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1 – 10 of 172There is some evidence to suggest that the historical challenge associated with recruiting and retaining Black and Brown Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM…
Abstract
Purpose
There is some evidence to suggest that the historical challenge associated with recruiting and retaining Black and Brown Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) collegians is tied to early their teaching and learning experiences in Mathematics. This paper describes an National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project (NSF #2151043) whose goal is to attract, prepare and retain math teachers of color in high need school districts ensure that those teachers remain in the field long enough to make a meaningful impact on the minds and hearts of BIPOC students who are often, extrinsically, and intrinsically, discouraged from pursuing careers in STEM professions.
Design/methodology/approach
This mixed-methods study, which began in the summer of 2023, seeks to recruit, prepare, support and retain nineteen (19) Black and Brown math teachers for two (2) high need urban school districts. The expectancy value theory will be used to explain the performance, persistence, and choices of the teachers, while grounded theory will be utilized to understand the impact of the intensive mentorship and wellness coaching that applied over the first year of their preservice preparation and subsequent in-service years.
Findings
Measures of project efficacy won’t begin until 2025 and as such there are no findings or implications to draw from for the study at this time.
Originality/value
The intention of this paper is to augment the body of knowledge on recruiting and retaining Black and Brown math teachers for urban schools where the need for quality STEM teachers is critical.
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Zaina Nakabuye, Jamiah Mayanja, Sarah Bimbona and Micheal Wassermann
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between technology orientations and export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between technology orientations and export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research design was adopted for this study. The paper formulates hypotheses from the literature review. These hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling with data collected from 231 SMEs in Uganda. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 and AMOS.
Findings
The findings of this study showed technology orientation has a positive and significant relationship with the performance of Ugandan SMEs and that supply chain agility moderates technology orientation and export performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study discusses the findings, advances limitations and managerial implications. It also suggests future research avenues. It proposes some recommendations to help Ugandan SMEs to form flexible supply chains, use the latest technology and create strong relationship ties with their partners in the supply chain.
Practical implications
The study suggests that managers of Ugandan SMEs should use the latest technology in production, marketing, logistics and supply chain management which will enable them to respond quickly to customer tastes and preferences leading to higher levels of export performance.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on strategic management showing the reliability of scales used and the confirmatory of the factor structure. This study shows that in strategic management technology, orientation is critical in increasing export performance. This study has extended the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities theories.
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Eias Al Humdan, Yangyan Shi, Masud Behina, Md. Maruf Hossan Chowdhury and A.K.M. Shakil Mahmud
This paper aims to investigate the conditional indirect effect of innovativeness on performance via supply chain agility (SCA) in the service industry at higher and lower…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the conditional indirect effect of innovativeness on performance via supply chain agility (SCA) in the service industry at higher and lower collaborative relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypothesised model is operationalised with survey data from 245 Australian service firms collected via LinkedIn and analysed using structural equation modelling and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).
Findings
The analysis found that SCA significantly mediates the relationship between innovativeness and performance. Further, the conditional indirect effect of innovativeness on performance via SCA was significant when the collaborative relationship was high. Results also revealed that a configuration of both innovativeness and agility better predicts performance.
Originality/value
This study is an early attempt to investigate SCA in service industries by scrutinizing SCA from an innovative point of view. While previous studies have demonstrated the role of innovativeness in enhancing a firm's performance, this study explores this link further by investigating the conditional indirect effect of innovativeness on performance via SCA at different levels of collaborative relationships.
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Pedro Garrido-Vega, Macarena Sacristán-Díaz, José Moyano-Fuentes and Rafaela Alfalla-Luque
This paper analyses the way that the industry's competitive environment and the company's strategy influence the implementation of the supply chain's (SC’s) triple-A capabilities…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyses the way that the industry's competitive environment and the company's strategy influence the implementation of the supply chain's (SC’s) triple-A capabilities (agility, adaptability and alignment). Two competitive environment variables are analysed: competitive intensity of the industry and complexity of the SC. Two opposing competitive strategies are also considered: cost and differentiation.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses have been tested using data gathered via a questionnaire given to 277 Spanish manufacturing companies, and structural equation modelling has been used for the analysis.
Findings
The results show that competitive intensity is the most influential factor followed by business strategy. SC complexity does not seem to affect agility. Moreover, although the competitive environment variables affect the business strategy, the latter has no mediating effects between the competitive environment and SC agility, adaptability and alignment capabilities.
Originality/value
This study presents new insights into the environmental and strategic drivers linked to the implementation of SC agility, adaptability and alignment capabilities and offers guidelines to managers involved in SC management.
研究目的
本文分析產業的競爭環境和公司的策略如何影響供應鏈三A能力 (靈活性、適應能力和調整能力) 的實現。兩個競爭環境變數被分析, 就是產業的競爭強度和供應鏈的複雜性。同時, 兩個對立的競爭策略也被探討,就是價格和差異化。
研究方法
各個假設均以數據測試; 數據取自277間西班牙製造商囘應之問卷, 分析則以結構方程模型進行。
研究結果
研究結果顯示、競爭強度是最重要的影響因素, 其次是經營策略。供應鏈的複雜性似乎對靈活性沒有影響; 而且, 雖然競爭環境變數影響著經營策略, 但經營策略在競爭環境與供應鏈靈活性、適應能力和調整能力之間沒有起仲介效果。
研究的原創性
本研究就環境和策略如何驅動供應鏈靈活性、適應能力和調整能力方面提供了新的啓示, 亦為負責供應鏈管理的主管提供了指引。
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Juan A. Marin-Garcia, Jose A.D. Machuca and Rafaela Alfalla-Luque
To determine how to best deploy the Triple-A supply chain (SC) capabilities (AAA-agility, adaptability and alignment) to improve competitive advantage (CA) by identifying the…
Abstract
Purpose
To determine how to best deploy the Triple-A supply chain (SC) capabilities (AAA-agility, adaptability and alignment) to improve competitive advantage (CA) by identifying the Triple-A SC model with the highest CA predictive capability.
Design/methodology/approach
Assessment of in-sample and out-of-sample predictive capacity of Triple-A-CA models (considering AAA as individual constructs) to find which has the highest CA predictive capacity. BIC, BIC-Akaike weights and PLSpredict are used in a multi-country, multi-informant, multi-sector 304 plant sample.
Findings
Greater direct relationship model (DRM) in-sample and out-of-sample CA predictive capacity suggests DRM's greater likelihood of achieving a higher CA predictive capacity than mediated relationship model (MRM). So, DRM can be considered a benchmark for research/practice and the Triple-A SC capabilities as independent levers of performance/CA.
Research limitations/implications
DRM emerges as a reference for analysing how to trigger the three Triple-A SC levers for better performance/CA predictive capacity. Therefore, MRM proposals should be compared to DRM to determine whether their performance is significantly better considering the study's aim.
Practical implications
Results with our sample justify how managers can suitably deploy the Triple-A SC capabilities to improve CA by implementing AAA as independent levers. Single capability deployment does not require levels to be reached in others.
Originality/value
First research considering Triple-A SC capability deployment to better improve performance/CA focusing on model's predictive capability (essential for decision-making), further highlighting the lack of theory and contrasted models for Lee's Triple-A framework.
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Barbara Gaudenzi, Roberta Pellegrino and Ilenia Confente
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent disruptive events are affecting firms’ operations and supply chain networks on a large scale, causing disturbances in supply, demand, production…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent disruptive events are affecting firms’ operations and supply chain networks on a large scale, causing disturbances in supply, demand, production and logistics activities. Although supply chain resilience (SCR) research has received large attention in recent years, the purpose of this paper is to offer an original contribution by exploring how complex configurations and interactions between SCR strategies and capacities can lead to resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
This study investigates the configurations of SCR strategies and capacities using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.
Findings
First, the findings reveal different SCR strategy configurations through the lens of absorptive, reactive and restorative capacities to achieve resilience. Second, this study applies the contingent resource-based view (CRBV) perspective to interpret how organizations can achieve resilience before, during and after a disruptive event. Third, it offers an analysis of different groups of organizations, based on the adoption of different SCR strategies and capacities.
Originality/value
This study identifies a set of equifinal SCR strategies and capacity configurations that can be implemented to cope with a disruptive event and lead to resilience. It also enriches the research addressing the consecutive phases of SCR investments, developing the CRBV perspective. In our results, five solutions describe organizations that invest in absorptive capacities, representing an ex ante readiness.
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Ahmed Bounfour, Thomas Housel, Trent Silkey and Alberto Nonnis
The purpose of the current study is to illustrate the importance of strategic agility (SA), the capacity to respond agilely to a rapidly changing environment, for digitally…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the current study is to illustrate the importance of strategic agility (SA), the capacity to respond agilely to a rapidly changing environment, for digitally transforming firms during the COVID-19 crisis. A secondary purpose of the study is to conceptually frame SA as a function of the creative to realized intangible capital (IC) ratio.
Design/methodology/approach
To inferentially corroborate the hypothesis, this study exploits the results of a recent firm-level survey, conducted under the H2020 project GlobalInto (2021). Via OLS and ordered logistic regressions, the relationship among SA, economic performance and IC was tested.
Findings
The exploratory findings implied that the more strategically agile companies were those that responded more effectively to the pandemic crisis, but only if they were ahead in terms of digital transformation. Moreover, the results implied that firms that were able to efficiently convert their creative IC into realized IC were the most strategically agile.
Originality/value
This study developed a new conceptual framework for digitally transforming firms that included the role of SA and the IC conversion ratio in the context of extreme threats to the survival of firms. Some preliminary practical recommendations were offered to management about how to measure the IC conversion ratio as well as how to stimulate and reward greater creativity among employees, filling a notable gap in the SA literature that provides less than precise guidance about how this concept can be measured.
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Silvia Delladio, Andrea Caputo, Alessandro Magrini and Massimiliano Matteo Pellegrini
This study addresses current research gaps by integrating resilience literature with crisis management theories, focussing on SMEs. Specifically, the authors examine how the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study addresses current research gaps by integrating resilience literature with crisis management theories, focussing on SMEs. Specifically, the authors examine how the entrepreneurial decision-making process, via the interplay of causation and effectuation logic, impacts a firm's ability to respond to unpredictable events. This paper aims to present an investigation that seeks to unearth the potentially complex interplay between causation and effectuation logic in fostering organisational resilience, particularly in the face of unprecedented disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study includes the responses of 80 Italian entrepreneurs operating in the hospitality sector. The paper deployed a joint analysis through a partial least squares structural equation modelling technique (PLS-SEM) and a necessary condition analysis (NCA) to assess how the decision-making logics impact the entrepreneurs' decision when reacting to the pandemic.
Findings
The findings show that how entrepreneurs make decisions influence how they react to the crisis. Causation was found as a direct cause of resilience and preparedness, and effectuation was a direct cause of resilience and agility. Moreover, causation indirectly caused resilience through preparedness, and effectuation indirectly caused resilience through agility. Finally, both preparedness and agility are direct causes of resilience.
Practical implications
This research generated insights into why and how some SMEs respond more effectively to uncertainty than others. It provides actionable strategies that business owners and managers can employ to enhance their ability to withstand and recover from crises.
Originality/value
This study's originality and novelty lie in its empirical investigation of the roles of causation and effectuation logic in entrepreneurial decision-making and, consequently, their influence on SME resilience. Focused on the Italian hospitality sector, it provides unique insights into resilience strategies under severe, real-world conditions, contributing to theoretical development and practical applications in crisis management.
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Lara Agostini, Anna Nosella, Riikka Sarala and Corinne Nkeng
Strategic flexibility (SF) has become increasingly important for firms because of the fast changes in the external environment. In line with the practical importance of SF, an…
Abstract
Purpose
Strategic flexibility (SF) has become increasingly important for firms because of the fast changes in the external environment. In line with the practical importance of SF, an emerging research field has developed around it that has attempted to understand the nature of SF and the key relationships. The aim of this study is to unveil the semantic structure of the recent literature on SF and to suggest new promising areas for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a systematic literature review with a bibliographic analysis technique, which allows authors to identify the main recent streams in the literature, as well as offer reflections and suggestions for future research.
Findings
The authors uncover three main emerging areas in the research on SF, namely SF as a dynamic capability, the role of knowledge management for SF and the relationship between a firm SF and the external environment. The authors put forward three avenues for future research on SF: Avenue 1. SF, business model innovation (BMI) and other dynamic capabilities (DC), Avenue 2. Digital technologies and SF/organizational agility and Avenue 3. SF and sustainability. Articles included in the special issue entitled “A strategic perspective on flexibility, agility and adaptability in the digital era” contribute to Avenue 2, thus paving the way for filling some of the identified gaps regarding the relationship between SF and digitalization.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first literature review on SF that uses a bibliometric approach to draw conclusions on the findings in the literature. The review contributes to the theoretical understanding of SF by illustrating and explicating core topics that have persisted over time, as well as by presenting three main avenues for further developing authors’ knowledge around SF.
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Wojciech Domink Piotrowicz, Urszula Ryciuk and Maciej Szymczak
The aim of this paper is to review metrics and develop a framework for measuring leagile supply chain. Metrics that are applicable in the lean, agile and leagile strategies are…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to review metrics and develop a framework for measuring leagile supply chain. Metrics that are applicable in the lean, agile and leagile strategies are identified in the literature and are then combined into a framework that can reflect both agile and lean strategies – the leagile supply strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
This work is based on the systematic literature review. Literature was collected, then lean and agile metrics were extracted, analysed, counted and grouped into the framework. Findings are compared against literature on leagile supply chain.
Findings
Findings indicate that there are sets of metrics specific to lean strategy, such as are process-focused, cost, productivity, inventory and delivery-based metrics, and specific to agile such as flexibility, responsiveness, information sharing and cooperation. There are also metrics common for both strategies; they are related to time, quality and customer satisfaction. Lean measures are tangible and focused on internal processes and products, while agile measures are targeted at external environment.
Practical implications
The framework could be used by practitioners as a starting point for performance system design.
Originality/value
There is a need to stop looking at lean and agile as separate and distinct supply strategies. Results of this research indicate that lean and agile are interlinked, both are focusing on customer satisfaction and quality. Applying a proposed set of metrics enables to design supply chain measurement system that reflects both strategies to measure leagile supply chain. The framework could be used by practitioners as a starting point for performance system design.
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