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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1990

Robert E. Winter

A workstation‐based system for materials planning is intended tocomplement a host‐based materials‐planning system, thereby leading to amulti‐level system that combines fully…

Abstract

A workstation‐based system for materials planning is intended to complement a host‐based materials‐planning system, thereby leading to a multi‐level system that combines fully detailed planning procedures with “aggregate” decision support capabilities. Planning objects as well as planning procedures are formulated within the relational database frame‐work. By that means, at execution time the database management system guarantees processing efficiency as well as consistency control. After a short characterisation of the state‐of‐the‐art of database utilisation in conventional materials planning, a set of requirements which have to be met by the proposed approach is formulated. Based on this, the suitability of the relational database model as a framework for multi‐stage materials planning is discussed. In particular, the integration of abstraction hierarchies is emphasised and hierarchical planning procedures adopted from artificial intelligence are integrated into the concept. Some examples adopted from a prototype show that, at least for simple planning problems, it is possible to achieve end‐user support at any level of detail when using a relational database system for materials planning.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 8 July 2022

Vania Vidal, Valéria Magalhães Pequeno, Narciso Moura Arruda Júnior and Marco Antonio Casanova

Enterprise knowledge graphs (EKG) in resource description framework (RDF) consolidate and semantically integrate heterogeneous data sources into a comprehensive dataspace…

Abstract

Purpose

Enterprise knowledge graphs (EKG) in resource description framework (RDF) consolidate and semantically integrate heterogeneous data sources into a comprehensive dataspace. However, to make an external relational data source accessible through an EKG, an RDF view of the underlying relational database, called an RDB2RDF view, must be created. The RDB2RDF view should be materialized in situations where live access to the data source is not possible, or the data source imposes restrictions on the type of query forms and the number of results. In this case, a mechanism for maintaining the materialized view data up-to-date is also required. The purpose of this paper is to address the problem of the efficient maintenance of externally materialized RDB2RDF views.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a formal framework for the incremental maintenance of externally materialized RDB2RDF views, in which the server computes and publishes changesets, indicating the difference between the two states of the view. The EKG system can then download the changesets and synchronize the externally materialized view. The changesets are computed based solely on the update and the source database state and require no access to the content of the view.

Findings

The central result of this paper shows that changesets computed according to the formal framework correctly maintain the externally materialized RDB2RDF view. The experiments indicate that the proposed strategy supports live synchronization of large RDB2RDF views and that the time taken to compute the changesets with the proposed approach was almost three orders of magnitude smaller than partial rematerialization and three orders of magnitude smaller than full rematerialization.

Originality/value

The main idea that differentiates the proposed approach from previous work on incremental view maintenance is to explore the object-preserving property of typical RDB2RDF views so that the solution can deal with views with duplicates. The algorithms for the incremental maintenance of relational views with duplicates published in the literature require querying the materialized view data to precisely compute the changesets. By contrast, the approach proposed in this paper requires no access to view data. This is important when the view is maintained externally, because accessing a remote data source may be too slow.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 18 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2020

Ann-Marie Kennedy, Cathy McGouran and Joya A. Kemper

The authors do not claim that the following represents the views of any one tribe but instead the culmination of the academic literature written on the topic. Marketing’s current…

2575

Abstract

Purpose

The authors do not claim that the following represents the views of any one tribe but instead the culmination of the academic literature written on the topic. Marketing’s current Western dominant social paradigm (DSP) is said to perpetuate “green”, yet unsustainable practices. The DSP does not support strictly pro-environmental practices and its proposed alternative, the new environmental paradigm (NEP), lacks in-depth conceptualisation, especially concerning business and marketing activities. However, the two paradigms contrast so much that a shift from one to the other is vehemently argued against and conceptually rife with problems. This paper aims to expand upon the merits of the NEP using indigenous people’s environmental philosophies [1] – as examples of historically supported and successful sustainable philosophies. It conceptualises a Relational view to provide a more practical alternative to the DSP and includes propositions for marketing implementation of this perspective.

Findings

By explicating both the DSP and NEP and reflecting on each through an indigenous Māori view, this paper provides propositions for a broadened paradigm that supports sustainability and its application for sustainable marketing.

Research limitations/implications

The implications of this research are in the area of paradigm development and in providing an alternative paradigm to that of the DSP. This paper is the first to fully explicate parts of the NEP and considers a solution to the problems of changing the current DSP so drastically by broadening the NEP using a Relational worldview.

Practical implications

The propositions and examples provided in this work give practical application of the newly presented paradigm for marketers influenced by indigenous belief systems.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to explicate parts of the NEP and broaden its reach by integrating a Relational worldview as an alternative to drastically changing the current DSP. It does so by proposing that marketers embrace a middle ground that is influenced by indigenous belief systems.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 54 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 June 2015

Ville Eloranta and Taija Turunen

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the service infusion literature explains competitive advantage through services. The four strategic management theories – competitive…

25785

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the service infusion literature explains competitive advantage through services. The four strategic management theories – competitive forces, the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, and relational view – are applied in the analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review analyzes the links between the service infusion and strategy literature.

Findings

The review reveals that although discussion of service infusion applies strategic management concepts, the stream lacks rigor with respect to construct definition and justification. Additionally, contextual variables are often missing. The result is an over-emphasis of contextually bound measures, such as technology, and focal actors.

Research limitations/implications

The growing trends toward social networks, co-specialization, actor dependency and shared resources encourage service infusion scholars to focus on network-related and relational capabilities, co-opetition, open business models, and relational rent extraction. Furthermore, service infusion research would benefit from considering strategy-based theoretical discussions, constructs, and constraints that would improve the scientific rigor, impact and contribution.

Originality/value

This paper represents a systematic attempt to link the service infusion literature with strategic management theories and thoroughly analyzes the knowledge gaps and possible misconceptions.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2017

Chunguang Bai, Joseph Sarkis and Yijie Dou

This paper aims to introduce a joint DEMATEL and NK methodology to develop a process model for introducing and implementing relational supply chain practices for low-carbon supply…

2479

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce a joint DEMATEL and NK methodology to develop a process model for introducing and implementing relational supply chain practices for low-carbon supply chains. Using this process model as a guide, insights into specific practices and how to implement these relational practices to achieve competitive advantage across organizations are introduced.

Design/methodology/approach

Low-carbon cooperation practices framework based on the relational view is developed. A methodology based on DEMATEL and the NK model is used to construct a sequential process model for introducing and implementing these relational practices. Empirical data from three manufacturing organizations in China are utilized to validate the model.

Findings

Initial results provide a sequence of relational practices for guiding those organizations and their suppliers for healthy and low-carbon development. Interdependencies between relational practices are analyzed and evaluated from four aspects. Insights into the broader application of the methodology and initial results from both a research and managerial perspective are presented, especially with consideration of the China, an emerging economy, context.

Research limitations/implications

The methodology remains relatively abstract in nature, yet the tool can provide very useful interpretations and information for both researchers and practitioners.

Practical implications

This paper stipulates that in addition to internal operational practices, the relational practices between buyer and supplier may be equally important to achieve a low-carbon outcome, especially in supply chain setting. This paper also shows that not only the relational practice itself but also the implementation sequence of the relational practices can relate to performance. According to the authors’ initial results, organizations in this study should first develop product development cooperation, then exchange carbon knowledge and implement effective governance and last build a trust relationship with its suppliers for low-carbon cooperation.

Originality/value

This is one of the few approaches that directly evaluates and identifies the interdependencies among relational practices and to construct a process model for introducing and implementing low-carbon supply chain cooperation. It is also the first time that the NK model has been integrated with DEMATEL. Focusing on Chinese supply chain carbon emissions concerns is also a unique perspective.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2007

John J. Kineman and K. Anil Kumar

To propose a conceptual paradigm for unifying concepts of material, living and spiritual nature, based on the natural philosophy of Gregory Bateson and the more formal relational

Abstract

Purpose

To propose a conceptual paradigm for unifying concepts of material, living and spiritual nature, based on the natural philosophy of Gregory Bateson and the more formal relational theories of Robert Rosen.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper combines Bateson's natural philosophy with the relational meta‐theory of Robert Rosen to develop the world view we believe Bateson argued for. It shows that the assumptions of this view correspond with Vedic philosophy. An integral view of nature that can underlie mechanistic and relational science is provided.

Findings

Bateson's natural philosophy can be interpreted in terms of Rosen's relational concepts to provide a unifying view of nature based on information entailments. This is described in terms of an irreducible complementarity between abstract and material aspects of nature (corresponding to Bateson's “mind and nature”) that forms a causally effective, or “necessary” unity. Encoding and decoding relations correspond with Bateson's ideas of patterns and information. The general application of this view suggests a reality not unlike the “immortal luminous being” described in the Vedas and Upanishads of India.

Originality/value

The paper shows why the dualistic/mechanistic view of nature is inadequate for understanding living systems and natural complexity. It describes a more general foundation from which living and generative aspects of nature can be studied. This corresponds with the Vedic concept of intrinsic value (divinity) in nature, and lends support to deep ecology ethics. As Bateson argued, the relational view can be an ethical instrument, leading away from conflict as to understand better the roots of interconnectedness.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 36 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 May 2013

Andreas Wieland and Carl Marcus Wallenburg

The purpose of this research is to explore the resilience domain, which is important in the field of supply chain management; it investigates the effects relational competencies…

12241

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore the resilience domain, which is important in the field of supply chain management; it investigates the effects relational competencies have for resilience and the effect resilience, in turn, has on a supply chain ' s customer value.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is empirical in nature and employs a confirmatory approach that builds on the relational view as a primary theoretical foundation. It utilizes survey data collected from manufacturing firms from three countries, which is analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

It is found that communicative and cooperative relationships have a positive effect on resilience, while integration does not have a significant effect. It is also found that improved resilience, obtained by investing in agility and robustness, enhances a supply chain ' s customer value.

Practical implications

Some findings contrast the expectations derived from theory. Particularly, practitioners can learn that integration has a limited role in enhancing resilience.

Originality/value

The study distinguishes between a proactive and reactive dimension of resilience: robustness and agility. The relational view serves as the theoretical basis to explain the effects between three types of relational competencies (communication, cooperation, and integration) and the above-mentioned two dimensions of resilience.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 43 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2022

Vaneet Kaur

The purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the canonical contribution of the classical theories of multinational enterprises (MNE) and complement them with congruous…

718

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the canonical contribution of the classical theories of multinational enterprises (MNE) and complement them with congruous multi-theoretical lenses to a propose a meta-theoretical view for competitive advantage. The proposed framework is applied to fundamental questions of MNE, and exploratory insights are revealed.

Design/methodology/approach

This study sought to review the literature on various paradigms such as resource-based view, knowledge-based view, attention-based view, relational view, dynamic capability view and institution-based view to propose a meta-theoretical approach explicating the phenomenon of competitiveness.

Findings

This study proffers that the key to global competitiveness lies in building micro-foundational, multidimensional and multilevel multinational orchestration capabilities. The requisite orchestration capabilities are capabilities par excellence that explain: how organizational capabilities originate through the cognition of individual employees at the micro level; how individual-level abilities are amplified when they are harnessed through relational capabilities to form knowledge capabilities at the meso-level; and how the confluence of knowledge capabilities and higher order dynamic capabilities gives rise to heterogeneous firm-level knowledge-based dynamic capabilities that can be combined with institution capabilities to aggrandize the prediction of competitive advantage for MNEs.

Originality/value

The successful development of MNE competitiveness as a field of academic inquiry, brought about by an increasing amount of theoretical specialization, has come at the price of significant fragmentation of the overall scientific quest. The abovementioned paradigms and their underlying constructs have primarily been conceptualized in silos. The classical theories of MNE have been used a starting point to which complementary multidisciplinary views have been scaffolded to gain a more nuanced understanding of global competitiveness.

Details

critical perspectives on international business, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 December 2023

Josune Sáenz, Henar Alcalde-Heras, Nekane Aramburu and Marta Buenechea-Elberdin

Following the contextual approach to intellectual capital, this study analyzed the specific types of external relational capital that foster product/service, process and…

Abstract

Purpose

Following the contextual approach to intellectual capital, this study analyzed the specific types of external relational capital that foster product/service, process and managerial innovativeness in organic farming as key drivers of sustainable food production.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data from 358 organically certified Spanish farmers were analyzed using structural equation modeling based on partial least squares. A total of three models, one for each type of innovativeness, were developed to analyze the impact of external relational capital. These models took into account four specific types of relational capital: vertical relationships, horizontal relationships, relationships with government institutions and relationships with knowledge-intensive institutions.

Findings

Although relational capital and innovativeness are clearly underdeveloped, knowledge generated through and embedded in external relationships plays a substantial role in promoting innovativeness in organic farming. Moreover, depending on the type of innovation to be developed, the type of external relational capital that is relevant differs.

Practical implications

This study's findings indicate that organic farmers prioritize process innovation over product/service and managerial innovation. For the latter categories, building relationships with customers, consumers and government institutions is key. Policymakers should encourage farmer-engaging socialization spaces that emphasize family farms and their knowledge contribution.

Originality/value

Past studies have examined the overall degree of association between external relational capital and innovation, often overlooking the nuances of contextual factors. In contrast, this research delves into the unique contributions of knowledge sourced from various external relationships, focusing specifically on how these relationships influence different types of innovation within the specific context of organic farming.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 October 2021

Valentina Della Corte, Massimo Aria, Giovanna Del Gaudio, Jay Brian Barney, Cihan Cobanoglu and Fabiana Sepe

This study aims to focus on inter-firm collaboration, exploring the main capabilities that can make a business more or less open to collaboration; it also considers the role of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to focus on inter-firm collaboration, exploring the main capabilities that can make a business more or less open to collaboration; it also considers the role of both firm-specific and relationship-specific capabilities. The paper proposes a model that can be used to study how the combination of the two categories of capabilities determines a firm’s approach to collaboration.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a survey of high-end hotels in tourist destinations in Italy and the USA, this paper tests variable connected with firm-specific and relationship-specific aspects, using confirmatory factor analysis.

Findings

Firms with greater capabilities are less open to cooperation; weaker firms with fewer resources appear to be more inclined to cooperate, probably to gain access to resources and competencies they do not possess.

Research limitations/implications

From a scientific perspective, this paper suggests an analysis based on both individual and relational capabilities when deciding whether to collaborate, while most studies based on a relational view just consider relational capabilities. The study could be enlarged to other countries and contexts.

Practical implications

From a practical perspective, it indicates the importance of accounting for different and sometimes diverging aspects when deciding to cooperate.

Social implications

In terms of social implications, it shows that, apart from the relational capabilities they have, potential partners can decide not to collaborate.

Originality/value

The paper suggests a method of analyzing both individual and relational capabilities when deciding whether to engage in a collaboration. It shows that firms’ behavior does not necessarily depend on the firm’s relational capabilities.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 33 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 40000