Supply chain integration patterns and operational performance: a plant-level survey-based analysis

This study explores the relationship between supply chain integration practices and operational performance through a configurational perspective. The analysis of more than 300 companies reveal that plants implementing only some supply chain integration practices underperform full adopters and, more surprisingly, do not differ from plants that don't adopt any supply chain integration practice

Successful lean implementation: Organizational culture and soft lean practices

This work explores the differences between successful and unsuccessful lean factories in terms of organizational culture dimensions and use of soft lean practices.The analysis of more than 300 factories shows (1) which organizational culture characteristics are peculiar of successful lean factories and (2) that they implement more extensively lean practices concerning people and relations – i.e., soft lean practices

Assessing the Implications of Blockchain in the Wine Supply Chain: Evidence from Three Italian Companies

In wine supply chains some pilot Blockchain-based projects have been developed. They promise to enable better traceability, thus fronting counterfeiting and allowing consumers to verify the origin and the authenticity of every bottle. Despite expectations are high, the implications of Blockchain (BC) implementation are still underinvestigated. This study aims to provide a state-of-the-art discussion on the actual use of BC technology to face the counterfeiting problem in the wine supply chain. By comparing the BC solutions implemented by three Italian winemakers the paper demonstrates that actually wine companies are far from exploiting this technology to the maximum potential, because it is mainly used as a communication instrument. A further preliminary finding concerns the relationship between the wine price-quality positioning and the configuration of BC solutions, both at the technological and organizational level, to properly front counterfeiting

Implementing supplier integration practices to improve performance: The contingency effects of supply base concentration

Companies are recently facing increasing supply chain disruptions that may influence their supply base design choices. However, studies investigating how these choices affect the effectiveness of other supplier management practices, such as supplier integration, are scarce. The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of various types of supplier integration on the buyer's efficiency and innovation, as well as the contingency effects of supply base concentration, an important supply base design choice. Drawing upon Social Exchange Theory, we argue that the expected benefits of supplier integration activities to efficiency and innovation are strengthened by supply base concentration. We test our hypotheses using data collected from 324 manufacturing plants. Hierarchical regression results reveal that some supplier integration types improve performance only under higher levels of supply base concentration, while the effects of other supplier integration types vary according to the type of performance considered or are not significant at all. In addition, the results suggest that developing technologies to share information with suppliers may be counterproductive in driving efficiency. Besides enriching the supplier integration literature, this research offers guidance for managers who wish to improve efficiency and innovation, while also considering the pros and cons of supply base concentration

Leveraging fitness and lean bundles to build the cumulative performance sand cone model

Based on a sample of 317 manufacturing companies, this study adopts a structural equation modeling approach to test the relationships between bundles of lean practices and performance. The results of our analyses suggest that there is a sequence of lean practice implementation that permits to improve all the dimensions of operational performance. This study contributes to the academic literature and to practitioners by supporting the idea that a company - to achieve manufacturing excellence - should implement a "sand-cone" of lean practices to obtain a "sand-cone" of cumulative performance

The moderating role of JIT links with suppliers on the relationship between lean manufacturing and operational performances

Abstract. Lean manufacturing impacts several operational performances. The usefulness of JIT links with suppliers is also well known. However, literature lacks strong empirical evidences to exhibit the relationship between lean manufacturing, operational performances and JIT linkages with suppliers. This paper aims to investigate this relationship. A questionnaire-based international survey was used to obtain the main purpose of the research. Data from a sample of 200 companies were analyzed using a multiple regression methodology. The analysis demonstrates that JIT linkages with suppliers positively moderate the impact of lean manufacturing on punctuality, while the moderating effect is absent when considering efficiency and throughput time performance

Sustainability practices and web-based communication: An analysis of the Italian fashion industry

Purpose \u2013 The purpose of this paper is to examine which environmental and social sustainability practices companies in the Italian fashion industry adopt and how these companies communicate their sustainability commitment through their corporate websites. Design/methodology/approach \u2013 The multiple case studies approach was selected and the practices of 12 companies in the Italian fashion industry were investigated. Findings \u2013 The findings showed that four different approaches in the field of sustainability practices and web-based communication are available within the Italian fashion industry (i.e. low commitment, high commitment, low disclosure, high marketing) by highlighting the alignment (i.e. fit or misfit) among these dimensions and by discussing the practices as well as the drivers/barriers of each approach. Originality/value \u2013 The paper contributes to the literature by deepening the understanding of both the environmental and social dimensions of the sustainability issue. Moreover, the work investigates the relationship between sustainability practices and web-based sustainability communication, a topic that has not yet been addressed in the current literature

Education for optimized Life Cycle Management : The Project e-CIRP and its insights into embedding circular economy aspects to product design via teaching

Publisher Copyright: © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.The integration of circular economy-based life cycle management (LCM) into product design and optimisation is essential for the transformation towards a circular economy (CE). However, companies often lack the expertise to adapt life-cycle design (LCD) thinking in their business operations and are in need of respective capacity building. To close this apparent gap is the aim of the project e-CirP (Embedding Circular Economy into Product Design and Optimization) where LUT University, Fraunhofer, Technical University of Denmark, University of Padova, Delft University of Technology, University of Helsinki and Metso Outotec have worked together to develop a program that allows Master students across Europe to learn how to integrate CE and Life Cycle Thinking principles into product design by analysing real industrial cases. In the project, modern pedagogical approaches have been applied. A modular training package covering general circular economy aspects, as well as detailed value chain perspectives, has been created. Next to the content-related aspects, a great focus was also on the support of so-called soft-skills development, e.g. through international student cooperation on case studies. The paper presents the perspective of participating students as well as the cooperating companies that supplied the industry cases to allow an overview of opportunities and challenges.Peer reviewe

The social benefits of kaizen initiatives in healthcare: an empirical study

AbstractPurpose – This paper aims to identify the most influential determinants of employees’ problem-solving capabilities and attitude towards kaizen initiatives in healthcare and clarify how determinants are related with these two social outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on the input-process-outcome framework applied to kaizen initiatives, we distinguished determinants into input and process factors, and developed hypotheses on the direct effect of input and process factors on social outcomes, and the indirect effect of input factors on social outcomes through process factors. The hypotheses were tested through multiple regressions using data from 105 kaizen initiatives in two hospitals.Findings – Among the 14 determinants investigated, goal clarity, team autonomy, management support, goal difficulty and affective commitment to change are the most influential determinants of kaizen capabilities and/or employees’ attitude. Additionally, we found that goal clarity, goal difficulty, team autonomy and management support influence social outcomes directly and/or indirectly through affective commitment to change, internal processes and/or action orientation. Practical implications – Results guide healthcare practitioners in understanding how to set-up focused actions levering on specific determinants to positively influence social outcomes.Originality – This study provides an original contribution to the literature on kaizen initiatives in healthcare by empirically testing a comprehensive model of the relationship between kaizen initiatives determinants and social outcomes. Unlike previous studies, mostly anecdotal and focused on one or few determinants, this research adopted a holistic view by investigating the effect of a wide set of determinants on social outcomes through a systematic and quantitative approach