To Greener Pastures: An Action Research Study on the Environmental Sustainability of Humanitarian Supply Chains

Purpose: While humanitarian supply chains (HSCs) inherently contribute to social sustainability by alleviating the suffering of afflicted communities, their unintended adverse environmental impact has been overlooked hitherto. This paper draws upon contingency theory to synthesize green practices for HSCs, identify the contingency factors that impact on greening HSCs and explore how focal humanitarian organizations (HOs) can cope with such contingency factors. Design/methodology/approach: Deploying an action research methodology, two-and-a-half cycles of collaboration between researchers and a United Nations agency were completed. The first half-cycle developed a deductive greening framework, synthesizing extant green practices from the literature. In the second and third cycles, green practices were adopted/customized/developed reflecting organizational and contextual contingency factors. Action steps were implemented in the HSC for prophylactics, involving an operational mix of disaster relief and development programs. Findings: First, the study presents a greening framework that synthesizes extant green practices in a suitable form for HOs. Second, it identifies the contingency factors associated with greening HSCs regarding funding environment, stakeholders, field of activity and organizational management. Third, it outlines the mechanisms for coping with the contingency factors identified, inter alia, improving the visibility of headquarters over field operations, promoting collaboration and resource sharing with other HOs as well as among different implementing partners in each country, and working with suppliers for greener packaging. The study advances a set of actionable propositions for greening HSCs. Practical implications: Using an action research methodology, the study makes strong practical contributions. Humanitarian practitioners can adopt the greening framework and the lessons learnt from the implementation cycles presented in this study. Originality/value: This is one of the first empirical studies to integrate environmental sustainability and HSCs using an action research methodology

Evaluation of lean practices in warehouses: an analysis of Brazilian reality

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This article aims to investigate the most applied lean warehouse practices in Brazilian warehouses. Design/methodology/approach: To perform this research, three phases were conducted: a literature review, a multiple case study, and an analysis of lean warehouses practices implementation by an engineering committee. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. Additionally, the study has an applied nature, with an exploratory and descriptive character. Findings: Results showed that regardless of the type of criterion used, the most implanted practices are those that do not involve investments in technology. On the other hand, practices like RFID and Cross Docking systems were not found in any of the operations, which shows numerous possibilities for improvement. Originality/value: The main contribution of this article is to initiate a debate about the management and productivity of Brazilian warehouses, a theme still little explored by the academic community despite the importance that the logistic scenario represents for Brazil as an emerging country and leader in Latin America, participating actively in several global supply chains

Selection process of auto-ID technology in warehouse management: A Delphi study

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of philosophy and awarded by Brunel UniversityIn a supply chain, a warehouse is a crucial component for linking all chain parties. Automatic identification and data capture (auto-ID) technology, e.g. RFID and barcodes are among the essential technologies in the 21st century knowledge-based economy. Selecting an auto-ID technology is a long term investment and it contributes to improving operational efficiency, achieving cost savings and creating opportunities for higher revenues. The interest in auto-ID research for warehouse management is rather stagnant and relatively small in comparison to other research domains such as transport, logistics and supply chain. However, although there are some previous studies that explored factors for the auto-ID selection decision in a warehouse environment, those factors (e.g., operational factors) have been examined separately and researchers have paid no attention to all key factors that may potentially affect this decision. In fact, yet there is no comprehensive framework in the literature that comprehensively investigates the critical factors influencing the auto-ID selection decision and how the factors should be combined to produce a successful auto-ID selection process in warehouse management. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to investigate empirically the auto-ID technology-selection process and to determine the key factors that influence decision makers when selecting auto-ID technology in the warehouse environment. This research is preceded by a comprehensive and systematic review of the relevant literature to identify the set of factors that may affect the technology selection decision. The Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework has been used as lens to categorise the identified factors (Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990). Data were collected by conducting first a modified (mixed-method) two-round Delphi study with a worldwide panel of experts (107) including academics, industry practitioners and consultants in auto-ID technologies. The results of the Delphi study were then verified via follow-up interviews, both face-to-face and telephone, carried out with 19 experts across the world. This research in nature is positivist, exploratory/descriptive, deductive/inductive and quantitative/qualitative. The quantitative data were analysed using the statistical package for social sciences, SPSS V.18, while the qualitative data of the Delphi study and the interviews were analysed manually using quantitative content analysis approach and thematic content analysis approach respectively. The findings of this research are reported on the motivations/reasons of warehouses in seeking to use auto-ID technologies, the challenges in making an auto-ID decision, the recommendations to address the challenges, the key steps that should be followed in making auto-ID selection decision, the key factors and their relative importance that influence auto-ID selection decision in a warehouse. The results of the Delphi study show that the six major factors affecting the auto-ID selection decision in warehouse management are: organisational, operational, structural, resources, external environmental and technological factors (in decreasing order of importance). In addition, 54 key sub-factors have been identified from the list of each of the major factors and ranked in decreasing order of the importance mean scores. However, the importance of these factors depends on the objectives and strategic motivations of warehouse; size of warehouse; type of business; nature of business environment; sectors; market types; products and countries. Based on the Delphi study and the interviews findings, a comprehensive multi-stage framework for auto-ID technology selection process has been developed. This research indicates that the selection process is complex and needs support and closer collaboration from all participants involved in the process such as the IT team, top management, warehouse manager, functional managers, experts, stockholders and vendors. Moreover, warehouse managers should have this process for collaboration before adopting the technology in order to reduce the high risks involved and achieve successful implementation. This research makes several contributions for both academic and practitioners with auto-ID selection in a warehouse environment. Academically, it provides a holistic multi-stage framework that explains the critical issues within the decision making process of auto-ID technology in warehouse management. Moreover, it contributes to the body of auto-ID and warehouse management literature by synthesising the literature on key dimensions of auto-ID (RFID/barcode) selection decision in the warehouse field. This research also provides a theoretical basis upon which future research on auto-ID selection and implementation can be built. Practically, the findings provide valuable insights for warehouse managers and executives associated with auto-ID selection and advance their understanding of the issues involved in the technology selection process that need to be considered.Damascus University, Syria and The British Council, Mancheste

Business strategy and firm performance: the British corporate economy, 1949-1984

There has been considerable and ongoing debate about the performance of the British economy since 1945. Empirical studies have concentrated on aggregate or industry level indicators. Few have examined individual firms’ financial performance. This study takes a sample of c.3000 firms in 19 industries and identifies Britain’s best performing companies over a period of 35 years. Successful companies are defined as a) those that survive as independent entities, b) that outperform peer group average return to capital for that industry, and c) that outperform other firms in the economy according to return on capital relative to industry average. Results are presented as league tables of success and some tentative explanations offered concerning the common strategies of successful firms. A broader research agenda for British business history is suggested

HR Selection Distortions: A theoretical framework for the Fiji Public Service

Despite being frequently perceived as a pertinent issue necessary to critically examine how incumbents are selected on merit, HR selection distortions is typically illdefined and poorly explained in much debate, hence, more precision in terms of contextualization of practice is needed. Through explaining and synthesizing the work of a number of scholars from different disciplines, the paper develops a theoretical framework for a meta- analysis, which begins with an exploration of the relationship between HR selection, networking and relational ties, employee’s justice perceptions, group heterogeneity and worker performance in Fiji’s public service institutions. The theoretical framework provides the leeway for the research questions to be answerable and the postulated hypotheses testable. However, more needs to be done to explain not only the nature and emergence of HR selection distortions but also the very real problems it faces in sustaining itself, let alone transforming the hiring processes in Fiji’s public service. The value of the paper lies in its theoretical innovation, drawing on a range of disciplines, and its attempt to situate HR selection distortions precisely, conceptually, theoretically, and practically

Leadership then at all events

Theory purporting to identify leadership remains over-determined by one of two underlying fallacies. Traditionally, it hypostatizes leadership in psychological terms so that it appears as the collection of attributes belonging to an independent, discrete person. By contrast, contemporary perspectives approach leadership by focusing on the intermediary relations between leaders and followers. We retreat from both of these conceptions. Our approach perceives these terms as continuous within each other and not merely as adjacent individuals. The upshot is that leadership should be understood as a more fundamental type of relatedness, one that is glimpsed in the active process we are here calling events. We suggest further work consistent with these ideas offers an innovative and useful line of inquiry, both by extending our theoretical understanding of leadership, but also because of the empirical challenges such a study invites.

Good practices for clinical data warehouse implementation: a case study in France

Real World Data (RWD) bears great promises to improve the quality of care. However, specific infrastructures and methodologies are required to derive robust knowledge and brings innovations to the patient. Drawing upon the national case study of the 32 French regional and university hospitals governance, we highlight key aspects of modern Clinical Data Warehouses (CDWs): governance, transparency, types of data, data reuse, technical tools, documentation and data quality control processes. Semi-structured interviews as well as a review of reported studies on French CDWs were conducted in a semi-structured manner from March to November 2022. Out of 32 regional and university hospitals in France, 14 have a CDW in production, 5 are experimenting, 5 have a prospective CDW project, 8 did not have any CDW project at the time of writing. The implementation of CDW in France dates from 2011 and accelerated in the late 2020. From this case study, we draw some general guidelines for CDWs. The actual orientation of CDWs towards research requires efforts in governance stabilization, standardization of data schema and development in data quality and data documentation. Particular attention must be paid to the sustainability of the warehouse teams and to the multi-level governance. The transparency of the studies and the tools of transformation of the data must improve to allow successful multi-centric data reuses as well as innovations in routine care.Comment: 16 page

Adding value through policy-oriented research: reflections of a scholar-practitioner

Any evaluation of the benefits of policy-oriented social science research faces fundamental difficulties. These include the uncertainty in determining a causal link between research and the outcome of a policy or the value of a policy outcome. Nonetheless, firm connections can be established between policy research and policy outcomes if there are strong links that bridge the gaps between social science research and the various parts of the policy process. These connections can be established often enough to make it possible to learn about the relationship between research and outcome and the key variables that affect the social profitability of the underlying research. This essay uses the author's experience with agricultural price policies in Asia, Indonesia in particular, to examine these connections. Four issues pervade the analysis of price policy in Asia: How does an analyst know what policy is best? How can an analyst best communicate the results of research to policymakers? Can a new policy be implemented? Does the new policy work? This last issue, the evaluation of policy, is often neglected, but it can provide an important input into the design of policy and should be made an integral part of any policy process. The author's experience in Indonesia suggests four factors that can make policy-oriented research successful. First, the analyst should be involved with the same policymakers or in the same policy setting for the long term. Second, there is a need to find a balance between keeping analysis and advice confidential and the ultimate publication of the key models and results. Third, the analysts should rely on the analytical paradigms of the mainstream of the economic profession even while examining deviations from their underlying assumptions. Lastly, there should be continuing demand from policymakers for problem-oriented analysis.Social sciences Research., Prices Government policy Bangladesh., Indonesia Economic policy., Impact assessment,

Does Non-linearity Matter in Retail Credit Risk Modeling?

In this research we propose a new method for retail credit risk modeling. In order to capture possible non-linear relationships between credit risk and explanatory variables, we use a learning vector quantization (LVQ) neural network. The model was estimated on a dataset from Slovenian banking sector. The proposed model outperformed the benchmarking (LOGIT) models, which represent the standard approach in banks. The results also demonstrate that the LVQ model is better able to handle the properties of categorical variables.retail banking, credit risk, logistic regression, learning vector quantization