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For some planners, it seems, the play's the thing.

Who knows what scholarly gems lie behind the iron doors of research library stacks in what used to be called “East” Germany? Today anyone with a network connection and a Web browser can know at least some of the answers, thanks to a major automation effort.

Presents an innovative approach used by one company to integrate its ISO 9000‐certified management system with a recognised TQM framework (the Baldrige model). The company concerned developed its ISO 9000 system to address all elements of the Baldrige criteria. Of particular note is its process improvement approach that prioritises improvement projects based on their expected impact on the company’s Baldrige score. This approach supported by an online Lotus Notes system helps the company to manage over 200 projects, covering different business units, in a systematic, fact‐based way. All projects (with the exception of some strategic projects) pass through this system and therefore this system provides one of the key methods with which the company continuously improves and moves closer to fully satisfying its stakeholders’ needs. A detailed description of this process improvement approach is provided including a number of key measures reporting on the effectiveness of the system.

The libraries of more and more universities and research institutions have local digital repositories, and the amount of material is increasing every day. Users need an integrated retrieval interface that allows aggregated searching across multiple document servers without having to resort to manual processes. ProPrint offers an on‐demand print service within Germany for over 2,000 monographs and 1,000 journals. Partners worldwide are now invited to join.

The study here responds to the view that the crucial problem in strategic management (research) is firm heterogeneity – why firms adopt different strategies and structures, why heterogeneity persists, and why competitors perform differently. The present study applies complexity theory tenets and a “neo-configurational perspective” of Misangyi et al. (2016) in proposing complex antecedent conditions affecting complex outcome conditions. Rather than examining variable directional relationships using null hypotheses statistical tests, the study examines case-based conditions using somewhat precise outcome tests (SPOT). The complex outcome conditions include firms with high financial performances in declining markets and firms with low financial performances in growing markets – the study focuses on seemingly paradoxical outcomes. The study here examines firm strategies and outcomes for separate samples of cross-sectional data of manufacturing firms with headquarters in one of two nations: Finland (n = 820) and Hungary (n = 300). The study includes examining the predictive validities of the models. The study contributes conceptual advances of complex firm orientation configurations and complex firm performance capabilities configurations as mediating conditions between firmographics, firm resources, and the two final complex outcome conditions (high performance in declining markets and low performance in growing markets). The study contributes by showing how fuzzy-logic computing with words (Zadeh, 1966) advances strategic management research toward achieving requisite variety to overcome the theory-analytic mismatch pervasive currently in the discipline (Fiss, 2007, 2011) – thus, this study is a useful step toward solving the crucial problem of how to explain firm heterogeneity.

The world is changing – economically, technologically, politically, and socially. As an academic discipline, operations management (OM) is, almost by definition, close to practice. Are our OM research methods fit for purpose for the new age? This paper reflects on and develops the principal themes discussed in the “OM Methodology” Special Session at the 2011 EurOMA Conference in Cambridge, UK. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The emerging landscape in which future OM research will be conducted is discussed. The paper provides a range of perspectives on the research challenges facing the discipline with respect to what the authors research and how the authors research it. The range of methods open to us and their relative merits and challenges are debated.

The traditional research divide between quantitative modelling, often normative in outlook, and the more reflective modes of qualitative enquiry, with a wide spectrum of empirical work in between, is reflected in the different academic traditions, groupings, conferences, and publications across the discipline. Research should not be driven by methodological convenience but by the needs of a changing world. Rather than a sterile “quants versus qual” debate, the paper argues that a rich diversity of approaches can provide a reinforcing cycle to generate relevant, interesting and exciting research underpinned by robust and valid theory.

The paper presents detailed reflections from leading researchers on contemporary and future OM research, arguing that research approaches must evolve that reflect the new realities to further enhance OM as a theoretically sound and practically relevant discipline.

This paper seeks to integrate stakeholder theory with the entrepreneurial orientation literature to explore relationships between distinct entrepreneurial behaviors and support from stakeholders with divergent interests.

A longitudinal study in the non‐profit professional theatre industry examines how relationships between entrepreneurial orientation and stakeholder support evolve over time. A series of regression analyses examine how support from diverse stakeholders influences entrepreneurial behaviors and, subsequently, how those entrepreneurial behaviors influence future stakeholder support.

The findings support a multi‐dimensional conceptualization of entrepreneurial orientation, point to tensions inherent in satisfying multiple stakeholder demands, and illustrate that different stakeholders support entrepreneurial behaviors in unique and sometimes unexpected ways. The findings offer insight into the complex balancing act that entrepreneurial managers must execute to generate support from distinct stakeholder markets.

This research provides researchers and managers with unique insights into the evolutionary nature of the relationships between distinct entrepreneurial behaviors and external stakeholder support.

The purpose of this study is to assess how differences in national culture influence the impact of investments in manufacturing practices on operational performance. The paper addresses the following research question: does national culture affect the efficacy of investments in manufacturing practices?

Hofstede's model of national culture is used to test whether there are operational performance differences when organisations in different cultural contexts invest in identical manufacturing practices. The research question is explored and answered by assessing the moderating role of national culture using ordinary least square analysis.

The results suggest that some dimensions of national culture significantly moderate the impact of investments in manufacturing practices on manufacturing performance.

This study represents a comprehensive attempt to explain differences in the impact of manufacturing practices investments on operational performance improvements in terms of cultural differences.

The need to make a “theoretical contribution” is a presumed mandate that permeates any researcher’s career in the Social Sciences, yet all too often this remains a source of confusion and frustration. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on, and further develops, the principal themes discussed in the “OM Theory” workshop in Dublin in 2011 and the special sessions at the 2011 and the 2013 EurOMA Conferences in Cambridge and Dublin.

This paper presents six short essays that explore the role and use of theory in management research, and specifically ask what is a good or meaningful contribution to theory. The authors comment on the current state of theory in Operations Management (OM) (Harry Boer), the type of theories the authors have in OM (Chris Voss), the role of theory in increasing the general understanding of OM problems (Roger Schmenner), whether the authors can borrow theories from other fields or actually have theory “of our own” (Matthias Holweg), the different ways in which a contribution to theory can be made (Martin Kilduff), and how to construct a theoretical argument (Mark Pagell).

The authors argue that theory is fundamental to OM research, but that it is not the inevitable starting point; discovery and observation are equally important and often neglected avenues to contributing to theory. Also, there is no one right way to making a contribution, yet consistency between ontology, epistemology, and claimed contribution is what matters. The authors further argue that the choice of theory is critical, as a common mistake is trying to contribute to high-level theories borrowed from other fields. Finally, the authors recommend using theory parsimoniously, yet with confidence.

The paper presents a collection of viewpoints of senior scholars on the need for, and use of, theory in OM research.