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Construction‐oriented discrete‐event simulation often faces the problem of defining uncertain information input, such as subjectivity in selecting probability distributions that result from insufficient or lack of site productivity data. This paper proposes incorporation of fuzzy set theory with discrete‐event simulation to handle the vagueness, imprecision and subjectivity in the estimation of activity duration, especially when insufficient or no sample data are available. Based upon an improved activity scanning simulation algorithm, a fuzzy distance ranking measure is adopted in fuzzy simulation time advancement and event selection for simulation experimentation. The uses of the fuzzy activity duration and the probability distribution‐modeled duration are compared through a series of simulation experiments. It is observed that the fuzzy simulation outputs are arrived at through only one cycle of fuzzy discrete‐event simulation, still they contain all the statistical information that are produced through multiple cycles of simulation experiments when the probability distribution approach is adopted.

Extending the work of Bayou (2001), we empirically investigate the relationship between firm size and resource productivity to assess whether the productivity of resources (value in use) and their underlying value at sale (value in sale) vary with firm’s size.

We use seemingly unrelated regression of revenues and equity values on assets and employees for a large sample over a wide time period and across all industries. We compare companies that are growing, declining, or continuing in size relative to their industry.

With some variability on growth, we find that smaller companies hold more productive resources based on their capacity to generate more revenues per unit of resources (assets) relative to large companies. Further, as predicted, a firm’s workforce has productive value in use, but limited value after a firm’s sale as measured by equity values.

Collectively, our findings suggest that firm size matters in influencing resource productivity, and a workforce has productive value in use, but low value in sale.

The purpose of this paper is to refine and expand technology adoption theory for a healthcare logistics setting by combining the technology–organization–environment framework with a business process management (BPM) perspective. The paper identifies and ranks factors impacting the decision to implement instances of technologies in healthcare logistics processes.

A multiple case study is carried out at five Danish hospitals to investigate the bed logistics process. A combined technology adoption and BPM lens is applied to gain an understanding of the reasoning behind technology adoption.

A set of 17 factors impacting the adoption of technologies within healthcare logistics was identified. The impact factors perceived as most important to the adoption of technologies in healthcare logistics processes relate to quality, employee work conditions and employee engagement.

This paper seeks to understand how managers can use knowledge about impact factors to improve processes through technology adoption. The findings of this study provide insights about the factors impacting the adoption of technologies in healthcare logistics processes. Differences in perceived importance of factors enable ranking of impact factors, and prioritization of changes to be implemented. The study is limited to five hospitals, but is expected to be representative of public hospitals in developed countries and applicable to similar processes.

The study contributes to the empirical research within the field of BPM and technology adoption in healthcare. Furthermore, the findings of this study enable managers to make an informed decision about technology adoption within a healthcare logistics setting.

This study aims to investigate the role of green strategic alliances (GSAs) in fostering a green shared vision (GSVis) and green shared value (GSV) and their impact on green organizational identity (GOI) and sustainability.

The authors employed structural equation modeling to analyze data collected through a 60-item questionnaire administered in Portugal and China, allowing the authors to test their theoretical model.

The findings of the authors' study indicate that green strategic alliances have a positive influence on the development of a GSVis and GSV in both countries. This, in turn, contributes to improved sustainability and the establishment of a GOI. Furthermore, the authors' results demonstrate that these alliances enhance GSV, resulting in enhanced sustainability performance and a stronger green identity, with a notable increase in awareness of environmental and social practices.

This article is innovative as it applies organizational learning and value creation theories to gain a deeper understanding of how alliances can shape the green identity of companies and contribute to their overall sustainability.

Knowledge competencies and (R&D) activities are one of the most important sources of innovation and have been widely discussed in the literature. In comparison, the role of the competitive environment for the innovation activities of firms is still open to debate and has not been fully understood yet. Therefore, this paper intends to provide new evidence on the interaction between knowledge competencies and R&D activities of firms on the one side and their competitiveness in the market environment on the other. In particular, the moderating function of market competition is explored. In this respect, the analysis covers the main innovation types as well as both sectors, manufacturing and services.

The empirical analysis is based on a three years panel dataset of German manufacturing and service firms obtained from Mannheim Innovation Panel (MIP) and Community Innovation Surveys (CISs: 2011, 2013 and 2015). For the estimation, a binary instrumental variable treatment model with Heckman selection method is used. Also, it provides a suitable approach to estimating the binary variables in order to cope with endogeneity concerns.

The estimation results show that R&D activities and knowledge competencies are positively related to innovation activities of different types conditioned on firms' specific perception of their competitive environment, in terms of outdated products/services as well as strong competition from abroad. Most importantly, the results from the moderation estimation reveal that there is a significant difference between the manufacturing and service sector. Service firms engage more in internal R&D activities on generating product innovations while the manufacturing firms conduct more external R&D on specific types of innovation. Further, the authors find that strong competition from abroad positively and significantly reinforces the effect of knowledge competencies on innovation activities for more types in services than in manufacturing. In contrast, outdated products and services tend to decline the effect of knowledge competencies for some innovation types in both sectors. The authors also observe a positive and significant reinforcement effect on knowledge competencies. However, it is found more beneficial for service firms since they can employ more innovation strategies.

The focus of the study is mainly on the impact of firms' competitive environment on innovation activities in various types through its interaction with knowledge competencies and R&D activities, across manufacturing and service firms.

This study aims to investigate the effect of organizational ambidexterity (OA) and organizational green culture (OGC) on corporate sustainability (CS) while incorporating the mediating role of green innovation (GI) to provide a detailed insight into CS. The study also presents a research framework based on the Organizational Ambidexterity theory and Natural Resource-based view to explain the factors contributing to CS.

Using stratified sampling, the study collected data through survey-based empirical research from 307 textile companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) or the All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). The collected data were analysed using path analysis, mediation analysis and moderation analysis through smart PLS-SEM version 4.0 to assess the composition and causal association of factors.

The study found a significant relationship between OA and OGC with CS. Furthermore, the study revealed that green innovation partially mediates the relationship between OGC and CS. The proposed research framework can be valuable for promoting and recommending actions to enhance CS.

The study on CS in the textile sector of Pakistan has limitations such as a narrow focus, cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data. Future research should explore additional factors, conduct longitudinal research, investigate contextual factors, scrutinize specific green innovation practices and broaden the scope of the study to include SMEs and other textile organizations.

The research framework can help senior executives to foster CS by promoting OGC, OA and GI. Practitioners and academicians can also utilize or further investigate the proposed framework for validation and to foster CS.

This study fills gaps in the existing literature by investigating the mediating effect of GI between OGC and CS. The proposed research framework provides a comprehensive understanding of the factors contributing to CS based on the Organizational Ambidexterity theory and Natural Resource-based view.

The development of information technologies and the increase in the number of new generation of technology-based consumers lead to significant changes in the promotion and positioning strategies implemented in consumer markets. Applications such as Augmented Reality (AR) have become widespread in promotion activities.

In this study, the authors aimed to determine whether there was a difference between customers’ brand trust and purchase intentions regarding real experiences of the consumers at the store, experiences about AR applications, and traditional advertisements.

Results show that AR applications differ in terms of brand trust and purchasing intention according to traditional advertisements, and the attitudes of consumers toward brand trust and purchase intention in AR applications are more favorable than traditional advertisements. In the light of the results of the study, various strategy proposals were presented to researchers and marketing practitioners.

Guanxi, an invisible aspect of many levels of interaction in economic life, has increased in importance in recent years; however, this subject has been underappreciated in high-tech industries. High-tech firms can choose to use guanxi with their partners as a key component of their competitive advantage or to view guanxi as necessary evil that is required to complete business exchanges. This paper aims to evaluate how guanxi contributes to or impedes a high-tech firm’s innovation performance.

This study proposes and tests a nonlinear model that explores the positive and negative impact of guanxi on the innovation performance using a sample of 184 high-tech firms located in Taiwan Science Park.

In contrast to the mainstream of findings in the previous literature, the authors find that guanxi is a competitive advantage in constructing new business networks; however, additional increase of guanxi may even decrease innovation performance. This view opens up new research avenues in the context of high-tech industries and suggests directions for future research and practice.

Academics and practitioners know little about the unfavorable aspects of this variable. Future studies might develop specific measurement scales that capture the negative side of strong guanxi. Beyond the positive side of variables that have been amply studied, such as affection and kindness, other interesting negative side of variables that may be considered in future studies are blood (Tsang, 1998), extortion (Dunfee and Warren, 2001) and favoritism (Hwang et al., 2009).

The authors contribute to the research on guanxi and innovation performance, in that this study extends guanxi literature beyond the intuitive conclusion that innovation performance can be significantly enhanced in Asian countries’ business networks by leveraging guanxi as competitive advantage, and further demonstrating when and how guanxi can be harmful for high-tech firms’ innovation performance.

Detonation of landmines buried to different depths in water‐saturated sand is analyzed computationally using transient non‐linear dynamics simulations in order to quantify impulse loading. The computational results are compared with the corresponding experimental results obtained using the Vertical Impulse Measurement Fixture (VIMF), a structural mechanical device that enables direct experimental determination of the blast‐loading impulse. The structural‐dynamic/ballistic response of the Rolled Homogenized Armor (RHA) used in the construction of the VIMF witness plate and the remainder of the VIMF and the hydrodynamic response of the TNT high‐energy explosive of a mine and of the air surrounding the VIMF are represented using the standard materials models available in literature. The structural‐dynamic/ballistic response of the sand surrounding the mine, on the other hand, is represented using our recent modified compaction model which incorporates the effects of degree of saturation and the rate of deformation, two important effects which are generally neglected in standard material models for sand. The results obtained indicate that the use of the modified compaction model yields a substantially better agreement with the experimentally‐determined impulse loads over the use the original compaction model. Furthermore, the results suggest that, in the case of fully saturated sand, the blast loading is of a bubble type rather than of a shock type, i.e. the detonation‐induced momentum transfer to the witness plate is accomplished primarily through the interaction of the sand‐over‐burden (propelled by the high‐pressure expanding gaseous detonation by‐products) with the witness plate.