility performance. Regarding leanness, the results confirm that lean operations positively affect cost, delivery and flexibility performances. The results also reject the hypothesis stating that higher level of leanness will lead to worse recovery performance, inferring that higher level of leanness leads to better time to recovery performance (i.e. helps time to recovery reduction).

Originality/value

The present research emphasizes the importance of operations resilience and demonstrates its contribution, alongside leanness and agility, to operational performance. The developed structural model contributes to the nascent theories around resilience, and the use of empirical data makes the results valuable practically. This may inform operations strategy decisions in terms of the results expected from resilience, leanness and agility.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2021

Maryam Lotfi, Maneesh Kumar, Vasco Sanchez Rodrigues, Mohamed Naim and Irina Harris

This study aims to explore how horizontal collaboration can help small and micro enterprises within the drink sector through the relational theory lens.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore how horizontal collaboration can help small and micro enterprises within the drink sector through the relational theory lens.

Design/methodology/approach

The use of qualitative research methods, including focus groups and interviews, facilitated understanding the horizontal collaboration in micro and small companies within the Welsh brewery industry. Data collection involved conducting three focus groups and 13 interviews within the Welsh brewery sector in the UK. The collaboration phenomena were explained using the three elements of relational theory: relational rents, relational capitals and relational governance.

Findings

Micro and small enterprises in the drink sector use collaborative initiatives in building new capabilities to generate relational rents. In addition, relational capitals and relational governance mechanisms were identified to support the horizontal collaboration among these enterprises.

Research limitations/implications

The focus is on only one part of the drinks industry, i.e. the brewery industry; therefore, this study could be extended to other industries within the drink sector or across manufacturing industries.

Practical implications

The micro and small enterprises can collaborate to achieve relational rent, but this collaboration requires strong relational capitals, such as trust. These partners need to change informal governance mechanisms that already exist towards more contractual formal mechanisms.

Originality/value

Prior research has largely focused on vertical collaboration, with limited studies using the relational theory lens to explicate horizontal collaboration phenomena and no previous research in the context of micro and small companies. Relational rents, relational capitals and relational governance mechanisms are studied to provide insights into an effective collaboration in this context.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 124 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2013

Ali Rezaeian, Maryam Tehrani and Nyma Lotfi Foroushani

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the effect of communication satisfaction (CS) on employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), considering the role of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the effect of communication satisfaction (CS) on employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), considering the role of organizational trust as a mediating variable within the Iranian cultural context.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper builds a conceptual model, based on literature review, to illustrate the effect of communication satisfaction on employees’ OCBs within the Iranian national context. Out of 194 questionnaires distributed among the employees of Iranian Water Resources Management Company, one of the well‐recognized companies in the Iranian water industry, 173 filled in the questionnaires completely.

Findings

The paper addresses the main components forming communication satisfaction, organizational trust and OCBs referring to the role of Iranian cultural dimensions. The result of analyzing the research model by using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique shows that communication satisfaction has a positive effect on organizational trust. It also depicts that organizational trust has a positive effect on OCBs and organizational trust plays a mediating role in the relationship between communication satisfaction and OCBs in an Iranian organization.

Originality/value

The authors developed a new conceptual model based on the literature review and field research to present novel insights into the role of in‐group collectivism, institutional collectivism, human orientation and high‐low cultural context as important cultural dimensions in the study of communication satisfaction, organizational trust and OCBs.

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2021

Maryam Eghbali-Zarch, Reza Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, Kazem Dehghan-Sanej and Amin Kaboli

The construction industry is a key driver of economic growth. However, the adverse impacts of construction and demolition waste (CDW) resulted from the active construction…

Abstract

Purpose

The construction industry is a key driver of economic growth. However, the adverse impacts of construction and demolition waste (CDW) resulted from the active construction projects on the economy, environment, public health and social life necessitates an appropriate control and management of this waste stream. Developing and promoting the construction and demolition waste management (CDWM) hierarchy program at the strategic level is essential.

Design/methodology/approach

This study aims to propose a hybrid decision model that hybridizes the Integrated Determination of Objective Criteria Weights (IDOCRIW) and weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) under a fuzzy environment.

Findings

The proposed method ranks the potential strategic alternatives by the sustainable development criteria to improve the performance of CDWM. As indicated in the results, the fuzzy approach in the decision-making process enables the transformation of linguistic variables into fuzzy numbers that show uncertainty and ambiguity in real-world systems. Moreover, the close correlation between the final ranking of the proposed methodology and the average priority order of the strategic alternatives obtained by five different multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods implies the validity of the model performance.

Practical implications

This proposed model is an appropriate tool to effectively decide on the development of CDWM from a strategic point of view. It aims to establish an MCDM framework for the evaluation of effective strategies for CDWM according to the indices of sustainable development. Implementing proper operational plans and conducting research in CDWM has the highest priority, and enacting new and more stringent laws, rules and regulations against the production of CDW has secondary priority. This study contributes to the field by optimizing the CDWM by applying the top-priority strategies resulted from the proposed fuzzy hybrid MCDM methodology by the decision-makers or policy-makers to reach the best managerial strategic plan.

Originality/value

In the proposed methodology, the IDOCRIW technique is utilized and updated with the triangular fuzzy numbers for the first time in the literature to derive the weights of sustainable development criteria. The fuzzy WASPAS method is utilized for evaluation and providing a final ranking of the strategic alternatives.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 December 2021

Maryam Dastoorpoor, Narges Khodadadi, Seyed Hamid Borsi, Farkhondeh Jamshidi, Alireza Babaei Farsani and Mehrdad Noorzadeh

Prisoners are at greater risk of infectious diseases compared to the general population. While imprisoned, it is often difficult to observe Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) prevention…

Abstract

Purpose

Prisoners are at greater risk of infectious diseases compared to the general population. While imprisoned, it is often difficult to observe Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) prevention strategies such as social distancing. To the authors’ knowledge, no study has been conducted worldwide to examine the condition of female prisoners with COVID-19. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the epidemiological, clinical and imaging characteristics of prisoners with COVID-19 in Ahvaz Women’s Prison (southwest, Iran).

Design/methodology/approach

The data for this descriptive cross-sectional study was collected using a checklist including epidemiological information, clinical symptoms, X-ray and computed tomography scan findings of the chest, underlying diseases and the final status of all female prisoners whose COVID-19 test was positive.

Findings

This study included 139 female prisoners with COVID-19 with a mean age of 37.19 ± 12.67 years. The most common underlying diseases were hypertension (14.4%), obesity (10.8%) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (9.4%). The most common symptoms at the onset of the disease were myalgia (59.0%), cough (41.0%) and dyspnea (37.4%). The most common radiological symptoms were ground-glass opacity (12.9%) and atelectasis (7.2%). In terms of extension of involvement, both lungs were involved in 8.6% of patients. In terms of zonal involvement, the lower lobes were more involved (8.6%). In terms of involvement position, the most common was sub-pleural (10.1%). None of the patients died.

Originality/value

Because the incidence, morbidity and mortality rate of COVID-19 in the prison population are likely to differ from those of the public. This study sought to investigate the situation of prisoners with COVID-19 in Ahvaz Prison, Khuzestan Province. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first worldwide study in this regard in women’s prisons.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2017

Maryam Nakhoda and Samaneh Tajik

The purpose of this paper is to study the factors influencing the resistance of the employees of Tehran University libraries to technological changes. Through achieving this aim…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the factors influencing the resistance of the employees of Tehran University libraries to technological changes. Through achieving this aim, it attempts to provide a suitable understanding of these factors for the managers so that they would be able to reduce the resistance to change among the employees of university libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is a descriptive survey in its data collection method. Based on the review of the literature, a questionnaire on resistance to technological changes was devised (Cronbach’s α coefficient being 93 percent). The questionnaire was distributed among 128 of the employees in the technology section of Tehran University libraries, and the achieved data were analyzed using an SPSS and PLS.

Findings

The findings achieved through a confirmatory factor analysis showed 11 elements of ambiguity, threat of the current situation, habit, lack of interest, the need for relearning, unsuitable understanding, inefficient rewarding system, emotional reactions, lack of interest understanding, inflexibility of the beliefs and feeling of being a veteran in the organization, which influence the resistance of the employees of the university libraries, among them the inefficient rewarding system ranks first and the unsuitable understanding ranks last.

Originality/value

In this research, an attempt is made to identify the resistance to technological changes shown by the employees of Tehran University libraries, which can be a guide for library managers to improve the changing process in their libraries. Influencing factors of resistance to change which had been identified by other research works were examined here regarding the circumstances of Tehran University Libraries.

Details

Library Management, vol. 38 no. 8/9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2022

Mansour Abedian, Atefeh Amindoust, Javid Jouzdani and Maryam Hejazi

The purpose of the study is to assess manufacturing firm performance indicators using a reasonably comprehensive integrated BSC-Game model to empirically determine the importance…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to assess manufacturing firm performance indicators using a reasonably comprehensive integrated BSC-Game model to empirically determine the importance of the perspectives and indicators under evaluation and the best combination of indicators.

Design/methodology/approach

After identification of manufacturing indicators of the firm, the Shapley value index is used as the solution of the cooperative game to determine the importance of the perspectives and indicators under evaluation and the best combination of indicators to facilitate the achievement of target goals.

Findings

The game theory approach is used as a technique to rank BSC perspectives of the firm's manufacturing performance. The results reveal that the customers' perspective receives the highest ranking. The knowledge sharing, new technology, customer satisfaction and sale profitability are considered as the best combination of BSC indicators.

Originality/value

The integrated BSC-Game framework, approach and outcomes can be beneficial to practitioners and researchers who aim to select the proper indicators’ policy in manufacturing performance field.

Details

Journal of Advances in Management Research, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0972-7981

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 May 2022

Mansour Abedian, Atefeh Amindoust, Reza Maddahi and Javid Jouzdani

This paper aims to propose an integrated centralized data envelopment analysis (CDEA)-balanced scorecard (BSC) model to provide a selective approach to determine the most…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose an integrated centralized data envelopment analysis (CDEA)-balanced scorecard (BSC) model to provide a selective approach to determine the most efficient indicators for evaluating the four perspectives of the BSC.

Design/methodology/approach

An integer linear programming model based on the efficiency concept of the CDEA method is presented to select the best indicators for evaluating four perspectives of the BSC. The basis for selecting indicators in this method is to maximize the overall performance of each BSC perspective. The modeling is performed on a real case. The considered model is solved using a general algebraic modeling system software for the data set of the real case.

Findings

A real-world case is solved using the proposed method. The integration of the CDEA and the BSC seems to be advantageous because it sheds more light on the complexity and tradeoffs inherent in actual performance measurement. It is important to note that there cannot be a unique and universal model of performance measurement applicable in every situation, in every organization and at any time.

Research limitations/implications

The data set of a single organization in the manufacturing industry is used to show the performance of the proposed mathematical model; therefore, generalization of the results should be done cautiously. This framework is based on the Iranian community and experts’ viewpoints; therefore, different results may be obtained if it is applied elsewhere, and the importance of perspectives and their indicators might show different results in other populations and other countries. In addition, because the data is collected in a specific period of time, the results cannot be extended to other periods of time.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper lies in the adaption of a new integrated CDEA-BSC model to performance measurement in the industrial sector that technology improves the ultimate results of performance measurement and provides wider opportunities for decision-makers. This paper aids managers and decision-makers to control the efficient indicators in perspectives.

Details

Journal of Modelling in Management, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5664

Keywords

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