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This paper proposes a progressive, multi-level framework for diagnosing maintenance performance: rapid performance health checks of key performance for different equipment groups and end-to-end process diagnostics to further locate potential performance issues. A question-based performance evaluation approach is introduced to support the selection and derivation of case-specific indicators based on diagnostic aspects.

The case research method is used to develop the proposed framework. The generic parts of the framework are built on existing maintenance performance measurement theories through a literature review. In the case study, empirical maintenance data of 196 emergency shutdown valves (ESDVs) are collected over a two-year period to support the development and validation of the proposed approach.

To improve processes, companies need a separate performance measurement structure. This paper suggests a hierarchical model in four layers (objective, domain, aspect and performance measurement) to facilitate the selection and derivation of indicators, which could potentially reduce management complexity and help prioritize continuous performance improvement. Examples of new indicators are derived from a case study that includes 196 ESDVs at an offshore oil and gas production plant.

Methodological approaches to deriving various performance indicators have rarely been addressed in the maintenance field. The proposed diagnostic framework provides a structured way to identify and locate process performance issues by creating indicators that can bridge generic evaluation aspects and maintenance data. The framework is highly adaptive as data availability functions are used as inputs to generate indicators instead of passively filtering out non-applicable existing indicators.

The main purpose of this paper is twofold: to present a proposal for a model of educational quality management system within a process approach context for technical universities, and a conceptual model of a performance measurement system (PMS) towards the assessment of the quality level of management, core and support processes.

The paper encompasses two main parts: a theoretical portion and a case study. Within the theoretical background, the authors discuss the issue of educational quality management supported on a process approach perspective as well as performance measurement system in high education (HE). The case study reports the development of the concept of performance measurement system for technical universities.

The proposed system of educational quality management supported on a process approach, together with a conceptual model of the performance measurement system, can be implemented in every technical university. The identification of processes in the education quality management system permitted the development of the PMS. The model covers 32 key performance indicators (KPIs) for management processes, 39 for core processes and 19 for supporting ones.

The proposed performance measurement system is limited in its focus on educational processes and support of these processes. The evaluation of scientific and research activity and aspects related to financial resources is not pursued.

Elaboration of a conceptual model of a performance measurement system towards the assessment of the quality level of management, core and support processes is dedicated to technical universities.

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), the information transmitted is broadcast in a free access environment. Therefore, VANETs are vulnerable against attacks that can directly perturb the performance of the networks and then provoke big fall of capability. Black hole attack is an example such attack, where the attacker node pretends that having the shortest path to the destination node and then drops the packets. This paper aims to present a new method to detect the black hole attack in real-time in a VANET network.

This method is based on capability indicators that are widely used in industrial production processes. If the different capability indicators are greater than 1.33 and the stability ratio (S_r) is greater than 75%, the network is stable and the vehicles are communicating in an environment without the black hole attack. When the malicious nodes representing the black hole attacks are activated one by one, the fall of capability becomes more visible and the network is unstable, out of control and unmanaged, due to the presence of the attacks. The simulations were conducted using NS-3 for the network simulation and simulation of urban mobility for generating the mobility model.

The proposed mechanism does not impose significant overheads or extensive modifications in the standard Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.11p or in the routing protocols. In addition, it can be implemented at any receiving node which allows identifying malicious nodes in real-time. The simulation results demonstrated the effectiveness of proposed scheme to detect the impact of the attack very early, especially with the use of the short-term capability indicators (Cp, Cpk and Cpm) of each performance metrics (throughput and packet loss ratio), which are more efficient at detecting quickly and very early the small deviations over a very short time. This study also calculated another indicator of network stability which is S_r, which allows to make a final decision if the network is under control and that the vehicles are communicating in an environment without the black hole attack.

According to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the method, using capability indicators for detecting the black hole attack in VANETs, has not been presented previously in the literature.

The quest for improved facilities management (FM) delivery is receiving immense focus through the incorporation of innovative technologies such as cyber-physical systems (CPS). The system’s high computational capabilities can aid in the abatement of some of the challenges plaguing FM functions. However, the requisite ingredients for the uptake of the system for FM have still not gained scholarly attention. Because performance measurement is a vital index in determining the outcome of FM methods, this study aims to investigate the influence of performance measurement indicators that are influential to the uptake of CPS for delivering FM functions.

A qualitative technique was adopted using the Delphi technique. The panel of experts for the study was selected through a well-defined process based on stipulated criteria. The experts gave their opinions in two rounds before consensus was attained on the identified performance measurement indicators, whereas methods of data analysis were measures of central tendency, inter-quartile deviation and Mann–Whitney U test.

Results from this study showed that 11 of the performance indicators were of very high significance in the determination of the uptake of CPS for FM functions, whereas 5 of the indicators were proven to be of high significance. Furthermore, there was no statistical difference in the opinions of the experts based on their affiliation with academic institutions and professional practice.

The findings of this study contribute practically by aiding policymakers, facility managers and relevant stakeholders with the vital knowledge of delivery mandates for efficient FM services that can spur the uptake of digital technologies such as CPS.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge as it unveils a roadmap of the expected performance output and its accompanying evaluation that would drive the adoption of a promising technology such as CPS in the delivery of FM tasks.

Social enterprises (SEs), part of the third sector, are hybrid organizations combining the pursuit of social scopes with commercial business solutions. In seeking for social value, they pair for-profit and non-profit features, thereby compensating for shortcomings of both the public sector and the commercial market. Therefore, the performance management of such organizations assumes a crucial relevance. Among the available tools, the balanced scorecard (BSC) aims to capture performance multidimensionality, at the same time fostering legitimacy towards stakeholders.

In general terms, the BSC has the limit to follow a linear and static logic of construction and functioning. For this reason, scholars combine it with system dynamics (SD) to create dynamic balanced scorecards (DBSCs). However, literature seems to devote scarce attention to the adoption of such analytic tools in the third sector, particularly in SEs. This chapter wants to contribute to bridging this gap by proposing a tailored application in the context of a social cooperative, active in the clothing recycle and in the re-integration of disadvantaged social categories. By referring to previous literature about DBSC, two modelling strategies are identified: the BSC-driven and the SD-driven. The latter, based on inductive reasoning, is the one privileged for the study because of its wider flexibility. The modelling outputs consider different perspectives than the ones within traditional BSCs, contain elements of circular causality and show how financial and non-financial performances interplay and co-determine each other. Insights from the proposed model can be useful to support both decision-making and stakeholder engagement.

In 2011, Brazil introduced a national pay-for-performance (P4P) scheme called the National Program for Improving Primary Health Care Access and Quality (PMAQ), rolled out over three cycles and reaching more than 5,000 municipalities and 40,000 family health teams (FHTs). There is little evidence on how the PMAQ was implemented locally and whether this variation in implementation affects performance, particularly, in terms of work process indicators. This study compared different cases of municipal-level PMAQ implementation (bonuses paid or not to FHTs) over the last two program cycles to analyze the quality of the work processes, actions and services of FHTs.

This was a cross-sectional analytical study using secondary data from an external evaluation of the Brazilian PMAQ. In total, 27,500 FHTs participated in the evaluation. They were divided into four clusters based on whether or not municipalities paid bonuses to workers during cycles 2 and 3 of the program (2013–2019). Variables regarding work processes, actions and services were classified as “Quality Assurance – QA” or “Continued Quality Improvement – CQI”, and an individual score was assigned based on the average score of each variable.

The four clusters displayed an increase in overall QA and CQI scores between the two program cycles; though this increase was small between the set of primary health care teams that received bonuses and those that did not.

This paper contributes to bridging the gap in the scientific literature for evaluative studies on the relationship between direct payment for performance to health professionals and better quality actions and services in low and middle-income countries.

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.

This study is focused to support an ongoing development project of the case company's current state and the challenges of the order-to-cash (O2C) process. The O2C process is the most visible process to the customer, and therefore, its punctual and fluent order management is vital. It is observed that the high degree of manual work in the O2C process causes mistakes, delays and rework in the process. The purpose of this article is therefore to analyze the case company's current state of the O2C process as well as to identify the areas of development in this process by deploying the means of Lean Six Sigma tools such as value stream mapping (VSM).

The study was conducted as a mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis. Based on both the quantitative and qualitative data, a workshop on VSM was organized to analyze the current state of the O2C process of a case company, engaged in the energy and environment sector in Finland.

The results found that excessive manual work was highly connected to inadequate or incorrect data in pricing and invoicing activities, which resulted in canceled invoices. Canceled invoices are visible to the customer and have a negative impact on the customer experience. This study found that by improving the performance of the O2C process activities and improving communication among the internal and external stakeholders, the whole O2C process can perform more effectively and provide better customer value.

The O2C process is the most visible process to the customer and therefore its punctual and fluent order management is vital. To ensure that the O2C process is operating as desired, suitable process performance metrics need to be aligned and followed. The results gathered from the case company's data, questionnaire interviews, and the VSM workshop are all highlighted in this study. The main practical and managerial implications were to understand the real-time O2C process performance, which is necessary to ensure strong performance and enhance continuous improvement of the O2C process that leads to operational excellence and commercial competitiveness of the studied case company.

This paper aims to investigate the links between daily review sentiment and the hotel performance measures of occupancy rate (OR), average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR).

The authors conducted review sentiment analyses in three moments (−1, −7 and −14 days) before arrival time using a data set of budget hotel performance and online reviews. The aim was to identify the effect of review sentiment in the budget hotel market on the three performance metrics.

Daily sentiment positively affects ADR and negatively affects OR and RevPAR, but only up to a certain threshold, after which the trend reverses. Prices increase with the level of sentiment, and high prices lead to low OR and RevPAR only when the sentiment scores are low. When they are high, they are associated with low rates, which lead to high OR and RevPAR.

Daily review sentiment can be viewed as a valuable “barometer” indicating a hotel’s daily operational effectiveness. Daily sentiment can thus allow hotel managers to adjust their dynamic pricing strategies more accurately.

This study identifies daily sentiment as an alternative predictor of hotel performance. In addition to the roles of valence and volume in the decision-making process, the authors found that daily review sentiment can be an “in-the-moment” factor with a high impact, encouraging consumers to complete their transactions. This study suggests that aggregated measures such as the total number of reviews and overall ratings of the hotel should not be the sole consideration in reputation management.

The primary objective of this paper is to show a systematic and methodological approach for the digitalization of critical clinical pathways (CPs) within the healthcare domain.

The methodology entails the integration of service design (SD) and action research (AR) methodologies, characterized by iterative phases that systematically alternate between action and reflective processes, fostering cycles of change and learning. Within this framework, stakeholders are engaged through semi-structured interviews, while the existing and envisioned processes are delineated and represented using BPMN 2.0. These methodological steps emphasize the development of an autonomous, patient-centric web application alongside the implementation of an adaptable and patient-oriented scheduling system. Also, business processes simulation is employed to measure key performance indicators of processes and test for potential improvements. This method is implemented in the context of the CP addressing transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), within a publicly funded hospital setting.

The methodology integrating SD and AR enables the detection of pivotal bottlenecks within diagnostic CPs and proposes optimal corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted patient care, all the while advancing the digitalization of diagnostic CP management. This study contributes to theoretical discussions by emphasizing the criticality of process optimization, the transformative potential of digitalization in healthcare and the paramount importance of user-centric design principles, and offers valuable insights into healthcare management implications.

The study’s relevance lies in its ability to enhance healthcare practices without necessitating disruptive and resource-intensive process overhauls. This pragmatic approach aligns with the imperative for healthcare organizations to improve their operations efficiently and cost-effectively, making the study’s findings relevant.