Search results

The implementation of digital technologies shifts the way firms manage their supply chains with the objective of obtaining closer relationships with their partners. The main improvement is that each partner can access others’ information in real time. This gives rise to the concept of digital supply chain where interconnectedness is the link. Applying digital technologies has reported innumerable benefits, and despite the fact that only a few firms make full use of them, they have become a very promising future trend.

This study aims to review the literature on supply chain and digital technologies in relation to the different benefits that each of these technologies provides in the different stages of the supply chain. Eventually, this will provide a guide to determine and select those technologies that best suit the needs of a firm according to their characteristics within the supply chain.

This paper aims to propose positive and negative firm competitiveness effects of knowledge acquisition of pertinent, irrelevant and erroneous knowledge based on its distinctiveness, the source of knowledge and the presence of firm complements.

Aspects of knowledge acquisition from the innovation, knowledge and routines literatures are integrated to create propositions showing the effects of knowledge acquisition on firm competitiveness. Examples from different eras of the automobile industry are used to illustrate the propositions and demonstrate the enduring nature of these issues.

Various combinations of firm complements and knowledge type and criticality can cause significant competitive effects, such as parity, relative harm and opportunity capture, that managers should be cognizant of when planning knowledge acquisition.

Knowledge researchers should use a more integrative, holistic approach concerning firm resources to their empirical studies. This better allows for the competitive effects of interactions between new and existing firm resources to be captured.

The propositions emphasize the importance of increased managerial attention and understanding of potential problems of new knowledge acquisition. Moreover, managers should pay particular attention to their firm’s existing complements when assessing knowledge acquisition benefits.

The positive value of firm knowledge receives substantially more research attention than the potential negative effects. This paper identifies the competitiveness effects of acquiring pertinent, irrelevant or erroneous knowledge. Increased attention on the interaction of new knowledge and complements illustrates the positive and negative effects on firms.

Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) that operate with modest financial investments and commodities face numerous challenges to remain in business. One major philosophy used by SMEs these days is the implementation of lean manufacturing to get solutions for various issues they encounter. But is lean getting sustained over time? The purpose of this research is to design a Sustainable Lean Performance Index (SLPI) to assess the sustainability of lean systems and to pinpoint the variables that might be present as potential lean system inhibitors which hinder the sustainability of leanness.

A multi-level sustainable lean performance model is constructed and presented based on the literature research, field investigation and survey conducted by administering a questionnaire. Fuzzy logic approach is used to analyse the multi-level model.

SLPI for the SMEs is found using fuzzy logic approach. Additionally, the ranking score system is applied to categorise attributes into weak and strong categories. The performance of the current lean system is determined to be “fair” based on the Euclidean distance approach and the SLPI for SMEs.

This work is concentrated only in South India because of the country’s vast geographical area and rich and wide diversity in industrial culture of the nation. Hence, more work can be done incorporating the other parts of the country and can analyse the lean behaviour in a comparative manner.

The generalised sustainable lean model analysed using fuzzy logic identifies the inhibitors and level of performance of SMEs in South India. This can be implemented to find out the level of performance in the SMEs after a deeper study and analysis around the SMEs of the country.

The sustainable assessment of lean parameters in the SMEs of India is found to be very less in literature, and it lacks profundity. The model established in this study assesses the sustainability of the lean methodology adopted in SMEs by considering the lean and sustainability attributes along with enablers like technology, ethics, customer satisfaction and innovation with the aid of fuzzy logic.

Looks at the way in which a pizza manufacturing company, supplying both branded and own‐label products to the Irish and UK retail markets, undertook a major restructuring of its procurement and manufacturing processes. Numerous sub‐processing activities were having adverse effects on capability utilization and manufacturing efficiency at a time of increasing demand. Process re‐engineering was required. Illustrates the approaches taken towards two projects: first, cheese supply and, second, packaging. Notes there was a steep learning curve for the management and operations staff and also resistance to change from within the firm and from some suppliers. Provides a list of critically important points learned from the experience.

Non‐mediated, patron‐initiated inter‐library loan recently became a new component of OhioLINK, a consortium of Ohio academic libraries in both the public and private sectors ranging from major research institutions to community colleges. “Inter‐institutional lending” is used in this article to denote the process by which Miami University Libraries' patrons request items from other OhioLINK libraries. Pre‐implementation speculation, post‐implementation experiences, and control mechanisms showcase how “inter‐institutional lending” is leading to Ohio's dream of a virtual library.

This paper examines the role of a sustainability business model in clarifying a firm's sustainability value articulation (SVA) to achieve sustainability outcomes and examining the moderating role of supplier involvement practices SIP and technology systems integration (TSI) in attaining sustainability outcomes.

Drawing upon the foundational principles of business model innovation, specifically articulation and implementation, the authors formulated a theoretical construct and empirically validate it through analysis of data collected from 692 manufacturing firms dispersed across 23 countries.

The research shows that focusing on SVA significantly improves how a company implements sustainability efforts internally (ISI) and externally (ESI), leading to better social and environmental outcomes. It also highlights that SIP improve the relationship between SVA, ESI and ISI. Similarly, TSI boosts the effect of internal and external sustainability efforts on both social (SOP) and environmental performance (EnP).

While acknowledging the inherent constraints of survey-based research methodologies, this study offers a theoretical and verified approach for manufacturers to achieve comprehensive sustainability. It emphasizes the need for clear, actionable sustainability goals that can be met through both internal operations and external partnerships.

This study clarifies how manufacturers can implement sustainable business models, emphasizing the importance of clear sustainability goals and initiatives both within and outside the company. It highlights the dual aspects of supplier engagement through operational tactics (ESI) and strategic collaborations (SIP).

This study reveals a thrilling truth: when companies champion clear sustainability goals, they unlock powerful strategies that revolutionize practices within their walls and in their external dealings. It is not just about going green; it is about weaving financial prosperity, social responsibility and environmental stewardship into the very fabric of their business models. But there is more – by cleverly engaging suppliers and harnessing cutting-edge technology, companies are not just participants in the green revolution; they are leading it, crafting a world where business thrives alongside the planet and its people.

This research stands out for its empirical analysis of how manufacturing firms implement sustainability innovations at the plant level, an area previously underexplored despite extensive theoretical work on sustainability-centric business models.

We use experiential learning theory to develop new conceptual insights into offshore outsourcing of innovation. In particular, we show how offshore vendor firms are able to overcome liability of outsidership and eventually learn how to innovate on behalf of their onshore clients as a result of their embedment with clients across multiple teams. We theorize that the cross-border relocation of innovative activities from a client firm to an offshore vendor is only possible when teams within the vendor team have assumed a double-loop learning capability from the client allowing them to determine governing variables relating to the client’s organizational environment. Through direct on-the-job experience working with each other, international teams comprised in part from the vendor and in part from the client can undergo different learning transitions, which we classify as either relationship-oriented or task-oriented. These transitions determine the extent to which double-loop learning can be developed in offshore locations and are influenced by intra-team dynamics and the way the joint teams organize and manage themselves. Our perspective has implications for our understanding of organizational designs associated with both client and vendor multinational enterprises seeking to benefit from innovation in offshore outsourcing.

This paper sets out to investigate the link between market orientation and manufacturing performance for small and medium enterprises in India.

The paper collected the data for this research through intensive surveys of the CEOs or top managers of small and medium‐sized enterprises in India. The paper utilized scales, well established in literature, and revalidated them for the Indian context. It also utilized confirmatory factor analysis for scale validation, and hierarchical regression analysis for testing the hypotheses.

This study found a positive link between two sub‐dimensions of market orientation – customer orientation and inter‐functional coordination – and manufacturing performance. Competitor orientation, however, did not have a positive impact on manufacturing performance. Further, the paper found that firm resources and competitive intensity moderate the relationship between some of the sub‐dimensions of market orientation and firm performance.

This study is particularly relevant for personnel involved in the manufacturing functions as it studies the effect of market orientation on manufacturing performance. It is high time that firms with manufacturing focus realize the value of market forces and revamp various production processes to be more responsive to market needs and demands.

This research looks at manufacturing performance, rather than a firm's financial performance, and thereby helps in understanding the intervening processes that potentially lead to superior firm performance. It also identifies some important contingency factors, enriching the literature on market orientation. Finally, the empirical context of this research is quite novel and useful for European and other foreign firms trying to operate in emerging economies such as India.

The purpose of this paper is to examine current approaches to interpretation of student evaluation data and present an innovative approach to developing benchmark targets for the effective and efficient use of these data.

This article discusses traditional approaches to gathering and using student feedback across the tertiary sector. The limitations of the customary use of the statistical mean as a quality measure of performance are presented and examined. An alternative method of interpreting student evaluation data is proposed and examples given.

The traditional use of the statistical mean to interpret student evaluation data has limitations. Focusing on data at the macro level provides subject teaching staff and managers with a clearer indication of student satisfaction. The use of a percentage satisfied and percentage dissatisfied metric to classify and rank subjects is presented as an efficient alternative to the traditional approach, while recognising the value of the statistical mean to interpret data at the micro level.

In light of the important role student feedback plays in determining university ranking, prioritising staff development and its potential function as an academic performance indicator, the effective interpretation of student evaluation data is critical. As economic factors become increasingly important to higher education providers, the role of evaluation data obtained from students will continue to gain traction. The identification of methods to fully capitalise on the value of these data, such as the one proposed in this article, is therefore crucial.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the initiatives of value enhancement and the promotion of local agri-food products in Argentina and Spain to address some of their limitations and contradictions.

Based on processes of participatory action research, data and knowledge were produced dialectically with the actors, linking the research process to rural development processes.

Value enhancement and promotion of local agri-food products is a complex system where values, preferences and availability of resources converge, allowing to consume products of higher quality, “heritage” products or products differentiated by the production mode. This consumption is not only aimed at tourists who are willing to pay something more for a “certified” local product, but also for the estrategic allies who appreciate the taste of the food of their territory: local consumers. These processes develop strategies such as the “fairs” of each product, or the classic “quality seals.” In the comparison between experiences of both countries, the controversies raise with the high prices of the products as a synonym of value enhancement instead of the right to quality food and the seeking of food sovereignty.

Problematizing the recovery and valorization of local products reveals the necessity, awareness and inclusion of consumers as actors in the innovation processes and not simply as buyers of luxury products. The originality is also based on specific intervention experiences with territorial actors (social, economic, scientific and political) that shape new forms of intervention, based on strategies that link patrimonialization, knowledge systems and territorial development.