Search results

The process of redesigning is one of the essential steps in upcycling, which comprises ideation, reconstruction and fitting. This paper aims to study the best practice of upcycling in the clothing industry. This study is an attempt to standardise upcycling/redesign process.

An exploratory approach was adopted to perform the research. This study draws on the multiple organisations involved in the upcycling of clothes. The organisations chosen for this study are located in Sweden and Romania using the snowball technique. Semi-structured interviews, direct and participatory observation approaches were used to collect information. The collected data are systematically analysed using NVivo 10 software.

This paper provides empirical insights into the diverse practices of upcycling. Process, product and demand-based were three fundamental approaches to performing the redesigning process. The fabric quality and durability, variations in size, colour and pattern, skills and efforts required in the extraction of parts and environmental consciousness and awareness were the main factors influencing upcycling process.

The use of the European case may miss best practices from the other region. This study may help scholars to understand the method of upcycling. A practitioner of upcycling can use the findings to improve and standardise the existing process. This research is beneficial for society, as this leads to the reduction of textile wastage.

This paper conceptualises some of the best practices of clothes redesign. This provides a good insight for the organisation for the improvement in the redesign business.

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) eliminates non-value-added (NVA) and essential non-value-added (ENVA) waste through radical process redesign to improve organizational operations. Comprehensive research integrating BPR tools is needed to understand their benefits for manufacturing firms. This research presents an integrated BPR-simulation framework tailored to the manufacturing sector to maximize process improvements and operational excellence.

The BPR design methodology adopts a systematic, multi-stage approach. The first phase involves identifying a specific improvement process aligned with BPR's core objectives. This phase analyses and redesigns workflows to optimize task sequences, roles, and stakeholder interactions while eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies via Workflow Process Reengineering. Visual process mapping tools, including VSM and simulation, pinpoint areas of waste, delay, and potential enhancement. The second phase follows the workflow analysis and aims to improve efficiency and effectiveness by redefining roles, rearranging tasks, and integrating automation and technology solutions. The redesigned process undergoes evaluation against key performance indicators to ensure measurable improvements are achieved. The final phase validates the proposed changes through simulation models, assesses the impact on key performance metrics, and establishes the necessary infrastructure for successful implementation. The proposed model is empirically validated through a case study of a leading apparel company in Vietnam, confirming its effectiveness.

The findings reveal that NVA activities are being eliminated, and ENVA activities in key departments are significantly reduced. This yielded a substantial improvement, reducing 25 out of 186 combined ENVA and NVA operations in the sewing facility, involving a decrease of 15 ENVA operations and the removal of 10 NVA operations. Consequently, this led to an 8.5% reduction in the proportion of ENVA operations, accompanied by a complete 100% elimination of NVA activities.

The single case study limits generalizability; thus, expanded implementation across diverse manufacturing sub-sectors is required to establish validity and broader applicability of the integrated framework.

The experimental results highlight the proposed model's effectiveness in optimizing resource utilization and its practical implementation potential. This structured BPR methodology enables organizations to validate, evaluate, and establish proposed process changes to enhance operational performance and productivity.

This study investigated the interplay between business process management (BPM) and digitalization in organizations and developed principles for designing their interaction.

This study was explorative and used a questionnaire-based survey that involved experts in BPM and digitalization who were actively engaged in these two domains in their organizations to come up with the design principles. The survey and the design principles were based on Rosemann and vom Brocke's (2010) six core elements of BPM.

Digitalization was seen as influencing how BPM is practiced in organizations by strengthening organizations’ focus on BPM, and conversely, BPM was perceived as beneficial for digitalization and digitalization outcomes. In addition, based on Rosemann and vom Brocke’s six core elements of BPM, we proposed six principles for designing the interplay of BPM and digitalization in organizations.

Our empirical investigation was situated in a Norwegian context and included 104 respondents. While we have no reason to believe that our findings should not be valid and useful in other regions, this is a limitation in generalizing our findings, and a natural follow-up would be to investigate our research questions in other geographical areas. We are also aware of the potential response bias in our sample. Moreover, to outline the principles for designing the interactions of BPM and digitalization, we applied the six core elements of BPM by Rosemann and vom Brocke (2010) as our theoretical lens. We acknowledge that there are more issues related to the interplay of BPM and digitalization than we have dealt with in this study.

This study has several implications for organizations. First, managers may use our proposed design principles to decide how to integrate BPM and digitalization. Second, although this study showed that each discipline nurtures its own culture, building an organizational culture that combines values from each discipline can enable a process-oriented organization to innovate its operations and services with digital technology. Third, managers should align the responsibilities and tasks of process owners with the demands for the digitalization of business processes. Fourth, managers, when integrating BPM and digitalization, should take care not to impede the generative attributes of each discipline.

Processes and digital technologies play important roles in society at all levels. BPM seeks to understand how processes unfold and explores how new practices may better serve individuals, organizations and society (vom Brocke et al., 2021), while digitalization is concerned with how various kinds of modern digital technologies may trigger organizational and social changes (Markus and Rowe, 2023; Suri and Jack, 2016).

This study is one of the first studies to investigate the interplay between BPM and digitalization – how digitalization affects BPM practices in organizations and how BPM influences digitalization outcomes. In addition, this study offers novel principles for designing the interaction between BPM and digitalization.

Career preparedness is critical to successfully transitioning from college to a full-time work environment. Being prepared means students have the technical and non-technical skills to help an organization meet its strategic goals. In many instances, students lack the requisite career competencies and collaborative skills. This study proposes designing an instructor-led, career-driven quasi-virtual internship to address this issue and improve students’ preparedness and teamwork.

Our research integrates and expands the four-step processes outlined in instructional and course redesign theories, including analysis, design and development, implementation and evaluation. In the evaluation phase, a survey is used to collect data, and natural language processing is applied to identify the emerging themes. The sample included 104 undergraduate students enrolled in an information systems degree program, which resulted in a digital corpus of 40,744 words for analysis.

Results indicate that the implementation of instructor-led quasi-virtual internships offered a comprehensive career experience comparable to an onsite or virtual company-sponsored internship in five notable areas: (1) application of technical knowledge, (2) critical thinking, (3) time management, (4) application of IT project management and (5) collaborative skills.

Our study only evaluated participants in our treatment group. Future research should examine the differences between students who complete sponsored versus instructor-led quasi-virtual internships. Researchers can add a control group of students who receive a theoretically based capstone course. Future research can simulate randomized controlled trials (RCT) (Chalmers et al., 1981) to measure the effectiveness of quasi-virtual internships. A benefit of this research is that an open-ended survey allows for collecting rich, multifaceted primary data. The second limitation is that the study included only single-item questions. Future authors can create and validate a survey instrument based on the themes and concepts emanating from our investigation. For example, they can operationalize team dynamics and career preparedness using a reflective model in which the underlying construct drives the indicators, requiring multiple items to examine each construct (Coltman et al., 2008). Third, the sample size in the study was relatively small. We can increase the sample size using a time-series dataset with multiple measurement periods. The fourth limitation is context; this study was conducted at a public university; other institutions may have varied teaching approaches, student demographics and resources. By expanding our study using a multi-site approach (Ballantyne et al., 2012), we can increase cross-sectional sample sizes and improve the generalizability of the study’s results.

This study provides several practical insights for educators by examining quasi-virtual internships. Academic institutions that want to offer internships but struggle to establish industry partners can implement the quasi-internship model as an alternative approach. The study highlights that students gain critical insight into their future careers during these internships by being familiar with industry concepts and tools. We also provide insights into engaging students in “meaningful collaboration.” We suggest the instructor provide some time during the class sessions for group work to improve coordination and introduce industry-level tools that provide a more applied approach to IS education.

The National Survey of College Internships (NSCI) 2021 indicates that underrepresented and first-generation students were less likely to participate in internships. Our research may positively impact diverse communities since the quasi-virtual internship allows all students to participate once they are enrolled in a capstone class.

To our knowledge, this study is the first to utilize latent semantic analysis to analyze students’ feedback to improve course design, career preparedness and team dynamics.

The objective of this work is to demonstrate how the use of a business process management (BPM) methodology reinforced with the use of lean manufacturing (LM) tools and practices enhances information and documentation flows.

For this purpose, a case study on a large wind blade manufacturing company is described, in which BPM and LM were combined to improve information and documentation flows associated to the process of quality inspections and quality controls.

The joint use of BPM and LM strongly contributed to the improvement of information and documentation flows. The BPM lifecycle can be used to guide the entire improvement process, while LM tools can be used to act at specific points with an emphasis in the process analysis and implementation phases. Thus, LM complements a BPM approach leading to significant process improvements.

The results show that LM can be used to support some phases of the BPM lifecycle. Furthermore, LM can contribute to identify lean waste in information and documentation flows associated to quality management processes and help in the selection of methods and tools to support process improvements.

This study is one of the first reporting the use of LM tools and practices as complementary to the BPM methodology to support the improvement of information and documentation flows associated to quality management in a large manufacturing company. This research enriches the literature by presenting empirical evidence that these two continuous improvement approaches are not incompatible in their objectives and visions and can complement each other.

Worldwide challenges impose public organizations to rethink their processes and satisfactorily meet citizens’ needs. Process mining (PM) techniques enable organizations to objectively analyse and improve their processes, by providing higher process transparency and efficiency. However, extant literature on PM applications in the public sector reveals there is still limited evidence on the opportunities and challenges perceived from PM introduction in the public sector, and on PM potential to enhance public sector digital transformation: this study aims to fill these gaps.

Based on Business Process Management and digital innovation fields of research, we administered a questionnaire to a sample of Italian civil servants working in different public organizations to investigate their perceptions of PM opportunities and challenges and the extent to which it can support public sector digital transformation. A three-level analysis was conducted to inspect findings with different levels of granularity, and results were analysed both descriptively and quantitatively.

We found a positive attitude towards PM introduction in the public sector, and perceived opportunities and challenges related to both the technical and the social systems. The triangulation between close-ended and open-ended questions suggests that PM could be the missing link between public sector digitalization and digital transformation. These findings can be used by policymakers to develop the best strategies to introduce PM into public organizations and support its adoption, and by researchers to further explore PM role in public sector digital transformation.

Despite PM claiming to push digital transformation, it is not clear if it is also true for public sector organizations. This paper addresses this gap and it is among the first attempts to explore PM from civil servants’ viewpoint to investigate their perceptions of PM opportunities and challenges, as well as the variables that influence these perceptions.

The purpose and theoretical contributions of this paper are to improve current knowledge on culture's role in firms' digital transformation, as well as to identify and add a cultural “digital maturity” lens to well-known, already actionable frameworks for the digital transformation of firms.

To increase current knowledge on culture's role in firms' digital transformation, as well as to identify and add a cultural “digital maturity” lens to well-known and actionable frameworks for the digital transformation of firms, a multi-step approach was chosen, including both literature reviews as well as a qualitative study of one company case.

Early generations of digital transformation frameworks, mainly from the field of information systems (IS), did not take into consideration firms' culture. More recent research in the fields of management and organization, however, emphasizes the role of culture and key cultural attributes favorable for a digital transformation. By integrating key findings on digital transformation from these research fields, a multi-disciplinary framework could be presented, allowing any organization to plan, organize and monitor a digital transformation from three essential lenses: technical (processes and actions for transforming), social (transformation of norms and behavior) and macro (transformation of the perception of the outside world).

Only one case study was included in this study. The developed multi-disciplinary framework needs to be tested in more cases.

Practitioners can use the new integrated framework above for evaluating the conditions for, and the progression of a digital transformation, by using the developed framework and by applying the three lenses.

The paper contributes a new multi-disciplinary integrated framework for the digital transformation of enterprises and a further understanding of the impact of culture in the transformation of the firm.

This paper sheds light on the factors facilitating the digital transformation (DT) of companies, examining the empirical evidence according to a new and original dual lens: the internal and external marketing management perspective.

Through an explorative research design based on semi-structured interviews, we investigate the perceptions of some managers involved in managing the DT of their own companies.

The findings, organized from an internal and external marketing perspective, show how DT requires efforts in nurturing: (1) its organizational and cultural nature; (2) new managerial skills and e-leadership. These factors activate DT as an accelerator of (3) production processes and service provision and (4) competitive strategies.

Our findings underscore critical practical implications for organizations embarking on a DT journey. Firstly, managers should prioritize creating a culture that encourages employees to embrace change and technology. Secondly, recognizing the importance of new managerial skills and e-leadership, managers need to invest in developing the expertise to effectively lead DT efforts. The related skills encompass digital literacy, change management and the ability to inspire and guide teams through the complexities of a DT.

This paper suggests that organizations should holistically approach DT, focusing on culture, leadership and strategic deployment of digital tools. The proposed dual lens offers a valuable and simple answer for academics and practitioners to effectively frame the internal dynamics and external factors shaping DT.

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation follows a structured approach called define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC). Earlier research about its application in emergency healthcare services shows that it requires organizational transformation, which many healthcare setups find difficult. The Kotter change management model facilitates organizational transformation but has not been attempted in LSS settings till now. This study aims to integrate the LSS framework with the Kotter change management model to come up with an integrated framework that will facilitate LSS deployment in emergency health services.

Two-stage Delphi method was conducted by using a literature review. First, the success factors and barriers of LSS are investigated, especially from an emergency healthcare point of view. The features and benefits of Kotter's change management models are then reviewed. Subsequently, they are integrated to form a framework specific to LSS deployment in an emergency healthcare set-up. The elements of this framework are analyzed using expert opinion ratings. A new framework for LSS deployment in emergency healthcare has been developed, which can prevent failures due to challenges faced by organizations in overcoming resistance to changes.

The eight steps of the Kotter model such as establishing a sense of urgency, forming a powerful guiding coalition, creating a vision, communicating the vision, empowering others to act on the vision, planning for and creating short-term wins, consolidating improvements and producing still more change, institutionalizing new approaches are derived from the eight common errors that managers make while implementing change in the institution. The study integrated LSS principles and Kotter’s change management model to apply in emergency care units in order to reduce waste and raise the level of service quality provided by healthcare companies.

The present study could contribute knowledge to the literature by providing a framework to integrate lean management and Kotter's change management model for the emergency care unit of the healthcare organization. This framework guides decision-makers and organizations as proper strategies are required for applying lean management practices in any system.

The proposed framework is unique and no other study has prescribed any integrated framework for LSS implementation in emergency healthcare that overcomes resistance to change.

This paper aims to explore the antecedents and consequences of service chain flexibility (SCF) in healthcare service delivery.

A structural model was developed based on a literature review. A 29-indicator questionnaire was circulated among service providers in the healthcare system across India, and 253 valid responses were received, corresponding to a response rate of 46%. The research model was assessed using a cross-sectional research design, and the data were analyzed by structural equation modeling using analysis of moment structures (AMOS) software.

Service orientation (SO), technology integration (TI), knowledge sharing (KS) and supply chain integration (SCI) were identified as antecedents of SCF, the consequence of which is responsiveness in service delivery (RSD). Furthermore, patient-centered care moderates the relationship between SCF and RSD.

This paper highlights the impact of SCF on RSD in healthcare organizations. Consideration of the four constructs of SO, TI, KS and SCI as antecedents of SCF and, in turn, RSD may be one of the limitations. Future work may identify other theoretical constructs with potential impacts on SCF and RSD. Furthermore, eight months for data collection could have resulted in early-late response bias. This study was operationalized in India and may reflect political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors unique to India.

The study provides suggestions to practitioners for building RSD by leveraging SO, TI, KS and SCI in flexibility-driven service chain processes. Recognizing the relationships among these constructs can aid in the timely formulation of corrective actions and patient-centric policies.

This paper highlights how focusing on a SCF can promote RSD. This understanding may aid the design of processes that develop patient-centricity and deliver health as a social good in an effective manner.

The empirical evidence from this study can help hospitals integrate and build flexibility in their functions, thus enabling them to deliver responsiveness in care.