Toward sustainable express deliveries for online shopping: reusing packaging materials through reverse logistics

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in online purchases, which has inevitably raised the demand for express delivery packaging materials (EDPMs). This study proposes a reverse logistics reuse framework that extends the EDPM life cycle by drawing on insights and conclusions from a review of the literature on supply chain management and materials science to achieve a sustainable e-commerce system. A key benefit of reverse logistics is its effectiveness in exploiting opportunities for resource reuse, which is preferred to recycling. By extending service life through resource optimization, recycling, and recovery processes, the novel reuse framework based on reverse logistics can be implemented with minimal changes to existing forward logistics systems, potentially leading to more sustainable online shopping. This study proposes a novel combination of reusable packaging materials and reverse logistics as a viable and more environmentally friendly practice, in line with circular economy goals

Managerial assets and actions: what can we learn from New Zealand's research and innovation landscape?

Productivity and innovation are cornerstones of New Zealand's competitiveness. The managerial flow model provides a unique perspective, framing two decades of invest- ment encouraging private sector participation at a national level. The New Zealand case suggests that appropriate managerial actions can lead to managerial assets and vice-versa. This positive feedback loop provides a platform for policies regarding in- novation, a forum for organisational learning for policy makers, and an example of best practices in planning and investing in a country's innovation landscape

Competitiveness and innovation landscapes in the tropics: a comparison of Singapore and New Zealand during 1999-2008

Singapore-New Zealand bilateral relations are long-standing and based on a close political, economic and defense ties. Being small in economic size and population, both nations have undergone some challenges in a bid to improve their national competitiveness and innovation landscapes. This paper reviews both countries in terms of how innovative organizations are networked and organized so that they can be productive. It leads to a comparison of policies and governance orchestrating innovation. Through these instrumental cases and multiple data sources over a ten-year period, this paper concludes with some generalization and lessons for other small emerging economies, especially those small developing countries in the tropics

Cluster theory and practice: advantages for the small business locating in a vibrant cluster

This paper seeks to review the state of knowledge to this much talked-about paradigm, first made famous by Porter (1990). Clusters are a striking and common feature in today's economy. Nonetheless, this phenomenon is not exactly new and has been the object of attention from a wide variety of social scientists for much of this century. In the last ten years, this phenomenon has attracted renewed interest from academics, practitioners, and the British Government - who have become aware of its central importance in competitive strategy. An understanding of clusters adds an important dimension to the more commonly debated role of personal contact networks in the success of entrepreneurial small business

Managing competitive advantage: clustering in the Singapore Financial Centre

This article uncovers the role of financial clustering in creating competitive advantage for incumbents in the Singapore Financial Centre. The revelatory case of the under-researched Singapore cluster reveals (a) how clustering conditions have influenced the development of the City as a financial centre, (b) how the conditions can be defined for a cluster in a small and open economy, and (c) whether there could be a generalisation of the concept to a global services cluster. The Porterian Diamond is found to be an effective tool to tease out the characteristics that result in many tangible and intangible benefits that industry players find important. The article concludes with the strategic and managerial implications to suggest the three golden rules that a location can help firms optimise on these benefits in attaining international competitiveness

Changing role of public managers

[Extract] Adrian Kuah and Veronica Vecchi discuss the interplay of business-government relations and the role of management in modern public policy with the foremost authority on public management, Professor Elio Borgonovi of Bocconi University—the leading Italian private university founded in 1902 in the fields of economics, management, finance, and law

Green marketing cradle-to-cradle: remanufactured products in Asian markets

Remanufacturing, a key circular economy practice, is a new way of sustainable thinking without depleting additional economic resources. Because remanufactured goods come from direct reuse of returned or already used goods, the environmental impacts of production are reduced and product longevity is extended; therefore, these products can be considered "green products." Are they appealing to the green consumers, however? Our questionnaire survey of more than 1,168 consumers from eight Asian countries shows that the "real" green market for remanufactured products is not yet ready. Reactions to green attributes of remanufactured products are disproportionate from Asian consumers with different consumption values. Status- and value-conscious consumers may buy into remanufactured products if they perceive them as greener. However, the findings suggest that environmentally conscious consumers do not show a high appreciation for the green concept of remanufactured products in Asia. The results highlight important takeaways for remanufacturers in the circular economy and those selling remanufactured products: to identify and define the right selling point of "greenness" to align with Asian consumers' inherent values

Housing the informal economy in Tanzania

Economic development is often riddled with problems, especially when stakeholders share different objectives initially. Tanzania is a developing country in the Tropics with a bursting 75-85 percent of its the population involved in the informal economy – an economic system based mostly on casual employment, kinship and social relations rather than contractual arrangements. Tanzania certainly has its share of physical infrastructure development challenge for this informal sector. Using the Managerial Flow Model in three market infrastructure projects, we reveal apparent gaps at the start of the policy implementation: planning, governance, selection, coordination & integration, and finally knowledge & communication. The managerial flow model is a useful consideration for any programme and policy implementation. We discover that managerial gaps can be closed at the beginning of the policy intervention or after implementation through an iterative revision process. However, if the managerial gaps are not closed at the onset of the project(s), poorer assets may be created, which may delay a successful implementation

Introduction - Standing on the shoulders of giants: sustainable innovation, disruption, and change

[Extract] ‘Standing on the shoulders of giants’ is a metaphor used frequently in signifying that intellectual progress is made by means of extending the knowledge and understanding gained by major thinkers who are giants in their own rights. “If I have seen further,” Isaac Newton wrote in a 1675 letter to fellow scientist Robert Hooke, “it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”1 It is easier to learn from geniuses like Newton and Hooke but even their work and ideas had been built upon the work and ideas of others before them. Ideas for innovation and change have to come from someone or somewhere. No matter how unprecedented a work seems, dig a little deeper and you will find that the creator stood on someone else’s shoulders. With each preceding observation, idea or reflection, one could see a little further. In turn, our thoughts and ideas would form the basis of the knowledge and progress for future generations. We would argue that ‘Standing on the shoulders of giants’ is a necessary part of innovation, disruption, and change

Managerial flow in economic development and competitiveness

[Extract] Competitiveness encompasses the ability of a nation and its industries to sell goods and services in international markets so as to enhance economic prosperity and development. Economic development and competitiveness are increasingly seen through multiple cross-sectoral and inter-governmental lenses, beyond traditional administrative boundaries. "Managerial flow" plays an important role, acting as a "transmission belt" between national and/or supranational policies and territory-based, local, or regional communities to implement such economic development policies, especially in network governance frameworks, which are substituting traditional bureaucracies across the world