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The authors explore complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory as an updated theoretical perspective for managing product returns that better matches the chaotic nature of recent consumer behaviors. CAS theory highlights the importance of agents who create and self-organize to help systems adapt in unpredictable environments.

This research utilizes data collected from return managers in an online survey and applies regression analyses to estimate the influence of the focal variables.

Empirical evidence of the firm flexibility–firm adaptability link is established, and return processor creativity positively relates to this link. The firm flexibility–firm adaptability link fully mediates the relationship between return processor creativity and returns management performance and partially mediates the relationship between return processor creativity and relationship quality. Nonmediated effects were observed for turnover and revenue size.

Managers of returns who embrace an adaptability approach become facilitators of returns by supporting processor creativity. Enhancing the autonomy of processors in their day-to-day work increases the knowledge-creation capabilities of the firm, which helps the firm move forward and adapt in an uncertain environment.

This research presents empirical evidence of the underlying mechanisms of CAS theory in the product returns context by studying processor agents and argues that CAS theory better fits the current dynamics of the product returns environment. Further, this paper extends work by Espinosa et al. (2019) and Nilsson (2019) by studying how a specific human characteristic – creativity – impacts product returns management.

Given volatile markets, the ability to quickly act is fundamental for companies – in regard to the internal production and to external supply flows in the value network. Related flexibility and adaptability concepts are vague and contradictory. Managerial methods either imply a generic application level or a narrow focus. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to develop a three-step approach to facilitate a well-directed flexibility and adaptability design within a build-to-order context: context-specific operationalization, thorough segmentation using advanced logistic criteria and purposeful deduction of improvement means.

Based on a thorough literature review, a procedural approach is developed and applied within two rigorously conducted company-cases. A triangulation setting is used within the empirical analysis.

A company's capability to act appropriately, quickly and economically in the face of volatility can be remarkably advanced through context-specific analysis and well-reasoned segmentation. A respective approach to enhance flexibility and adaptability has to regard rational, emotional and cultural aspects.

The literature review is selective, not exhaustive. Two case studies cannot cover all thinkable aspects.

The findings illustrate how flexibility and adaptability measures can be designed purposefully within a company-specific approach. Two potential directions of impact – uncertainty reduction and flexibility/adaptability improvement – are consolidated into significant criteria and applied to thoroughly classified areas in a feasible way.

Current approaches do not apply a company-specific operationalization approach and are not based on segmentation or are using limited criteria. Besides, most approaches are neither designed for quick operationalization nor continuous application.

Human resource (HR) flexibility is a firm-level capability that consists of employee skill flexibility, employee behavior flexibility, and HR practice flexibility. HR flexibility allows organizations to adapt and be responsive to changes in their environments. Findings from this paper indicate that if the organization is highly innovative and has flexible HR policies, then that influences organizational culture, risk-taking and experimentation within a firm. This paper has also revealed that process innovation mediates between adaptability culture and product innovation. It also revealed that managers should emphasize processes to improve efficiency for resource exploitation. The lessons learned from process innovation activities indicated that having a strong knowledge base assists a firm in developing innovative technology such as automation for manufacturing, handling and testing or simply smart manufacturing.

Questionnaires were sent to employees at 23 Taiwanese companies in high-tech industries, where innovation is the key to their survival, and 293 valid surveys were collected. Structural equation modeling, (SEM) using IBM SPSS Amos, was used to test the hypotheses.

The results fully support the hypotheses that HR flexibility positively influences adaptability culture and contributes to organizational innovation. Furthermore, it was found that adaptability culture has a direct impact on process innovation and an indirect impact on product innovation through process innovation.

The critical role of HR flexibility and adaptability culture on organizational innovation in the high-tech sector were highlighted. The importance of HR flexibility is emphasized to provide managerial hints to top managers.

Investigation of housing adaptability is related to understanding factors that influence project transformation. Factors may be associated with the design and project stage as also alternative uses to existing buildings. To structure methodology for criteria analysis of adaptability, the research aims to verify the importance level of factors related to adaptability and flexibility context in architecture.

Employing a multicriteria analysis and a diagnosis performed with architecture professionals, criteria importance identified in a bibliographic survey is contacted.

With harmonious results, key elements highlighted in the diagnosis are discussed. Adaptability and flexibility are mainly related to balance in the design of spaces and their connections, so the user can have control administrating the organization of their habitat.

As a complex subject, involving legal, social and cultural issues, the multicriteria method supports the scientific analysis of data. The results can be used in a practical case study as assessment of housing adaptability and flexibility, as a useful tool to decision support in architectural project.

To be successful in the rapidly changing global business environment, supply chains (SCs) must be agile, adaptable and aligned (Lee, 2004), a practice known as Triple-A. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the dimensions of Triple-A SCs and their concurrent impact on all three Triple-A components.

The relationship among these factors is analyzed through Smart PLS-structured equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for which data have been collected from 243 SC professionals working in manufacturing organizations.

The findings of this study reveal that the relationship between visibility and adaptability are directly significant but that the negative relationship between velocity and alignment is insignificant; however, indirectly these relationships have a positive impact using the mediating effect of agility over visibility and adaptability, velocity and alignment. However, the relationship of flexibility over SC Triple-A is positively significant, visibility over agility and alignment is positively significant and velocity over agility and adaptability is also positively significant, and each impact agility over adaptability and adaptability over alignment which is significant.

There is a shortage of empirical studies to date that empirically provide evidence of possible relationships among Triple-A and its key dimensions when attempting to obtain Triple-A. This is the first authenticated Triple-A SC conceptual framework that provides direction to better understand the dimension and significance of Triple-A.

When coping with uncertainties, three characteristics distinguish firms: agility, adaptability and alignment (triple-A). Based on significant field research, the triple-A highlights the significance of coordinating agility, adaptability and alignment. Start-ups are facing a lot of challenges in this turbulent environment. However, this sector is undergoing a major transformation. Agility, adaptability and alignment concepts have had a major influence on the supply chain, but their implementation in start-ups has been less visible. This paper aims to identify, analyze and categorize the enablers for agility, adaptability and alignment in start-ups using the total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) approach.

In addition to the scheduled interview, a closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect data. To identify how the factors interact, the TISM technique is used, and the Matriced’Impacts Croises-Multipication Applique’ and Classment method is used to rank and categorize the agility, adaptability and alignment enablers.

This study identified ten agility, adaptability and alignment factors for start-ups. It has been found that the key importance should be given to management involvement, conflict management, collaboration and information integration.

This study primarily focused on the agility, adaptability and alignment factors in start-ups.

This study will help academics and key stakeholders understand the aspects that lead to agility, adaptability and alignment in start-ups.

Agility, adaptability and alignment concepts have had a major influence on the supply chain, but their implementation in start-ups has been less visible. Therefore, this is a novel attempt in this industry’s agility, adaptability and alignment.

Despite being a common term in the literature, there is little agreement about what the word “adaptability” means in the context of the built environment and very little evidence regarding practitioners’ understanding of adaptability. This paper aims to examine what practitioners in the building industry mean when they talk about “adaptability”.

This study adopted a qualitative approach, involving 82 unstructured face-to-face interviews with practitioners from a range of professional disciplines in the construction industry, including architects, engineers, facilities managers, property agents and planners. The interview transcripts were coded inductively to identify themes in the qualitative data.

The interview data revealed a wide range of perspectives on adaptability, particularly regarding terminology, the meanings practitioners associate with adaptability and the way in which these meanings are communicated to others in the industry. The applied meaning of adaptability varied depending on context.

Conflicting language, and different interpretations of adaptability, is a potential barrier to the development of adaptable buildings. A clearer articulation of the meaning of adaptability (particularly by clients) during briefing and design could give rise to a more appropriate level of adaptability in the built environment.

This study has addressed a gap in the existing literature by foregrounding the voices of industry practitioners and exploring their (sometimes very different) interpretations of adaptability in buildings.

Adaptability is an inherent quality in building circularity, as adaptability can physically facilitate the reversibility of materials in a closed-reversible chain, also called “loops”. Nevertheless, positioning adaptability in circularity-oriented models could overlook some of the contextual considerations that contribute to the utility for the built environment. This paper reconceptualises building adaptability to incorporate circularity, in order to facilitate for the resource loops whilst preserving the long-lasting functionality in buildings.

An integrative literature review on adaptability and circularity of buildings was conducted using systematic search approach. From the initial database of 4631 publications, 104 publications were included for the final analysis. A comparative analysis of definitions and determinants of both concepts was conducted to reconceptualise circular building adaptability.

The findings of the literature study show that incorporating circularity and adaptability is possible through 10 design and operation determinants, namely configuration flexibility, product dismantlability, asset multi-usability, design regularity, functional convertibility, material reversibility, building maintainability, resource recovery, volume scalability, and asset refit-ability. The study concludes that considering the defined determinants in a holistic manner could simultaneously facilitate: building resilience to contextual changes, creation of asset value, and elimination of waste generation.

This paper expands the relevant bodies of literature by providing a novel way of perceiving building adaptability, incorporating circularity. The practical value of this paper lies in the discussion of potential strategies that can be proactively or reactively employed to operationalise circular building adaptability.

Facing uncertain demand and supply, customers and suppliers are encouraged to make their supply chain more flexible and adaptive to the environment. The primary objective of this paper is to gain an understanding of the issues surrounding flexibility and adaptability in supply chain management from an industrial practitioner.

A semi‐structured interview and follow up interviews were conducted with a logistics manager of a renowned international company.

The study supports that the aforementioned characteristics, flexibility and adaptability, are useful in practical supply chain applications. Some practical advice is also reported.

This paper bridges the gap between academic theoretical studies and the expectations from an industrial practitioner regarding flexibility and adaptability in supply chain management. A similar study could be extended to more industrial practitioners in order to collect more useful opinions from them.

The aim of this study is to present design tactics (DTs) for supporting the adaptability of existing primary and middle school buildings into the emerging needs of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study introduces a novel algorithmic model for postoccupancy evaluation of the existing school buildings and provides solutions to enhance the adaptability of these buildings.

This study employs the DTs defined by the authors, integration of DTs to the algorithmic model and tests the usability of the proposed model in the selected sample set. The sample set consists of four primary and middle school buildings with different architectural qualities. The degrees of flexibility of the existing sample set are evaluated depending on the outcomes of the implementation.

The degrees of flexibility are achieved as a result of execution of the algorithmic model for each selected school building. Initial results of the case studies show that the flexibility of a school building is highly related to affordances and design decisions of the plan layout which were considered in the initial phases of the design process. Architectural qualities such as open plan and having sufficient voids in the interior and exterior space become prominent factors for ensuring flexibility.

Developing a systematic approach to the adaptation problem of primary and middle school buildings to postpandemic reuse is a novel research topic. Apart from this contextual originality, the proposed taxonomy for postpandemic reuse in terms of three levels of adaptation is a new conceptual framework. Moreover, the proposed algorithmic model itself can be considered as an original contribution, as well as a merge of qualitative values such as adaptation and flexibility with an algorithmic model.