Historically, management theory has ignored the constraints imposed by the biophysical (natural) environment. Building upon resource-based theory, this article attempts to fill this void by proposing a natural-resource-based view of the firm—a theory of competitive advantage based upon the firm's relationship to the natural environment. It is composed of three interconnected strategies: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Propositions are advanced for each of these strategies regarding key resource requirements and their contributions to sustained competitive advantage.

A natural resource-based view of the firm

Machining is one of the most important and widely used manufacturing processes. Due to complexity and uncertainty of the machining processes, of late, soft computing techniques are being preferred to physics-based models for predicting the performance of the machining processes and optimizing them. Major soft computing tools applied for this purpose are neural networks, fuzzy sets, genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, ant colony optimization, and particle swarm optimization. The present paper reviews the application of these tools to four machining processes—turning, milling, drilling, and grinding. The paper highlights the progress made in this area and discusses the issues that need to be addressed.

Application of soft computing techniques in machining performance prediction and optimization: a literature review

This study investigates the influence of the showrooming effect on firms’ pricing and service effort in a dual-channel supply chain. The no-service, ex-ante and ex-post service effort strategies are considered. The equilibrium results show that the showrooming effect enables the firms to benefit the most from the ex-post service efforts. Moreover, the showrooming effect makes the manufacturer set high/low wholesale prices for retailers in the ex-ante/ex-post strategy. This study further extends the three strategies by considering no showrooming effect. Results show that the greater the showrooming effect, the higher profits firms will obtain using the ex-post service effort strategy.

Pricing and service effort strategy in a dual-channel supply chain with showrooming effect

Agency selling or reselling: E-tailer information sharing with supplier offline entry

Experimental investigations on machinability aspects in finish hard turning of AISI 4340 steel using uncoated and multilayer coated carbide inserts

Showrooming as a market phenomenon in multichannel retailing has grown in importance over the last few years. Consumers nowadays use the brick-and-mortar store to research about a product before purchasing it online. This leads to the offline stores being converted into showrooms for the online retailers. Therefore, popular notion suggests that showrooming should benefit the online retailer. In this paper, our objective is to analyze multichannel retailing under showrooming and determine the veracity of the popularly held belief. We develop a series of game theoretic models that involve a traditional retailer and an online retailer under showrooming. We determine optimal pricing strategies for each player and also the sales effort expended by the traditional retailer based on the interplay of power dynamics, market potential and the impact of showrooming. Our results indicate that profit for the traditional as well as the online retailer decreases with rising levels of showrooming. Hence, high levels of showrooming are not beneficial from the perspective of the online retailer. Thus, contrary to popular intuition, lessening of showrooming benefits not only the traditional retailer but also the online retailer. Nevertheless, from the consumer's point of view showrooming is beneficial as it leads to overall reduction in retail prices. We also analyze the viability of a click-and-mortar model as a strategy of the traditional retailer to counter the threat of showrooming. We analyze multi-channel retailing under showrooming in a game theoretic set up.We study the impact of showrooming on the traditional as well as the online retailer.We study the interaction of market potential and power dynamics with showrooming.We develop a strategy matrix for pricing decisions under showrooming.

A game theoretic analysis of multichannel retail in the context of showrooming

In this work, the optimization of a finish hard turning process for the machining of D2 steel with ceramic tools is carried out. With the help of replicate experimental data at 27 different cutting conditions, radial basis function neural network models are fitted for predicting the surface roughness and tool wear as functions of cutting speed, feed, and machining time. A novel method for neural network training is proposed. The trained neural network models are used as a black box in the optimization routine. Two types of optimization goal are considered in this work: minimization of production time and minimization of the cost of machining. One novel feature of this work is that the surface roughness is considered in the tool life instead of as a constraint. This is possible owing to the availability of the relationship of surface roughness with time in the neural network model. The results of optimization will be dependent on the tool change time and the ratio of operating cost to tool change c...

Application of radial basis function neural networks in optimization of hard turning of AISI D2 cold-worked tool steel with a ceramic tool

“Showrooming”, a practice where consumers visit a brick-and-mortar store to examine and research a product before buying it online, is being increasingly observed in recent times. This not only adversely affects the physical store but also the manufacturer in the long run. Showrooming leads to reduced sales efforts on the part of the brick-and-mortar retailer which leads to a decline in showcasing of the product to consumers. This affects the overall demand for the product in the market. In this paper, we analyze the effect of wholesale prices set by the manufacturer on the retail prices of the products in a multi-channel environment affected by showrooming. To combat the adverse impact of showrooming, we further investigate the feasibility of a manufacturer-driven alliance with the brick-and-mortar retailer so that it expends adequate sales effort that leads to higher demand and a dedicated consumer base. We derive a three-parameter contract that can coordinate the channel and arrive at a win-win situation for the manufacturer and the brick-and-mortar retailer. Our analysis shows that the contract is more beneficial for a brick-and-mortar retailer with lower relative market potential. Additionally, we find that the contract brings down the retail price of the product which benefits the end consumers.

Manufacturer driven strategic coordination as a response to “showrooming”

Sustainability has assumed increased importance in view of the international focus on pollution control and climate change. Specifically, the development of sustainable supply chain can help in important ways to reduce pollution and address environmental concerns. Energy efficiency forms an important aspect of this movement towards sustainable supply chain. Energy efficiency can be achieved through judicious energy management initiatives at the supply chain level. A metrics-based approach provides an effective mechanism to implement energy management programs in supply chain operation. The chapter explores the utility of energy balance sheet as a metric to implement such energy management programs. It further looks at the challenges and opportunities faced by supply chain partners in implementing energy management programs. It uses the case study of Firozabad glass industry to illustrate the implementation of energy management for developing sustainable supply chain.

Shounak Basak

Papers

A game theoretic analysis of multichannel retail in the context of showrooming

Application of radial basis function neural networks in optimization of hard turning of AISI D2 cold-worked tool steel with a ceramic tool

Manufacturer driven strategic coordination as a response to “showrooming”

Sustainable Supply Chain Development: An Energy Management Approach

Energy Management and Auditing in Indian MSMEs: A Business Ecosystem Perspective