Proposal of a Hotspot-based Approach to Identifying Social Impacts along the Product-Service Systems Life Cycle in the Early Design Phases

© 2017 The Authors. The potential for sustainability has been highlighted as one of the most important characteristics of product-service systems (PSS). Nevertheless, a PSS is not intrinsically sustainable. Methods and tools for PSS sustainability assessment should be developed to be integrated into the design process, especially in the early design phases, in order to conceive sustainable solutions. In addition, a PSS should be planned considering the three sustainability dimensions, from a life cycle perspective. However, PSS design and assessment considering the full life cycle is scarcely addressed in the literature, especially concerning the social dimension of sustainability. In this sense, this study proposes a streamlined life cycle assessment based approach to identify potential social impacts along the PSS life cycle that can be integrated into the early PSS design stages. The proposal is based on a hotspot analysis, which identifies where in the life cycle the most significant issues may occur. The proposal was developed in three main phases, anchored in both hotspots analysis and PSS literature. After developing it, 10 experts in PSS and sustainability assessed the proposal strengths and weakness. Some suggestions were offered by the researchers and improvements were introduced to the proposal regarding PSS life cycle phases and the social impact subcategories. The experts considered the hotspot analysis suitable to be applied in the early design stages when there is not much information yet regarding the system to conduct a complete life cycle assessment. The next step of this research is the proposal assessment by practitioners in industry. Further work will also integrate the environmental dimension of sustainability into the proposal

Digital transforming capability and performance: a microfoundational perspective

PurposeDrawing on the literature on dynamic capabilities and digital transformation, this paper conceptualises and investigates the relevant antecedents of an essential capability for digital transformation – the digital transforming capability – and its effect on the competitive advantage of firms.Design/methodology/approachA framework with individual and organisational microfoundations of the digital transforming capability is proposed based on previous research. The digital transforming capability is conceptualised as a second-order construct. The model is tested using data from a broad spectrum of large US companies. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is applied to test the proposed framework.FindingsThe study identifies three main microfoundations that, when combined, build a digital transforming capability (digital-savvy skills, digital intensity and context for action and interaction); in addition, the study tests the relationship between digital transforming capability and firm performance. The results validate the proposed theoretical framework. In addition to proposing relevant microfoundations of the digital transforming capability, we advance knowledge on the performance effects of those microfoundations.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to advancing the understanding of the digital transformation phenomenon by revealing the role of the primary components underlying the digital transforming capability. Yet the mechanisms by which the micro-level aspects are important for digital transformation and organisational outcomes are only suggested by anecdotal evidence. The paper also contributes to ongoing calls for further investigation to extend the understanding of the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Finally, by drawing on archival data, this study also contributes to calls to broaden the toolkit used in dynamic capabilities research.N/

A QFD-based approach to support sustainable product-service systems conceptual design

© 2016, Springer-Verlag London. During the design process of product-service systems (PSS) particular attention must be placed on sustainability, since the current models do not completely support the generation of sustainable PSS solutions. New methods to investigate PSS requirements analysis, evaluation, and conceptual design stages according to sustainability principles are needed. In this paper, an approach based on quality function deployment (QFD) is proposed to support PSS design. QFD is applied to translate stakeholders’ requirements in the three sustainability dimensions into engineering metrics of products and services. QFD is also applied to deploy PSS functions and to support the conceptual development. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) is used to prioritize the stakeholders’ requirements in the three sustainability dimensions, and the fuzzy set theory is considered to reduce the vagueness and uncertainty during the process. The proposed approach is applied in an illustrative case for the conceptual design of a bike-sharing system. The suggested approach aims to contribute to the theory development as well as for practitioners. Firstly, it allows integrating the sustainability principles since the requirements elicitation stage, considering all stakeholders involved in the offer. Secondly, the requirements evaluation considering FAHP allows prioritizing the sustainability requirements dealing with uncertainty and vagueness. Finally, it helps to obtain more realistic results by integrating fuzzy decision-making into QFD. In future research, the integration of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) in the proposed approach will be investigated as well as the evaluation of different PSS concepts according to their sustainability potential

Exploring business model innovation for sustainability: an investigation of two product-service systems

© 2017, © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The conceptual exploration of sustainable business models (SBMs) is new in the literature, and there is still a limited understanding of how these models might look in practice. As theory development should be grounded in reality, more empirical research is needed. This paper aims to contribute to the literature by exploring how a specific type of SBM (product-service systems) may contribute to sustainability. The business models of two companies located in an emerging economy (Brazil) were analysed through business model lenses. The goal was to examine the key characteristics, how the solutions have overcome the barriers associated with business model implementation, enablers, cooperative arrangements, and the link between technology advancement and innovation. Multiple sources were used to gather data, and an inductive approach based on grounded theory was applied for data analysis. The main findings show the role of collaborative approaches and stakeholder interaction in fostering SBM implementation and overcoming the main barriers associated with the implementation. Innovative technologies are also an important driver for achieving environmental improvements. Future research may focus on exploring other SBMs implemented in developing countries, the main sustainability benefits, and the collaborative approaches established

Lifecycle Management of Product-service Systems: A Preliminary Investigation of a White Goods Manufacturer

© 2017 The Authors. Product-Service Systems (PSS) have been discussed as promising business strategies towards a circular economy (CE). However, PSS solutions are not necessarily more sustainable. PSS lifecycle management may play an important role to improve the offering and achieve sustainability benefits. Nevertheless, bottom-up issues for CE implementation in the industry such as lifecycle management are still little discussed in the literature. In this sense, this paper aims to explore a PSS business strategy adopted by a large white goods manufacturer that transitioned from a linear to a circular business, and the practices applied throughout the entire lifecycle that may be valuable to achieve CE requirements. A case-based approach was employed in this study and multiple sources of evidence were considered. Data were analyzed in the light of the literature, considering an inductive approach. The main preliminary findings suggest that resources consumption reduction and cost savings can be obtained through lifecycle management practices that take into consideration CE issues since the beginning of life of the PSS offering. Design practices, the adoption of different strategies at the end of life (reuse/remanufacturing or recycle), and the implementation of cleaner production practices are some of the identified practices that can contribute to achieve resource efficiency and CE requirements. This is a work in progress and further work is going to focus on a quantitative analysis of the environmental and economic performance of this PSS. In addition, as this study focused on a use-oriented PSS, future research may compare lifecycle management practices adopted by other and distinct PSS categories, and how different lifecycle management practices may contribute to achieving resource efficiency

Digital transforming capability and performance: a microfoundational perspective

Purpose: Drawing on the literature on dynamic capabilities and digital transformation, this paper conceptualises and investigates the relevant antecedents of an essential capability for digital transformation – the digital transforming capability – and its effect on the competitive advantage of firms. Design/methodology/approach: A framework with individual and organisational microfoundations of the digital transforming capability is proposed based on previous research. The digital transforming capability is conceptualised as a second-order construct. The model is tested using data from a broad spectrum of large US companies. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is applied to test the proposed framework. Findings: The study identifies three main microfoundations that, when combined, build a digital transforming capability (digital-savvy skills, digital intensity and context for action and interaction); in addition, the study tests the relationship between digital transforming capability and firm performance. The results validate the proposed theoretical framework. In addition to proposing relevant microfoundations of the digital transforming capability, we advance knowledge on the performance effects of those microfoundations. Originality/value: The paper contributes to advancing the understanding of the digital transformation phenomenon by revealing the role of the primary components underlying the digital transforming capability. Yet the mechanisms by which the micro-level aspects are important for digital transformation and organisational outcomes are only suggested by anecdotal evidence. The paper also contributes to ongoing calls for further investigation to extend the understanding of the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Finally, by drawing on archival data, this study also contributes to calls to broaden the toolkit used in dynamic capabilities research

Project portfolio management: A landscape of the literature

Project portfolio management (PPM) has a central position in both the business literature and companies' management practices. Although PPM has been practiced for decades and the theoretical contributions in the field have grown, overviews of the state-of-the-art of PPM research and its processes are scarce. Therefore, this paper analyses the PPM literature to identify relevant PPM concepts through a systematic literature review. This study analysed 470 articles, and the core PPM sub-categories were identified. The main findings show that, in general, two or more PPM sub-categories are collectively analysed in the publications, which indicates that there is a synergy among these sub-categories. Moreover, since the subject is somewhat broad, several tools have been developed to support the complex decision-making problems involving optimisation, statistical techniques, stochastic simulations, and artificial intelligence. For practitioners, the findings of this study may provide a useful basis for PPM implementation

Deploying Six Sigma practices to General Electric subsidiaries in a developing economy: An empirical analysis

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate Six Sigma implementation in the subsidiaries of General Electric (GE) located in Brazil and to explore the role of the quality culture of headquarters in overcoming common obstacles to Six Sigma implementation reported by other studies. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory survey was the basis for gathering data for this study. A structured questionnaire was developed covering issues related to Six Sigma implementation, such as experienced benefits, main outcomes, and metrics adopted by companies. Data from eight GE subsidiaries were qualitatively analyzed. The findings were discussed in the light of other studies conducted in Brazil as well as in other developing countries in the context of the role of existing quality culture in overcoming barriers to Six Sigma implementation. Findings: The findings revealed that Six Sigma at GE subsidiaries achieved better results in comparison with the results obtained by other Brazilian companies reported in the literature. GE quality culture aspects such as top management commitment, high investment in training, recognition schemes, and development of a well-planned infrastructure were identified as valuable to overcome common barriers to Six Sigma implementation. Moreover, the findings showed a strong alignment with the goals and practices of GE headquarters, which is an evidence of the quality culture that exists in GE and that allows all GE businesses achieve benefits with Six Sigma. Originality/value: Since limited empirical research has been conducted concerning Six Sigma implementation in developing countries, this paper aspires to contribute to Six Sigma body of knowledge by illustrating the practices of a world benchmark corporation

R&D portfolio management practices in Brazilian electric power utilities

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Project portfolio management (PPM) has been recognized as critical for the productivity of research and development (R&D) investments, but empirical research on PPM use and outcomes in non-commercial R&D environments is limited. The purpose of this paper is to investigate PPM processes and outcomes in a unique R&D context within Brazilian electric power utilities. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory best practice survey was used to collect data on PPM processes, methods and performance results in the power sector. Analysis of the data employs descriptive statistics and comparative analysis in the light of the literature. Findings: The findings emphasize the importance of strategic value and the need for PPM to be customized for the specific context. The results also demonstrate the importance of adopting selection criteria and measures in accordance with the organizations strategic goals. Practical implications: The findings may help organizations better understand how PPM can be tailored for the environment. PPM managers in utilities and other non-commercial R&D environments may find guidance in tailoring and improving their PPM approaches. Originality/value: The contributions of this paper are twofold. First, it provides empirical findings to support PPM concepts on strategic alignment and the importance of context by demonstrating how PPM works to deliver strategy in a unique environment. Second, it contributes to the management of R&D projects and portfolios in power utilities, providing an example and analysis that may offer guidance. The contributions from this study may also offer insights that are valuable for R&D management in other utilities, or for R&D management in general