Towards a theory of operational excellence

The term Operational Excellence is widely applied to businesses but the meaning is ill-defined and is often used as a desired goal. This paper provides a comprehensive review of Operational Excellence and starts to address the criticism of its lack of theoretical foundation. The aim of this conceptual paper is to clarify the meaning of Operational Excellent and to identify the underpinning theories and laws, or rules that guide it. Based on the synthesis of the literature using the term ‘Operational Excellence’ writings are reviewed against five criteria for a good theory. Our findings show there has been considerable research into identifying common practices and regularities of Operational Excellence but currently there is no single underlying theory of Operational Excellence that meets the criteria for a good theory. From our analysis of the literature we provide some recommendations to address the gaps found. Further research is required to develop a more robust theory of Operational Excellence that will serve to facilitate learning and innovation in next generation management thinking. Future study is also required to identify research that has been carried out that has tested the laws identified in this study. Ideas and input from practitioners would also be required to develop the theory and underpinning laws

Genetic Modifier Screens Reveal New Components that Interact with the Drosophila Dystroglycan-Dystrophin Complex

The Dystroglycan-Dystrophin (Dg-Dys) complex has a capacity to transmit information from the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton inside the cell. It is proposed that this interaction is under tight regulation; however the signaling/regulatory components of Dg-Dys complex remain elusive. Understanding the regulation of the complex is critical since defects in this complex cause muscular dystrophy in humans. To reveal new regulators of the Dg-Dys complex, we used a model organism Drosophila melanogaster and performed genetic interaction screens to identify modifiers of Dg and Dys mutants in Drosophila wing veins. These mutant screens revealed that the Dg-Dys complex interacts with genes involved in muscle function and components of Notch, TGF-β and EGFR signaling pathways. In addition, components of pathways that are required for cellular and/or axonal migration through cytoskeletal regulation, such as Semaphorin-Plexin, Frazzled-Netrin and Slit-Robo pathways show interactions with Dys and/or Dg. These data suggest that the Dg-Dys complex and the other pathways regulating extracellular information transfer to the cytoskeletal dynamics are more intercalated than previously thought

An Analysis of Port Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: The Case of Korean Container Ports

Ports play a critical role in the economy of many countries and regions. Failure or unreliability of port services can significantly influence port customers - shipping lines and cargo owners - and result in their dissatisfaction. However, what constitutes port service quality (PSQ) and its influence on the satisfaction of port customers has not been well investigated in the literature. Therefore, this study investigates the concept of PSQ and its influence on customer satisfaction in the case of Korean container ports. Following a literature review, a conceptual model of PSQ and its influence on customer satisfaction is proposed. The model was validated through a survey of 313 members of the Korean Port Logistics Association (KPLA). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted to confirm the PSQ dimensions and to examine their relationship with customer satisfaction using SmartPLS 3.2.1 software. PSQ is found to be a five-factor construct, and its management, and image and social responsibility factors have significant positive effects on customer satisfaction. In addition to its academic contribution, this study also contributes to management practices because port managers can use the PSQ scale to measure their customers' satisfaction and justify investments in the quality management of port services

Affective organizational commitment in global strategic partnerships: The role of individual-level microfoundations and social change

The roles and commitment of employees within global strategic partnerships are imperative to their success. Whilst previous studies have addressed certain individual-level microfoundations and social change in an interpretivist manner, this study first proposes a theoretical framework consists of individual-level microfoundations, social change and affective organizational commitment—interlinked with social identity theory. We then validate the 16-item scale for individual-level microfoundations and the 24-item scale for social change based on data collected from global strategic partnerships. For testing of our conceptualization, path modeling finally confirms significant relationships between the constructs. Our findings further present the partial mediating role of social change between individual-level microfoundations and affective organizational commitment. Therefore, the study provides a new pathway in advancing our understanding of global strategic partnerships. It also validates two new constructs directly relevant to managing global strategic partnerships. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these linkages and contributions, and conclude by providing suggestions for future research

Sustainability exploration and sustainability exploitation: from a literature review towards a conceptual framework

Theoretical and empirical research often points to a positive relation between corporate sustainability and organisational performance; however, attempts to conceptualise the multi-dimensional nature of sustainability practices are rare in the current literature. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework to aid in understanding and explaining the relationship between sustainability practices and organisational performance. The concepts of exploitation and exploration are adopted to distinguish between different types of sustainability practices. The research model is then analysed in terms of different outcomes related to sustainability performance, quality performance and business performance. Based on an interdisciplinary perspective, this paper suggests a new approach for the discussion of corporate sustainability and its implications for the organisational context. The results of the research suggest that the organisation may place a stronger focus on developing new sustainabilitycentred competencies when it is faced with an uncertain and rapidly changing environment. In contrast, efficiency and responsiveness to various stakeholders\u27 expectations and demands might dominate in highly competitive environments. The primary conclusion of this paper is that the alternative relationships between sustainability practices (exploitation and exploration) and organisational performance depend on different factors, including environmental uncertainty, competitiveness, long-term orientation and institutional approaches. These arguments indicate that managers in resource-constrained contexts may benefit from focusing on the management of trade-offs between sustainability exploration and sustainability exploitation demands; however, for long-term success, the simultaneous pursuit of exploration and exploitation is both desirable and necessary

The relationship between sustainability-oriented innovation practices and organizational performance: empirical evidence from Slovenian organizations

Background and Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyse the effects of sustainability-oriented innovation practices on the overall organizational performance. Further, this paper also aims to advance understanding of the measurement of corporate sustainability practices with the focus on innovation dimensions. Design/Methodology/Approach - The study uses data obtained from a survey of 116 organizations encompassing both the manufacturing and service industries in Slovenia. Descriptive statistics were used in order to determine the level of sustainability-oriented innovation practices deployment. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to extract the underlying factors and to provide a basis for assessing their reliability and validity. In addition, regression analysis was used to quantify the effect of sustainability practices on the organizational performance. Results - Data analysis result showed that sustainability-oriented innovation practices are significantly associated with organizational performance. Therefore, empirical evidence from this research confirmed the premise that building innovation competencies and integrating innovation activities in organization\u27s processes lead to performance benefits. This contributes to the debate about the potential for organizations to be sustainable and competitive. Conclusion - The presented research on corporate sustainability provides important theoretical and practical insights on which the deployment of sustainability-oriented innovation practices are conducive to fostering a broader set of performance benefits. As such, managers should increase organizations\u27 capacity for innovation which can be beneficial in terms of performance implications and achieving sustainability goals

Patterns and performance benefits of sustainability practices: a cross-country comparison

This paper aims to explore the relationship between sustainability practices and organizational performance. In particular, this paper draws upon institutional theory whit the aim to enhance the understanding of sustainability-related phenomena, mainly from the perspective which has not yet been widely investigated in prior empirical studies. Therefore, the paper addresses the research question whether sustainability practices as conceptualized within the framework of exploitation and exploration notions are characterized by organization\u27s country of origin. The target respondents of a large scale web-based survey were manufacturing and service industries distributed across five countries: Germany, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and Spain. Multiple regression with categorical predictors (dummy variables) was utilized to examine country effects on each of the performance measures. The outcome of the regression analysis provides some evidence indicating that organizations based in different countries hold substantially different perspectives: (1) Regarding the patterns and correlations among organizational performance dimensions; (2) Regarding the achieved levels of organizational performance as a consequence of deploying sustainability practices. In general, results suggest that organizations in different countries show many more differences in relation to the sustainability practices and organizational performance compared to the organizations within the same country. With this respect results suggest that institutional mechanisms might be a plausible explanation for differences in the deployment of sustainability practices and the effects of sustainability practices on the organizational performance. The paper contributes to the literature by providing a more clarity and better understanding of how organizations may effectively pursue sustainability practices to gain performance benefits