Showing papers in "Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management in 2018"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the moderating effect of market uncertainty on the causal effects from supply chain integration to operational performance of a typical supply chain, and they found that the relationship between the supply-chain integration and operational performance is nonlinear, and the nonlinearity can be significantly moderated by the market uncertainty as one of the key environmental factors for the supply chain.
Abstract: This research examines the moderating effect of market uncertainty on the causal effects from supply chain integration to operational performance of a typical supply chain. Based on an extensive and critical literature review, two exploratory conceptual hypotheses have been developed for the nonlinear relationship between the supply chain integration and operational performance of the original equipment manufacturer, and how may that relationship be moderated by a specific construct of market uncertainty. Empirical survey instrument has been designed and applied to gather the data from a wide spectrum of automotive industry in China. Confirmative factor analysis and threshold regression analysis were used as the primary research methodology to test the hypotheses. We find strong support to the hypotheses from the empirical evidence, which leads to the finding that the relationship between the supply chain integration and operational performance is ‘nonlinear’, and the ‘nonlinearity’ can be significantly moderated by the market uncertainty as one of the key environmental factors for the supply chain. This study extends the current literature by contributing for the first time the discussion of an analytical model that represents the causal effects from supply chain integration to its operational performance with respect to the market uncertainty as a moderating factor.
79 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the contextual relationship and interactions among barriers to implement reverse logistics practices in the computer supply chain of Bangladesh were examined, and seven barriers were finalized in the Bangladesh context based on the previous literature and professional feedback.
Abstract: Researchers and practitioners are paying attention to reverse logistics (RL) issues due to growing environmental concerns, competitive advantage, promising financial potential, legislative reasons and social responsibility. This study aims to examine the contextual relationship and interactions among barriers to implement RL practices in the computer supply chain of Bangladesh. We applied Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) technique to diagnose significant barriers and proposed a hierarchical framework for investigating the relationships among them. We also used MICMAC (Matriced’ Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliquee a unClassement) analysis to classify the barriers based on the driving power and dependence among them. Seven barriers were finalized in the Bangladesh context based on the previous literature and professional feedback. The findings reveal that financial constraints along with the lack of interest from top management are the most influential barriers to RL for the computer supply chains of Bangladesh. The ISM-based analysis can provide managers with insights for developing strategies for implementing RL practices in the computer supply chain of Bangladesh.
63 citations
TL;DR: This study will help to understand how the system security and privacy policy influence the adoption of IT-enabled services by the potential inhabitants of the proposed smart cities of India.
Abstract: The entire world is trying to provide modern facilities as well as updated amenities to their citizens. As such, attempts are being made to establish smart cities or to convert cities or a portion of the big city into smart cities throughout the globe. Most of the countries are trying to provide world-class facilities to its citizens, and India is also gearing up to make its smart city project a success. Both private sector and Government departments along with citizens are trying to work together to achieve this goal. The ministry of Urban Development of Government of India at the top level has proposed to create 100 smart cities throughout India where its residents could be provided with all modern facilities which will include all possible IT-enabled services to its citizens of the proposed smart cities. To make the Indian smart city dream a success and to provide best IT-enabled services with best performance and reliability, many factors of diversified nature are required to be considered. In this paper, we have primarily considered two important factors, that is, the level of expertise of the internal IT staff to develop and support the IT-enabled services in the proposed smart cities and the citizens’ participation to use the IT-enabled services with focusing special attention on the security and privacy aspects. Although many studies have been carried out in terms of security and privacy issues of IT-enabled services, there are very few studies conducted on the aspect of system security and privacy policy on the proposed Indian smart cities considering internal IT staff and potential residents of these proposed smart cities. This study will help to understand how the system security and privacy policy influence the adoption of IT-enabled services by the potential inhabitants of the proposed smart cities of India.
59 citations
TL;DR: A new tab called promising answers tab is introduced where answers are listed based on their usefulness, which is calculated by the proposed system using the classification and regression models, which found that they are in high agreement.
Abstract: Community Question Answering (CQA) sites have become a very popular place to ask questions and give answers to a large community of users on the Internet. Stack Exchange is one of the popular CQA sites where a large amount of contents are posted every day in the form of questions, answers and comments. The answers on Stack Exchange are listed by their recent occurrences, time of posting or votes obtained by peer users under three tabs called active, oldest and votes, respectively. Votes tab is the default setting on the site and is also preferred tab of users because answers under this tab are voted as good answers by other users. The problem of voting-based sorting is that new answers which are yet to receive any vote are placed at the bottom in vote tab. The new answer may be of sufficiently high-quality to be placed at the top but no or fewer votes (later posting) have made them stay at the bottom. We introduce a new tab called promising answers tab where answers are listed based on their usefulness, which is calculated by our proposed system using the classification and regression models. Several textual features of answers and users reputation are used as features to predict the usefulness of the answers. The results are validated with good values of precision, recall, F1-score, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and root mean squared error. We also compare the top ten answers predicted by our system to the actual top ten answers based on votes and found that they are in high agreement.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a method in green supplier selection and examined suppliers of a pharmaceutical company in Iran in order to achieve a green health supply chain, following a literature review, the domestic suppliers of effective raw materials for Tehran Chemie Pharmaceutical Co. are analyzed and prioritized by using 18 healthy and green criteria via fuzzy ELECTRE method.
Abstract: Protection of environment and human health are two important issues to which a huge attention has been paid in recent years. These issues have been taken into account by supply chain partners, so that GSCM and HSCM issues have been raised at this area. This paper proposes a method in green supplier selection and examines suppliers of a pharmaceutical company in Iran in order to achieve a green health supply chain. In this regard, following a literature review, the domestic suppliers of effective raw materials for Tehran Chemie Pharmaceutical Co. are analyzed and prioritized by using 18 healthy and green criteria via fuzzy ELECTRE method. Then, by the results of fuzzy ELECTRE, suppliers are classified via Pareto chart and ultimately regarding position of suppliers at each category the suggestions are proposed.
34 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focused on the determinants which form the basis for the competitiveness of electronics-manufacturing industries (EMI) in India and discussed with a group of experts to make the finalized set.
Abstract: In today’s world, the manufacturing organizations have to plan their strategies differently in order to attain competitiveness. The changing consumer demand, demographic priorities, new technologies, and changing attitudes pose threats to existing business strategies and curtails life cycle of electronics goods. With the emergence of new technologies, most of the organizations are feeling the pressure to deliver the latest technology goods and services in short span of time. This study focuses on the determinants which form the basis for the competitiveness of electronics-manufacturing industries (EMI) in India. Extensive literature studies have been performed to identify such determinants. These determinants are discussed with a group of experts to make the finalized set. The total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) is applied to interpret the complexity of inter-relationships among the determinants. Along with this, the weight of each determinant has been calculated using analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The paper will serve the dual value; first, it explores the EMI competitiveness and second, it prescribes usage of ranking of determinants by TISM–AHP method, a unified approach that can be used in ranking for multi-criteria problems in an interpretive manner. The findings suggest that the determinants such as market demand, government support policies, capital investments with higher driving power have higher weights in AHP model, which are further validated by the findings of TISM. Determinants with high driving power obtained from TISM and AHP draw almost same conclusions in terms of importance and rankings. The study will benefit policy makers, stakeholders, and manufacturing industries to gain competitive advantage by learning and implementing the suggested findings.
30 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conceptualized auxiliary flexibility as a new dimension of flexibility in the healthcare delivery system which provides internal strength to the healthcare organizations to reduce their service variability and identify its sources to provide varied services to the patients.
Abstract: The purpose of the study is to conceptualize auxiliary flexibility and identify its sources to provide varied services to the patients. The study aims to explore inter-organizational relationship from a flexibility perspective in the healthcare delivery system. This paper uses case studies based on the semi-structured interview, observation method, and informal discussions with healthcare professionals. In the present study, auxiliary flexibility is conceptualized as a new dimension of flexibility in the healthcare delivery system which provides internal strength to the healthcare organizations to reduce their service variability. Different sources for achieving auxiliary flexibility include outsourcing arrangements, networking, strategic alliances, and collaboration. An integrative framework is developed to establish the relationship of auxiliary flexibility with market-focused flexibility and patient satisfaction. The study is restricted to the findings derived from two hospitals in the Indian healthcare setting. The sample size for the semi-structured interview is limited to senior healthcare professionals. This paper is unique in proposing auxiliary flexibility in the healthcare delivery system and offers new insights to address the gap in the literature regarding how external resources and inter-organizational relationship help in achieving auxiliary flexibility. The framework and propositions presented in the study will guide for appropriate marketing planning and future research. This study provides an overview to shape and redesign inter-organizational relationship to find the different sources of auxiliary flexibility for improved service delivery.
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed a conceptual model to evaluate the supplier role in green initiatives by probing possible drivers, such as customer investment, customer requirements, relational norms, and supplier readiness in the Iranian automotive industry.
Abstract: The automotive industry is one of the main industries in the world that employs nearly 10% of the entire workforce by considering its supply chain. Stakeholders and regulatory agencies persuade the automotive supply chain industry to obtain green because of increasing environmental problems related to social concerns and global warming. Suppliers play a leading role in the management of the supply chain, but may fail to correctly take part in these initiatives. The goal of this paper is to develop a conceptual model to evaluate the supplier’s role in green initiatives by probing possible drivers, such as customer investment, customer requirements, relational norms, and supplier readiness in the Iranian automotive industry. The government of Iran is trying to focus on more localization by entering the best bets in the automotive market and collaborating with local suppliers and Original Equipment Manufacturers as the government has planned to restrict Completely Built Unit imports. This research has collected data from 150 Iranian automotive suppliers in order to examine and develop a framework and hypotheses using the Partial least squares method. Based on the final results, it can be concluded that the most significant drivers that play a leading role in supplier participation are society, environmental regulations, customer investment, and customer requirements. In contrast, supplier readiness and relational norms did not have a considerable effect on supplier participation. Our investigation is the first work to assess GSCM practices in the automotive industry in Iran.
24 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors have modeled the supply chain flexibility of automobile industry under SPS environment and identified four strategies, viz. volume flexibility, manufacturing flexibility, supplier collaboration flexibility and supplier flexibility, have been recognized to play a decisive role in firm's performance.
Abstract: In today’s competitive market of globalization, supply chain flexibility (SCF) has emerged as a potential weapon to address various uncertainties and associated risks. Offering sales promotional schemes (SPSs) is one of the obvious and inevitable features in the present competitive commercial environment, affecting demand uncertainty severely. This paper models the SCF of automobile industry under SPS environment. Supply chain professionals from two automobile OEMs are involved in the process of identifying 14 SCF strategies that are relevant to the present study. Personal interviews have been conducted with about 15 field managers from these industries and the causal relationships between these flexibility strategies have been established using a structured Fuzzy DEMATEL questionnaire. Using Fuzzy DEMATEL methodology, the identified strategies are ranked based on their degree of influence and classified into cause/effect groups. Based on the analysis, four strategies, viz. volume flexibility, manufacturing flexibility, supplier collaboration flexibility and supplier flexibility, have been recognized to play a decisive role in firm’s performance. The systematic elucidation of the model offers modest bunch bits of knowledge to practicing field experts to ken the utmost essential approaches influencing the performance of the firm in terms of their impelling strength. This helps them in crucial decision-making during SPS. Also, the present investigation will help in spanning the SCF with sales promotions, an unexplored gap in the earlier studies.
24 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the relationship between flexibility and ambidexterity in the context of HVLV manufacturing as well as the use of different management practices to manage this relationship.
Abstract: The ability to simultaneously increase operational efficiency and undertake organisational innovation has become a cornerstone for the long-term prosperity of organisations For manufacturing small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that produce a high variety of customised products at low volumes (HVLV), achieving this so-called organisational ambidexterity poses significant challenges HVLV manufacturers are designed to facilitate maximum flexibility in the manufacturing system; however, it is this same flexibility that can hinder the ability of a HVLV manufacturer to achieve organisational ambidexterity—bringing to light an apparent trade-off between two seemingly contradictory objectives Hence, in this paper, we investigate the relationship between flexibility and ambidexterity in the context of HVLV manufacturing as well as the use of different management practices to manage this relationship We construct a conceptual model by adopting a paradox-based view of tensions using insights from an extensive literature review Building off the contributions of paradox and organisation theory, this conceptual model demonstrates the multi-dimensional and dynamic nature of tensions between flexibility and ambidexterity as they manifest as much from salient factors (regarding social phenomena and individual cognition) as they are from latent factors (through the complex interactions of organisational elements) By moving beyond the dominant paradigm of efficiency-driven research in HVLV manufacturing, we provide managers with unique insights into the role flexibility plays in achieving ambidexterity to help facilitate better informed decisions taken by them Further theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as potential areas for further research
23 citations
TL;DR: AHP methodology has been used to understand the importance of requisites of product innovation management in Indian organizations as discussed by the authors, and total interpretive structural modelling has been utilized to develop and appropriately construe interpretive structure model of requisite and benefits of product innovativeness.
Abstract: Innovation may be a key towards business success and winning over competition prevailing in the market. Effective management of innovations may be recognized as a requirement to sustain the existing position of an organization and also to attract new customers for gaining a competitive advantage over other players in the market. Product innovativeness, regarding ‘new’/‘significantly improved’: features; functions, aesthetics etc., may be valued as an increasingly important research area in Indian context for domestic and international business sustainability. It has been attempted to identify and understand important requisites for product innovation management in Indian organizations. Literature review approach has been used for identifying requisites and benefits of product innovation management. AHP methodology has been used to understand the importance of requisites of product innovation management. ‘Total interpretive structural modelling’ has been utilized to develop and appropriately construe interpretive structural model of requisites and benefits of product innovation management. This paper may also help to practicing innovation managers of various Indian organizations to identify, understand and analyse ‘strengths and weaknesses’ of their organization in managing resources and activities involved in ‘product innovation management processes’.
TL;DR: In this paper, a strategic value chain framework has been developed for the Indian car manufacturing industry, which can be used for formulating and implementing a comprehensive strategy depending on the short-term/long-term financial perspectives of the car manufacturing company.
Abstract: A comprehensive strategy of an automobile-manufacturing company describes the methodology to create value for its shareholders, i.e., customers, suppliers, employees and society at large. A strategic value chain framework has been developed for the Indian car manufacturing industry. The concept of balanced scorecard, Kaplan and Norton (Harv Bus Rev 70(1):71–79, 1992), and strategy maps, Kaplan and Norton (Strategy maps—converting intangible assets into tangible outcomes. Harvard Business School Publishing Corp., Boston, 2004), has been used in the present research. The detailed design of the strategic value chain framework has been provided by making use of decomposition approach, Carrus and Cochran (in: 2nd international conference on engineering design and automation, Maui, HI, August 9–12, 1998). The decomposition approach is based on axiomatic design principles, Suh (The principles of design. Oxford University Press, New York, 1990). The detailed design of strategic value chain framework can be used for implementing the comprehensive strategy by the car manufacturing industry. The framework can be used for formulating and implementing a comprehensive strategy depending on the short-term/long-term financial perspectives of the car manufacturing company. The application of the research work has been illustrated with the help of an industrial case study.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated a moderated mediation model in which organizational trust moderates the indirect effect of employee engagement on innovative work behavior through employee voice under flexible working conditions and found that employee voice and employee engagement positively drive with higher levels of organizational trust.
Abstract: The study investigates a moderated mediation model in which organizational trust moderates the indirect effect of employee engagement on innovative work behavior through employee voice under flexible working conditions. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted on 428 managerial executives representing the Indian manufacturing sector. The analysis was carried out to estimate the significance of indirect effect using SOBEL macro and the bootstrapping approach. The findings revealed that the indirect effect of employee engagement on employee’s innovative work behavior through employee voice positively drives with higher levels of organizational trust. Additionally, it was also ascertained that employee voice and employee’s innovative work behavior were positively associated. The study suggests that employee’s innovative work behavior increases through employee engagement and employee voice when organizational trust is high. Implications and future directions are discussed in light of the findings.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the supply-side barriers and the corresponding mitigation strategies in the context of the apparel industry in Bangladesh by applying an analytical hierarchy process and quality function deployment method.
Abstract: With the increasingly complex business environment, supply chain managers are required to mitigate both upstream (supply-side) and downstream (demand-side) barriers in order to remain competitive. Failure to address both supply- and demand-side barriers carries far reaching consequences which can have a significant impact on the performance of the whole supply chain. While a substantial number of studies have been undertaken on supply chain barriers to performance, research on prioritizing supply-side barriers to select best mitigation strategies is rare, especially in the context of sourcing from low-cost countries. Hence, the objective of this research is to identify the supply-side barriers and the corresponding mitigation strategies in the context of the apparel industry in Bangladesh by applying an analytical hierarchy process and quality function deployment method. This study finds that long lead time, interruption in utility supply as well as on-time supply problems are the most prioritized supply-side barriers. In order to address these barriers, the most important strategies are efficiency in planning, quick response and commitment for meeting on-time delivery. The implications of findings of the research are also discussed.
TL;DR: Five objective functions are considered: minimizing the production line stoppage because of the performance of suppliers, minimizing the supplier complaints, minimizing suppliers defective parts, maximizing on-time delivery, and the total cost of supplying parts.
Abstract: Uncertainty in the business environment is one of the main challenges for modern organizations. Uniformity and a lack of timely response to changing environmental conditions can create inappropriate and sometimes irreversible consequences. If decision makers can use new approaches and strategies based on a systematic method, they will be able to guide their organization toward improvements. Agile supply chain systems enhance the organization’s ability to survive in an unpredictable business environment. Various methods have been used to design an agile and flexible supply chain. This paper endeavors to obtain a result using the mathematical modeling method to create optimal outcome by introducing new possibilities for an agile and flexible supply chain. This article considers five objective functions as follows: (1) minimizing the production line stoppage because of the performance of suppliers, (2) minimizing the supplier complaints, (3) minimizing suppliers defective parts, (4) maximizing on-time delivery, and (5) the total cost of supplying parts.
TL;DR: The aim of this paper is to analyze the critical root causes that can prevent manufacturing companies from obtaining sustainable growth, by showing how modularization strategy can contribute in this area.
Abstract: The search for competitiveness has led companies to increase the variety of products on offer in their portfolios with the aim of broadening their consumer market. However, there is a trade-off between increasing product variety and operational performance. Thus, the aim of this paper is to analyze the critical root causes that can prevent manufacturing companies from obtaining sustainable growth, by showing how modularization strategy can contribute in this area. In order to achieve the proposed objective, a bibliographical review was carried out for the topic, and an effect–cause–effect analysis was subsequently structured using the theory of constraints thinking process. From the main results, it was possible to identify that, besides the use of modularization strategy, supplier participation in the product development process needs to be considered, as well as defining constraints in the flow of production and postponing the definition of final products. Another contribution from the article is it presents an integrated effect–cause–effect analysis that lays out the contributions from modularization strategy. Adopting the strategy can contribute toward manufacturing companies obtaining sustainable growth.
TL;DR: The study brings out the importance of managing machine flexibility and its significant impact on lean manufacturing and focuses on automobile component industry in Pune region in India.
Abstract: In today’s world of fierce competition, lean manufacturing practices enable companies to meet challenges and be competitive. Uncertainties and dynamic changing situations in the market condition pose problems towards achieving aim of becoming lean. Manufacturing flexibility empowers companies to efficiently tackle these uncertainties and ever changing market conditions. In the present work, the effect of manufacturing flexibilities such as labour flexibility, machine flexibility, volume flexibility, routing flexibility, product flexibility and material handling flexibility on lean manufacturing has been studied and analysed by using structural equation modelling. Structural model depicting relationship between lean manufacturing and various elements of manufacturing flexibility was tested using AMOS and modified to attain the best fit. The study brings out the importance of managing machine flexibility and its significant impact on lean manufacturing. The study focuses on automobile component industry in Pune region in India.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the short-term performance in terms of abnormal returns to the announcement of cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) based on 139 acquisitions undertaken by Indian companies during 2012-2016.
Abstract: The intent of the research paper has been to evaluate the short-term performance in terms of abnormal returns to the announcement of cross-border acquisitions (CBAs). This research work is based on 139 acquisitions undertaken by Indian companies during 2012–2016. The event study methodology has been applied to assess the effect of acquisition announcement on the short-run performance of the bidding firm. Later on, adopting the conceptual framework of organizational learning and absorptive capacity of the organization, a disaggregative analysis has been conducted to ascertain the factors affecting short-run performance. The results indicate that on an average, CBAs have statistically significant and positive valuation effects for the Indian bidders in the short-run. Further, a disaggregative analysis shows that previous CBA experience and horizontal acquisitions have positive and significant valuation effects for the acquirers. Similarly, the age of the acquirer has been observed to exert a favorable influence on its own valuation post-acquisition. However, smaller firms vis-a-vis mid- and large-sized firms generate more abnormal returns. The paper attempts to extend the application of organizational learning theory and absorptive capacity to the field of corporate mergers and acquisitions by analyzing the equity market response to the public announcement of cross-border acquisitions and antecedents of such response.
TL;DR: In this article, the potential of economic value added (EVA), a value-based performance benchmark as an option to conventional earnings measures, with focus on two Asian emerging economies: India and China.
Abstract: The paper empirically explores on the potential of economic value added (EVA), a value-based performance benchmark as an option to conventional earnings measures, with focus on two Asian emerging economies: India and China. Panel regression method has been adopted to compare the significance of EVA over return on equity (ROE), return on capital employed (ROCE) and earnings per share (EPS), in explaining and forecasting market value added (MVA), a proxy for shareholders’ wealth creation. The research uses data spanning 15 years (2002–2016) of 260 Indian and 254 Chinese non-finance companies. Moreover, the regression models are first estimated in-sample period (2002–2011) and then tested for predictability over the period 2012–2016 (out-of-sample period). The results indicate a positive and significant relationship between EVA and MVA, next only to ROCE, with an ability to forecast MVA for India. In contrast, EVA does not emerge as a consequential performance measure with EPS dominating the performance measurement space for China. Notwithstanding, EVA in conjunction with ROCE provides incremental explanation to variations in MVA for Chinese firms. Further, the study highlights the negative relationship of EVA with the value creation by Chinese firms, in spite of the fact that China has witnessed a substantially higher annual GDP growth rate over the period 2002–2014, in comparison with India, one of the plausible reasons that it is now observing a slowdown. In sum, EVA depicts a more credible picture of the industrial contribution in the economic growth of India and China.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take a supportive view of the integration of spirituality at workplace in influencing employee knowledge sharing attitude in organizations and employ multiple-mediation analysis to test a research model linking organizational spirituality (organizational culture marked with higher-order values) with knowledge-sharing attitude through psychological flourishing and organizational trust as mediators.
Abstract: The paper takes a supportive view of the integration of spirituality at workplace in influencing employee knowledge sharing attitude in organizations. The present empirical work employed multiple-mediation analysis to test a research model linking organizational spirituality (organizational culture marked with higher-order values) with knowledge sharing attitude through psychological flourishing and organizational trust as mediators. Findings suggest that the intervening variables of psychological flourishing and organizational trust fully mediate the effect of organizational spirituality on knowledge sharing attitude. However, the specific indirect effect of organizational trust is stronger in comparison to psychological flourishing. Theoretically, the paper complements the scholarship of workplace spirituality, as little attention has been given to studying the linkage between spirituality and knowledge sharing in organizations. The paper also helps to explore some of the variance in knowledge sharing attitude by collective level phenomenon. Practically, the paper provides insights for practitioners who attempt to expand their knowledge base which is considered an important dynamic capability that shapes an organization’s strategic flexibility to compete in a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, chaos and ambiguity) environment.
TL;DR: In this paper, a situation-actor-process (S-A-P)-related variables and their likely relationship with public value have been analyzed based on a service of housing department of Delhi Development Authority and identified dominant actors who may be playing a critical role in the process of service delivery.
Abstract: An emerging approach for assessing performance of public services is based on public value. Many existing studies have, however, measured public value in the context of online services. In India, most of the public services are still not fully e-governed. Due to the absence of an end-to-end IT-enabled service delivery mechanism, physical presence of citizens is still required to avail public services in many cases. A citizen during his visit to a public organization faces a ‘Situation’, interacts with ‘Actors’ and follows a ‘Process’ or a set of processes. It is conceptualized that citizens’ perception based on situation—actor—process (S–A–P)-related variables is expected to influence public value. In this article, S–A–P-related variables and their likely relationship with public value have been analysed based on a service of housing department of Delhi Development Authority. The study also aims to identify dominant actors who may be playing a critical role in the process of service delivery. It is expected that such actors may influence the service delivery time due to their dominance over the process. A dominance matrix showing ranking of different actors involved in the process of selected service has been presented by using an Interpretive Ranking Process method. The study is expected to benefit planners and implementers in terms of improved public value and delivery of public services on time.
TL;DR: In this article, the responsiveness of public and private sector companies to adapt with the external regulatory requirements to strengthen their corporate governance structure is analyzed. But, the results reveal that the lack of flexibility of these firms owing to their institutional limitations deprives these firms to reap the benefits of good governance (higher firm value, efficiency and investor confidence).
Abstract: In the recent past, flexibility as a concept has gained significant importance in all the perspectives of an organization (strategic, marketing, technical, operational, financial and so on) It has been cited as a strategic driver to enhance the value of the firm Flexibility refers to the ability of the firm to change itself in response to various stimuli (internal/external) Since public and private sector organizations work under different institutional set-ups, this paper aims to analyse the responsiveness of public and private sector companies to adapt with the external regulatory requirements to strengthen their corporate governance structure The empirical findings report that the responsiveness of the public sector firms is significantly lower than the private sector firms to incorporate the regulatory requirements related to corporate governance Further, the findings reveal that the unique institutional set-ups of public sector firms (like diffusion of power, interference of government and lack of power vested in the board members) impede the ability of the public sector firms to transform its governance structure The findings raise concerns for the policymakers to address various institutional issues and set the accountability to the appropriate authorities to tackle various compliance issues Considering the perspective of the public sector firms, the lack of flexibility of these firms owing to their institutional limitations deprives these firms to reap the benefits of good governance (higher firm value, efficiency and investor confidence)
TL;DR: This short note is an attempt to relate flexible systems methodology with mixed-method and multi-method approaches adopted in management research.
Abstract: Systems methodology has been widely applied for problem solving by many researchers in past. Rather than fitting the problem to the systems modelling method selected by taking assumptions, it would be far more justified to fit a mix of the methods to suit the nature of the problem. In management research, a strong criticism has emerged on mono-method-based research as this is not adequately cross-validated. The flexible systems methodology is in a way mixed-method and multi-method research framework. According to it, first the characteristics of the research problem to be investigated should be examined on multiple dimensions. Subsequently, the research methods should be identified to suit the characteristics of the problem. The framework then suggests a couple of integrating mechanisms for systems modelling; the same can be applied to multi-method management research as well. This short note is an attempt to relate flexible systems methodology with mixed-method and multi-method approaches adopted in management research.
TL;DR: Robust facility layout has been designed and solved using simulated annealing (SA)-based embedded meta-heuristic and the proposed model simultaneously minimizes material handling cost for both inter/intra-cellular movement and EEC in cellular manufacturing systems.
Abstract: The increase in competitiveness and environmental challenges drive manufacturing industry to change in layout frequently. Moreover, due to environmental challenges, use of scarce resources like electrical energy consumption (EEC) is a major issue. To tackle these rapidly changing conditions, a layout must be efficient and effective. This work proposes a bi-objective robust stochastic sustainable cellular facility layout mathematical model and embedded meta-heuristic to solve it. The proposed model simultaneously minimizes material handling cost for both inter/intra-cellular movement and EEC in cellular manufacturing systems. In today’s sensitive market, demand fluctuates very frequently, so a layout must be robust so that it can tackle all these market fluctuations. To cure the problem, robust facility layout has been designed and solved using simulated annealing (SA)-based embedded meta-heuristic. To show the validity of proposed SA-based embedded meta-heuristic, twenty-five data instances have been used and solved.
TL;DR: The future manufacturing and global value chain will be highly dominated by technological and business innovations to cope with the accelerating pace of changes in consumer behavior and global business environment as mentioned in this paper, and the authors in this special issue published five articles that clearly articulate the emerging thematic discussions.
Abstract: The future manufacturing and global value chain will be highly dominated by technological and business innovations to cope with the accelerating pace of changes in consumer behaviour and global business environment. This editorial for the special issue “The future of manufacturing: global value chains, smart specialization and flexibility” enriches the topic of future of manufacturing operations and supply chain management literature. In the line with the theme, this special issue publishes five articles that clearly articulate the emerging thematic discussions.
TL;DR: This paper attempts to build a conceptual framework for community engagement in micro-insurance scheme design and deployment based on critical systems thinking literature that introduces the characteristics of openness, flexibility, and agility.
Abstract: This paper attempts to build a conceptual framework for community engagement in micro-insurance scheme design and deployment. The framework is founded on critical systems thinking literature that introduces the characteristics of openness, flexibility, and agility. The authors have focused on a community-led micro-insurance model, where the nature of the engagement itself underpins the success or failure of a scheme, due to their very nature of operations. Select systems thinking tools are introduced to better understand issues that arise in enhancing community engagement and flexibility, both of which are regarded as a critical aspect in the development of micro-insurance schemes. Reference and learning are drawn from an on-ground scheme in India implemented by the Micro Insurance Academy. The second author of this paper was the lead for this scheme. This is a proposed framework and is yet to be tested on ground.
TL;DR: In this paper, content analysis and textual analysis are employed on over 4000 annual reports of NIFTY500 companies, covering a period 10-year period from 2005 to 2015, to ascertain how this regulatory flexibility is leveraged by Indian companies.
Abstract: Flexibility is often defined in terms of autonomy of actions, freedom of expression, balancing in competing opposites and agility in actions. Such flexibility assumes greater significance in the dynamic system in which business operates. In this mutually reinforcing system, Indian regulators have accorded flexibility to companies to decide the nature, type, tone and time orientation of risk disclosures (in annual reports) based on their competitive position. Accordingly, the paper strives to ascertain how this regulatory flexibility is leveraged by Indian companies. For the purpose, content analysis and textual analysis are employed on over 4000 annual reports of NIFTY500 companies, covering a period 10-year period from 2005 to 2015. In tune with agency theory, proprietary cost theory, duality theory and contingency theory, the findings indicate that companies that are in a better competitive position tend to make greater and more comprehensive risk disclosures. The results are robust at company level, industry level and sectoral level. Further, the results unambiguously reflect how this flexibility affected the strategic decision making during the time of global financial crisis. Amidst calls for increasing regulations, particularly in the domain of disclosures, these findings clearly highlight the need for regulatory flexibility in decisions that have strategic implications for firms.
TL;DR: The paper presents the importance of using social media content in the new product development, shows a new way of conversational analysis to generate the preliminary findings of an ongoing study, and uses content analysis and network analysis approaches to get insights based on thematic pattern and topological metrics of social networks.
Abstract: Due to the vast availability of user-generated content, social media is considered useful for businesses to track users’ reactions, preferences and change in sentiments toward a specific product. The rise of social media is transforming the way businesses operate and interact with various related stakeholders and communities tremendously. Many businesses are competing to optimize their strategies and approaches to control this amount of information. The paper presents the importance of using social media content in the new product development and shows a new way of conversational analysis to generate the preliminary findings of an ongoing study. We undertook a case study of mobile phone, Samsung Galaxy S6, and S6 Edge, using two tools (e.g., R and NodeXL) to extract and analyze the Twitter data. Further, we used content analysis and network analysis approaches to get insights based on thematic pattern and topological metrics of social networks. Our findings show that there are considerable differences in the structure of conversational patterns of the two launches durations. The insights on these patterns can be extremely enlightening about early users’ perceptions and value judgments linked with the competing products.
TL;DR: A theoretical framework based on previous theories and empirical studies on resource alignment ranging from resource-based views to more complex network views of social organizational interactions and their implications for business performance activities is proposed.
Abstract: Researchers studying the alignment of business resources usually focus on business cases that inherently have continuous interactions built on long-term relationships at the firm level, dyadic level, or broader network level. While contractual limitations can be applied to resource alignment, resource engagement holds the notion of a persistent value-adding relationship. This paper proposes a theoretical framework based on previous theories and empirical studies on resource alignment ranging from resource-based views to more complex network views of social organizational interactions and their implications for business performance activities. The main challenge comes from time-bound transactions built around the longevity of interorganizational relations. Thus, the key strategic management problem is how resources and capabilities can be rapidly aligned and managed in a time-bound network to achieve sustainable competitive advantages at the network level.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors have discussed on the concept of ''lifetime wastivity'' of any system incorporating the waste of all types of resources such as material, energy, manpower, capital, and time.
Abstract: Wastivity is a wholesome measure of performance of any system. It considers the waste generated during the working of any system concerning the input provided to the system. This article deliberates on the concept of ‘lifetime wastivity’ of any system incorporating the waste of all types of resources such as material, energy, manpower, capital, and time. It first considers the context of electrical power systems, based on fossil fuels such as coal. The lifetime wastivity in the electricity sector is of very high order incorporating energy wastivity of all the processes in the life cycle, auxiliary energy wastivity, and different types of pollution-related wastivity at all stages. The paper takes another example from services sector such as hospitality industry. There is a need to put in place wastivity accounting and audit systems to portray the pattern of wastivity of different resources overtime to minimize lifetime wastivity. As an editorial, it also gives a brief of all the papers scheduled in this issue.