Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the coverage of identified topics that represent three key themes of change in management practice. These themes, focused on the new interconnected modern business operation, consist of: cross‐functional or process‐based working, supply networks, and systems thinking. The paper seeks to examine the coverage of these themes in operations journals as a proxy to determine how well the academic operations community is adapting to the interconnected business world.

Two separate lists compiled to rank the quality of operations journals (one based in the UK, the other in the USA) are used to structure a search for keywords representing the identified connectivity themes in the identified “top” leading operations journals to determine how well the different topics are covered. The term “operations” is intended to refer to the related specialities of both operations management and operations research.

Findings indicate overall very weak coverage of the three connectivity topics. Systems thinking was best represented. However, this representation was not in operations management journals but predominantly operations research sources. Both supply network and cross‐functional working were poorly represented as topics more generally. The implication of the findings is that the operations literature has yet to embrace key issues of connectivity and greater attention should therefore be paid to these areas to better inform business practice.

To the best of one's knowledge no such study of this type or breadth has been previously conducted.

The purpose of this paper is to present exciting and innovative research questions in service operations that are aligned with eight key themes and related topics determined by the Journal of Service Management (JOSM) Service Operations Expert Research Panel. By offering a good number of such research questions, this paper provides a broad range of ideas to spur conceptual and empirical research related to service operations and encourage the continued creation of deep knowledge within the field, as well as collaborative research across disciplines that develops and incorporates insights from service operations.

Based on a Delphi study, described in the companion article, “Service Operations: What Have We Learned?,” the panel identified eight key research themes in service operations where leading-edge research is being done or has yet to be done (Victorino et al., 2018). In this paper, three or four topics within each theme are selected and multiple questions for each topic are proposed to guide research efforts. The topics and questions, while wide-ranging, are only representative of the many ongoing research opportunities related to service operations.

The field of service operations has many interesting research topics and questions that are largely unexplored. Furthermore, these research areas are not only increasingly integrative across multiple themes within operations but often transcend functional disciplines. This creates opportunities for ever more impactful research with a greater reach throughout the service system and suggests that service researchers, regardless of functional affiliation, can contribute to the ongoing conversation on the role of service operations in value creation.

Leveraging the collective knowledge of the JOSM Service Operations Expert Research Panel to expand on the research themes generated from the Delphi study, novel questions for future study are put forward. Recognizing that the number of potential research questions is virtually unlimited, summary questions by theme and topic are also provided. These questions represent a synopsis of the individual questions and can serve as a quick reference guide for researchers interested in pursuing new directions in conceptual and empirical research in service operations. This summary also serves as a framework to facilitate the formulation of additional research topics and questions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the institutional factors that affect the productivity of individuals in the field of operations.

This study identifies a sample of graduates from PhD programs in operations and utilizes a partial least squares analysis to examine the effect of academic origin, academic affiliation, and advisor productivity on each individual's research productivity.

The results of the analysis indicate that the productivity of an individual is directly influenced by the aggregate prestige of the institutions where the individual was employed during article publication and indirectly influenced by the prestige of the institution where the individual received the terminal degree. Additionally, differences were found between groups when the sample was divided by focus (operations management (OM) versus operations research (OR). The OM model held the same relationships as the combined model, while the OR model included significant direct effects of academic origin and indirect effects of the advisor's productivity on the individual's productivity.

This research is the first to fully evaluate the institutional antecedents to research productivity of individuals in operations. In doing so, valuable insights are gained as to how to facilitate the success of researchers in operations. Additionally, factors are highlighted that should be considered by institutions looking at hiring freshly minted PhDs. Finally, these results can benefit practitioners when considering working with academics as a source of emerging information or consulting.

It is crucial for the Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to implement a few of the most important Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and reap maximum benefits of sustainability. This paper aims to prioritize I4.0 technologies that can help achieve the sustainable operations and sustainable industrial marketing performance of Indian manufacturing MSMEs.

I4.0-based sustainability model was developed. The model was analyzed using data collected from MSMEs by deploying analytic hierarchy process and utility-function-based goal programming. To have a better understanding, interviews were conducted.

Predictive analytics, machine learning and real-time computing were found to be the most important I4.0 technologies for sustainable performance. Sensitivity analysis further confirmed the robustness of the results. Business-to-business sustainable marketing is prioritized as per the sustainability need of operations of industrial MSME buyers.

This study uniquely integrates literature and practitioners’ insights to explore I4.0’s role in MSMEs sustainability in emerging economies. It fills a research gap by aligning sustainability goals of industrial buyers with suppliers’ marketing strategies. Additionally, it offers practical recommendations for implementing technologies in MSMEs, contributing to both academia and industry practices.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to discuss key challenges associated with the use of either simulation or real-world application of intelligent autonomous vehicles (IAVs) in supply network operations; and second, to provide a theoretical and empirical evidence-based methodological framework that supports the integrated application of conceptualisation, simulation, emulation and physical application of IAVs for the effective design of digital supply networks.

First, this study performs a critical review of the extant literature to identify major benefits and shortcomings related to the use of either simulation modelling or real-word application of physical IAVs. Second, commercial and bespoke software applications, along with a three-dimensional validation and verification emulation tool, are developed to evaluate an IAV’s operations in a conceptual warehouse. Third, a commercial depth-sensor is used as a test bed in a physical setting.

The results demonstrate that conceptual and simulation modelling should be initially used to explore alternative supply chain operations in terms of ideal performance while emulation tools and real-world IAV test beds are eminent in validating preferred digital supply chain design options.

The provided analysis framework was developed using literature evidence along with experimental work and research experience, without consulting any industry experts. In addition, this study was developed based on the application of a single physical device application as a test bed and, thus, the authors should further progress with the testing of a physical IAV in an industrial warehouse.

The study provides bespoke simulation modelling and emulation tools that can be useful for supply chain practitioners in effectively designing network operations.

This work contributes in the operations management field by providing both a multi-stage methodological framework and a practical “toolbox” for the proactive assessment and incorporation of IAVs in supply network operations.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how global operations of manufacturing companies influence the choice of product architecture decisions, ranging from integral to modular product designs.

The authors perform a multiple-case study of three global manufacturing companies with integral and modular product architectures.

The authors find that the internal network capabilities, the number of capable plants, the focus of component plants, the focus of assembly plants, the distances from key suppliers to internal plants, and the number of market segments significantly influence the choice of integral vs modular architecture.

This study is limited to three large manufacturing companies with global operations. However, the authors investigate both integral and modular products. The authors develop propositions that can be tested in further survey research.

The findings show that the type of global operations network influences the decision on product architecture, such that certain global operations characteristics support integral product designs, while other characteristics support modular designs.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge this paper is the first study on the explicit impact of global operations on product architecture, rather than the other way around.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the history and future of service operations, with the goal to identify key theoretical and technological advances, as well as fundamental themes that can help to imagine the future of service operations in 2050.

A review of the service operations literature was undertaken to inform a discussion regarding the role that technology will play in the future of service operations.

The future of service operations is framed in terms of three key themes – complexity, orchestration, and elasticity. The paper makes three contributions to the service science literature by: reviewing key themes underpinning extant service operations research to frame future trajectories of service operations research; elaborating a vision of service operations in 2050 based on history and technology; and outlining a research agenda for future service operations.

The case of service automation is used to provide an illustration of how the three themes converge to define future service operations, and in particular, to show how technology is recasting the role of the firm.

Service operations in the next 30 years will be very different from what it was in the past 30 years. This paper differs from other review papers by identifying three key themes that will characterize and instill new insights into the future of service operations research.

The purpose of this paper is to identify research themes in service operations that have great potential for exciting and innovative conceptual and empirical work. To frame these research themes, the paper provides a systematic literature review of operations articles published in the Journal of Service Management (JOSM). The thorough review of published work in JOSM and proposed research themes are presented in hopes that they will inspire impactful research on service operations. These themes are further developed in a companion paper, “Service operations: what’s next?” (Field et al., 2018).

The JOSM Service Operations Expert Research Panel conducted a Delphi study to generate research themes where leading-edge research on service operations is being done or has yet to be done. Nearly 700 articles published in JOSM from its inception through 2016 were reviewed and classified by discipline focus. The subset of service operations articles was then further categorized according to the eight identified research themes plus an additional category that primarily represented traditional manufacturing approaches applied in service settings.

From the Delphi study, the following key themes emerged: service supply networks, evaluating and measuring service operations performance, understanding customer and employee behavior in service operations, managing servitization, managing knowledge-based service contexts, managing participation roles and responsibilities in service operations, addressing society’s challenges through service operations, and the operational implications of the sharing economy. Based on the literature review, approximately 20 percent of the published work in JOSM is operations focused, with earlier articles predominantly applying traditional manufacturing approaches in service settings. However, the percentage of these traditional types of articles has been steadily decreasing, suggesting a trend toward dedicated research frameworks and themes that are unique to the design and management of services operations.

The paper presents key research themes for advancing conceptual and empirical research on service operations. Additionally, a review of the past and current landscape of operations articles published in JOSM offers an understanding of the scholarly conversation so far and sets a foundation from which to build future research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate systematically the topic of operations capabilities within the operations strategy area. The output is a framework that will benefit researchers and firms to gain a more complete understanding of critical operations capabilities.

The research methodology is a systematic literature review. The aim of this study is to provide a snapshot of the diversity of studies being conducted in the field of operations capabilities, within the operations strategy area. In total, 157 papers were taken into consideration. Various operations capabilities were identified and synthesized in a conceptual framework.

The output of this paper is a conceptual framework of critical operations capabilities. Different operations capabilities and dimensions were identified in the literature. In total, seven dimensions were identified and included in the framework: cost, quality, delivery, flexibility, service, innovation, and environment.

This research was conducted through a systematic literature review. The framework presented in this paper provides a summary of critical operations capabilities, and in addition theoretical support for managers and firms wishing to formulate an operations strategy.

In general, this research sets the basis for managers and practitioners concerning the formulation of successful operations strategies. In the long term, a deeper understanding and shared knowledge about competitive priorities and operations capabilities can positively influence the success of firms.

This paper extends the theory by providing researchers and managers with updated knowledge on operations capabilities.

This article aims to first summarize and explain major services operations research foci from the past century. Second, this article relates how hospitality scholars have conducted operations-related research with a particular focus on research related to hotels and lodging. Finally, the article makes recommendations regarding potential future areas of concentration of operations research in hospitality.

The article presents a scholarly literature review, where literature from hospitality and general operations management (OM) was reviewed to document research foci throughout recent periods in history.

Hospitality scholars have been conducting research, which reflects trends in general OM literature. Additionally, the research being conducting, which focuses on services in OM, is becoming more commonplace and more distinct from production-based research.

The article provides a compilation of literature regarding OM and how hospitality scholars have applied those principles to hotel and lodging operations. Additionally, recommendations regarding potential future topical areas and methodologies are provided for scholars.