Search results

The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the interrelationships between various characteristics of information sharing and trust and their criticality for effective information-centred supply chain collaboration initiatives and, in turn, its criticality to overall firm’s performance.

A survey of 189 executives from different firms was conducted and the resulting data were analysed to investigate how collaboration enablers affect effective collaboration and to determine its impacts on organisational performance. Structural equation modelling through partial least squares is used to study the relationships between four enablers (trust, information readiness, information accuracy and information security), perceived collaboration success, and two outcomes (sales growth and overall operational performance).

The empirical results indicate that three collaboration enablers including trust, information readiness and secure sharing of information improve supply chain collaboration. The present study finds that “secure sharing of information” was the most important factor in fostering information sharing-centred collaboration. The present study also demonstrates that effective collaboration positively and significantly influences on firm’s performance.

This study provides researchers and practitioners with a more comprehensive understanding about the information sharing-centred collaboration, its enablers and effects on firms’ performance in a supply chain context. Future research should focus on developing additional constructs that may capture other drivers of effective collaboration.

The present study makes an empirical contribution to the body of knowledge by investigating an integrated framework focussing on the enablers of collaboration through information sharing and its impact on firms’ performance.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the data profile of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with specific emphasis on understanding the data readiness of SMEs for discrete event simulation (DES) modelling.

Research was conducted through a review of literature and a survey research strategy of manufacturing SMEs.

This paper illustrates the data profile of manufacturing SMEs. Insight is provided on the types of data collected by SMEs, the collection methods used and how these data are stored by the SMEs. Additionally size and age effects are considered. Based on this data profile, conclusions are made regarding an indication of data readiness of manufacturing SMEs for DES modelling.

This research is focused specifically on manufacturing SMEs in Ireland, other countries and sectors are not investigated.

This paper provides owner-managers and senior management insight into the data profile of manufacturing SMEs and their potential for utilisation of DES for performance improvement and decision support.

This paper addresses the gaps that exist in the knowledge of the data profile of manufacturing SMEs and consequently the status of this profile with regard to the readiness of SMEs for DES modelling.

In today’s competitive retail industry the most critical success factor is customer service which is indicated by product availability. It is argued that in the retail industry, product availability is an important measure of quality. The single most vital decision that every retailer needs to make is, how to maximize service level while keeping minimum inventory level. The purpose of this paper is to explain and demonstrate the relationship between inventory level and customer service level.

This study examines an inventory system utilizing a simulation model based on company data obtained from a retail fast-moving-consumer goods chain operating in Thailand.

The results suggest that the achievement of a responsive service level is dependent on managing an efficient supply chain in addition to logistics cost reductions. The findings also reveal the effect the inventory level has on the service level. From the findings of this study, demand variability and service level have been found to have the most significant influence on the inventory level. From the findings, it can also be shown that real and accurate information is very important for service supply chains.

The paper promotes the importance of having an appropriate inventory management policy for a retail chain which should be driven by retail companies in order to better balance inventory and service levels.

The relationship between the inventory level and customer service level lead to different outcomes at different combinations of inventory and service levels. Significant relationships were found between inventory and service levels.

Shareholders are demanding that firms change their ownership and corporate governance structures to improve accountability and corporate performance. This study examined the influence of ownership and governance on entry mode selection, considered a key decision for international firms and one with important financial implications. Results indicate that owner control is related to the selection of higher risk and higher control forms of entry. Partial support was found for the effects of other governance mechanisms.

Examines some of the improvements in personal computer software in recent years and the uptake of this technology in the surveying industry. Discusses the extent to which bespoke software systems have found acceptance in the industry and points to the greatly increased professional familiarity with generic software systems and its effect on valuation activities. Stresses the importance of user involvement in the system development process. Suggests that many problems with computing stem from an unwillingness to be involved in the developmental process.

An effective compensation programme for expatriates must provide adequate incentives to encourage the right persons to accept overseas assignments and to do their best in meeting the company's strategic goals. To attract, motivate and retain high‐quality expatriates, the company should make the compensation programme not only equitable and compatible to domestic rates, but also flexible and competitive at world market rates. Income varies among various countries which have different economic systems and development levels, distinct political and legal institutions, and particular traditions and cultural backgrounds. Outlines trends in international executives' compensation in Europe, Japan, China and Asia. In addition, covers variables including base salary, hardship or site allowances, premiums, cost‐of‐living adjustments, housing and utilities allowances, taxes, and individual benefits for expatriates.

Reviews previous literature regarding quality in order to suggest a framework for a company committed to quality. Outlines the behaviours a quality firm must possess and discusses each in turn, considering all the stakeholders which must be satisfied to achieve total quality. Emphasizes the interdependence of all these factors for success. Briefly covers the problem of satisfying the conflicting demands of different stakeholders.

Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.

The paper aims to investigate the relation between the auditor's workload (LogAPW) and audit quality. Further, it explores whether the presence of a female audit partner (hereafter FEM) influences the LogAPW effect on audit quality.

A dataset of 1,629 firm-year observations from 181 companies listed in the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm for the years 2010–2018 has been analyzed. The testable hypotheses have been tested using least squares regressions clustered at the Swedish public-listed companies (client-firm) level.

The research findings first indicate that overburdened audit partners (APS) are associated with lower-quality audits, consistent with the “busyness hypothesis.” Nevertheless, the adverse association turns to be positive for FEMs, supporting the thesis that FEMs have more tendency, as compared to their male counterparts, to preserve their partnership's position in the public-audit firms. Collectively, these results seem sound, as the results hold unchanged after controlling for the endogeneity concerns and provide the same conclusion for a host of additional measures for both the client-firms' discretionary accruals and the LogAPW.

Even though a lower magnitude of the client-firms' discretionary accruals corresponds to a lower-opportunistic behavior of managers, the research is limited to by which lower values of earnings management reflect a better-quality financial reporting. Given that the empirical analysis has been confined to the Swedish Corporation, the regression results might not be generalizable for other countries with different contextual features.

The study might participate to the ongoing debate about the introduction of more women to the public-audit firms' elite positions (e.g. partnership) by providing evidence for the favorable female auditor effect on the quality of the client-firms' financial reporting.

The regression results provide a preliminary evidence on how does the presence of a FEM mitigate the inverse relation between the LogAPW and audit quality, which is an issue that has not been examined before.

The purpose of this paper aims to evaluate field repair within product-service system (PSS) models operated by multinational manufacturers in the Egyptian emerging market to better understand the unique characteristics of this evolving market and to identify differences compared to established markets.

Case research was conducted on multinational manufacturers providing field repair services in Egypt. The sample is made up of 12 companies across different industries using convenience and purposive sampling. Data were collected using structured interviews.

There is no common model for field repair PSSs provision in the Egyptian emerging market even within the same industry, which is influenced by several factors. One of these factors is the market type being emerging or established. However, some commonalities have been found between some industries such as computer, telecommunications and document processing. Yet, there is no structural difference in the supply networks used to provide field repair service offerings in the Egyptian emerging market compared to established markets with the trend of outsourcing evident as a main attribute of a PSS in emerging markets. The main differences between established and emerging markets are related to country, culture and customer factors, which are market-based. Among the main challenges and risks that internationalized manufacturers face in Egypt, is the low level of customer awareness.

Findings are limited to the studied cases and industries; yet, internationalized firms must deal with some unique challenges and difficulties in emerging markets.

This paper assesses PSS requirements and provides deeper insights for companies looking to provide or expand manufacturing-based offerings into the Egyptian emerging market.

This paper contributes to the evolving research on PSSs, particularly in emerging markets through identifying and describing different field repair PSS models in the Egyptian emerging market.