Search results

This paper aims to present the vertical integration state-of-the-art and propose an expansion of the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) field by identifying gaps and bottlenecks.

This paper uses a systematic literature review based on a sample of 173 OSCM field articles, collected from Scopus and Web of Science databases.

There are no single factors, such as future costs, structures or skills development, in the decision to vertically integrate operations. It is necessary to combine the vision of production costs with the perspective of governance and transaction costs. In addition, it is essential to consider the competency perspective and its impact on capability building.

Few studies have attempted to understand how vertical integration is used in terms of OSCM research themes and theories. Vertical integration can help companies face challenges and serve as a potential solution for achieving better prices, demand control and quality management.

The significant role of vertical integration mechanisms in supply chains is crucial for managers evaluating a firm's reconfiguration with more vertical operations. Policymakers interested in supporting the smoothness of vertical integration decisions in regulatory agencies play a key role as contingencies.

In times of global challenges, vertical integration is a strategy known to be more effective for firms to obtain a competitive advantage, making them more resilient.

This paper addresses gaps in the vertical integration theme and provides insights for future research development.

Studies on the work integration of persons with disabilities (PwD) and the role of social dialogue therein are scarce. The study examines how the different systems of workers’ representation and industrial relations in Slovakia and Norway facilitate PwD work integration. Taking a social ecosystem perspective, we acknowledge the role of various stakeholders and their interactions in supporting PwD work integration. The paper’s conceptual contribution lies in including social dialogue actors in this ecosystem.

Evidence was collected via desk research, 35 semi-structured in-depth interviews with 51 respondents and stakeholder workshops in 2019–2020.

The findings from Norway confirm the expected coordination of unions and employers in PwD work integration. Evidence from Slovakia shows that in decentralised industrial relations systems, institutional constraints beyond the workplace determine employers’ and worker representatives’ approaches in PwD integration. Most policy-level outcomes are contested, as integration occurs predominantly via sheltered workplaces without interest representation.

This paper identifies the primary sources of variation in the work integration of PwD. It also highlights opportunities for social partners across both situations to exercise agency and engagement to improve PwD work integration.

By integrating two streams of literature – social policy and welfare state and industrial relations – this paper examines PwD work integration from a social ecosystem perspective. Empirically, it offers novel qualitative comparative evidence on trade unions’ and employers’ roles in Slovakia and Norway.

While existing literature extensively explores manufacturing firms expanding into services, little is known about the modes of servitisation, the means by which they carry it out. This paper concentrates on acquisitions as a mode of servitisation. Post-acquisition integration is when the potential of an acquisition is realised. The paper therefore aims to categorise types of integrations following the acquisition of servitised firms and discusses their consequences for servitisation.

The empirical part of the paper is based on two case studies, each involving the acquisition of servitised firms. Both acquirers changed their integration approach over time.

The paper conceptualises three types of integrations: rhetorical, insulated and transformative integrations, indicating whether and how the acquirer becomes servitised following the integration. These highlight the analysis of integration based on business models and customer orientation in relation to servitisation.

This paper contributes to research on servitisation by emphasising acquisitions as a mode of servitisation and conceptualising three integration types related to business models and customer orientations. Furthermore, the paper highlights how an acquirer's servitisation leads to new offerings targeting new customers, as opposed to strengthening existing relationships.

This article aims to explore the engagement of refugees and asylum seekers (RAS) in informal and precarious jobs from a civil society actors' perspective. Despite a burgeoning literature on refugee integration and a focus on institutional integration programmes, little is known about the early insertion of RAS into informal and precarious employment as an alternative to subsidised integration programmes, when these are available.

This article draws on rich qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews with social workers, volunteers and other professionals supporting migrants.

Data analysis shows that migrants' insertion in informal jobs and their rejection of integration programmes may be the result of people's need to access financial capital to cover actual and future needs. Although such an engagement may be criticised for hampering RAS’ integration, it can be seen as an important source of agency against insecurity surrounding one's legal status.

This article highlights the importance of legal status precarity in shaping informal workers' agency and perceptions of them, opening up a debate on the relevance of informal work in terms of long-term integration and future migration trajectories.

This study examines the impact of regional economic integration (REI) on stock market linkages in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economic bloc. In this type of study, the BRICS framework is an appealing empirical case, given its uncommon characteristics. For example, BRICS member states come from remote geographic locations (Africa, Asia, Europe and South America) and have contrasting socioeconomic profiles.

An empirical design is framed from the perspective of bilateral trade between South Africa and BRIC. The author accepts trade intensity as a proxy of regional economic integration and then examines the resulting effect on the stock market co-movement within BRIC. The study applies a two-step econometric procedure of the BEKK-MGARCH and panel data models.

Overall, bilateral trade, as a proxy of economic inwctegration, is associated with an increase in stock market integration. This positive relationship is particularly observed during episodes of surplus trade, and more interestingly, was initiated three years after BRICS’ existence and continues to grow at an increasing rate.

The study outcome should benefit international trade practitioners and global investors interested in portfolio diversification or concerned with risk spillovers.

First, notwithstanding South Africa's significant economic presence in the African continent, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to empirically evaluate the BRICS economic integration on their stock market linkages from the perspective of South Africa. The value of this contribution is that further work may investigate the bidirectional spillover impact conveyed by South Africa's trade interactions within the juxtaposition of Africa and BRICS economies. Second, given that research on REI and stock market integration has historically concentrated on mature regional blocs of Europe, Asia, South and North America, the current study advances knowledge while correcting the prevailing literature imbalance.

Procuring relief products and services is a challenging process for humanitarian organizations (HOs), yet it accounts for approximately 65% of relief operations’ costs (Moshtari et al., 2021). This paper aims to examine how procurement internal controls, materials and purchasing procedure standardization influence information integration and procurement performance.

In this study, partial least square structural equation models and multigroup analysis were used to analyze data collected from 170 HOs.

Procurement internal controls and material and purchasing procedure standardization fully mediate between information integration and procurement performance.

The study focuses only on HOs. Since humanitarian procurement projects take place over a period of several years, it is difficult to capture the long-term effects of information integration, procurement internal controls, material and purchasing procedure standardization and procurement performance. In this regard, a longitudinal study could be undertaken, provided that the required resources are available.

Procurement managers should implement information integration practices within acceptable procurement internal controls and standardize material and purchasing procedures to boost procurement performance.

By integrating information through procurement internal controls and standardizing material and purchasing procedures, procurement performance in a humanitarian setting can be systematically optimized.

This study aims to better inform environmental management at universities by applying and validating the policy integration processes theory through a case study of Manchester Metropolitan University.

Social network analyses were used to identify, differentiate and categorise working networks of individuals and departments and the interconnections between them.

In an organisation, networks can be developed and active at departmental level but not at individual level. High numbers of departments can be doing work related to sustainable development whilst having low and medium levels of interconnections between departments. Influence of stakeholders throughout the network suggests levels of sustainable development policy integration at individual and departmental.

New insights provide evidence for universities’ environmental managers of the need of developing and implementing strategies that involve individuals’ work between departments by providing incentives, supporting capacity building and staff empowerment.

This paper applied and validated the theory of policy integration processes, showing that work at individual level and between departments needs more attention.

Health care integration is crucial in improving service equality and patient outcomes. However, measuring integration between the health and social care sectors remains challenging. This article aims to review existing systematic models to identify alternative health and social care integration measurement tools. The review focuses on models that involve systematic planning and long-term cooperation across different organizational sectors.

The study examines various dimensions and elements of integration, including process, outcome and structural measures. It compares different tools used to measure social and health care integration, such as the Rainbow model, Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Scorecard, PRISMA, SCIROCCO, integRATE, health-data simulation (HSIM) and the model developed by Åhgren and Axelsson. The analysis includes both empirical studies and theoretical frameworks.

The findings highlight the importance of standardized measurement methods to assess the impact of integration initiatives on patient outcomes, healthcare costs and the quality of care.

The review contributes to the ongoing discourse on social and health care integration, particularly in the Nordic context. The results can inform social and healthcare providers, policymakers and researchers in evaluating and improving integration initiatives.

The main goal of this paper is to examine the evolution of Latin American productive integration in terms of the regional value added incorporated in intra-regional exports of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. In addition, the study traces the trade and productive integration trajectories for each of these countries from 1995 to 2015.

Based on the use of OECD’s global ICIO input-output tables, this paper applies the methodological framework by Wang et al. (2018) for the analysis of trade flows at the bilateral level, which allows breaking down the value of gross exports of each sector-country, depending on the origin of the value added contained in exports, as well as their use.

The estimates show very low shares of value added from regional partners in the intra-regional exports of the countries studied. Conversely, the weight of the value added incorporated in these exports by countries outside the region has increased in tandem with China’s expanding involvement in Latin America. This development, along with the downward trend in domestic value added incorporated in exports, indicates a lack of a regional integration process of any depth.

This article addresses an economic problem of conventional importance from a global value chain perspective using a novel methodology based on the use of global input–output tables.

This paper examines the moderating effect of environmental capability development on the relationship between supply chain integration and both environmental and financial performance.

The authors use empirical data collected from three diverse sources in the horticultural marketing sector. A total of 97 responses were used. An ordered logit analysis and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression were employed to test the hypotheses.

The results confirm that firm environmental capability development enhances the effects of supply chain integration on firm environmental performance. Additionally, supplier integration and environmental capabilities may be considered firm strategic capabilities that are positively related to financial performance. Thus, public policies should encourage the development of firms' individual environmental capabilities and supply chain integration to improve environmental sustainability.

This study recognizes the importance of environmental capability development as a strategic objective and its fundamental role as a complementary capability with supply chain integration. This paper contributes by empirically analyzing how firms along the supply chain can promote environmental sustainability through the development of environmental and integration capabilities.