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1 – 10 of over 172000Gokhan Agac, Birdogan Baki and Ilker Murat Ar
The purpose of this study is to systematically review the existing literature on the blood supply chain (BSC) from a network design perspective and highlight the research gaps in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to systematically review the existing literature on the blood supply chain (BSC) from a network design perspective and highlight the research gaps in this area. Moreover, it also aims to pinpoint new research opportunities based on the recent innovative technologies for the BSC network design.
Design/methodology/approach
The study gives a comprehensive systematic review of the BSC network design studies until October 2021. This review was carried out in accordance with preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). In the literature review, a total of 87 studies were analyzed under six main categories as model structure, application model, solution approach, problem type, the parties of the supply chain and innovative technologies.
Findings
The results of the study present the researchers’ tendencies and preferences when designing their BSC network models.
Research limitations/implications
The study presents a guide for researchers and practitioners on BSC from the point of view of network design and encourages adopting innovative technologies in their BSC network designs.
Originality/value
The study provides a comprehensive systematic review of related studies from the BSC network design perspective and explores research gaps in the collection and distribution processes. Furthermore, it addresses innovative research opportunities by using innovative technologies in the area of BSC network design.
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This article aims to present an analysis of ideas and practices regarding governance of and by the network design process by participants in the technical design process during…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to present an analysis of ideas and practices regarding governance of and by the network design process by participants in the technical design process during the first decade (1969-1979) as recorded in the technical document series that provides both the medium for and the history of that design process, the Internet RFCs.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted via a comprehensive inductive and adductive reading of all of the publicly available documents in the series from its launch in October of 1969 through the close of 1979.
Findings
The findings show that internet designers were well aware that the infrastructure they were building was social as well as technical in nature. They were concerned about both governmental constraints on the design process (governance of) and about how protocol compliance could be achieved (governance by the network design process). As do informational states, network designers developed governance tools that affected the identity, structure, borders, and change in social, informational, and technological systems. The dual faces of network governance reveal tensions between the network political and the geopolitical.
Originality/value
This work contributes to our understanding of the interactions between the social and the technical in the course of the internet design process as it was expressed in concerns about governance by others and of others brought up in the course of resolving technical design problems. Methodologically, the research provides a model of one approach to analyzing the development of governance mechanisms and specific policies along sociotechnical boundaries.
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Marzia Mortati and Leon Cruickshank
The purpose of this paper is to address social network theory from the perspective of design research and propose a new conceptual approach to understanding and developing social…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address social network theory from the perspective of design research and propose a new conceptual approach to understanding and developing social networks. These ideas are embodied in a new strategic tool to help companies appreciate, proactively develop and exploit their social networks through visualisation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors illustrate how design‐inspired approaches can transform the understanding of social networks through a practical tool to foster innovation and transformation in and between firms. This was developed through an action‐research process and tested with 22 high‐tech, small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).
Findings
Entrepreneurs are found to benefit from their network by activating the most useful nodes to solve a problem. Conceptually a sub‐group of contacts exists that are activated at different times to extract different resources, that is nodes operate depending on the use they are put to. The authors call these NETS, highly functional portions of networks that catch things. By visualising parts of a network while looking at a number of dimensions, the authors have successfully demonstrated a tool that helps the exploration of a wide variety of relationships to build a strategy for innovation.
Practical implications
The NETS concept represents a tool for facilitating innovation by helping entrepreneurs understand and exploit their social network. It fills the gap between theoretical findings in social network literature and successful application of such ideas.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the highly debated field of social networks by introducing new activities for engagement and analysis crossing the academic/outreach divide; it opens up a new interface between social networks and design research.
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Mimi Li, Wenqing Xu, Weiwei Liu and Huiyi Cao
This study aims to explore the patterns and transformational dynamics of the executive–interpreter network in the innovation processes of small- and medium-sized enterprises in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the patterns and transformational dynamics of the executive–interpreter network in the innovation processes of small- and medium-sized enterprises in hospitality.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded in social network theory and adopting a case-based approach, this study features a multi-case design focusing on three Chinese boutique hotels. Data were collected through Web page and document reviews, participant observations and semistructured interviews.
Findings
Results capture how executive–interpreter network dynamics contribute to innovation in small- and medium-sized hotels. Key factors in social networks (e.g. size, scope and strength) shift throughout innovation. This study presents a design-driven approach as a means of innovation. Findings also delineate the network development conditions under which innovation dynamically occurs in boutique hotels.
Practical implications
Practical implications center on how network dynamics help small- and medium-sized hotels innovate more effectively. These insights can assist hotel operators and prospective market entrants in improving their hotels’ performance and competitiveness.
Originality/value
This study blends social network theory with a design-driven approach to explore innovation mechanisms in small- and medium-sized hotels. It offers empirical evidence for practitioners regarding design-driven innovation. Findings enrich the body of knowledge on both design-driven innovation theory and hospitality innovation.
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Aman Dua, Rishika Chhabra and Deepankar Sinha
The first purpose is to assess the quality of containerized multimodal export and the second is to develop and demonstrate the design of a service network with quality approach.
Abstract
Purpose
The first purpose is to assess the quality of containerized multimodal export and the second is to develop and demonstrate the design of a service network with quality approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The article used the structural equation model to develop a model to measure the quality of multimodal transportation for containerized exports and finalized the model with an alternative approach. The evolutionary algorithm had been used to design a service network based on quality.
Findings
Provided factors affecting quality of multimodal transportation and reverse to one hypothesis, the construct variation in cost, time shape and quantity did not affect the quality of multimodal transportation for containerized exports. The model without variation construct was finalized by exploring causality.
Research limitations/implications
This research had scope till container loading onto the vessel and assessed the quality for containerized cargo only, and second research purpose is limited by assumed values of fitness function and the limited number of nodes, in service network design demonstration.
Practical implications
This research provided a tool to measure the quality of multimodal transportation for containerized exports and demonstrated the field application of the model developed in service network design. This approach included all factors applicable across the container movement. The integrated approach of the article provided an organized method to design a service network for containerized exports.
Originality/value
This work provided the tool to assess the quality of multimodal transportation for containerized exports and developed an approach to design a service network of multimodal transportation based on quality. This approach has considered the factors of multimodal transportation comprehensively in contrast to the optimization approaches based on operation research techniques.
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In the literature, while designing broadband matching networks, transducer power gain (TPG) is used to measure the transferred power. Generally, in TPG expressions, load and…
Abstract
Purpose
In the literature, while designing broadband matching networks, transducer power gain (TPG) is used to measure the transferred power. Generally, in TPG expressions, load and back-end impedances of the matching network are used. This study aims to derive a new quality factor-based TPG expression.
Design/methodology/approach
In deriving the new expression, narrowband L type-matching network design approach is used and the new expression in terms of back-end quality factor, load quality factor and output port quality factor is obtained. Then, a broadband-matching network design approach using the derived TPG expression is proposed.
Findings
Two broadband double-matching networks are designed by using the proposed design approach using the derived TPG expression. Performances of the designed-matching networks are compared with the performances of the matching networks designed by means of simplified real frequency technique which is a well-known technique in the literature, and it is shown that they are nearly the same.
Originality/value
In broadband-matching problems, generally an impedance-based TPG expression is used, and it must be satisfied by the designed broadband-matching networks. But, in the literature, there is no quality factor-based TPG expression that can be used in broadband-matching problems. So, this gap in the literature has been filled by this paper.
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Kalyan R. Piratla and Samuel T. Ariaratnam
The purpose of this paper is to investigate design alternatives for pump‐included water distribution networks considering sustainability and reliability aspects. The aim is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate design alternatives for pump‐included water distribution networks considering sustainability and reliability aspects. The aim is to demonstrate that CO2 emissions could be reduced at a reasonable cost. The paper also investigates the trade‐offs between cost and reliability of water distribution networks.
Design/methodology/approach
An existing genetic algorithm optimization tool is customized in this research to perform multi‐objective optimization with various objectives and constraints. The developed model is demonstrated using a benchmark water distribution network.
Findings
The results from this research suggest that CO2 emissions from water distribution networks could be reduced at a reasonable cost by choosing better objectives during the design stage. High system reliability could also be ensured for the lifetime by paying reasonable additional cost. This research presents various design alternatives for an engineer to choose from.
Research limitations/implications
The design of water distribution networks is a computationally complex process and often requires significant CPU time to arrive at an optimal solution. This problem is significant in the case of larger networks, especially when all the failed states need to be simulated. Simpler measures of reliability could be adopted in the future.
Originality/value
Although a significant amount of research had been undertaken in the area of optimal water distribution network design, only limited research includes environmental impacts as a design objective. This paper not only includes environmental aspects but also considers reliability. The model proposed in this research is a useful tool for engineers for considering various alternatives before choosing the best design.
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Freight network planning and the application of distribution innovations are popular fields of research on sustainable urban logistics. However, considerable research on freight…
Abstract
Purpose
Freight network planning and the application of distribution innovations are popular fields of research on sustainable urban logistics. However, considerable research on freight network design lacks a comprehensive consideration of the application of distribution innovations. This observation implies that sustainable urban freight research appears highly fragmented in topics of network design and distribution innovations. From the perspective of long-term planning, this situation possibly serves as a barrier to further promotion of sustainability. The objective of this paper is to analyze existing research gaps of literature to further promote the sustainability of urban logistics systems from a future perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs a systematic literature review (SLR) method, which covers 164 papers and research works published in 2013–2018. The article corpus involved the innovative schemes of freight network design and the emerging delivery concepts in cities. Based on an analysis of articles' relevance, the most significant research contributions on both city logistics network design and exploitation of distribution innovations are detected.
Findings
This paper has found four research gaps in aspects of network design and distribution innovations. To respond to these gaps, we propose the research framework of sustainable and flexible future urban freight planning (SFFUFP) based on trends of city development, while discussing further research direction on urban freight planning.
Originality/value
The authors have found four research gaps in aspects of both urban freight network design and distribution innovations in which scholars could be encouraged to contribute. The research framework of SFFUFP can further promote sustainable urban logistics from a view of future management.
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Yuanyuan Jiao, Yepeng Wu and Linna Hao
This study aims to investigate the antecedents of design crowdsourcing decision-making, the impact of design crowdsourcing on new product performance and the moderating effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the antecedents of design crowdsourcing decision-making, the impact of design crowdsourcing on new product performance and the moderating effect of network connectivity.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample (n = 104) was collected from a leading social product development website; the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis and two-stage least square methods were used in the investigation.
Findings
Three design attribute feature configurations (rational, emotional and kinesthetic value configurations) are conducive to firms’ adoption of design crowdsourcing and there are two configurations in which firms do not adopt design crowdsourcing. Design crowdsourcing influences new product performance positively. Network connectivity has an inverted U-shaped effect on the relationship between design crowdsourcing and new product performance.
Originality/value
These findings not only enrich crowdsourcing and social network studies but also guide crowdsourcing firms to better manage their processes and community members.
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C.M. Chewar, D. Scott McCrickard and John M. Carroll
This work aims to probe how interface designers concerned with human‐computer interaction of community networks might use the theoretical constructs of social capital and activity…
Abstract
Purpose
This work aims to probe how interface designers concerned with human‐computer interaction of community networks might use the theoretical constructs of social capital and activity awareness.
Design/methodology/approach
A design model for community network interfaces is introduced that reconciles various computer‐mediated communication research contributions with support for typical community network scenarios of use. Using this model, an inspection is performed on existing community network implementations (available December 2002) and then the adequacy of the model for informing the design process is examined.
Findings
Based on the insight gained through this analysis, a generic prototype and new user evaluation method are introduced that allow survey of user reaction to community network design elements under differing conditions. It is shown how results obtained through this method frame a value‐chain understanding of conceptual tradeoffs.
Research limitations/implications
To demonstrate the new user evaluation method in an analysis of critical design tradeoffs, the issues of persistent virtual identity implementation and usage motivation are probed. However, the evaluation method must be validated with other issues and tested by researchers that were not part of its creation process.
Practical implications
Contributions from this paper include tools (a design model, a generic prototype, and an evaluation method) linking theory with community design artifacts, building on previous work. Evaluators now have indicators for assessing community informatics.
Originality/value
Interface designers of community networks and those interested in social capital theory will appreciate the link between practice and theory provided by this approach.
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