Search results

Considering the relevance of operational excellence as a business strategy, organizations are striving to improve themselves by adopting best practices and universally accepted principles through the process of continuous improvement, and these principles should be embedded in the culture of an organization. Organizations pursue to align themselves by continuously improving their processes by adopting scientifically proven techniques and cultural transformation throughout the organization. However, there is a lack of scientific instruments for the assessment of operational excellence. The objective of this study is to develop a scale for the assessment of practices of operational excellence principles in the organizations. Further reliability and validity of the developed scale are measured by testing the relationship between Human Resource Practices (HRP) and Operational Excellence (OE).

This study comprises quantitative design through exploratory and confirmatory studies and also includes qualitative analysis to develop a scale for the assessment of Operational Excellence (OE). Interviews from industry experts have been conducted to identify the major components for which organizations are striving for OE. Previous literature and excellence models, especially principles of the Shingo Operational Excellence Model (SOEM), have been reviewed and considered to finalize the scale items. Data were collected in two stages from both Telecommunication subsectors (Cellular Mobile Operators and Fixed Local Loop Operators) of Pakistan through the cross-sectional survey. In the first stage, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the sample of 611 respondents from both Cellular Mobile and Fixed Local Loop operators of Pakistan. In the second stage, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the sample of 423 respondents from the Fixed local loop operators. EFA was conducted by using SPSS version 23 to finalize the OE scale, and for confirmatory factor analysis, PLS-SEM using Smart PLS was used to confirm the reliability and validity of the OE Scale.

The results of EFA reveal that OE is a multidimensional construct with three dimensions and 23 items. The dimensions of the developed OE Scale explored in this study are cultural enablers (CE), continuous process improvement (CPI) and enterprise alignment (EA). The confirmatory factor analysis of OE confirmed the scale dimensionality, reliability and validity along with the hypothesis testing to measure the impact of antecedent variable HRP on OE.

Organizations pursue to improve and align their operational processes but usually unable to confirm the implementation of their desired objectives. Based on the developed OE scale, managers may assess the implementation of OE principles in their organizations. This research has been conducted in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan only, and the developed instrument needs to be further tested in other organizations.

The instrument developed in this study will help both researchers and practitioners to assess the principles of operational excellence in their organizations and enable them to design the strategies for improving organizational performance.

The results of this study will create awareness about the principles of operational excellence. The developed OE instrument will assist in identifying the gaps in organizational norms and values from the perspective of paying respect to every individual inside and outside the organization. OE instrument will be further helpful in the identification and assurance of health, safety, protection of the environment and community issues.

This study provides a reliable and validated scale for the scientific area of operation management and helps managers with the assessment of operational excellence in their organizations. This newly developed scale is also valid to test and use in different studies and industries by researchers and practitioners.

The study aims to appraise the impact of service quality dimensions on user satisfaction in Bangladeshi public university libraries using structural equation modeling (SEM).

This study developed an SEM method based on SERVQUAL, LibQUAL+ and SERVPERF instruments, including 30 items under five service quality dimensions and eight satisfaction items with the 7-point Likert scale to appraise the impact of library service quality dimensions on user satisfaction. For this purpose, a survey was carried out among 437 students, 52 MPhil/PhD researchers and 32 teachers of the nine selected public university libraries of Bangladesh through a structured questionnaire. The SEM approach included path analysis, confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis, as well as construct reliability and validity where user satisfaction was used as the dependent variable, and five service quality dimensions were applied as independent variables.

This model was identified as significant and clarified 58% of the total variation in user satisfaction. The study findings indicated that resources of the libraries, staff competence, demeanor approach and tangible facilities of the public university libraries have a significant impact on user satisfaction.

An initiative has been taken for the first time to ascertain the impact of library service quality on user satisfaction applying the SEM approach in Bangladesh. Moreover, it creates an avenue to prompt future studies on the structural relationship between user satisfaction and service quality dimensions in academic libraries globally.

The purpose is to assess Industry 4.0 (I4.0) readiness index using fuzzy logic and multi-grade fuzzy approaches in an automotive component manufacturing organization.

I4.0 implies fourth industrial revolution that necessitates vital challenges to be dealt with. In this viewpoint, this article presents the evaluation of I4.0 Readiness Index. The evaluation includes two levels with appropriate criteria and factors. Fuzzy logic approach is used for assessment. Furthermore, the results obtained from fuzzy logic have been benchmarked with multi-grade fuzzy approach.

The proposed assessment model has successfully utilized fuzzy logic approach for assessment of I4.0 readiness index of automotive component manufacturing organization. Based on fuzzy logic approach, readiness index of I4.0 has been found to be (4.74, 6.26, 7.80) which is further benchmarked using multi-grade fuzzy approach. Industry 4.0 readiness index obtained from multi-grade fuzzy approach is 6.258 and thus, validated. Furthermore, 20 weaker areas have been identified and improvement suggestions are provided.

The assessment module include two levels (Six Criteria and 50 Factors). The assessment model could be expanded based on advancements in industrial developments. Therefore, future researchers could utilize findings of the readiness model to further develop multi-level assessment module for Industry 4.0 readiness in organization. The developed readiness model helped researchers in understanding the methodology to assess I4.0 readiness of organization.

The model has been tested with reference to automotive component manufacturing organization and hence the inferences derived have practical relevance. Furthermore, the benchmarking strategy adopted in the present study is simple to understand that makes the model unique and could be applied to other organizations. The results obtained from the study reveal that fuzzy logic-based readiness model is efficient to assess I4.0 readiness of industry.

The development of model for I4.0 readiness assessment and further analysis is the original contribution of the authors. The developed fuzzy logic based I4.0 readiness model indicated the readiness level of an organization using I4RI. Also, the model provided weaker areas based on FPII values which is essential to improve the readiness of organization that already began with the adoption of I4.0 concepts. Further modification in the readiness model would help in enhancing I4.0 readiness of organization. Moreover, the benchmarking strategy adopted in the study i.e. MGF would help to validate the computed I4.0 readiness.

The purpose of this study is to explore and evaluate potential nonmonotonicity in the determinants of profit efficiency, specifically IT and R&D investments in the Indian commercial banking sector.

The study employs an alternative stochastic profit efficiency framework and introduces nonmonotonic effects by parameterizing the location and scale parameters of the inefficiency component on an unbalanced panel data set of 72 commercial banks in the 2008–2019 period. Marginal effects across quartiles are calculated using a bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap procedure of 500 simulations. The study disaggregates across ownership and size for gauging the impact of structure on the associations between determinants of profit efficiency.

The study partially rejects the productivity paradox as it discovers a negative association of IT and R&D with profit inefficiency. However, the observed nonmonotonicity of IT is of significance for bank managers, as the study concludes that overinvestment in IT is detrimental to a bank’s profit-maximizing interests. Further, bank size, loan default and credit risk depict a nonmonotonic relationship across the sample with large banks, high NPAs and high credit risk associated with reducing profit efficiency. In addition, higher margins and greater diversification are related positively to efficiency, and banks with cost-heavy structures or having high liquidity risk associated negatively with efficiency.

To the best knowledge of the authors, the study is perhaps the first to acknowledge and incorporate nonmonotonic associations of IT investments amidst other exogenous determinants under a stochastic profit efficiency framework.

The critical success factor of enterprises is the ability to identify risks and subsequently adapt to the ever-changing technology, as well as the business environment. This paper aims to investigate the top risks faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the meantime, this paper outlines the perspectives on enterprise risk management (ERM)-based best practices and the adoption level of ERM practices in SMEs.

A mixed methodology was used to collect a comprehensive understanding of the adoption of ERM, especially in SMEs. The research is based on cross-sectional questionnaires and collected from risk practitioners in Malaysia. Detailed analysis of the top risks and best practices presented in this paper to identify the developments of risk management in changing organizations. This study used chi-square tests to examine the distribution of the adoption of the ERM programme using risk and insurance management society risk maturity model attributes. Logit regression was used to test the association of ERM efforts with the probability of adopting/considering ERM practices.

The findings indicated that business interruption risk and economic slowdown risk are the major concern for companies in Malaysia. A business continuity plan was found to be the most common risk management practice. Efforts such as the establishment of a risk management team and the development of risk appetite and/or risk tolerance statements in an organization are associated with the probability of adopting/considering ERM practices.

This paper helps to identify challenges of implementing risk governance and management in SMEs that shed light on the regulatory setting which we rather know a little about its impacts.

There are limited studies conducted in emerging countries on ERM and the application of the ERM framework in SMEs. Prior research studies are mostly generalized and lack details of risk management strategies applying to specific risks. This paper successfully examined the low maturity level of ERM practices and how SMEs in Malaysia managed those risks that emerged in their organizations.

The manufacturing domain presently focusing on Industry 4.0 (I4.0). One such domain is the automotive sector. The purpose of this study is to analyse the I4.0 research studies with a focus on the automotive sector using a systematic literature review (SLR).

This paper presents a SLR of previous studies on I4.0 characteristics from its inception to performance measures focusing on the automotive sector. A total of 90 papers published in reputed journals during 2014–2020 were collected from major publishers, namely, Elsevier, Springer, Taylor and Francis, Emerald, Institute of Electrical and Electronics, MDPI, etc.

The findings of the study provided vital insights on various perspectives of I4.0 in an automotive organization. Moreover, this systematic analysis would help the automotive industry policymakers in implementing I4.0 in an organization. Based on the SLR, a conceptual framework is established to guide industry practitioners towards I4.0 implementation. The review findings could be used to carry out future studies in assessing the readiness of I4.0 in the organization with the help of a survey.

The limitation of the study is in the adoption of the sampling approach. In the present study, conference papers and refereed journals have been considered based on the relevance of I4.0 in the automotive industry. As I4.0 is a growing concept, non-refereed articles, book chapters and white papers may cover practical aspects regarding I4.0 implementation that need to be considered for depth analysis. Moreover, the framework needs to be validated with various automotive industries for ensuring practical validity.

The unique contribution of the study is the SLR of I4.0 in manufacturing with a focus on the automotive sector.

The study provides an evaluation of the knowledge and skills importance covered in the degree of Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) as well as the knowledge and skills gap of graduates entry-level.

The study used both descriptive and exploratory research designs. The study adopted a self-administered questionnaire. The sample size is 41 logistics industry mid-managers of six organizations selected from the main operators of Sohar Port in Oman.

The findings reveal that logistics professionals agree on the importance of all the learner attributes, knowledge and cognitive skills, and general competencies identified in a university degree with a major in LSCM. Furthermore, the results identified moderate levels of gaps in five knowledge areas and six soft and hard skills of graduates at the entry level.

Further research can be built on this study findings by evaluating the perception of logistics and supply chain industry professionals in different global contexts and investigate the effectiveness of different training and educational programs in enhancing the knowledge and skills of logistics professionals in various regions.

This study may extend beyond Oman and have important implications for LSCM practices in other developing countries. Universities' management in developing countries can use this study findings to identify the key skills required by entry-level logistics professionals and incorporate them into their curricula to better prepare graduates for the workforce. In addition, the skills identified in our study, such as decision-making skills, managing stress, negotiation skills and critical thinking, are relevant to logistics professionals in other developing countries with similar socio-economic and industry characteristics.

Unlike the prior studies that focused on the mismatch between educational degrees and job requirements without considering study specializations and industry, this paper lays a nuanced understanding of the knowledge and skills gap associated with entry-level graduates of the logistics and supply chain industry. As such, the paper offers inputs for the LSCM academic degree related to knowledge and skills needed by logistics and supply chain industry.

The purpose of this study is to provide quantitative information about the development of Islamic financial management literature. For this purpose, it is aimed to draw attention to the development of this field by revealing the literature gap in the field of Islamic financial management.

In this study, the document analysis method is used and the Web of Science (WOS) site is used to obtain the desired data. The time range of the study covers the years 1980–2023/January. The results obtained from the scans were analyzed by the bibliometric analysis method. The data obtained within the scope of the study are classified and analyzed using the VOSviewer program, which is one of the many software developed for scientific mapping analysis. The obtained data are presented in a certain order with the visual mapping method.

In the analyses made, bibliometric analysis based on document review and including the subject of “Islamic financial management” in the WOS database between the relevant years has not been used in any study, which points to an important gap in the literature. However, 3,022 studies on “Financial management” and 1,830 studies on “Islamic finance” have been identified. Although there is no data on “Financial Management”, the subjects of “Islamic finance” and “Financial management” related to the subject have been evaluated in terms of countries, the most publishing organizations, authors, publications and word–word groups, using the bibliometric analysis method, as well as making numerical and visual evaluations. These studies show that an infrastructure to include the subject of “Islamic financial management” has not been formed in the literature.

This study points to an important gap in the literature. The subjects of “Islamic finance” and “Financial management” have been sufficiently covered in the literature separately. By combining this knowledge with new studies there appears an environment where original studies on the subject of “Islamic financial management” can be made and this study is aimed to shed light on this virgin area.

In the literature bibliometric analysis based on document review including the subject of “Islamic financial management” has not been used in any study. To the best of the author’s knowledge this study is the first in the literature to address the related issue and with it an important gap in the literature has been identified and an important case that will be a source for future studies has been revealed.

This paper aims to investigate the short- and long-run influence of core banking solutions (CBSs) on productive efficiency and identify the presence of potential network externalities arising from CBS adoption. This paper further examines the differential behaviour of long-term effects across the banking structure.

This study uses a panel data set of Indian commercial banks from 2005 to 2021. Economic efficiency is quantified using VRS-based DEA programming algorithms. Productivity changes are measured through an input-oriented, DEA-based Malmquist productivity index. Short- and long-run effects are examined through a finite autoregressive distributed lag model, estimated through a pooled mean-group estimator.

Findings suggest that CBS adoption negatively correlates with cost structure until the first year of adoption. Nevertheless, significant benefits are visible from the third year. Furthermore, such associations are highly susceptible to the industry structure. CBS results in higher incremental benefits for private banks vis-à-vis state-owned banks. Large banks receive significant and quicker productivity improvements from CBS vis-à-vis small banks. Bank age guides CBS–performance associations, highlighting that mature banks may face the issue of legacy infrastructure in CBS adoption. The resultant networking externalities are significant as they enhance the attractiveness of the network, which subsequently augments inter-branch and inter-bank communications.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to recognise the stickiness of one of the most homogeneously adopted technological innovations in the Indian banking sector. The presence of a conjoint technological network has the potential to enhance the service delivery process and ensure superior returns for Indian banks.

Quality 4.0 is being presented as the new stage of quality development. However, its overlying concept and rationale are still hard to define. To better understand what different authors and studies advocate being Quality 4.0, a systematic literature review was undertaken on the topic. This paper presents the results of such review, providing some avenues for further research on quality management.

The documents for the systematic literature review have been searched on the Scopus database, using the search equation: [TITLE-ABS-KEY (“Quality 4.0”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (Quality Management” AND (“Industry 4.0” OR “Fourth Industr*” OR i4.0))]. Documents were filtered by language and by type. Of the 367 documents identified, 146 were submitted to exploratory content analysis.

The analyzed documents essentially provide theoretical discussions on what Quality 4.0 is or should be. Five categories have emerged from the content analysis undertaken: Industry 4.0 and the Rise of a New Approach to Quality; Motivations, Readiness Factors and Barriers to a Quality 4.0 Approach; Digital Quality Management Systems; Combination of Quality Tools and Lean Methodologies and Quality 4.0 Professionals.

It was hard to find studies reporting how quality is actually being managed in organizations that already operate in the Industry 4.0 paradigm. Answers could not be found to questions regarding actual practices, methodologies and tools being used in Quality 4.0 approaches. However, the research undertaken allowed to identify in the literature different ways of conceptualizing and analyzing Quality 4.0, opening up avenues for further research on quality management in the Industry 4.0 era.

This paper offers a broad look at how quality management is changing in response to the affirmation of the Industry 4.0 paradigm.