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Many developed countries have been using environmental taxes in their economic systems for many years. These taxes have a great impact on reducing the environmental damages of companies and individuals in society. But many developing countries have not used this tool effectively yet, and some countries face barriers to the effective implementation of environmental taxes that make it difficult and unsuccessful. To increase the effectiveness of the implementation of environmental taxes, governments must prioritize barriers and solutions to overcome its barriers. The identified knowledge gap of the pre-literature review is that an overview of the identification which completely considers all barriers and solutions of environmental taxes implementation does not exist. In response to this knowledge gap, this study aims to identify and prioritize the barriers and solutions of environmental taxes implementation.

Ranking the barriers and solutions is a complicated multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem that requires consideration of multiple feasible alternatives and conflicting tangible and intangible criteria. This study addresses the prioritization of solutions of Environmental Taxes implementation by proposing hybrid MCDM methods based on the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy-AHP) and the Fuzzy Technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (Fuzzy-TOPSIS) under fuzzy environment. Fuzzy AHP is used to determine the weight of each barrier using a pairwise comparison, and fuzzy TOPSIS is used to finalize the ranking of solutions for more effective implementation of environmental taxes.

The results showed that environmental tax reform (ETR) (S3) has the highest value among the solutions for more effective implementation of environmental taxes. The result of the proposed model is validated by performing sensitivity analysis.

This study could foster research on the discussion of these barriers and precise ways of implementing solutions to pay more attention to environmental taxes.

Ratings of solutions can be a guide and help governments to improve the implementation of environmental taxes or even develop this policy by being aware of the ranking of barriers and solutions.

This paper creates a new perspective on the effective implementation of environmental taxes, which is closely related to improving environmental performance and increasing social welfare through improving the tax system.

For the first time, this study comprehensively identifies barriers and solutions for more effective implementation of environmental taxes and ranks them using two MCDM techniques.

The implementation of lean production in small manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) harbors a great deal of barriers on practical, theoretical, financial and organizational sides. In view of this, the purpose of this paper is to explore and prioritize the solutions to overcome these barriers and pitfalls in order to identify a list of the most feasible and efficient solutions on which SMEs must focus to success their lean journey.

First, a review of the published articles along with the interview of some lean experts have allowed to identify 20 barriers grouped into five categories along with 17 solutions proposed to overcome these barriers. Afterwards, an integrated fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (AHP-TOPSIS) was proposed to evaluate and rank the solutions of lean implementation in SMEs and overcome its barriers. The AHP is used to determine weights of the barriers as criteria, and the fuzzy TOPSIS method is used to determine the final ranking of the solutions of lean adoption in SMEs.

The top five barriers of lean implementation in SMEs were found to be: lack of management involvement, lack of adapted methodology of lean implementation, short-term vision, fear and resistance to change and lack of understanding of lean. Moreover, the top five solutions to overcome the barriers of lean adoption in SMEs are as follows: commitment and participation of management, adoption of simple measurement and KPIs, development of organizational learning culture, early deployment of lean culture through training and allocation of sufficient time and resources for change.

The findings of this study can provide a basis for researchers and practitioners in order to understand the real reasons of lean failure in SMEs and develop improvement plans to increase its success rate. Moreover, it proposes a more reliable, robust and systematic decision support tool for stepwise implementation of the solutions of lean adoption in SMEs since they lack sufficient resources to address all the solutions simultaneously.

This paper seeks to describe the evolution of SAP implementation methodologies and tools, in particular, Value SAP, with a focus on the Accelerated SAP (ASAP) implementation methodology and its evolution as a part of SAP's new Solution Manager tool.

The general approach is more focused on monitoring and managing an ongoing SAP implementation project using an enterprise solution architecture. Three options are explored.

Finds that one option supports end‐to‐end business process management – other options can be managed, but with cost and risk.

This paper has reviewed the latest developments in SAP implementation methodologies from a management orientation. The issues in this paper are often taken for granted by researchers, so it is hoped that the focus on these issues will elevate interests in pursuing some of the unanswered questions.

In the context of promoting sustainable development in SMEs, the present study aims to investigate the relationship among solution dimensions based on the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) concept.

The study employs a comprehensive methodology that includes a systematic literature review, workshop, grounded theory and interpretive structural modeling. Various dimensions concerning I4.0 sustainability are tested and evaluated using a questionnaire design followed by hypothesis formulation. Further, grounded theory is used to extract the key solution dimensions that capture the essence of I4.0 implementation in SMEs. Finally, the solution dimensions for I4.0 sustainability are modeled using the ISM approach to understand the structural interdependencies among them, and Matrice d'Impacts Croisés Multiplication Applied to a Classification (MICMAC) analysis is done to understand the driving and dependence power among these dimensions.

The study identified 14 solution dimensions for the implementation of I4.0 in SMEs for sustainable development. Out of the 14 solution dimensions, human resource training programs (D4) appear at level 11, followed by top management commitment (D1), strategic collaborations (D3) and coordination among key stakeholders (D5) at level 2 in the hierarchical interpretive structural modeling (ISM) model. Also, these dimensions have an effect size of more than 0.50 which indicates a substantial correlation between the sustainability dimensions and Industry 4.0 implementation in SMEs.

The study contributes to the overall goal of fostering sustainability within the SME sector, which can pave the way for various stakeholders for the successful implementation of I4.0 sustainable solution dimensions.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perception of Iranian experts and executive managers of sample organizations on the benefits and barriers of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions implementation. Based on the context of Iran using descriptive analysis.

Based on the review of the related literature and websites, benefits and barriers of successful implementation to IoTs solutions were identified. Through a self-administered questionnaire which was collected from 67 Iranian organizations the ranking and importance of benefits and barriers of IoTs solutions implementation were determined based on the perception of the experts of the surveyed organizations.

Analysis of data and the obtained results reveals that “improved customer experience” and “Supply chain optimization and responsiveness” are the most important benefits that the survey organizations expect to reap as a result of IoTs solutions implementation. Also “Integration challenges” and “cannot find right suppliers” were ranked as the most challenging barriers to IoTs solutions implementation.

The findings and conclusions drawn from this research are representative of the Iranian context only. So, caution needs to be exercised in generalizing the results.

The top management of Iranian organizations and also, policy makers of the country should be aware that IoTs solutions are being deployed rapidly throughout the globe. Therefore, it is necessary to increase investment in IT infrastructure and also by holding various training for employees and experts of Iranian organizations, and setting various IoT majors in the country’s universities and vocational schools, efforts should be made to accelerate the deployment of IoTs solutions to keep pace with leading companies in the world.

As IoTs is rather a new phenomenon in the Iranian industries this study has the potential to enhance the understanding of IoTs solutions and applications, benefits and barriers amongst researches and practitioners in the context of Iran. Also policymakers of the country could take advantage of the findings of this study toward a successful implementation of IoTs solutions and applications.

Lean thinking (LT) has been implemented in various manufacturing and service sectors. But, only a few published research articles have developed a framework describing the procedure for implementing LT in an educational institute. The purpose of this paper is to develop and demonstrate a framework that can provide a structured procedure for the implementation of LT in an educational institute.

Various LT tools and techniques applicable in educational institute were identified by reviewing the relevant literature. By adopting an action research methodology (ARM) for a time period of 28 months, the processes in a case institute were studied; wastes in the process were identified and various solutions were proposed and implemented.

A comparison of the performance measures before (Batch 1) and after (Batch 2) implementation of solutions provided interesting insights into the effectiveness of LT. In both the batches, absenteeism in the class was found to increase across the terms. But the magnitude of increase was lesser in Batch 2. Results also showed that the number of unfilled seats (poor utilization) in an elective course in the second year of the program drastically reduced in Batch 2. Finally, a framework that can guide LT implementation in educational institutes was proposed.

The current study describes only the initial stages of implementation in an educational institute. Hence, some of the benefits discussed are expected in the long run which can be assessed by carrying out a longitudinal study. Future study can attempt to empirically validate the proposed framework in multiple educational institutes and theoretically explain the reasons behind the results obtained.

ARM can be used as a tool by practitioners to study the behavioral aspects of employees of educational institutes toward LT implementation. The proposed framework and its demonstration can assist employees in educational institutes to implement LT. Positive results obtained in this study can further motivate the educational institutes to consider LT as a potential tool for improving the processes.

This is the first study to develop and validate a framework for structured implementation of LT in the processes of an educational institute. The study is also unique in empirically capturing the impact of LT implementation of an educational institute by analyzing the archived data.

Industrial vending solutions are unique in that they represent a very specific form of vendor-managed inventory (VMI). The purpose of this paper is to investigate performance outcomes associated with industrial vending implementation, a topic that has been largely ignored by the academic community.

A survey instrument was developed from earlier work on VMI success. Structural equation modeling is used to identify relationships between three enablers (information exchange, information quality, and relationship quality), perceived vending system implementation success, and three outcomes (cost benefits, customer service benefits, and inventory benefits).

Statistical outcomes demonstrate support for the benefits arising from successful vending system implementation. This study demonstrates that industrial vending implementation success is strongly tied to the amount and quality of the information shared between the relationship partners.

Successful industrial vending implementation results in improved inventory control, increased levels of customer service, and tighter cost control. This study provides supply chain managers with current findings, which should aid them in evaluating their current and proposed vending solutions.

Although VMI has been studied in the past, little work has been conducted on industrial vending as a specific form of VMI. This is the first study to explore industrial vending from the viewpoint of VMI implementation and performance. Empirically tested study results that are grounded in transaction cost theory confirm a series of performance outcomes of industrial vending from a buyer’s perspective as well as a number of enablers for successful industrial vending implementation.

This paper aims to provide guidelines for upstream social marketing strategy on to whom, how and when social marketers can undertake upstream social marketing.

This article is a conceptual piece using academic literature to justify and conceptualise an approach to communicating with and influencing upstream actors.

Specifically, it looks at the characteristics of policymakers targeted, then targeting methods, with a special focus on the use of media advocacy. Finally, a process of government decision-making is presented to explain message timing and content.

Specific criteria to judge time of decision-making and implementation guidelines are provided for social marketers.

In the case of complex social problems, such as obesity and environmental degradation, structural change is needed to provide people with the ability to change (Andreasen, 2006). Strategic social marketing has identified upstream social marketing as a method to influence structural change through policymakers (French and Gordon, 2015); however, literature in the area tends to be descriptive and there are no clear guidelines to its implementation (Dibb, 2014). This article seeks to provide those guidelines.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the rapid pace of technological change, attrition rate, global complexities and the increasing amount of data and information available have complicated the task of managing knowledge for third‐party logistics (3PL) service providers. Based on literature, there is a need for research into the development of a generic taxonomy components framework (GTCF) for the implementation of knowledge management (KM) solution for 3PL service providers.

A four‐stage model has been devised for the development of a GTCF to implement KM solution for 3PL service providers. The authors proposed modified Q‐sort method and also used Delphi analysis in the four‐stage model. The KM components were identified through literature study and discussion with subject experts. The hierarchical structure of the taxonomy was derived and refined through a survey among 3PL experts by employing Q‐sort method.

This paper makes several important contributions toward the objective of better understanding the role of 3PL operations in knowledge creation. The feedback from the respondents shows that the GTCF is of potential employment by 3PL service providers irrespective of the nature of the primary service they offer.

The GTCF has been devised based on survey responses gathered from 3PL experts in India. The findings of this study have implications for understanding the key KM components required for 3PL service provider relationship and also the weightage for KM components.

The aim of this research is for the development of a GTCF which can be taken as the base for implementation of KM solutions for 3PL service providers.

The contribution of this study lies in extending the body of knowledge of KM for 3PL service providers. It tests a proposed framework which has only limited empirical validation, and provides a broader understanding of KM components required for 3PL service provider.