741 publications from this institution
Ecoefficiency is critical for organisations that seek to be both environmentally conscious and profitable. Ecoefficiency has implications for a "win-win" situation to arise. Studying and managing organisations from this perspective requires an evaluation of ecoefficiency. To aid researchers and managers develop measures for ecoefficiency we review the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) for this purpose. DEA theory and application has increased greatly. Its use as a tool for environmental performance evaluation has been limited. In this paper we provide a number of DEA models and some extensions and how they can be utilised from both the practitioner and researcher perspective. An illustrative example from published data helps to gain insight into the various models, their capabilities and limitations.
The recent increase in food contamination, corruption, and child labor in the agricultural industry has prompted attention to sustainable supply chain mana
Blockchain technology and the circular economy (CE) are two emergent concepts that can change the way we live for decades. Arrival of Industry 4.0 is set to transform organisational activities through various technological innovations. Blockchain is such a critical technology. Yet, the breadth of the blockchain concept and its application require nuanced investigation in different contexts, including examining some tensions with the applications. This paper examines how blockchain technology is likely to transform and advance circular economy realisation. Using grounded theory building from multiple case studies, we present early evidence linking the blockchain application to circular economy dimensions of regenerate, share, optimise, loop, virtualise, and exchange (ReSOLVE model). Case studies of blockchain application in various industrial sectors, at different adoption levels, for diverse organisational purposes are analysed and discussed. We systematically examine the practices, gaps, potential tensions, and critical reflections. Our study concludes with a summary of research propositions, limitations, and future research directions.
Outsourcing decisions by organisations have strategic and operational implications. Strategically, understanding the market and competition is necessary to make effective outsourcing decisions. In this paper we recognise this concern and model the situation where an organisation with quality and cost pressures and operational strategies may arrive at different outsourcing solutions based on competitor quality strategy traits. We develop a three-stage game-theoretic oligopolistic model based on the differentiated product strategy and integrating quality expectations of the market. The model is solved for equilibrium points on price, outsourcing activity, and investments in quality. The results show that these decision factors are sensitive to market expectations and quality performance of competitors. Performance measures based on profitability and market share results are also presented within this model. Observations and insights are also presented.
Supply chains (SCs) can be managed at many levels. The use of tactical SC planning models with multiple flexibility options can help manage the usual opera
This work makes the case for the integration of the circular economy (CE) and large-scale data (LD), also known as big data. The paper is one of the first to integrate conceptual and practical trends regarding: (a) the ReSOLVE based models of the circular economy; (b) key stakeholders roles in pursuing a more sustainable society; and (c) the volume, velocity, variety, and veracity (4V's) of large-scale data (LD) management. This study's contributions include: (1) introducing a new integrative framework to enhance the understanding of the CE-LD nexus; (2) a relational matrix which illustrates the complexity of large-scale data and stakeholders management; and (3) a research agenda, with clear research propositions and future research direction. The proposed CE-LD integrative framework provides socio-technical insights for academics, practitioners, managers, and policy decision-makers.
Purpose Trust-commitment theory has been fundamental in understanding interorganizational relationships in sustainable supply chain management. Trust-commitment dynamics can provide insights into sustainable sourcing outcomes. Despite recent extensions to trust-commitment theory, trust and commitment correlation and the mediation role of trust between antecedents (i.e. opportunism) and commitment remains fundamental. We revisit trust-commitment theoretical relationships within the context of blockchain technology—and specifically blockchain smart contracts. Design/methodology/approach We conducted the scenario-based experiment with 100 business professionals from operations, supply chain and related fields to test the proposed hypotheses on how different governance mechanisms impact various managerial perceptions in a buyer–seller setting. Findings Findings reveal that compared with the formal written contract, blockchain smart contract enhances affect-based trust—as the only significant trust dimension, secures buyer commitment and interestingly, encourages opportunistic behavior. The impact of blockchain smart contract on cognition-based and institution-based trust is not significant. The findings advance trust-commitment theory with valuable managerial insights within the blockchain and sustainable sourcing context. Originality/value This study serves as a foundation for future studies to further clarify blockchain technology on sustainable buyer–seller relationships using fundamental relationships of trust-commitment and other social exchange theories.
The objective of this paper is to introduce a decision methodology and structure for manufacturing (and organizational) agility improvement. The methodology allows for the evaluation of alternatives (e.g. projects) to help organizations become more agile, with a specific objective of improving the manufacturing business processes. An agile enterprise is one whose processes are designed to respond effectively to unanticipated change. One of the difficulties in designing and analysing business processes, in general, is that they are operational designs that need to incorporate strategic attributes. In order to evaluate alternatives that impact the business processes, a networked hierarchical analysis model based on the various characteristics of agility, is proposed. This evaluation model will be based on the analytic network process methodology for solving complex and systemic decisions. An actual example of a small manufacturing enterprise provides some managerial insights into the methodology.
Purpose Product portfolio management is a strategic concern. Product portfolio management includes decisions associated with adding new products, maintaining existing products and deleting or phasing out problematic products. This paper first introduces a framework to identify risks of product deletion along supply chain activities. It utilizes failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to identify, analyse and evaluate product deletion risks on supply chains and proposes managerial implications for risk management in dynamic business scenarios. It is meant to build upon and address a gap in the product deletion and supply chain linkage literature. Design/methodology/approach FMEA is utilized in this study to structure and manage potential risks in product deletion decision-making on supply chains. FMEA is based on an analysis of severity, occurrence and detectability of failure modes. FMEA provides methods to help identify managerial preventive solutions to avoid and mitigate risk consequences of such decisions. Findings Ten top product deletion risks are identified in this study; discussions of their negative impact on supply chain performance, and possible managerial recommendations are followed for risk control, monitor and elimination. Practical implications Findings help managers to predict, avoid and mitigate risk consequences of product deletion decisions; especially those related to the supply chain. A framework to structure various risks of product deletion in the supply chain can be useful to both practitioners and researchers. Originality/value This study advances product portfolio management through enhanced understanding of product deletion decision-making in organizations; and especially contributes to a broader investigation of such decisions in supply chain management. It also structures the factors that play a role in identifying risks.
Although business process management (BPM) is an important organizational practice for improving operational competitiveness of organizations, research has shown that as many as 60–80% of BPM initiatives are unsuccessful. This study provides a methodology to evaluate BPM implementation critical success factors (CSFs) that can aid project managers make proper BPM investment strategies. Through a review of the literature, eight CSFs for the successful implementation of BPM are identified. To help advance research on the implementation of BPM, this paper uses multi-site field study data with a novel grey-based DEMATEL (the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory) approach to visualize the structure of complicated causal relationships between these CSFs and obtain the influence level of these factors. The field study data uses three Chinese manufacturers as the setting. The four most important factors found in the field study, from amongst the identified CSFs, include Strategic alignment, Top management support, Project management and a Collaborative environment. We also found a number of direct and indirect relationships amongst the CSF factors. Insights into the application of the technique and results from both a research and managerial perspective are presented. Aggregate analysis for the methodology and future research directions are also introduced in the final section.
While building their reputation as a major manufacturing prowess, Chinese industry has experienced increasing ecological pressures from a variety of institutional players including market, governmental, and competitive sources. In response to these pressures some organizations initiate emergent green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. A moderated hierarchical regression analysis of data provided by 341 Chinese manufacturer respondents was completed to examine the relationships between GSCM practice, environmental and economic performance, incorporating three moderating factors market, regulatory and competitive institutional pressures. The results reveal that: (1) Chinese manufacturers have experienced increasing environmental pressure to implement GSCM practices; (2) The existence of market (normative) and regulatory (coercive) pressures influences organizations to have improved environmental performance, especially when these pressures cause adoption of eco-design and green purchasing practices; (3) Manufacturers facing higher regulatory pressures tend to implement green purchasing and investment recovery; (4) Competitive (mimetic) pressure existence significantly improves the economic benefits from adoption of a number of GSCM practices with no deleterious influences on environmental performance; (5) None of the institutional pressures contribute to or lessen possible 'win-win' situations for organizations. Implications for operations strategists and organizational sustainability planners from these relationships are also discussed.
Bayesian analysis has been a tool for evaluating the probability of outcomes for centuries. Bayesian analysis is named after Thomas Bayes. Unlike its popular statistical cousin which can best be termed as a frequentist and correlative approach to statistical analysis and inferencing, Bayesian analysis has seen relatively few applications in the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) literature; with significant potential for insight and further development. In this chapter, we provide a relatively non-quantitative introduction into Bayesian analysis for OSCM research. There are many resources that are available to discuss the underlying mathematics associated with Bayesian analysis. Our purpose is to provide an opportunity, understanding, and argument for the use of Bayesian analysis. We provide some basic and some slightly advanced perspectives what tools can be used to analyze the data, some outcomes, and how these outcomes can be analyzed.
We introduce a comprehensive framework for sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) implementation in the mining industry. The framework includes six constructs, green information technology and systems, strategic supplier partnership, operations and logistics integration, internal environmental management, eco-innovative and end-of-life. Environmentally sustainable supply chain management practices in Ghana's gold mining industry are examined using DEMATEL and the analytical hierarchy process. The evaluation models found that strategic supplier partnership and end-of-life practices are the two most prominent and influential factors whereas lean and green operations, substituting toxic inputs with environmentally friendly ones and resale of used parts or components are prominent sub-factors. This study and resulting framework allows practicing managers in the mining industry to make thoughtful decisions on SSCM.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether companies’ environmental and social supply chain activities are associated with their financial performance.
Enterprise information technologies (EITs), which are strategic systems seeking to integrate the processes and databases of the entire organization and beyond, require a significant investment of money and human resources in return for the promise of a global business model and its associated far-reaching benefits. Their evaluation/justification must be completed with organizational goals and requirements included in the decision, or the organization could lose financially and competitively. Besides traditional financial models, e.g., ROI (return on investment), that are primarily meant for short-term financial justification purposes, there is a paucity of methods for the evaluation of the strategic and intangible costs and benefits that EITs afford organizations as a whole. This article introduces the use of a robust quantitative technique called the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) that can integrate a diverse range of factors (strategic and operational, and tangible and intangible) into one model. the approach can be easily understood by managers and analysts and has a history of application to other types of strategic justification decisions.
