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Project management and scheduling 2022
No full textThis article summarises the research studies published in the special issue on Project Management and Scheduling devoted to the 18th International Conference on Project Management and Scheduling (PMS). The special issue contains state-of-the art research in the field of (non-)robust project and machine scheduling and the contribution of each individual study to the academic literature are discussed. We notice that there is a growing interest in the research community to investigate robust scheduling approaches and optimisation problems observed in real-life business settings. This allows us to derive some interesting future research directions for the project and machine scheduling community
Advances in Blockchain Research and Cryptocurrency Behaviour
No full textThe advent of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) represents a transformative milestone in modern banking, capturing the attention of policymakers, financial institutions, and academics alike. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the expanding body of literature on CBDCs. It delves into the critical aspects that define their significance and potential challenges within the banking sector. The primary objective of this chapter is to dissect the foundational elements crucial for the success of CBDC initiatives. It also aims to uncover how CBDCs have the potential to reshape the dynamics of monetary policy transmission and influence the stability of the banking sector, necessitating a delicate balance. Moreover, as the narrative progresses, the focus shifts to the potential of CBDCs to enhance financial inclusion and their role in optimising payment systems. CBDCs are examined for their capacity to ignite financial innovation through integration with the existing infrastructure and the creation of novel financial products. Lastly, this chapter sheds light on the intricate legal and regulatory framework surrounding CBDCs. This framework encompasses both national and international coordination, cybersecurity concerns, and data privacy. Additionally, it discusses the imperative need for the transformation of commercial banking models driven by CBDCs, which, in turn, requires the adaptation of business strategies to remain competitive
Navigating the path towards successful implementation of the EU HTA Regulation: key takeaways from the 2023 Spring Convention of the European Access Academy
No full textBackgroundThe European Regulation on Health Technology Assessment (EU HTA R), effective since January 2022, aims to harmonize and improve the efficiency of common HTA across Member States (MS), with a phased implementation from January 2025. At “midterms” of the preparation phase for the implementation of the Regulation our aim was to identify and prioritize tangible action points to move forward.MethodsDuring the 2023 Spring Convention of the European Access Academy (EAA), participants from different nationalities and stakeholder backgrounds discussed readiness and remaining challenges for the Regulation’s implementation and identified and prioritized action points. For this purpose, participants were assigned to four working groups: (i) Health Policy Challenges, (ii) Stakeholder Readiness, (iii) Approach to Uncertainty and (iv) Challenges regarding Methodology. Top four action points for each working group were identified and subsequently ranked by all participants during the final plenary session.ResultsOverall “readiness” for the Regulation was perceived as neutral. Prioritized action points included the following: Health Policy, i.e. assess adjustability of MS laws and health policy processes; Stakeholders, i.e. capacity building; Uncertainty, i.e. implement HTA guidelines as living documents; Methodology, i.e. clarify the Population, Intervention, Comparator(s), Outcomes (PICO) identification process.ConclusionsAt “midterms” of the preparation phase, the focus for the months to come is on executing the tangible action points identified at EAA’s Spring Convention. All action points centre around three overarching themes: harmonization and standardization, capacity building and collaboration, uncertainty management and robust data. These themes will ultimately determine the success of the EU HTA R in the long run.We would like to acknowledge all attendees of the EAA Spring Convention 2023 for their active involvement in this research. Further, we thank Abbvie, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi and Seagen for an unrestricted grant for E.J. and J.R. that partially funded this research
Are complex pay systems hurting executive comp?
No full textTo measure CEO pay complexity, we have developed a CEO pay complexity score consisting of four dimensions, the number of: Pay instruments granted;Performance measures included in short- and long-term incentive systems;ESG dimensions included in incentive systems;Years that CEOs must hold their shares after vesting.; Our empirical analysis supports the idea that CEO pay in Europe has become more complex
Simplifying tree-based methods for retail sales forecasting with explanatory variables
No full textA ‘simple’ tree-based framework is proposed for retail sales forecasting. Our framework performs surprisingly well on two datasets with explanatory variables. Its good performance depends on collecting explanatory data and feature engineering. More sophisticated tree-based variants only marginally improve the forecast accuracy. Extensive simulation shows the benefit of our framework on inventory performance.Despite being consistently outperformed by machine learning (ML) in forecasting competitions, simple statistical forecasting techniques remain standard in retail. This is partly because, for all their advantages, these top-performing ML methods are often too complex to implement. We have experimented with various tree-based ML methods and find that a ‘simple’ implementation of these can (substantially) outperform traditional forecasting methods while being computationally efficient. Our approach is validated with a dataset of 4,523 products of a leading Belgian retailer containing various explanatory variables (e.g., promotions and national events). Using Shapley values and slightly adjusted tree-based methods, we show that superior performance depends on the availability of explanatory variables and additional feature engineering. For robustness, we show that our findings also hold when using the M5 competition dataset. Extensive numerical experimentation finally shows how the forecast superiority of our proposed framework translates to higher service levels, lower inventory costs, and improvements in the bullwhip of orders and inventory. Our framework, with its excellent performance and scalability to practical forecasting settings, we contribute to the growing body of research aimed at facilitating the higher adoption rate of ML among ‘traditional’ retailers
Dual sourcing under non-stationary demand and partial observability
No full textWe consider a non-stationary demand process with partial observability. Our policy combines a stable slow source order and flexible orders from both sources. The optimal flexible orders are characterized by an adaptive dual base-stock policy. The base-stock levels are adapted to the belief of the non-stationary demand process. We show the value of adapted base-stock levels and flexible slow source orders.We study dual sourcing under stochastic and non-stationary demand. The non-stationarity is modeled through Markov-modulated changes in the underlying demand distribution. The actual demand distribution is not observed directly, yet demand observations reveal partial information about it. We propose a policy where a pre-committed base order from the slow source is complemented with flexible short-term orders from both the fast and slow source. The pre-committed order is cheaper, while flexible orders can be adjusted to the actual inventory needs and the non-stationary demand. By formulating the problem as a partially observable Markov decision process, we show that the optimal flexible orders follow an adaptive dual base-stock policy when the lead time difference between both sources is one period. A numerical validation study reveals how flexible slow source orders reduce the share of expensive orders from the fast source compared to a conventional tailored base-surge policy. In addition, our policy’s ability to adapt decisions to partial information allows for a more effective use of flexible orders. Our findings show the value of incorporating partial information to deal with the non-stationary demand and adding the flexible slow-sourcing option to create a more resilient replenishment policy
What does sustainability mean in the minds of consumers? A multi-country panel study
No full textIn developed countries, sustainability is increasingly an active agenda topic for businesses. Yet a view on what sustainability exactly means in the minds of consumers is missing. In response to this research opportunity, online panel respondents from seven advanced economies (France, UK, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, N = 5620) were surveyed in two cross-sectional waves. Factor analytical results show that consumers associate sustainability with three key subdimensions: ‘social equality’ (e.g., fair wages), ‘circularity’ (e.g., recycling) and ‘naturalness’ (e.g., avoiding use of pesticides and GMOs). This observation offers inspiration to update the traditional two-dimensional (social vs. environmental) structure of sustainability advanced in previous literature. In addition, the identified ‘naturalness’ dimension may point to a new route to stimulate pro-environmental behavior as it has both a strong link with the environment and may introduce an affective undertone. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications, and report observed country, gender, and age differences
Analysis of the impact of corrective actions for stochastic project networks
No full textIn project management, a project plan is constructed that assigns a planned start time to each project activity. Based on this plan, the total planned project duration and cost can be determined. However, during project execution, deviations from the plan are inevitable due to uncertainty and variability. When these deviations endanger the timely completion of projects, the project manager should take corrective actions to get the project back on track. In this study, corrective actions are modelled as modifications of the original activity duration distributions (i.e., reduced mean and/or standard deviation) to account for the uncertain nature of their impact. Further, an analytical procedure is developed to rank activities according to their expected impact on the project duration distribution when they are controlled by a corrective action. This activity ranking is used to determine the number of actions that should be taken and to select the set of activities that will be controlled. A computational experiment on a large set of project networks with varying network complexity and network structures has been conducted. These experiments have shown that taking actions on a relatively small subset of activities, rather than on the entire set of project activities, proves more efficient, when the subset of activities is carefully selected. More precisely, the efficiency of the corrective actions process depends on both the number of actions and the activity selection criterion (activity ranking)
Walking the tight rope of DEI implementation: paradox mindset and emotional capabilities as preconditions for middle managers' success
No full textIn the competitive landscape of modern organizations, middle managers are inherently subjected to immense pressure. Changes in organizational goals and priorities not only threaten but also transform their roles and identities (Thomas and Linstead, 2002), imposing high emotional work demands during the implementation process (Clarke et al., 2007). Occupying a unique structural position, middle managers find themselves at the forefront of strategic change. They are both targets, as their “strategic importance in the social system” of the organization is altered (Van Doorn et al., 2023), and agents of change, tasked with implementing organizational strategy in day-to-day operations (Harding et al., 2014)
Willingness-to-pay for brands that aim for inclusivity, sustainability and positive societal contribution vs. willingness-to-pay for brands that are perceived as exclusive, on-trend: generational, gender and country differences
No full textThis study explores consumer preferences for brands that emphasize sustainability and inclusivity, and for brands perceived as exclusive and trendy. Consumer data obtained via a large-scale survey involving 24,798 participants across 20 countries and one special administrative region (SAR) are used to understand how willingness to pay (WTP) for these brand types varies globally, accounting for demographic factors like generation, gender, and country. A substantial body of literature highlights growing consumer interest in brands that stand for sustainability and inclusivity, challenging traditional notions that luxury and exclusivity primarily drive brand value. Despite persistent skepticism among some business executives about consumers’ actual versus claimed willingness to spend more for sustainable and inclusive brands, academics and commercial researchers increasingly signal a shift in purchasing behavior that is influenced by socio-ecological factors. This research aims to provide empirical data on consumer WTP across different demographics and countries/regions, thereby contributing to academic discussions and offering insights for managerial decision making. The study frames its investigation around four research questions, to explore how consumers’ WTP for exclusive and inclusive brands varies across generations, genders, and countries/regions. It employs a robust methodological approach, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the data. This ensures that the constructs of brand inclusiveness and exclusivity are comparable across diverse cultural contexts. Significant gender, generational, and country/region differences are observed. When comparing generations, the findings indicate that GenZ consumers have a higher WTP for sustainable/inclusive brands (compared to older, GenX, and Baby Boomer generations). Similar patterns are found when considering WTP for exclusive, on-trend brands. In terms of gender, women are observed to have a higher WTP for sustainable/inclusive brands, but a lower WTP for exclusive, on-trend brands compared to men. Finally, compared to consumers originating from certain European countries, we find that consumers living in certain Asian countries/regions have a significantly higher WTP for inclusive and sustainable brands, as well as for exclusive/on-trend brands. The study underscores the complexities of consumer behavior in the global market, highlighting the coexistence of traditional preferences for exclusive, trendy brands and preferences for brands that embrace sustainability and inclusivity