Value migration: digitalization of shipping as a mechanism of industry dethronement

In this conceptual paper, we review latest developments related to unmanned vessels and sketch potential scenarios that implicate with the existing maritime industry structure. On the one hand, we isolate a range of challenges that make the imminent realization of unmanned vessels seem like a rather utopian pursuit. On the other hand, we explain the reasons that may catalyse their emergence. Inspired by these opposing tensions, we highlight that the digital transformation of the shipping industry has the potential to enhance value within the industry’s ecosystem. However, we also contend that unmanned vessels -if realized- pose a very particular threat to the identity of the shipping industry as we know it. In particular, we build upon the concept of value migration and we highlight the drastic existential changes that may likely stem from a shift to non-seafarer-centric shipping. We conclude with questions that matter for industry dethronement purposes i.e., the possibility that existing industry structures may be substantially reconfigured following a removal of the seafarer as the nucleus of value creation in shipping

Does Supply Chain Integration Mediate the Relationships between Product/Process Strategy and Service Performance? An Empirical Study

Determining the antecedents and performance consequences of supply chain integration is a key focus of recent supply chain management research. This study investigates the role of supply chain integration in mediating the effects of product and process modularity strategies on service performance. Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) provides the theoretical context. The study provides empirical support for the importance of considering product and process strategies in understanding the impact of integration on performance. Canonical correlation analysis and effects decomposition are used to test the research model. The results demonstrate that customer integration mediates the linkages from product modularity and process modularity to delivery performance, as well as mediating the relationship between process modularity and support performance. In contrast, supplier integration mediates the relationship between process modularity and delivery performance only. The overall lack of support for a direct relationship between process modularity and service performance suggests that modular processes (1) lack intrinsic interfaces such as those found in modular product architectures and (2) rely upon integration to fill the role of interface. Product modularity and process modularity are both shown to be related to supplier integration and customer integration, suggesting that they engender integration across a supply chain

The Effects of Product Modularity on Competitive Performance: Do Integration Strategies Mediate the Relationship?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of product modularity on four aspects of competitive performance: cost, quality, flexibility, and cycle time. Design/methodology/approach: Constructs were created from a comprehensive survey of the automotive sector. Regression is used to ascertain the relationship between the constructs of product modularity and performance with three different integration strategies as mediators. Findings: Modularity positively and directly influences each aspect of competitive performance for each integration strategy tested. Indirect effects were found for each integration strategy for cost and flexibility; and for manufacturing integration and cycle time. Practical implications: A product modularity strategy enables simultaneous improvements on multiple dimensions of competitive performance. Originality/value: This research is the first to empirically validate the effects of product modularity on competitive performance. Furthermore, it provides insight into the exact nature of product modularity\u27s influence on competitive performance

Product and Process Modularity\u27s Effects on Manufacturing Agility and Firm Growth Performance

Modularity in product design has been hailed as a way to speed new product development (NPD), to reduce NPD cost, and to enhance customization possibilities for consumers. Modularity in process design may speed new product manufacturing setup times, reduce costs, and enhance the profitability of the lower volumes that customization often entails. However, empirical evidence is scarce that either product or process modularity—individually, jointly, or sequentially—actually produce these or other proposed benefits (e.g., performance growth). This study builds on general modular systems theory (GMST) by examining the theoretical relationship between product and process modularity and the effects of each on firm growth performance. Using structural equation modeling, partial versus complete mediation by manufacturing agility is also scrutinized. In one pair of models, product modularity and process modularity are separate direct antecedents to manufacturing agility, which is modeled to affect firm growth performance; in a second pair of models, product and process modularity are related antecedents to manufacturing agility, with product modularity preceding process modularity. Results from the best-fitting model show that product modularity directly and positively affects process modularity, manufacturing agility, and firm growth performance. Process modularity was unrelated to manufacturing agility, and neither process modularity nor manufacturing agility predicted growth performance. Consistent with GMST, the study provides empirical evidence of the power of one element of a modular system to orchestrate a fit between a firm\u27s product and manufacturing strategies and to directly drive system performance. Thus, modularity in product design is revealed as the key to understanding GMST effects concerning how changes in one system generate changes in other systems

The Effects of Lean Implementation on Hospital Financial Performance

This study examines lean implementation\u27s effects on hospital financial performance using survey and secondary data for a large sample of US hospitals. Using sociotechnical systems theory, a social context is identified that should motivate the use of lean process improvement tools (LPT) in a hospital setting and accentuate its performance benefits. Shah and Ward\u27s employee involvement (EI) construct is adapted to a hospital setting to define a supportive social context for LPT, which is further shaped by organizational psychological safety (PS). The research model depicts PS as amplifying the effect of EI on LPT, which, in turn, influences a hospital\u27s return on assets (ROA) via three potential pathways: (a) through enhanced revenues; and/or (b) through reduced hospital discharge costs; and/or (c) directly. The results show that EI engenders LPT and that this effect is heightened as PS improves. LPT is shown to positively impact ROA indirectly through higher revenues, but not through lower discharge costs. The findings reveal positive, indirect effects of EI on revenue and profitability at moderate/high levels of PS. Robustness is investigated using an alternate performance metric—hospital excess margin—with consistent results. Post hoc analyses explore potential mechanisms through which lean implementation may increase hospital revenues, including hospital throughput (discharges), readmission rate, experiential quality, length of stay, and overall patient recommendation. The analyses reveal that the impact of LPT on hospital revenue is potentially realized through higher hospital discharges. Overall, the study demonstrates that lean implementation as a sociotechnical system contributes to superior performance