1,721,004 research outputs found
Industry 4.0 and supply chain process re-engineering: A coproduction study of materials management in construction
Full text linkPurpose: This paper contributes to the literature on supply chain process management by discussing how Industry 4.0 technologies can support process re-engineering in the context of the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach: The paper discusses the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies through an exploratory case study focused on the materials management process, using a coproduction of research approach where the main findings are obtained through the involvement of internal and external process actors. Findings: The results show that the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies could radically improve process performance, better supporting the execution of activities, increasing the effectiveness of communication between actors and favoring data collection and sharing. These technologies, characterized by the level of risk connected to their implementation, need to be introduced in combination with new organizational mechanisms, which may be beneficial for several supply chain actors. Originality/value: Through the adoption of a research coproduction methodology, which is not common in the literature, this paper contributes to the ongoing discussion about how Industry 4.0 technologies contribute to process-centric supply chains, by discussing the benefits of these tools from the perspective of process actors
How do Scrum Methodologies Influence the Team's Cultural Values? A Multiple Case Study on Agile Teams in Nonsoftware Industries
Full text linkThe cultural component of the project team is recognized as one of the most critical factors in the implementation of agile project management (APM), especially in nonsoftware industries, where the diffusion of APM still involves several challenges. Particularly, the successful implementation of scrum—the most diffused APM methodology—seems related to the project teams’ subculture, which may differ from the overall organizational culture of the company. This article contributes to the APM literature in nonsoftware contexts by studying the cultural values that develop inside agile teams and the scrum principles and practices that are particularly relevant for fostering these values. Using interview data collected from seven manufacturing and service organizations, we use the competing value framework as the theoretical model to understand the cultural profiles of their organizations, how they deploy into the project teams’ subculture, and what, if any, connections exist with the adoption of scrum principles and practices. We find that clan and market values are the dominant subcultures in agile teams. These cultural values are fostered at a strategic level by a subset of scrum values (i.e., courage, openness, and respect) and pillars (i.e., transparency and adaptation). At an operational level, retrospective meetings and the definition of particular artifacts also contribute to develop these dominant cultural values
Designing circular supply chains in start-up companies: evidence from Italian fashion and construction start-ups
Full text linkPurposeThe theory of complex adaptive systems (CASs) represents an interesting perspective to study the characteristics of circular supply chains (CSCs). In this regard, the current literature lacks evidence regarding coordination and integration mechanisms, characteristics of the environment and emerging system properties of CSCs. This paper aims to fill this gap and focuses on how and why companies design (i.e. configure and coordinate) their CSCs and what value these design choices help to create across different industries.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a multiple case study approach and analyze data collected from a sample of five sustainable start-ups operating in the fashion and construction industries in Italy to better understand how these companies design (i.e. configure and coordinate) their CSCs.FindingsResults reveal that in the two industries under investigation, the design of CSCs built around open and closed-loop logic is triggered by the intention to solve a negative sustainability impact. The sustainability impact determines whether the value is restored within the same supply chain, in another, or inside or outside the same industry. Interestingly, start-ups appear to coordinate other CSC actors with three leading roles: (1) orchestrator, (2) integrated orchestrator and (3) circular manufacturer. The coordination role of the start-ups differs in each supply chain configuration based on the level of vertical integration of manufacturing activities.Originality/valueFrom a theoretical perspective, the authors' results expand previous supply chain management (SCM) literature by presenting an empirical analysis of the configuration and coordination of CSCs, and discussing the drivers for creating such circularity from a CAS perspective. From a managerial perspective, the authors offer a practical experience to entrepreneurs on how to transform circular and sustainable business model aspirations into CSC practices
Characteristics of supplier performance measurement systems in collaborative innovation projects: the role of the purchasing department
Full text linkPurpose: In the wake of the growing popularity of the open innovation approach, leveraging suppliers as external sources of innovation has attracted increasing interest from scholars and practitioners. Successful supplier involvement largely depends on an effective performance measurement process, but both supply chain management and innovation management literature have paid limited attention to this aspect. This paper aims to fill this gap by illustrating how companies measure the performance of the suppliers involved in their innovation projects and what role is played by the purchasing department. Design/methodology/approach: This study interviews project stakeholders from nine different organizations acting as focal companies in the supply chains of various industries. This paper complements this on-field information with a vast amount of data collected from secondary project documents. Structured data coding and analysis allow us to discuss how companies redesign their performance measurement systems to ease the collaboration with suppliers in innovation and what factors underly these decisions. Findings: The findings show that, in many cases, supplier performance measurement systems deviate from their typical characteristics to support collaboration in innovation projects. They integrate quantitative and qualitative measures, include contributions from different project stakeholders and are oriented toward high visibility and transparency with suppliers. A more substantial redesign of these systems is favored when purchasing is assigned to strategic project responsibilities and possesses higher absorptive capacity. Originality/value: The results complement the knowledge for the supply chain management field, where supplier performance measurement systems have been discussed in the context of traditional buyer-supplier relationships, but not comprehensively in innovation projects and not considering the role of purchasing. Findings also contribute to the innovation management literature, which has mostly focused on what aspects need to be measured for innovation partners, rather than how to manage the performance measurement process in practice
Managing triadic supplier relationships in collaborative innovation projects: a relational view perspective
Full text linkPurpose: Suppliers are essential partners in innovation projects, as they own resources, knowledge assets and capabilities that complement those of buying firms. In today’s competitive environment, firms may choose to collaborate with suppliers beyond dyads, forming triadic or three-party relationships. Using the theoretical lens of the relational view (RV), this study aims to explore what type of triad configurations firms use to govern supplier relationships in collaborative innovation projects, how they choose to share resources and implications for project performance. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use interview data from buyers and suppliers in six case studies of firms involved in ten collaborative innovation projects. The four constructs of the RV are used to observe how firms govern triadic relationships, combine complementary resources, invest in relationship-specific assets and manage information and knowledge exchange with and between suppliers in innovation projects. Findings: Four archetypes of triadic relationships in innovation projects – labeled Triangle, A-frame, D-Frame and Line – are presented and characterized in terms of their structural and relational features. The authors discuss how each triad archetype is applicable to different innovation projects according to specific project characteristics. Originality/value: This study is pioneering in its empirical examination of triadic relationships in collaborative innovation projects. It provides a novel typology of four archetypes of triad from the perspective of collaborative relationships with suppliers. Through applying the RV, it advances understanding of how triadic relationships are governed, how they invest in relationship-specific assets, how they combine complementary resources and how they exchange knowledge and information in each type of triad appropriate to different innovation project settings. To date, much of the extant literature has focused on dyads
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Structuring Public Procurement in Local Governments: The Effect of Centralization, Standardization and Digitalization on Performance
No full textThere is broad recognition of the potential contribution of procurement within public administrations at all levels, as efficient and effective management of required inputs has a crucial impact on the achievement of high-level objectives. This is particularly true for local governments, where procurement consumes a substantial part of the budget cost, thus representing a key mechanism to provide value for citizens. Through the analysis of quantitative data collected from municipalities in two different countries (Italy and the USA), the current paper analyzes how specific structural decisions for public procurement (i.e., level of centralization, level of digitalization, level of standardization) are linked to performance. Multiple regression analyses show a positive linkage between the levels of centralization and digitalization and procurement performance, while no evidence is found for what concerns the standardization of the processes. Digitalization is ultimately a potential factor that mitigates the negative effects of decentralization on cost savings. Cluster analysis identifies two types of procurement systems—one more oriented toward cost efficiency and the other more focused on quality. Some antecedents (country, size, and magnitude of spending) affect the procurement design but not the performance
- …
