Contextual impacts on industrial processes brought by the digital transformation of manufacturing: a systematic review

The digital transformation of manufacturing (a phenomenon also known as "Industry 4.0" or "Smart Manufacturing") is finding a growing interest both at practitioner and academic levels, but is still in its infancy and needs deeper investigation. Even though current and potential advantages of digital manufacturing are remarkable, in terms of improved efficiency, sustainability, customization, and flexibility, only a limited number of companies has already developed ad hoc strategies necessary to achieve a superior performance. Through a systematic review, this study aims at assessing the current state of the art of the academic literature regarding the paradigm shift occurring in the manufacturing settings, in order to provide definitions as well as point out recurring patterns and gaps to be addressed by future research. For the literature search, the most representative keywords, strict criteria, and classification schemes based on authoritative reference studies were used. The final sample of 156 primary publications was analyzed through a systematic coding process to identify theoretical and methodological approaches, together with other significant elements. This analysis allowed a mapping of the literature based on clusters of critical themes to synthesize the developments of different research streams and provide the most representative picture of its current state. Research areas, insights, and gaps resulting from this analysis contributed to create a schematic research agenda, which clearly indicates the space for future evolutions of the state of knowledge in this field

Diffusion of social cognitive theory in information systems research: A bibliometric study

Recently, Social Cognitive theory (SCT) has been widely adapted across various disciplines in business and management as well as Information Systems (IS) research. In IS, the use of SCT remains in its early stages. Few bibliometric analyses have been published on mapping theories across previous literature. However, to date factors related to literature review mapping in relation to SCT in IS have not been much examined. This paper aims to investigate the expliotiation of SCT in IS research based on bibliometric analysis. In this study a biblimetric analysis is conducted on previous literature reviews/abstracts based on Association of Business Schools (ABS) journal rankings from Information Management field perspective. 62 articles in Information Management field have utilised SCT were published in 17 (out of 53 journals) between 1995 and 2010. The study findings has identified that the organisation/firm and actors as a unit of analysis, positivist paradigm, empirical and quantitative research as well as survey method were used significantly in combination with SCT in IS studies. This bibliometric study will provide the needed platform for a better understanding of high quality research activities. Consequently, this can be used as an indicator to measure research quality and the impact of future direction and exploitation of SCT in IS research

Risk assessment and relationship management: practical approach to supply chain risk management

The literature suggests the need for incorporating the risk construct into the measurement of organisational performance, although few examples are available as to how this might be undertaken in relation to supply chains. A conceptual framework for the development of performance and risk management within the supply chain is evolved from the literature and empirical evidence. The twin levels of dyadic performance/risk management and the management of a portfolio of performance/risks is addressed, employing Agency Theory to guide the analysis. The empirical evidence relates to the downstream management of dealerships by a large multinational organisation. Propositions are derived from the analysis relating to the issues and mechanisms that may be employed to effectively manage a portfolio of supply chain performance and risks

Clarifying the Dominant Logic Construct by Disentangling and Reassembling its Dimensions

Since its introduction, Prahalad and Bettis's concept of dominant logic has informed a variety of scholarly conversations in management and strategy research. However, scholars have interpreted dominant logic in different ways, emphasizing different aspects, such as managerial mindsets, administrative tools and management functions, as defining elements. Similarly, empirical studies have captured various aspects, such as meanings of entrepreneurs, observable strategic decisions and business model similarity, as indicators of dominant logic. Consequently, the concept lacks analytical clarity, and it is difficult to compare or generalize findings from this diverse set of studies. The aim of this review is to improve conceptual clarity by analysing, comparing and evaluating the existing interpretations and assessments of dominant logic in 94 studies. In the first part of the review, by disentangling the interpretations of the concept, we show that dominant logic consists of four defining dimensions: (i) shared mental models; (ii) values and premises; (iii) organizational practices; and (iv) organizing structures. In the second part, we reassemble dominant logic into an integrative model and theorize about how these dimensions operate in concert to produce a firm's dominant logic. Thus, our main contribution is a clarification and synthesis of the literature, which comes with implications on how future research can conceptualize and operationalize dominant logic more consistently

Identification and Visualization of the Conceptual Structure and Main Research Themes of Studies in Informatics and Control Journal from 2008 to 2019

Studies in Informatics and Control journal is a quarterly publication for all those involved in the field of Information Technology (IT). Studies in Informatics and Control journal provides important perspectives on topics relevant to IT, with an emphasis on useful applications in the most important areas of IT, and it is aimed at advanced practitioners and researchers in the field of IT. The core subjects covered by Studies in Informatics and Control journal are relating to innovative research and practice in Information Technology: IT use in control and management systems; integration of IT with control; application of IT in socio-economic systems and manufacturing processes, mainly. The current research conducts a bibliometric performance and conceptual structure analysis of Studies in Informatics and Control journal from 2008 to 2019. Firstly, the journal performance is analysed according to the data retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, putting the focus on the productivity of the authors, citations, countries, organizations and most relevant publications. Finally, the conceptual structure of the journal is analysed with bibliometric software tool SciMAT, identifying the main thematic areas that have been the object of research, their composition, relationship and evolution during the period analysed

A strategic perspective on the emergence and evolution of e-Banking in Saudi Arabia

The aim of the thesis is to look at the emergence and evolution of e-banking in Saudi Arabia, with particular emphasis on the processes of how banks implement e-banking to build their capabilities and create new value strategies. The research process focuses on understanding (1) how banks implement e-banking to build their capabilities as well as to create new value strategies, (2) how e-banking capabilities have been built, and (3) the role played by e-banking in shaping the strategic direction of banks. This requires understanding of a variety of aspects (i) the value created by e-banking products and services within different banks, (ii) the process of e-banking development within the different banks, (iii) how banks approach e-banking products and services, and (iv) how the banks align the demand and supply factors surrounding e-banking products and servicesThe theoretical approach blends inputs from different disciplines relevant to understand and deal with the subject matter of this thesis, including value creation and capability-building literature, technology implementation literature, with particular emphasis on the processes of implementing network technologies and e-businesses, as well as literature on process approaches. The methodological approach makes use of the case study strategy (Yin 2003) as research strategy, a multiple-case embedded design, as research design strategy, and three sources of evidence: (1) a survey distributed to all Saudi Arabian banks, (2) semi-structured interviews, and (3) archival records of e-banking transactions. The main fieldwork is longitudinal and takes place during three rounds: SeptemberOctober 2003, December 2003-March 2004, and December 2005-January 2006.The thesis investigates the emergence and evolution of e-banking at six Saudi Arabian banks: Samba Financial Group (Samba), AlRajhi Bank (AlRajhi), Saudi Investment Bank (Saib), Saudi Hollandi Bank (Hollandi), National Commercial Bank (AlAhli), and Riyad Bank (Riyad). This is followed by an investigation of the emergence and evolution of electronic securities trading systems at the Saudi Capital Market (i. e., Tadawul), providing an external view of the emergence and evolution of ebanking in Saudi Arabia.The analysis of the empirical material implements the theoretical propositions strategy via utilisation of the "sociotechnical constituencies" approach (Molina 1990; 1993) and its associated analytical tools of the "diamond of alignment" (Molina 1995), "alignment web" (Molina 2003) and "dynamic strategy mapping" (DSM) (Molina 2005). The aim is not only to use the approach to reveal how banks build their e-banking capabilities and create new value strategies, but also to test critically the applicability of the "sociotechnical constituencies" approach and its associated analytical tools for understanding e-banking value creation and capability-building strategies.The overall result of the investigation conducted by this thesis suggests that the Saudi Arabian ebanking' constituency-building process shows distinctive processes of sociotechnical alignment by each one of the specific Saudi banks' e-banking constituencies in the study. In addition, the use of Molina's "alignment web" to assess the state of each of the specific e-banking constituency-building processes helps identify the areas of strengths and weaknesses in these processes of sociotechnical alignment. The distinctiveness of development by each sociotechnical constituency is also highlighted by the application of the Molina's "dynamic strategy mapping" (DSM), showing that each constituency has its own combination of strategic ingredients.Although this thesis demonstrates strengths in the areas of logic replication, narrative writing, and validating procedure, in future studies it would be interesting to enhance its theoretical background, chronological structure, and quantitative assessment. This thesis contributes to providing a rich insight into the emergence and evolution of e-banking in Saudi Arabia, particularly at six of eleven Saudi banks as well as the technological systems of the Saudi Capital Market. Such contribution may be used to inform the future alignment strategy pursued by each the Saudi Arabian e-banking constituencies