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Oxidative quality of the oil. The average linoleic acid (C18:2, n‐6) content, measured in several suspect oils, was 42% of the total fatty acids. The peroxide values of the oil samples were high (18 to 57 mEq/kg) compared with those of olive oil (9.8 mEq/kg) purchased locally in Spain. The samples were very susceptible to oxidative deterioration, indicating a low content of the natural antioxidants, tocopherols (Vitamin E). The oxidative stabilities of the oils measured by the AOM test were generally low. There are no data available on the concentrations of tocopherols, pro‐oxidant trace metal (eg copper and iron) contents, levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids or hydroxy and epoxy derivatives in the suspect oils.

A literature review within the manufacturing strategy (MS) discipline with a focus on thematic developments is provided. Based on recent studies, a set of challenges posed to manufacturing enterprise of the future are summarized, and thematic areas are analyzed in relation to meeting those challenges. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Based on a select set of 506 articles published in top-ranked refereed international journals in the discipline of operations management, major and subthemes are identified and the publication trends in these themes are provided with time and across geographical regions, namely: North America, Europe, and other parts of the world.

MS literature is predominantly focussed on the economic objectives of firms without a due focus on the social and environmental perspectives. MS literature covers 11 major thematic areas, namely: MS components and paradigms, manufacturing capabilities (MCs), strategic choices (SCs), best practices (BPs), the strategy process (SP), supply-chain management (SCM), performance measurement, transnational comparisons, global manufacturing, environmental/green manufacturing, and literature reviews. The research in two areas – SCs, and MCs – has been in decline, while the research in BPs, the SP, and transnational comparisons is growing (in absolute figures). Various research opportunities for future studies are identified.

The literature review is limited in its selection of articles and journals, however, the identified trends clarify the state of research by the MS research community at large.

For researchers, multiple new research directions are identified in order to advance knowledge in the field of MS. The publication trends also highlight thematic areas where most of the MS body of knowledge is currently available and can be utilized by practitioners.

The paper’s novelty comes from: first, a broader and deeper review of thematic areas that has not been researched before, second, trends in thematic areas by time, across geographical regions, and including time-region dyads, and third, coverage provided by MS literature in meeting challenges posed to manufacturing enterprise of the future.

The purpose of this study is to propose and test a model on the impact of diversity over performance using a Portuguese national wide comprehensively matched employee–employer dataset of small businesses.

The study uses structural equation modeling to analyze the relationships between variables. The study addresses the impact of top managers and employees' diversity on firm performance considering two dimensions of diversity: knowledge diversity and social diversity.

The study provides a clear understanding of how workforce diversity affects performance differently at the two hierarchical levels. Both employees' diversities have stronger relations to performance than the diversity of top managers. Results point out to idiosyncratic aspects of services firms' dynamics that should be further explored.

The study presents some limitations, since it uses data from a single country and the dataset provides limited variables.

The study offers evidence on the effects of diversity in small businesses alerting managers to acknowledge such influence when recruiting, selecting and training. With regard to services firms, managers should pay close attention to negative impacts of diversity over performance.

Never before to the authors' knowledge the managers' level diversity and employees' level diversity (considering two dimensions each) effect on performance have been addressed in a single national wide study.

Using the matching/difference perspective, the purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction fit between a set of managerial practices from manufacturing strategy (MS) and another set from technology management (TM) and the link of this fit to operational performance.

The paper applies multiple statistical methods to a database of an international sample of plants in the auto supplier sector to explore (deviation score analysis/multiple linear regression) and confirm (correlation and variance subgroup analysis) whether a matching model presents organisational disequilibrium, where states of fit are related to effectively higher performance than states of misfit.

Results from regression show that there were no states of misfit between the levels of both manufacturing practice sets/areas. This means that there are no significant differences in performance that may be tested for matching interaction. However, subgroup analysis provides greater detail on why there might not be any misfits (i.e. state of fit), by illustrating that when grouping by plant type (high/world class performer, HP, and standard performer, SP), the slight lack of significant difference in the correlation between MS and TM was in favour of HP. The implementation levels of MS‐TM found were not significantly different, showing for HP slightly higher levels for both practices (+&+) than for SP, with slightly lower values in both cases (− & −). Therefore, it seems that both groups might perform equally well, due not to interaction but to the presence of a state of MS‐TM fit alone. A state of fit such as this, known as selection or congruency, would be the reason for there being no significant matching interaction originally.

Most of the interaction fit bibliography is from the accounting perspective. Therefore, the impact of the matching interaction fit between MS and TM (as well as its impact on performance) has not been well documented theoretically, and much less, empirically, in production and operations management.

Although competitive advantage is the cornerstone concept in strategic management it still remains a poorly defined and operationalized construct. The purpose of this paper is to revisit the concept of competitive advantage, to identify the problems that stem from its current conceptualization from the majority of the literature.

The paper undertakes an extensive literature review, audit of logical inference, syllogistic reasoning and Bayesian expressions in order to examine the problems associated with the current conceptualizations of competitive advantage.

Several drawbacks and fallacies relating to current conceptualizations of competitive advantage were identified that create an urgent need for a more robust definition which could better serve the needs of both empirical research and management practice.

The authors by no means claim that the literature review undertaken in this paper on the concept of competitive advantage and on the problems derived from its conceptualization was exhaustive or absolute. Rather, this paper constitutes an attempt to stimulate efforts and provide directions on the further conceptual development of competitive advantage.

The findings allow practising managers to not necessarily associate competitive advantage with its sources and with the determinants of superior performance.

The findings contribute to the evolution of the strategic management field by identifying, categorizing and mapping potential problems, drawbacks and fallacies, associated with the conceptualization of competitive advantage as currently delineated in the literature, and by suggesting some criteria for the development of a conceptually more robust definition.

The ecosystem view is a fascinating perspective which provides management scholars with innovative conceptual tools to investigate the functioning of complex service systems. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the “mega” level of the education service ecosystem in an attempt to explain the relationships between education attainments and income disparities across Europe.

Data were collected from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions. Data trends over the time period (2007-2010) were investigated, involving 27 European countries. Unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity was controlled and dynamics over time were investigated. A random effects model was estimated for each country. The semi-log functional form is informed by Mincer’s (1974) human capital models.

Education levels were found to be a predictor of income inequality in all the countries included in this research, i.e. higher education level leads to higher income and vice versa. However, the effect of education attainments on individual earnings was irregular. Eastern European countries, inter alia, revealed a strong relationship between education attainments and individual earnings, whereas Scandinavian countries showed a weak link between education levels and income.

Education has the potential to affect income inequalities in Europe. Policy makers should develop tailored strategies to deal with the consequences of education levels on individual earnings. Both education services’ quality and the interaction between education and moderating socio-demographic variables may influence income inequality in European countries.

This is one of the first attempts to investigate the relationship between education and income inequalities drawing on the service ecosystem perspective. Further conceptual and practical developments are needed to better explain the effects of education attainments on income inequality.

This paper aims to deal with intra and inter-cell layout problems in cellular manufacturing systems. The model is organized to minimize the total handling cost, i.e. intra and inter-cell handling costs in a continuous environment.

The research was conducted by developing a mixed integer mathematical model. Due to the complexity and NP-hard nature of the cellular manufacturing layout problem, which mostly originated from binary variables, a “graph-pair” representation is used for every machine set and cells each of which manipulates the relative locations of the machines and cells both in left-right and below-up direction. This approach results in a linear model as the binary variables are eliminated and the relative locations of the machines and cells are determined. Moreover, a genetic algorithm as an efficient meta-heuristic algorithm is embedded in the resulting linear programming model after graph-pair construction.

Various numerical examples in both small and large sizes are implemented to verify the efficiency of the linear programming embedded genetic algorithm.

Considering the machine and cell layout problem simultaneously within the shop floor under a static environment enabled managers to use this concept to develop the models with high efficiency.

The present work aimed to present the perception of Tunisian professionals towards companies engaged in social responsibility practices and describe the tax evasion strategies of socially responsible Tunisian companies following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (COVID-19) shock.

A survey was sent to 119 Tunisian tax administration auditors. Data analysis methods principal component analysis (PCA) and regression analysis were used. The data were collected through a questionnaire after the general containment of Tunisia from September 2020 to February 2021. These quantitative data were analysed using processing software (STATA).

Professionals of the tax authorities, particularly those in charge of the audit mission, aim for corporate profitability from the perspective of stakeholders that seek to integrate ethics and social responsibility into companies and consider employee morale a top priority. The results show that highly ethical and socially responsible professionals are far from practising aggressive strategies. Thus, an auditor from the tax administration is far from engaging in social responsibility to justify fraudulent acts. During the COVID-19 period, the role of these professionals was to prevent and detect fraud in the tax sector to fight corruption and investigate taxes based on sound regulations.

The results are consistent with optimal taxation theory, which postulates that a tax system should be chosen to maximise a social welfare function subject to a set of constraints. Professionals seek to make taxation much simpler for taxpayers by providing advice and consultation to manage tax obligations. The minimisation of tax or the play of tax values requires expertise in the field to respect legal constraints. Therefore, these professionals play a crucial role in tax collection, as the professionals' advice and suggestions can influence taxpayers' decision-making.

In recent years, academic researchers, policy makers and the public have become increasingly interested in corporate tax evasion behaviour. At the same time, companies are under increasing pressure to integrate CSR into the companies' decision-making processes, which has led to increased academic interest in CSR. Opportunistic tax minimisation reduces state resources and funds needed for government programmes to improve the social welfare of the entire community. This study represents an overriding concern not only for legal and tax authorities and companies, but also for shareholders and stakeholders.

The authors' study contributes to the existing literature by determining the state of play on corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices amongst Tunisian tax authorities' professionals. In Tunisia, an executive of the tax authorities in charge of the verification mission is required to verify the proper application of the accounting and tax legislation in force, follow up on tax control operations on declared taxes and validate the sincerity of the accounts. This study focussed on the tax evasion of companies engaged in social responsibility practices according to the judgements of Tunisian tax authorities' auditors during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper aims to examine how economic freedom impacts the initial choice of legal structure for startup firms. The authors do this by first exploring whether economic freedom is an essential determinant of the initial legal form of organization (LFO). The authors then explore the impact of economic freedom on firms' choice of changing their initial legal structure over time and how this change impacts their survival rate.

The authors employ a multinomial logistic regression model to measure the initial determinants of LFO by utilizing an eight-year panel data set of 4,928 startups in the USA through the Kauffman firm survey and merge it with the Economic Freedom in North American index from the Fraser Institute. The authors then employ a logistic regression model to examine the determinants facilitating a change in legal structure over time.

The results show that economic freedom is a significant determinant in the choice of legal structure. The findings also report that the majority of startups do not change their legal form, but of those that do change the legal structure show a higher survival rate.

Major limitations are the size of the data and the nature of somewhat limited economic freedom differences with the USA. More nuanced measures of economic freedom would be highly desirable.

Policymakers should take note that limited red tape, smoothly working labor markets and straightforward processes for changes of legal structures of organizations would improve survival and growth odds for entrepreneurs.

Drawing on the theory of institutions, the authors attempt to bridge a gap in the literature by explicitly analyzing the determinants of the legal structure in startups in light of economic freedom. Institutional factors do not work in isolation; therefore, the authors also employ traditional entrepreneur-specific variables that affect the choice of legal structure in addition to the institutional framework.