Liberia is at the crossroads. Still recovering from a protracted civil war, there is inadequate education, high illiteracy rates particularly for women and where the population is 90 percent food insecure. Libraries are non-existent outside of universities at which libraries are woefully inadequate. Through various initiatives Rutgers University and others are working to help develop a twenty-f…
Eco-efficiency is an instrument for sustainability analysis, indicating how efficient the economic activity is with regard to nature's goods and services. This paper conducts an ecoefficiency analysis for regional industrial systems in China by developing data envelopment analysis (DEA) based models. Using real data of 30 provinces in China, an empirical study is employed to illustrate the patt…
abstract Energy use in the production of desirable output often results in the generation of undesirable emission with detrimental impact on the environment, and whose disposal is frequently monitored by public authorities. Previous studies, however, paid little attention to undesirable output and environmental regulation related to its disposal while estimating energy use efficiency. Analysis…
abstract An unceasing growth of gas consumption in domestic households, industry, and power plants has gradually turned natural gas into a major source of energy. Main drivers in this development are the technical and economic advantages of natural gas. It is a clean, versatile, and easily controllable fuel. On this basis, natural gas is often considered the form of energy that will be the ‘…
Introduction Most research on group scheduling in cellular manufacturing has been studied in an environment that permits early shipments. In reality, many customers now forbid early shipments as part of the implementation of the just-in-time (JIT) approach to manufacturing[1-3]. This study compares the performance of group scheduling heuristics in two types of order shipment environments under…
Abstract Purpose – China and India are pursuing cooperative arrangements while simultaneously maintaining their own independence, especially with respect to foreign policy. Today, decisions about cooperation are made on a case-by-case basis, opting for cooperation when necessary and competition where this strategy is justified. Maintaining a balance in a contradiction-ridden relationship i…
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of a key logistics and distribution variable, case pack quantity, on a consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturing firm’s performance. The paper builds theory with respect to case pack quantity’s dichotomous impact on the retail shelf replenishment process and subsequent impact on market share depending on product …
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illuminate light on the assessment of operating efficiency of specialty coffee retailers from the perspective of socially responsible global sourcing. This paper evaluates the impact of socially responsible sourcing on the operating efficiencies of specialty coffee retailers before and after implementing fair-trade practices and compares th…
Abstract Purpose – The reader of Alfred Marshall writings confronts a variety of businessmen portraits that coexist along his epoch. The purpose of this paper is to describe Marshall’s understanding of the capitalist-owner concept, the way in which access to capital determined the emerging role played by entrepreneurs, the differences between entrepreneurs and managers in order to expose …
ABSTRACT. In recent years, interest in the economic potential of the Arctic has been mounting, facilitated by environmental developments caused by climate change. In this context, the viability of shipping in Arctic waters is pivotal. This article explores the interplay of market considerations and the non-market drivers (climatic, navigational and political components) regarding the viability …
Abstract Purpose – Organizations in India are multicultural in nature. In this context, cultural intelligence is a tool, which can increase an individual’s ability to interact with people outside his/her culture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of cultural intelligence on task performance as well as to investigate the mediating role of cultural adjustment between the two.
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish an integrated model of Analytic Network Process (ANP) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), to assist enterprises to process supplier quality performance rating and comparison and find the core improvement direction to create the value of all supply chain members.
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the effectiveness of market discipline on banks’ risk-taking behavior based on how swiftly banks respond to market information. Design/methodology/approach – A simplified incentive model provides the necessary justification for two types of market disciplines: first, monitoring by uninsured market participants, and second, risk p…
a b s t r a c t The International Maritime Exchange (IMAREX) is the leading regulated marketplace for trading and clearing shipping freight derivatives. We investigate for the first time whether the IMAREX freight futures market is efficient over the daily and weekly horizons. To this end, we address the question in both a statistical setting and an economic setting by employing an extensive d…
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate, through metaphor analysis, the complex nature of the work undertaken by waiters and pursers on-board cruise ships. This is an under-researched field and empirical research has produced some interesting perceptions that these groups of workers have of themselves, of others, and of the world in which they work and live. Design/met…
abstract There has been a worldwide trend for financial institutions to become larger in scale and more diversified in scope, with Taiwan being no exception. Fourteen financial holding companies (FHCs) have each begun to function as a management umbrella in Taiwan by investing in different types of financial services such as banking, insurance, and securities. This paper focuses on this local…
abstract This article takes 117 branches of a certain bank in Taiwan in 2006 as the research subject and introduces ata envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the operating performances of business units of this bank to provide the reference for a bank’s managers in determining operation strategies. The result indicates that, in overall technical efficiency, the case bank has many inefficien…
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the current state of sustainability efforts within the field of supply chain management, more specifically supply chain logistics operations, and to identify opportunities and provide recommendations for firms to follow sustainable operations. This study also aims to stimulate further research within the area of sustainable logistics…
Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to focus on the expectations and predicaments of Cameroonian civil servants two years after the country reached its completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on both the sales effects of free wine tastings and the effects on attitudes towards future purchases four weeks after the tastings. Design/methodology/approach – Store scanner data for the four weeks before and after each of ten wine tastings are used to measure the effect tastings had on sales. A total of 170 consumers, who attende…
Abstract Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the differential effect of customer orientation and future market focus on organization inertia and firm innovativeness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the business-to-business service industry. It is motivated by the observation that small and medium-sized service firms’ proxy to customers may lead to incremental s…
Abstract This paper shows consistency of a two step estimation of the factors in a dynamic approximate factor model when the panel of time series is large (n large). In the first step, the parameters of the model are estimated from an OLS on principal components. In the second step, the factors are estimated via the Kalman smoother. The analysis develops the theory for the estimator considered…
Abstract Takes a strategic journey into the future of the airline industry and air travel. The strategic trends and profound changes that are sweeping through the world airline industry and air travel currently, as well as into the next millennium, are analysed. So too are the responses of the lead airlines that are leading the charge in shaping as well as responding to these changes, which wi…
Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to examine the antecedent of purchase intention: online seller reputation, product category and surcharge. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses five experimental designs to explore the seller reputation, product category and surcharge effects in Internet shopping. The authors chose one seller of low reputation and one seller of high reputation fr…
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the process, network, skills and practices of service parts logistics organizations in the Asia Pacific region. Specifically, it attempts to propose a new framework for service parts logistics management based on interview inputs from several leading automotive and aerospace companies. This paper also seeks to identify the trends and …
Abstract Formative measurement models were first introduced in the literature more than forty years ago and the discussion about their methodological contribution has been increasing since the 1990s. However, the use of formative indicators for construct measurement in empirical studies is still scarce. This paper seeks to encourage the thoughtful application of formative models by (a) highli…
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to set out the process by which a smart specialisation strategy was developed for a small, peripheral economy in the European Union, the Republic of Malta. It assesses the applicability of the approach in the context of a micro-economy with an industrial structure based on a small number of foreign direct investments and a predominance of mic…
Introduction Control charts are important tools of statistical quality control. These charts are used to decide whether a process has achieved a state of statistical control and to maintain current control of a process. To use any of these charts, three design parameters must be specified: the sample size n, the sampling period h, and the width of control chart k (the number of standard deviat…
Abstract Purpose – This paper presents the design, development and trialling of the mobile execution environment (MEE), a secure portable execution environment designed to support secure teleworking. Teleworking is an established work practice, yet often the information security controls in the teleworking location are weaker than those in a corporate office. Security concerns also prevent …
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the process, network, skills and practices of service parts logistics organizations in the Asia Pacific region. Specifically, it attempts to propose a new framework for service parts logistics management based on interview inputs from several leading automotive and aerospace companies. This paper also seeks to identify the trends and …
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the production processes utilized by the Malaysian construction industry (MCI). Design/methodology/approach – The paper follows an earlier work published in this journal in which the authors analyze the global construction industry focusing on the evolution of lean production systems. Findings – The future of construction is …
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the interaction between the economic and political imperatives of new monetarism. The breakdown of the global derivatives markets, which came into the spotlight during the 2008/2009 global debt crisis, brought up the issue of trust. The matter at hand is the loss of trust in investors’ ability to make informed decisions, but trust …
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to study the development and implementation of metadata schemes in Swedish governmental agencies, in order to gain a better understanding of recordkeeping practices in contemporary organisations and of the use of metadata and practical implementation of metadata schemes. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on two case studies. Th…
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents (the medieval guild) of modern day industrial clustering. The paper challenges the notion that work of Alfred Marshall provides the intellectual underpinning of cluster thinking. Design/methodology/approach – The source material uses archival research on medieval guilds and historical texts. In tracing the developm…
The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences between Finnish and Russian, namely Karelian, food industry supply chains. The main objective is to find out the reasons for low productivity in Russian food industry from supply chain management (SCM) point of view.
Studies conducted on advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems have found problems in the marginal or negative returns from APS systems when they are implemented inmmanufacturing planning and control processes. The purpose of this study is to examine what problems exist in the onward and upward phase of the APS system implementation and how the individual, technical and organizational (ITO…
The purpose of this paper is to advance thought and practice on supply chain relationship building, in the context of humanitarian logistics, drawing on lessons from leading practitioners.
This module is an introductory to Supply Chain Management, anad part of module of FIATA Higher Diploma in Supply Chain Management
The purpose of this research is to explore the resilience domain, which is important in the field of supply chain management; it investigates the effects relational competencies have for resilience and the effect resilience, in turn, has on a supply chain’s customer value.
The purpose of this paper is to explore what theoretical lenses have been used to analyze and understand information sharing in supply chains. The paper elaborates on the predominant theories and discusses how they can be integrated to research different aspects of information sharing. Design/methodology/approach – The paper carried out a structured literature review by using a combination of…
Focusses on three constructs that we believe are the primary determinants of the future usage of third party logistics services. These constructs are: extent of use of the third party logistics services; decision making process for choosing contract logistics services provider; and impact of the usage of contract logistics services on the organisation. An empirical research was carried out in…
Claims that time compression is a powerful source of competitive advantage that remains relatively underutilized in UK busineses. Details the research undertaken by the Warwick Manufacturing Group’s time compression programme (TCP) on the applications of time‐based approaches with a number of partner companies. Explores the nature of time compression in relation to the fundamental principle…
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate research trends observed in the International Journal of Logistics Management (IJLM) during its first 20 years of publication. Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis was conducted of the IJLM’s first 20 years of publication (330 articles in total) to identify changing trends in subject matter, use of theory, type of research methodology, an…
Compares the bullwhip properties of a vendor managed inventory (VMI) supply chain with those of a traditional “serially-linked” supply chain. The emphasis of this investigation is the comparative impact the two structures have on the “bullwhip effect” generated. Particular attention is paid to the manufacturer’s production ordering activities as demonstrated using a simulation model b…
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature and call for additional research into the human, operational, and regulatory issues that contribute to workplace safety in the supply chain.
The management of international supply chains may significantly contribute to the successful outcome of exports. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of supply chain collaboration in an uncertain cross-border context, and whether it improves supply chain performance The moderating role of export experience and intensity to the collaboration-performance relationship is also in…
Despite the growing amount of research into container-port operations and efficiency, much of the literature on the subject treats container ports and terminals as black box systems without examining the structure of their transformation and production processes. Research on the network and multi-stage structure of container-terminal operating systems is scarce and its applications in the conte…
Ports, from the simple physical sea/land interface they once used to be, have successively turned into commerce and industrial centers, then into logistics and distribution platforms, and are now becoming intermodal nodes in international supply chains networks, the efficiency of which now drives trade competitiveness. With her distinguished location, logistics infrastructure and well qualified…