Blockchain innovation ecosystems orchestration in construction

Purpose: Rapid advancements in blockchain technology transform various sectors attracting the attention of industrialists, practitioners, policy-makers, academics, and profoundly affect construction businesses through smart contracts and crypto-economics. This paper explores the blockchain innovation ecosystem in construction. Design/methodology/approach: Through a qualitative study of 23 diverse interviewees, we explored how open or closed the blockchain innovation ecosystem in construction is and who its emerging orchestrators are. Findings: The data showed that construction aims towards an open innovation blockchain ecosystem, although there are elements of hybridisation and closedness, each system pointing out to different orchestrators. Practical implications: The study has implications for governments and large companies in construction showing that open innovation initiatives need to be encouraged by policy-makers through rules, regulations and government-sponsored demonstrator projects. Social implications: The data showed that there is lack of readiness for business model change to support open innovation blockchain ecosystems in construction. Originality: This is the first study applying the open innovation theory in the construction industry and sheds light into the phenomenon of blockchain suggesting routes for further democratisation of the technology for policy-makers and practitioners

The predicaments of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Transport Infrastructure : An examination of policy stagnation and progress

Purpose – Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for transport infrastructure, should take into account geological constraints, legislative regulations, public policy, and other strategic considerations. These strategic considerations and constraints that are often seen as the most challenging issues facing transportation planners are critically reviewed. Subsequently, the evolving environmental impacts of civil transport infrastructure projects are measured. Design/methodology/approach – Using a mixed-method approach, this study examines the EIA and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) dimensions of transportation infrastructure. Findings – Through the development of the EIA and EIS policy framework for transport infrastructure, this paper found that to better enhance the EIA and to effectively calculate various indicator variables, a hybrid approach to the method, known as input-output analysis, needs to be adopted. Knowing that a feasible cost breakdown is usually available within projects, it can be concluded that it is plausible to add an I-O model into an existing environmental impact statement to obtain results not only for onsite effects but also for off-site effects. Moreover, some of the benefits of implementing a hybrid input-output analysis can (1) significantly improve the completeness of any conventional EIS for a range of quantifiable indicators, (2) improve the ability to rank alternative options, and (3) provide a valuable overview of indirect impacts to be used for streamlining the EIA audit. For these reasons, input-output techniques could be incorporated as optional elements into the EIA standards. Practical implications - With input from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and national input-output tables of the industry sector, this research was able to determine that indirect effects within transport projects are not being considered for what they are worth. This enables to answer key questions dealing with the effects of EIAs on the transportation sector. This in turn can assist with planning through the commissioning of such projects. Originality/value - The I-O model introduced in this paper will ultimately lead to better incorporation of various environmental elements. The findings of the paper can thus assist transportation planners in better aligning environmental impacts with EIA. This in turn can result in improvements in the completeness of any conventional EIS, enhance the ability to rank alternative options and provide a valuable overview of indirect impacts to be used for streamlining the EIA audit

Differentiated supply chain strategy : Building knowledge through case studies

Nowadays companies usually offer a wide range of products and services in various types of non-coherent business environments. It is becoming apparent that traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ supply chain strategies does not support a wide range of products sold in a diversity of markets. Consequently, it becomes increasingly necessary to employ different manufacturing and delivery strategies concurrently in order to develop a differentiated supply chain strategy. This paper employs a descriptive multiple case study approach to illustrate how two companies has develop a differentiated supply chain strategy. Case study findings reveal that one efficient method to develop a differentiated supply chain strategy is to combine different manufacturing and delivery strategies into various supply chain solutions. By combining relatively few strategies it is possible to develop several differentiated supply chain solutions

Differentiated Supply Chain Strategy - Response to fragmented and complex market.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) aims to synchronize the requirements of customers with the flow of materials from suppliers, in order to satisfy the needs of the customers as cost-efficiently as possible. This has become a difficult task due to several developments in the market, such as increased competition, increased demand variability, increased product variety, increased amounts of customer-specific products, and shortening product life cycles. These developments, due in part to globalization, provide additional management challenges and new practices in which supply chains are designed and managed, and can eventually make the difference between companies staying competitive or not.The overall purpose of this thesis is to investigate how complexity and globalization affect supply chain design and operations. The main emphasis has been on producing descriptive results of the studied phenomenon. This research involves five case studies covering international transportation structures used in SCM, the selection of supply chain strategies in different business environments, and the role of information systems and technology in achieving the objective of SCM.In this thesis it has been concluded that in order to cope with increasingly complex and fragmented markets companies need more differentiated transportation structures, modes, and supply chains. Furthermore, to effectively manage this, information systems and advanced decision support tools are required. In addition, this thesis has shown that current taxonomies for supply chain strategy selection are too simplistic due to three major problems: they mediate that it is a question of choosing one supply chain strategy for the entire company, they regard markets as rather homogeneous, and they link each supply chain strategy to a specific business context. Instead, it has been concluded that in order to better satisfy differing customer needs in various markets it is increasingly necessary to develop a differentiated supply chain strategy by utilizing different manufacturing and delivery strategies concurrently. Thus, a need exists for new taxonomies for supply chain strategy selection which recognize that the markets are becoming more fragmented and complex, that customer preferences differ across customer/market segments, and that there is a need to differentiate the supply chain strategy. This thesis also highlights several requirements of a differentiated supply chain strategy. Firstly, extended supply chain collaboration is required, since a differentiated supply chain strategy will involve more supply chain partners than a traditional supply chain strategy. Secondly, there is a need for more transportation mode alternatives, particularly intermodal, both in supply and distribution operations, due to the fact that differentiation requires diversity. In this thesis, intermodal landbridge freight services are highlighted as one interesting avenue, which could potentially facilitate a more differentiated supply chain strategy. Thirdly, more integrated information systems are needed along with decision support tools. This study illustrates that agent based modeling appears to be an interesting method for developing realistic decision support tools in the context of complex supply chains.An interesting aspect for further research is to investigate how different manufacturing and delivery strategies can be used concurrently in international supply chains. Moreover, there are several requirements and opportunities of a differentiated supply chain strategy, and these have to be investigated further

Demand-Supply Chain Management

Purpose: This research aims to enhance the current understanding and knowledge of the demand-supply chain management (DSCM) concept by determining its elements, benefits, and requirements, as well as by analyzing key elements of the concept. Methodology: This research has utilized the case study strategy and the survey strategy, however, the case study strategy dominates. The case study research has involved five companies originating from Sweden and the collection of empirical data mainly from in-depth interviews with key persons representing senior and middle management. The survey research targeted the largest firms in Sweden and Finland and empirical data was collected through an online questionnaire. Findings: This research has established that the main elements of DSCM include market orientation, coordination of the demand and supply processes, viewing the demand and supply processes as being equally important, as well as value creation, differentiation, innovativeness, responsiveness, and cost-efficiency in the demand and supply processes. It has also been revealed that the main benefits of DSCM include enhanced competiveness, enhanced demand chain performance, as well as enhanced supply chain performance, while the main requirements of DSCM include organizational competences, company established principles, demand-supply chain collaboration, and information technology support. A key element of DSCM further investigated is differentiation focused supply chain design. It has been shown that these efforts can be organized into a process of five stages. In addition, it is important that this process is addressed in parallel with the new product development (NPD) process, that information is exchanged between them, and that they are directed on the basis of the same segmentation model. Another key element of DSCM further investigated is coordination between NPD and SCM. This research has identified several significant linkages between these management directions, which motivate the use of an integrative NPD process where the NPD functions are aligned with the main supply functions in the company and other sales-related functions supporting the commercialization. A final key element of DSCM further investigated is the significance of regarding the demand processes and the supply processes as being equally important. This research has revealed that logistics outsourcing can be risky, if it results in the supply processes being considered less important. Nevertheless, if senior management regards the outsourced processes as equally important as the in-house processes, the effect of logistics outsourcing on company strategies and direction in SCM could be reduced and logistics outsourcing could instead provide an opportunity to improve the design and differentiation of the supply chain. Research limitations/implications: This research has proposed, described, and further analyzed a demand-supply oriented management approach. Such a management approach stresses that the demand processes and the supply processes have to be coordinated and directed at an overlying level, in order to gain and sustain a competitive advantage in competitive and fragmented markets. This research is mainly explorative in nature, and more empirical data, from similar and other research settings, is needed to further validate the findings. Another limitation of the research is that it is essentially limited to Swedish companies (even if some Finnish companies are involved in the survey), however, many of the case companies have a large international presence and are among the top three in their industries, facts which provide some grounds for generalization. Practical implications: This research provides researchers and practitioners with insights into how to develop a demand-supply oriented business. It shows that companies should organize themselves around understanding how customer value is created and delivered, as well as how these processes and management directions can be coordinated. In order for this to occur, the demand and supply processes must be considered as being equally important and the firm needs to be managed jointly and in a coordinated manner by the demand- and supply-side of the company. It is also important that value creation is considered in both the demand and supply processes. Originality/value: Despite strong arguments from both researchers and practitioners for a demand-supply oriented management approach only a minority of companies appear to have effectively coordinated the demand and supply processes. This might be influenced by the lack of research examining how the demand and supply processes can be coordinated, what benefits can be gained by coordinating them, and what requirements are necessary to succeed. This research contributes by investigating these types of aspects further

Differentiated Supply Chain Strategy : Response to a fragmented and complex market

Supply Chain Management (SCM) aims to synchronize the requirements of customers with the flow of materials from suppliers, in order to satisfy the needs of the customers as costefficiently as possible. This has become a difficult task due to several developments in the market, such as increased competition, increased demand variability, increased product variety, increased amounts of customer-specific products, and shortening product life cycles. These developments, due in part to globalization, provide additional management challenges and new practices in which supply chains are designed and managed, and can eventually make the difference between companies staying competitive or not. The overall purpose of this thesis is to investigate how complexity and globalization affect supply chain design and operations. The main emphasis has been on producing descriptive results of the studied phenomenon. This research involves five case studies covering international transportation structures used in SCM, the selection of supply chain strategies in different business environments, and the role of information systems and technology in achieving the objective of SCM. In this thesis it has been concluded that in order to cope with increasingly complex and fragmented markets companies need more differentiated transportation structures, modes, and supply chains. Furthermore, to effectively manage this, information systems and advanced decision support tools are required. In addition, this thesis has shown that current taxonomies for supply chain strategy selection are too simplistic due to three major problems: they mediate that it is a question of choosing one supply chain strategy for the entire company, they regard markets as rather homogeneous, and they link each supply chain strategy to a specific business context. Instead, it has been concluded that in order to better satisfy differing customer needs in various markets it is increasingly necessary to develop a differentiated supply chain strategy by utilizing different manufacturing and delivery strategies concurrently. Thus, a need exists for new taxonomies for supply chain strategy selection which recognize that the markets are becoming more fragmented and complex, that customer preferences differ across customer/market segments, and that there is a need to differentiate the supply chain strategy. This thesis also highlights several requirements of a differentiated supply chain strategy. Firstly, extended supply chain collaboration is required, since a differentiated supply chain strategy will involve more supply chain partners than a traditional supply chain strategy. Secondly, there is a need for more transportation mode alternatives, particularly intermodal, both in supply and distribution operations, due to the fact that differentiation requires diversity. In this thesis, intermodal landbridge freight services are highlighted as one interesting avenue, which could potentially facilitate a more differentiated supply chain strategy. Thirdly, more integrated information systems are needed along with decision support tools. This study illustrates that agent based modeling appears to be an interesting method for developing realistic decision support tools in the context of complex supply chains. An interesting aspect for further research is to investigate how different manufacturing and delivery strategies can be used concurrently in international supply chains. Moreover, there are several requirements and opportunities of a differentiated supply chain strategy, and these have to be investigated furthe