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The purpose of this study is to recognize the empirical inhibitors of knowledge management (KM)in value co-creation in the dairy production context.

This study undertook a qualitative multiple-case study strategy. The datas collected comes from five players in the dairy sector that jointly co-create value. In addition to in-depth interviews with the actors, this study considers complementary documents, with reports, management flowcharts. Content analysis was conducted based on Bardin (2011).

This study identified three empirical barriers for KM in managing value co-creation in dairy production. The inhibitors observed were related to ineffective communication among stakeholders, organizational culture and high competitiveness. This study identified that sharing and KM among actors is a way to stimulate innovative solutions via value co-creation in dairy production.

This study explores the context in the Center-South of Brazil; therefore, it is not generalizable.

The findings help the managers to deal with the KM inhibitors in the value co-creation context and define actions based on the strategies listed to overcome the barriers identified in dairy production. This study can also help managers to change the mindset of organizations by adding KM to the organizational culture, as it identifies existing barriers in the sector and contributes by suggesting attitudes and tools capable of overcoming such difficulties.

Professionals in the dairy sector, especially the small rural producer, can have access to knowledge and professional training through the value co-creation among actors in the dairy sector. In this sense, the milk quality, for example, the nutritional characteristics and traceability of the milk, can be improved for the final consumer.

This study reveals the empirical inhibitors of KM presents in the value co-creation in the dairy production context. Additionally, insights to deal with the lack of sharing information and knowledge among multiple actors.

Small retail stores in the luxury market face significant challenges due to fluctuations in market demand. This task turns challenging as it requires effectively coordinating and translating customer needs into specific requirements that align with retail goals and available resources. However, limited empirical research exists investigating how managers can address service value and quality attributes in small retail stores. This article aims to bridge this gap by investigating the role of quality function deployment (QFD) in improving market and quality requirements management in small retail stores.

Based on the case study, a customer survey was initially conducted to gather information on critical characteristics valued in the luxury retail segment. QFD was used to assist the company in identifying and prioritizing key quality attributes to meet customer requirements effectively.

The findings demonstrate that implementing QFD in small luxury retail stores empowers managers to identify previously neglected product and service quality aspects. The article shows that QFD informs organizational adaptations that align with the demands of the retail market, leading to an improved ability to meet customer expectations and enhance customer value through the development of enhanced products and services. The study showcases the efficacy of the tested methodology in effectively capturing and prioritizing both tangible and intangible customer needs in retail.

Findings offer valuable insights to retail managers of small luxury stores, providing actionable market-oriented strategies. By implementing the recommended practices, managers can improve the store’s competitiveness and better cater to the customer base.

This study contributes to bridging persistent knowledge gaps by addressing the unique context of small luxury retail stores and introducing the application of QFD in this setting. The insights gained from this research are relevant to both retailing and quality management literature. Considering the growing prevalence of transformations in the retail industry, the study provides practical implications for retail managers in effectively navigating these changes.

Servitization of products is becoming increasingly prevalent among manufacturing enterprises. Existing research has primarily focused on exploring whether the direct impact of servitization on manufacturer performance follows a linear or a curvilinear relationship. However, the understanding of the underlying mechanisms between servitization and manufacturer financial performance remains limited. This paper aims to examine the non-linear relationship between servitization and manufacturer performance as well as the mediating process and boundary condition associated with this relationship.

Drawing on resource-advantage theory, this paper proposes a theoretical model of the U-shaped relationship between servitization and the financial performance of equipment manufacturers. Panel data of 248 listed equipment manufacturers in China during the period of 2010–2020 are used to test each hypothesis through the ordinary least square method.

The empirical results indicate that servitization follows a U-shaped relationship with service business focus and the financial performance of equipment manufacturers. Service business focus mediates this U-shaped relationship between servitization and financial performance, and digital technology application moderates this relationship.

This paper pioneers the unraveling of the potential mechanism that can explain the curvilinear relationship between servitization of manufacturers and financial performance. This mechanism is the focus of the service business, which is theoretically delineated and empirically tested. Furthermore, digital technology application enables manufacturers to achieve service business focus more effectively in the process of servitization. Thus, this study addresses the call for research on digital servitization.

Despite the increasing attention given to product-service integration (PSI), little is known about this innovation strategy from a key decision-maker’s perspective. To address this gap, our study draws from personality psychology and decision-making (DM) logics theory to better understand why and how companies’ decision-makers strategize for PSI.

Using an abductive, empirics-first approach, we identify the study’s theoretical building blocks, followed by an exploratory quantitative analysis to generate new theory. We propose a fit-as-mediation conceptual framework suggesting that (1) specific personality traits [i.e. honesty-humility (H), emotionality (E), extraversion (X), agreeableness (A), conscientiousness (C) and openness to experience (O) (HEXACO)] make decision-makers more likely to include PSI in their company’s strategy and (2) depending on their personality, they apply different DM logics (i.e. causation or effectuation) to do so. To empirically examine this, we use data from 289 SMEs’ decision-makers.

We report several meaningful relationships among our key theoretical constructs. For instance, we find that conscientious decision-makers are more likely to develop a PSI strategy via causation, whereas extravert decision-makers are more likely to do so via both causation and effectuation.

This service study is the first to apply the well-established HEXACO Personality Inventory to companies’ key decision-makers. Moreover, it contributes to the microfoundations of PSI strategy and DM logic theories.

Design science research (DSR) is a structured approach for solving complex ill-structured problems in organizations through the development of an artefact followed by its validation. This paper aims to evaluate existing DSR methodology and propose specific accents to promote DSR for environmental, social and governance (ESG)-oriented operational excellence (OPEX) initiatives within organizations.

This commentary paper is based on an abductive reasoning approach to evaluate and understand DSR and assess its effectiveness for developing solutions to typical ESG-oriented OPEX-based problems within organizations.

Existing literature on DSR is reviewed, after which it is evaluated on its ability to contribute to the implementation of sustainable solutions for ESG-oriented OPEX-based problems. Based on the review, specific DSR methodological accents are proposed for the development of ESG-oriented OPEX-based solutions in organizations.

This conceptual paper contributes to the conceptual understanding of the applicability, limitations and contextual preconditions for applying DSR. This paper proposes an explicit and, in some ways, alternative view on DSR research for OPEX researchers to apply and further the body of knowledge on matters of sustainability (ESG) in operations management.

Currently, there is limited understanding and application of the DSR methodology for OPEX-based problem-solving initiatives, as appears in the scant literature on DSR applied for the implementation of OPEX based initiatives for ESG purposes. This paper aims to challenge and provide accents for DSR applied to OPEX-related problems by means of a DSR framework and thereby promotes intervention-based studies among researchers.

The proposed step-by-step methodology contains novel elements and is expected to be of help for OPEX-oriented academicians and practitioners in implementing DSR methodology for practical related problems which need research interventions from academics from Higher Education Institutions.

This study aims to present a methodology and a system to support the technical and managerial issues involved in anomaly detection within the reverse logistics process of an e-commerce company.

A case study approach is used to document the company’s experience, with interviews of key stakeholders and integration of obtained evidence with secondary data.

The paper presents an algorithm and a system to support a more efficient and smart management of reverse logistics based on a set of anticipatory actions, and continuous and automatic monitoring of returned goods. Improvements are described in terms of a number of key performance indicators.

The analysis and the developed system need further applications and validations in other organizational contexts. However, the research presents a roadmap and a research agenda for the reverse logistics transformation in Industry 4.0, by also providing new insights to design a multidimensional performance dashboard for reverse logistics.

The paper describes a replicable experience and provides checklists for implementing similar initiatives in the domain of reverse logistics, in the aim to increase the company’s performance along four key complementary dimensions, i.e. time savings, accuracy, completeness of data analysis and interpretation and cost efficiency.

The main novelty of the study stays in carrying out a classification of anomalies by type and product category, with related causes, and in proposing operational recommendations, including process monitoring and control indicators that can be included to design a reverse logistics performance dashboard.

(Digital) servitization, referring to service-driven strategies and their increasing implementation in manufacturing, is one of the most rapidly growing areas in industrial service research. However, the cultural change involved in successful servitization is a phenomenon that is widely observed but poorly understood. This research aims to clarify the processes of social construction as manufacturers change their organizational culture to transform into industrial service providers.

This research takes a systematic approach to integrate disparate literature on servitization into a cohesive framework for cultural change, which is purposefully augmented by rationale culled from organizational learning and sensemaking literature.

The organizational learning framework for cultural change in servitization introduces a dynamic perspective on servitizing organizations by explaining social processes between organizational and member-level cultural properties. It identifies three major cultural orientations toward service, digital and learning that govern successful servitization.

This research contributes to the servitization literature by presenting a new approach to reframe and explore cultural change processes across multiple levels, thus providing a concrete starting point for further research in this area.

We studied the relationship between job engagement and systematic problem solving (SPS) among shop-floor employees and how lean production (LP) and Internet of Things (IoT) systems moderate this relationship.

We collected data from a sample of 440 shop floor workers in 101 manufacturing work units across 33 plants. Because our data is nested, we employed a series of multilevel regression models to test the hypotheses. The application of IoT systems within work units was evaluated by our research team through direct observations from on-site visits.

Our findings indicate a positive association between job engagement and SPS. Additionally, we found that the adoption of lean bundles positively moderates this relationship, while, surprisingly, the adoption of IoT systems negatively moderates this relationship. Interestingly, we found that, when the adoption of IoT systems is complemented by a lean management system, workers tend to experience a higher effect on the SPS of their engagement.

One limitation of this research is the reliance on the self-reported data collected from both workers (job engagement, SPS and control variables) and supervisors (lean bundles). Furthermore, our study was conducted in a specific country, Italy, which might have limitations on the generalizability of the results since cross-cultural differences in job engagement and SPS have been documented.

Our findings highlight that employees’ strong engagement in SPS behaviors is shaped by the managerial and technological systems implemented on the shop floor. Specifically, we point out that implementing IoT systems without the appropriate managerial practices can pose challenges to fostering employee engagement and SPS.

This paper provides new insights on how lean and new technologies contribute to the development of learning-to-learn capabilities at the individual level by empirically analyzing the moderating effects of IoT systems and LP on the relationship between job engagement and SPS.

This study aims to investigate the drivers influencing the implementation of circular economy principles in the Nigerian architecture, engineering, construction and operation (AECO) industry across diverse regions of Nigeria.

A quantitative research approach was adopted, using a structured questionnaire distributed to AECO professionals across four selected regions (North Central, North West, South-South and South West) in Nigeria. The data were analysed using Kruskal–Wallis test and structural equation modelling (SEM).

The study findings show a robust consensus of opinions among the respondents across regions and professions. The SEM analysis establishes the significant influence of the hypothesized drivers, regulatory and institutional, supply chain collaboration, technological advancements, organizational support and business strategies on the successful implementation of circular economy principles in the Nigerian AECO industry.

The study is limited to specific regions and professions within Nigeria. Further limitation is the quantitative orientation of this study, which collects data using only a questionnaire.

The findings imply that stakeholders can adopt a unified approach to promote circular economy principles in the AECO industry. By recognizing the common understanding of circular economy drivers, collaborative efforts can be streamlined to advance sustainability, resource efficiency and circularity in the industry.

This study contributes to the nascent field of circular economy implementation in the Nigerian AECO industry. It offers a unique perspective by exploring variations in stakeholder opinions, providing insights into the nuanced understanding of circular economy drivers.

The integration of sustainability, performance measurement and new product development (NPD) is key for aligning environmental and social objectives with business strategies. While previous research has initiated proposals for integrating sustainability into NPD or incorporating sustainability into corporate measurement systems, there is a notable deficiency in studies that comprehensively integrate these three perspectives. In this sense, this study proposes a performance framework (PF) to integrate sustainability performance indicators (PIs) into the measurement system considering the company’s NPD phases.

The PF was developed through a literature review and action research (AR). This resulting PF was positively evaluated by the practitioners in the company.

First, the review enabled the synthesis of an initial conceptual PF with 188 sustainability PIs and a five-step procedure. Then, the empirical results of the AR led to a new PF that presents the systematisation of the PIs database and a practice-based seven-stage approach.

This action-oriented research limits the extent to which this study’s findings can be generalised. Future research should apply the PF in different research designs to produce managerially relevant knowledge.

This PF may provide managers with actionable knowledge that best supports the measurement system integration with sustainability PIs considering the NPD phases.

Integrating sustainability, performance measurement and the NPD has been recognised as critical for supporting decision-making concerning the impact of processes and products. Compared with previous frameworks, the proposed PF extends the existing literature by introducing a systematised PIs database and a novel procedure for integrating sustainability measurement throughout the NDP.