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This paper aims to correct the existing mixed integer programming (MIP) model proposed by Yadav et al. (2019) [“Bi-objective optimization for sustainable supply chain network design in omnichannel.”, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 972–986].

This paper first presents a counterexample to show that the existing MIP model is incorrect and then proposes an improved mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model for the considered problem. Last, a numerical experiment is conducted to test our improved MILP model.

This paper demonstrates that the formulations of the facility capacity constraints and the product flow balance constraints in the existing MIP model are incorrect and incomplete. Due to this reason, infeasible solutions could be identified as feasible ones by the existing MIP model. Hence, the optimal solution obtained with the existing MIP model could be infeasible. A counter-example is used to verify our observations. Computational results verify the effectiveness of our improved MILP model.

This paper gives a complete and correct formulation of the facility capacity constraints and the product flow balance constraints, and conducts other improvements on the existing MIP model. The improved MILP model can be easily implemented and would help companies to have more effective distribution networks under the omnichannel environment.

Despite extensive research on Lean Six Sigma (LSS), it predominantly remains focussed on organisational aspects. Individual perceptions were often sidelined. Comparative studies about different perspectives of LSS from the point of view of top management, consultants and employees are unavailable. This paper captures the opinions of these stakeholders about different dimensions of LSS and presents the comparison.

Using empirical research, opinion is captured of three LSS stakeholder categories: top management/business owners, facilitators/consultants and practising managers/employees. Their opinions about 15 different perspectives of LSS, including its future in the Industry 4.0/Quality 4.0 era, are evaluated in this study under 95 variables (decision aspects). Comparison among the opinions of these stakeholders is performed using chi-square hypothesis testing and ANOVA (analysis of variance) methods.

In a total of 95 comparisons, a statistically significant difference among different stakeholders' views is observed in 62 cases. In 33 cases, the opinions of the three stakeholder groups can be considered in agreement with one another.

The findings will help different LSS stakeholder groups better understand the expectations of other groups. During LSS implementation, it will help in aligning priorities and achieving success. Theoretically, it will help in narrowing the research gap about the rarity of comparing views of multiple stakeholder groups.

The comparison among views of three critical LSS stakeholder groups – top management/business owners, facilitators/consultants and managers/employees, is currently unavailable, and therefore, this research provides a fresh perspective to an otherwise extensively researched theme. It is immensely helpful in preventing LSS failures arising from misaligned stakeholder views and expectations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of perceived social media marketing activities (SMMAs) on customer loyalty via customer equity drivers (CEDs) in an e-commerce context.

The study surveyed 371 students from a large university in India. The data were analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis and the research hypotheses were examined using SEM.

The study revealed three key findings. First, perceived SMMAs of e-commerce comprise five dimensions, namely, interactivity, informativeness, word-of-mouth, personalization and trendiness. Second, perceived SMMAs of e-commerce have significantly and positively influenced all the drivers of customer equity (CEDs). Third, the CEDs of e-commerce exhibit a significant and positive influence on customer loyalty toward the e-commerce sites.

This study will help e-commerce managers to boost customer loyalty toward the e-commerce sites through perceived SMMA.

The study is the first to identify five dimensions of e-commerce perceived SMMA. The current study also introduces the stimulus–organism–response model as a theoretical support to connect perceived SMMAs of e-commerce to customers’ loyalty via CEDs. This is supposed to be the first study to examine the impact of perceived SMMA on customer loyalty toward the e-commerce sites via CEDs in the e-commerce industry.

This study aims to analyze the dynamic performance of aerostatic thrust bearing for different geometries of recess. Different geometries of recess of equal recess area, i.e. circular, elliptical, rectangular and annular, have been considered in analysis. The work also analyzes the influence of tilt angle on the performance of thrust bearing. To compute the unknown pressure field, the Reynolds equation governing the flow of compressible lubricant (air) has been solved using finite element formulation. Further, separate finite element formulations have been carried out to compute fluid film stiffness and damping coefficients directly. This method provides quick computation of stiffness and damping coefficients of aerostatic thrust bearing than the usual approach.

As the Reynolds equation governing the flow of compressible lubricant is nonlinear partial differential equation, the computation of the stiffness and damping coefficient follows an iterative procedure. It requires a lot of computational energy. Therefore, in the present work, a novel technique based on finite element formulation is suggested to compute air film stiffness and damping coefficient in aerostatic thrust bearing.

A novel technique based on finite element formulation is illustrated to simulate the performance of tilted pad aerostatic thrust bearing. On the basis of simulated results, following key conclusions may be drawn. The static and dynamic performance of a circular aerostatic tilted thrust pad bearing is significantly affected with a change in the value of tilt parameter and the shape of the recess.

Implications are as follows: direct computation of air film damping coefficient is performed without perturbation method in finite element method (FEM); influence of tilt on aerostatic thrust bearing is studied; influence of recess shape on aerostatic thrust bearing is observed; and finite element formulation of aerostatic thrust bearing is performed.

The present work will be quite useful for bearing designer and academicians.

The purpose of this paper is to design a sustainable supply chain network (SCN) for omnichannel environment in order to provide better service to customers through flexible distribution. Thus, there is a need to incorporate multiple-channel distribution in the network design of supply chains (SCs).

A multiple-channel distribution supply chain network (MCDSCN) has been proposed under omnichannel environment. This proposed model integrates online giants with local retailer’s distribution network in an uncertain environment with sustainability. To incorporate sustainability, an objective function is added to reduce carbon content along with other objectives of minimization of SC cost. The model turns out to be mixed-integer linear programming model which is coded in GAMS and solved using CPLEX solver.

The proposed MCDSCN model is compared with conventional SCN. Furthermore, it was found that the proposed MCDSCN model has achieved significant saving in SC cost and is also more sustainable than conventional SCN. The proposed model also enables online giants to integrate their distribution network with local retailer’s distribution network.

Through proposed model, customers are free to access product and services as per their choice of channels which increases their convenience, reach and satisfaction.

The proposed MCDSCN model is a novel approach to design flexible distribution systems. This would significantly help organizations to design their distribution network more effectively to meet global competition.

This study aims to present the cost and revenue efficiency evaluation models in data envelopment analysis in the presence of fuzzy inputs, outputs and their prices that the prices are also fuzzy. This study applies the proposed approach in the energy sector of the oil industry.

This study proposes a value-based technology according to fuzzy input-cost and revenue-output data, and based on this technology, the authors propose an approach to calculate fuzzy cost and revenue efficiency based on a directional distance function approach. These papers incorporated a decision-maker’s (DM) a priori knowledge into the fuzzy cost (revenue) efficiency analysis.

This study shows that the proposed approach obtains the components of fuzzy numbers corresponding to fuzzy cost efficiency scores in the interval [0, 1] corresponding to each of the decision-making units (DMUs). The models presented in this paper satisfies the most important properties: translation invariance, translation invariance, handle with negative data. The proposed approach obtains the fuzzy efficient targets corresponding to each DMU.

In the proposed approach, by selecting the appropriate direction vector in the model, we can incorporate preference information of the DM in the process of evaluating fuzzy cost or revenue efficiency and this shows the efficiency of the method and the advantages of the proposed model in a fully fuzzy environment.

This study aims to investigate the effects of peers on corporate payout policies in one of the largest emerging markets – India. It also examines the motives for mimicking payout decisions.

The sample is composed of 3,024 non-financial and non-government firms listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for the period 1995 to 2020. To encounter the endogeneity problem, the instrumental variable technique based on peer firms' idiosyncratic risk is used to estimate the effects of peers on firms' payout policy. To define peer reference groups, the authors use the basic industry classification of the firms.

The results indicate a significant positive impact of peers on firms' dividend policies in India. A firm with all dividend-paying peers is more likely to declare dividends than the one with no dividend-paying peers. Further, peer effects are found to be more pronounced amongst larger and older firms, thus supporting the rivalry theory of mimicking.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present study is the first of its kind that attempts to understand peer effects on payout decisions in an emerging market India, that offers a unique institutional setting. Moreover, the authors extend the existing literature by investigating the peer effects on a firm's payout policies considering various firm-level characteristics, such as growth opportunity, cash holding, financial constraint and profitability, which previous studies have not taken into consideration. These results provide additional insights into the heterogeneity and motives behind peer effects.

This study aims to investigate purchasing manager’s core competencies during supplier collaboration and explain the mechanism through which these competencies can affect purchasing firm’s innovative performance.

The authors conducted 22 semidirective interviews with managers in diverse functions such as purchasing, supply-chain management and product development across industries and across nations (mostly India and France), which allow to formulate the propositions.

Through open coding, the authors identify three path-dependent, causally ambiguous and socially complex core competencies of purchasing managers: relational and emotional, communicational and creative and cognitive competencies; and through axial coding, the authors explain how these intangible core competencies support implementation of market orientation. To provide supporting arguments for the propositions, the authors use the resource-based view of the firm and dynamic capability theory.

The first theoretical contribution of this study is focusing on the impact of competency–capability dyad in terms of performance. The second theoretical contribution of this study is to identify market orientation as a flexible and dynamic managerial capability.

The first managerial contribution is that the authors have identified and described three sets of a purchasing manager’s core competencies during supplier collaboration that affect the firm’s performance: relational and emotional, communicational and creative and cognitive competencies. The second managerial contribution relates to the mechanism through which purchasing managers’ core competencies during supplier collaboration affect firms’ outcomes.

The value of the results is in the explanation of the mechanism, i.e. market orientation dynamic capability, through which the competencies of purchasing managers can affect purchasing firm’s innovative performance.

Although there are many efforts within organisations to improve the financial performance of business processes, the results of studies on the impact of internal factors on the financial performance of business processes in an organisation are inconsistent, even contradictory. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the extent and trends of the impact of factors inside companies on the financial performance of business processes and discover lessons learned to improve the financial performance of business processes.

This analysis was done through a quantitative study of listed companies in Vietnam. Pooled OLS regression, REM, FEM and robust regression were performed on 566 companies.

The results provide four main findings. First, firm size and operational efficiency strongly correlate with financial performance. Second, financial leverage has a negative, significant connection with financial performance. Third, net working capital has a positive and meaningful relationship with EPS and a negative association with ROE. Fourth, liquidity does not have any significant association with financial performance.

This study only restricts the internal factors affecting the financial performance of business processes without mentioning the external factors. Furthermore, this study is limited to one emerging country and has not been compared with companies in different countries.

The findings of this study may help inform users inside and outside the organisation to understand the factors that affect the financial performance of business processes. As a result, information users will focus more on aspects that can improve their financial performance to make informed decisions.

This study has many differences compared to previous studies. First, it focuses on the internal factors affecting the financial performance of business processes in non-financial listed companies in Vietnam, which has an emerging economy. First, it focuses on the internal factors affecting the financial performance of business processes in non-financial listed companies in Vietnam, which has an emerging economy. Second, this study analyses data in companies' financial statements for the ten years from 2012 to 2021, when the Vietnamese economy, in particular, and the world economy experienced many fluctuations due to the impact of the post-financial crisis 2007–2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Third, this study provides empirical evidence to support RBV, RDT theories and the trade-off theory of capital structure.

This paper aims to develop an initial understanding of the Lean Six Sigma methodology since its inception and examine the few Lean Six Sigma dimensions as a research domain through a critical review of the literature.

The paper is structured in two-part. The first part of the paper attempts to dwell on the evolution of the Lean Philosophy and Six Sigma methodology individually and the emergence of Lean Six Sigma methodology, covered under the Lean Six Sigma: a historical outline section. The second part of the study examines the dimensions associated with Lean Six Sigma such as frameworks, critical success factors, critical failure factors, type of industry, performance metric, year, publisher and journal, based on a total of 223 articles published in 72 reputed journals from the year 2000 to 2019 as a literature review.

The adoption of Lean Six Sigma, as a continuous improvement methodology, has grown enormously in the manufacturing and few service sectors such as health care and higher education during the past decade. The study revealed that researchers came out with conceptual frameworks for the implementation of Lean Six Sigma, whereas the validation through case studies seems to be lacking. The integration of Lean Six Sigma and other approaches with a focus on sustainability and the environment has emerged as a research field. A few of the most common critical success and failure factors were identified from the articles studied during the study.

This paper may not have included some of the studies due to the inaccessibility and selection criteria followed for the study.

This paper will provide an initial introduction on Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma and research insights Lean Six Sigma to beginners such as students, researchers and entry-level professionals.