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This research aims to examine the relationships among leadership and culture, human resources and process improvement in lean hospitals from the socio-technical perspective.

The survey instrument was developed from literature reviews, verified by experts and confirmatory factor analysis. Multiple responses were used to collect data from 473 care providers in 220 outpatient departments of Thai hospitals to improve reliability of the obtained data. Path analysis of structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the hypotheses.

It was found that human resources has a significant positive direct effect on process improvement. Leadership and culture not only has significant direct positive impacts on human resources and process improvement but also has a significant indirect positive impact on process improvement through human resources.

This is one of the first examples of research to present insights into the links between soft and hard factors of lean hospitals at strategic and operational levels.

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence regarding the contributions of ambidextrous workforces as a source of value for dynamic companies and organizations facing emerging market turbulence.

Using structural equation modeling, the paper analyses the data collected via a semi-structured questionnaire administered to a sample of 1,227 employees from 37 Italian small- to medium-sized enterprises to investigate the effect on companies’ economic performance of ambidextrous workforce-related elements such as study background, previous work experience, work flexibility and soft capabilities.

The research shows that multidisciplinary human resources’ study background, previous human resources’ work experience and human resources’ soft capabilities are positively linked to companies’ return on sales, providing indirect evidence about the role of ambidextrous workforces in supporting companies facing emerging market turbulence.

The research demonstrates the relevant role of human resources in supporting companies to better align themselves to the emerging social and economic variety.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different logistics resources and resource patterns, such as logistics infrastructure, logistics location, logistics knowledge and logistics information, affect logistics capabilities and operational performance.

Based on data collected from 273 companies in China, this study examines impacts of individual logistics resource dimensions on resource integration capability, customer service capability and operational performance through contingency approach. Furthermore, three logistics resource patterns are identified and linked with resource integration capability and operational performance through configuration approach.

Contingency results show that different logistics resources have different impacts on resource integration capability and operational performance. Configuration results reveal that companies’ capabilities and operational performance vary for different logistics resource patterns: the high-uniform pattern has a better resource integration capability and operational performance than other patterns, while all logistics resource patterns have similar customer service capability levels.

Future studies should examine other resource capabilities and performance indicators of companies and extend this study to other countries and regions.

This study contributes to the logistics resource literature through empirically investigating relationships among logistics resources, resource integration capability and operational performance using contingency approach, and through identifying different logistics resource patterns based on configuration approach. The findings extend the logistics resource literature, particularly on research of logistics parks in China.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the perceptions of Qatar’s suitability to act a successful sports event host and, in doing so, look ahead to some of the key organisational challenges facing Qatar leading up to the World Cup in 2022. This paper is framed around the perceptions of nation branding and soft power and draws on the experiences of various key demographics who offer valuable insight into Qatar’s World Cup.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with football journalists, experienced tournament staff and volunteers, football supporters and expatriates working in the Gulf region. The paper is longitudinal in nature, with data collected between January 2010 and June 2018 including seven FIFA and FIFA-affiliated confederation events, namely, the 2011 Asia Cup in Qatar, the 2011 Gold Cup in USA, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the 2015 Copa America in Chile, the 2016 European Championships in France, the 2017 African Cup of Nations in Gabon and the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The paper uncovers several concerns and considerations connected to hosting a first Middle Eastern World Cup in Qatar in 2022. The findings demonstrate some of the key organisational challenges facing the event which were found to include supporter access, security and the fan experience.

This paper examines Qatar in the context of the 2022 World Cup and its connection to soft power and nation branding. This particular event is so significant, not simply because it is the showcase tournament of the globe’s most popular sport from both a spectator and participation perspective, but because it represents such a notable divergence from previous editions. The majority of preceding World Cups have/will be hosted by highly populated countries with relatively developed football traditions and/or infrastructures. As a change to this pattern, the unique position of Qatar’s World Cup renders it as an important case study. This paper, which examines informed perspectives relating to access, security and diplomacy, provides a number of issues for Qatar’s World Cup organisers to consider.

This paper aims to investigate the internationalization strategies of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the interaction between network ties and “soft” internal resources at the foundation of knowledge management (KM). Specifically, it identifies the firms’ internal capabilities that affect KM strategies, and their collective influence on the degree of internationalization; verifies the influence of network ties on the internationalization process itself; and develops a conceptual “preliminary theoretical framework of SME internationalization capabilities and networks.”

The primary research and analysis are based on a proportional stratified sample of Sicilian wineries; while the conceptual and implicative developments of the paper rest on the combination of the theoretical with the primary findings of the research, and, it has been designed and tested through eight experts’ interviews/reviews.

Findings underline a strong influence of the internal capabilities of firms on the internationalization process. In addition, an important role in the export process emerges from the acquisition of information and knowledge through the establishment of networks.

The results need to be interpreted within the context for which this study was designed and cannot be applied generally to all businesses. However, results allow cellars’ managers to better understand the relationships among the influencing factors of SMEs internationalization.

The originality of the paper lies not only in its above-stated explicit theoretical objectives and findings but also in its comprehensive conceptual framework that theoretically incorporates the “strategic” with the “internal” and “networking” aspects; purposefully also arming the industry with a practicable tool toward managerial implementation.

This paper aims to describe a new methodology for controlling highly flexible automated manufacturing cells for use in aerospace manufacturing and repair.

The design methodology and rational of the FLEXA control architecture are described along with it implementation and testing.

The trials completed so far show that the level of flexibility required can be achieved both at factory, or enterprise level, and at shop floor level.

This work has significant practical implications through its direct applicability for aerospace and other automated manufacturing processes.

The originality of the paper lies in the truly flexible nature of the control system described and its ability to mimic traditional cell control architectures but be expanded through the use of virtual Programmable Logic Controller to control any number of cells without the need for significant extra hardware.

Cloud manufacturing (CMfg) is a networked manufacturing mode that promotes the agile, service-oriented, green and intelligent development of the manufacturing industry. Although some scholars have reviewed related studies of CMfg from multiple perspectives, these reviews are not fully systematic or well justified and fail to fully reveal the key characteristics in the development process of CMfg. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the relevant research on CMfg via identification of key characteristics of definition, architecture, supporting technology and application of CMfg to provide critical information in decision support for the innovation and development of CMfg.

This study systematically reviews the relevant research on CMfg across theoretical methods to technical applications by integrating quantitative and qualitative methods. Word cloud method is used to quantitatively analyse the structure and feature of different definitions of CMfg. The principle of System Science is used to explore the basic components and functions of various CMfg architectures and their common and differing characteristics. A multi-level technology framework is developed to explore the development status of CMfg supporting technologies. A multi-stage application classification is proposed to reveal the application status of CMfg.

Through literature review, this study found that CMfg architecture is currently dominated by general architectures and lacks architectures that fit the actual enterprise characteristics; CMfg supporting technology is mature in the traditional cloud computing-based technology, but it is still weak in the development of virtualization and servitization technology, service scheduling technology; CMfg application is still in the initial stage and still lacks a relatively complete system application. By analysing the development status of CMfg, this study also identified potential research directions of CMfg in information management, service composition and evaluation, system application and sustainable development and other aspects.

This paper predominantly focuses on journal articles and some key conference papers published in English and Chinese. Chinese articles account for more than half of the total. The reason is that CMfg was proposed by the Chinese and CMfg is suitable for the development of China's manufacturing industry because of China's intelligent manufacturing environment. It is believed that this research has reached a reliable comprehensiveness that can help scholars and practitioners establish new research directions and evaluate their work in CMfg.

Prior literature reviews ignore the identification and analysis of key feature identification for the current development of CMfg, including common and unique feature identification of different CMfg architectures and functions, multi-layer analysis and interpretation of CMfg technology and different stage analysis of CMfg applications. This study addresses these limitations and provides a comprehensive literature review.

Recognizing the fundamental role of quality as a means to differentiate service organizations, the purpose of this paper is to propose a strategic decision making framework for service organizations, which prioritizes performance improvement strategies that are rooted to customer requirements, organizational goals and constrained by organizational resources.

The proposed framework is realized through the implementation of two stages and four distinct phases mirroring the combination of enhanced quality function deployment (first stage), and zero-one goal programming (second stage). It proposes the utilization of a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, and the collection of data from multiple sources including customers, middle, and top management.

The application and validation of the proposed framework utilizes information from both customers and employees in the bank services sector. Overall, results from the specific study revealed that a combination of “reengineering” and “expansion” strategies was more appropriate corresponding to customer priorities, organizational goals and effective utilization of available resources.

The paper presents a novel two stage strategic framework for service organizations. It utilizes a balanced mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods in an effort to capture and delineate elusive customer requirements and design characteristics of services, allowing the assessment of different combinations of quality improvement strategies in response to management objectives.

In the last decade, cloud manufacturing (CMfg) has attracted considerable attention from academia and industry worldwide. It is widely accepted that the design and analysis of cloud manufacturing architecture (CMfg-A) are the basis for developing and applying CMfg systems. However, in existing studies, analysis of the status, development process and internal characteristics of CMfg-A is lacking, hindering an understanding of the research hotspots and development trends of CMfg-A. Meanwhile, effective guidance is lacking on the construction of superior CMfg-As. The purpose of this paper is to review the relevant research on CMfg-A via identification of the main layers, elements, relationships, structure and functions of CMfg-A to provide valuable information to scholars and practitioners for further research on key CMfg-A technologies and the construction of CMfg systems with superior performance.

This study systematically reviews the relevant research on CMfg-A across transformation process to internal characteristics by integrating quantitative and qualitative methods. First, the split and reorganization method is used to recognize the main layers of CMfg-A. Then, the transformation process of six main layers is analysed through retrospective analysis, and the similarities and differences in CMfg-A are obtained. Subsequently, based on systematic theory, the elements, relationships, structure and functions of CMfg-A are inductively studied. A 3D printing architecture design case is conducted to discuss the weakness of the previous architecture and demonstrate how to improve it. Finally, the primary current trends and future opportunities are presented.

By analyzing the transformation process of CMfg-A, this study finds that CMfg-A resources are developing from tangible resources into intangible resources and intelligent resources. CMfg-A technology is developing from traditional cloud computing-based technology towards advanced manufacturing technology, and CMfg-A application scope is gradually expanding from traditional manufacturing industry to emerging manufacturing industry. In addition, by analyzing the elements, relationships, structure and functions of CMfg-A, this study finds that CMfg-A is undergoing a new generation of transformation, with trends of integrated development, intelligent development, innovative development and green development. Case study shows that the analysis of the development trend and internal characteristics of the architecture facilitates the design of a more effective architecture.

This paper predominantly focuses on journal articles and some key conference papers published in English and Chinese. The reason for considering Chinese articles is that CMfg was proposed by the Chinese and a lot of Chinese CMfg-A articles have been published in recent years. CMfg is suitable for the development of China’s manufacturing industry because of China’s intelligent manufacturing environment. It is believed that this research has reached a reliable comprehensiveness that can help scholars and practitioners establish new research directions and evaluate their work in CMfg-A.

Prior studies ignore the identification and analysis of development process and internal characteristics for the current development of CMfg-A, including the main layers identification of different CMfg-As and the transformation process analysis of these main layers, and in-depth analysis of the inner essence of CMfg-A (such as its elements, relationships, structure and functions). This study addresses these limitations and provides a comprehensive literature review.