Implications of The Industry 4.0 in Logistics Operations

In a world characterized by a fierce competition, where markets are changing rapidly, the rivalry is increasing, the product life cycle is decreasing, the emergence of Industry 4.0 technologies has led to a large number of changes in the functioning of manufacturing companies, that are racing against time day by day to me more powerful, responsive, and able to face new challenges. With the advent of digital technologies, new challenges have been promoted, companies are called more than ever before to follow technological changes in order to respond effectively to customers’ requirements, in terms of quality, cost, time, and so on… Nowadays, one of the most important challenges facing companies are the commitments related to the field of logistics, due to the many problems associated with it, such as improving quality, reducing costs, and optimizing shipping and delivery services, in order to reach its most prominent goals, which is to ensure a high level of customer experience improvement. By taking into consideration the direct and significant impact of logistics on the company’s productivity, it has become necessary to take seriously the implementation of modern technology in this field, which mainly lies in the development of an advanced system that includes resource planning, warehouse management, transportation system, in a way that makes sharing information at real time, and reducing cost, a top priority. Regarding the type of literature used, the article is a systematic review, which aimed to collect as many relevant studies as possible, and give a critical evaluation and synthesis of existing knowledge that address the impact of the new technologies on logistics performance in manufacturing companies. This article highlights the importance of the Industry 4.0 in logistics operations, its pillars and implications, the key factors that will be required to meet the new conditions of the Industry 4.0 concept in logistics’ field, as well as the risks that may occur.   Keywords: Industry 4.0; Logistics; Supply Chain; Internet of Things. JEL Classification: L60, O32  Paper type: Theoretical ResearchDans un monde caractérisé par une concurrence féroce, où les marchés évoluent rapidement, l'émergence des technologies de l'Industrie 4.0 a entraîné un grand nombre de changements dans le fonctionnement des entreprises industrielles, pour qu’elles soient plus puissantes, réactives, mais surtout capables de faire face à de nouveaux défis. Les entreprises sont aujourd’hui plus que jamais incitées à s’impliquer pleinement dans le processus d’intégration de nouvelles technologies dans différents départements, afin de suivre correctement les évolutions technologiques, et répondre parfaitement aux exigences des clients, notamment en termes de qualité, de coûts, de délai, etc… qui sont des aspects fondamentalement liés à la logistique. De nos jours, l'un des défis les plus importants auxquels sont confrontées les entreprises sont les engagements liés au domaine de la logistique, en raison des nombreux problèmes qui y sont associés, tels que l'amélioration de la qualité, la réduction des coûts et l'optimisation des services d'expédition et de livraison, afin que les entreprises puissent garantir une bonne expérience client. Les entreprises qui sont donc bien conscientes de l’impact de la logistique sur leur rentabilité assurent qu’il est devenu nécessaire de faire intégrer les nouvelles technologies de l’industrie 4.0 dans toute la chaine logistique, notamment l’implémentation de ces technologies dans la gestion d’entrepôt, la planification de production et à travers l’insertion des progiciels de gestion intégrés. Concernant le type de littérature utilisée, l'article s'agit d'une revue systématique, qui avait comme objectif le rassemblement du plus grand nombre possible des études pertinentes, l'évaluation critique et de synthèse des connaissances existantes qui traitent l’importance et surtout l’impact de l’intégration des nouvelles technologies sur l’effort logistique global au sein des entreprises industrielles. Cet article met en évidence l'importance de l'Industrie 4.0 dans les opérations logistiques, ses piliers et ses implications, les facteurs clés qui seront nécessaires pour répondre aux nouvelles conditions du concept de l'Industrie 4.0 dans le domaine de la logistique, ainsi que les risques qui peuvent survenir.   Mots-clés : Industrie 4.0 ; Logistique ; Chaîne d'approvisionnement ; Internet des objets. JEL Classification : L60, O32  Type de l’article : Article théorique

Antecedents of the perceived organizational justice: An aggregated theoretical framework

The interest of the perceived organizational justice realm remains an increased manifold. It is a behavioral concept that emphasizes how people subjectively assess the ethical and moral norms of organizational management. Perceived organizational justice (OJ) is sometimes studied as a dependent variable, but often as an independent variable. For that reason, various OJ antecedents are examined in this paper, such as factors related to individual characteristics (Demographic characteristics, personality traits), culture (Individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, long, term/court term orientation, masculinity/femininity), organizational processes (organizational structure, HR practices, CSR initiatives), and interpersonal relationship (Leader-member-exchange and social contagion). Besides, the current paper presents an analytic review of the existing perceived organizational justice literature, and attempts to respond to the following question: What contributes to framing a fairness perception? Because of the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinarity of this field, we consolidated more than 125 theoretical and empirical papers, to portray firstly a holistic overview of fairness theories (cognitive/process and content theories), and highlight secondly the different relationships between perceived organizational justice and an array of predictors. Thereby, this review aims to contribute to the enrichment of the state of knowledge of justice or fairness, by providing a clear roadmap and deeper insight for researchers and practitioners concerned with perceived organizational justice, and enabling them to understand how and why people make such fairness perceptions in the workplace. To do so, we discuss its relationships with various antecedent aspects and propose an aggregated theoretical framework to identify multiple areas for future investigation and guide the field forward.The interest of the perceived organizational justice realm remains an increased manifold. It is a behavioral concept that emphasizes how people subjectively assess the ethical and moral norms of organizational management. Perceived organizational justice (OJ) is sometimes studied as a dependent variable, but often as an independent variable. For that reason, various OJ antecedents are examined in this paper, such as factors related to individual characteristics (Demographic characteristics, personality traits), culture (Individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, long, term/court term orientation, masculinity/femininity), organizational processes (organizational structure, HR practices, CSR initiatives), and interpersonal relationship (Leader-member-exchange and social contagion). Besides, the current paper presents an analytic review of the existing perceived organizational justice literature, and attempts to respond to the following question: What contributes to framing a fairness perception? Because of the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinarity of this field, we consolidated more than 125 theoretical and empirical papers, to portray firstly a holistic overview of fairness theories (cognitive/process and content theories), and highlight secondly the different relationships between perceived organizational justice and an array of predictors. Thereby, this review aims to contribute to the enrichment of the state of knowledge of justice or fairness, by providing a clear roadmap and deeper insight for researchers and practitioners concerned with perceived organizational justice, and enabling them to understand how and why people make such fairness perceptions in the workplace. To do so, we discuss its relationships with various antecedent aspects and propose an aggregated theoretical framework to identify multiple areas for future investigation and guide the field forward

Smart Systems Integration in Logistics of manufacturing companies

Abstract: As technologies continue day by day to invade the world, their impact on the logistics field can only expand. Integrating new technologies in the logistics department is not seen anymore as a choice that companies may or may not take, but an obligation that should be taken to follow the competition level of the market, by improving their managerial methods, to reach better results in terms of productivity and efficiency. The inauguration of new technologies of the Industry 4.0 has caused the emergence of a new paradigm on how companies will be able to respond effectively and rapidly to the customers' demands. Industry 4.0 is not just revolutionizing logistics but fundamentally transforming the global economy, and society itself. Nowadays, when we talk logistics, we give more than ever before high importance to the impact of Industry 4.0 new paradigm on logistics operations and internal logistics, which affect almost every single operation within the supply chain process, the fact that logistics encompasses raw materials, movement, final products, and many other operations. Companies have been always searching for new methods and techniques that may help them optimize their logistics operations, especially when it comes to reducing logistics costs and execution times, as well as increasing their supply chain transparency; so, we aimed through this paper to present in a simple and precise way, a theoretical review of the recent works that have been done in the logistics field, to keep the readers updated about the latest trends that are constantly increasing.   Keywords: Logistics, Industry 4.0, Smart system integration Classification JEL: L60, O32 Paper type: Theoretical ResearchAbstract: As technologies continue day by day to invade the world, their impact on the logistics field can only expand. Integrating new technologies in the logistics department is not seen anymore as a choice that companies may or may not take, but an obligation that should be taken to follow the competition level of the market, by improving their managerial methods, to reach better results in terms of productivity and efficiency. The inauguration of new technologies of the Industry 4.0 has caused the emergence of a new paradigm on how companies will be able to respond effectively and rapidly to the customers' demands. Industry 4.0 is not just revolutionizing logistics but fundamentally transforming the global economy, and society itself. Nowadays, when we talk logistics, we give more than ever before high importance to the impact of Industry 4.0 new paradigm on logistics operations and internal logistics, which affect almost every single operation within the supply chain process, the fact that logistics encompasses raw materials, movement, final products, and many other operations. Companies have been always searching for new methods and techniques that may help them optimize their logistics operations, especially when it comes to reducing logistics costs and execution times, as well as increasing their supply chain transparency; so, we aimed through this paper to present in a simple and precise way, a theoretical review of the recent works that have been done in the logistics field, to keep the readers updated about the latest trends that are constantly increasing.   Keywords: Logistics, Industry 4.0, Smart system integration Classification JEL: L60, O32 Paper type: Theoretical Researc

The consequences of the perceived organizational justice: a holistic overview

Organizational justice gained a bourgeoning interest in academic and corporate areas, it is a virtue of social organizations. In the working environment, individuals react depending on their perceptions. Therefore, perceived organizational justice is a behavioral concept that refers to the subjective description of the fairness of remuneration, decision-making processes and relationships within the organization. These justice perceptions have been empirically related to positive and negative consequences on attitudes, behaviors, and health such as greater identification and commitment, better organizational trust, increased job satisfaction, reinforced job performance, promoted employees’ organizational citizenship behavior, improved health and wellbeing as well as counterproductive behaviors. Despite the vigor of fairness research, the rapid flourishment of this literature has made relevant a variety of new issues. Hence, drawing upon equity theory and social exchange theory, this theoretical paper is designed to investigate the prominent literature in order to develop a holistic overview portraying the individual level of the perceived organizational justice and point out its salient consequences, based on recent theoretical and empirical research. It is anticipated that this paper will have a significant contribution to the advancement of organizational justice research literature and provide managers and scholars to get a better insight into harmonizing the relationship between employee and employers. Since, organizational justice has the potential to produce powerful benefits for organizations and employees alike. In the present paper, we discuss the main definitions and dimensions of organizational justice in accordance with the descriptive and subjective approach, in addition, we present the principal outcomes of fairness and unfairness treatments.   Organizational justice gained a bourgeoning interest in academic and corporate areas, it is a virtue of social organizations. In the working environment, individuals react depending on their perceptions. Therefore, perceived organizational justice is a behavioral concept that refers to the subjective description of the fairness of remuneration, decision-making processes and relationships within the organization. These justice perceptions have been empirically related to positive and negative consequences on attitudes, behaviors, and health such as greater identification and commitment, better organizational trust, increased job satisfaction, reinforced job performance, promoted employees’ organizational citizenship behavior, improved health and wellbeing as well as counterproductive behaviors. Despite the vigor of fairness research, the rapid flourishment of this literature has made relevant a variety of new issues. Hence, drawing upon equity theory and social exchange theory, this theoretical paper is designed to investigate the prominent literature in order to develop a holistic overview portraying the individual level of the perceived organizational justice and point out its salient consequences, based on recent theoretical and empirical research. It is anticipated that this paper will have a significant contribution to the advancement of organizational justice research literature and provide managers and scholars to get a better insight into harmonizing the relationship between employee and employers. Since, organizational justice has the potential to produce powerful benefits for organizations and employees alike. In the present paper, we discuss the main definitions and dimensions of organizational justice in accordance with the descriptive and subjective approach, in addition, we present the principal outcomes of fairness and unfairness treatments.  &nbsp

Expérience utilisateur et services publics numériques : Améliorer l'interaction citoyen-administration dans l'ère de la transformation digitale

Cet article explore le rôle central de l'expérience utilisateur dans l'interaction entre les citoyens et l'administration publique à l'ère de la transformation digitale. Il met en avant l'importance de l'expérience utilisateur pour établir la confiance et la satisfaction des citoyens en proposant des services numériques adaptés à leurs besoins et préférences. L'étude analyse également l'impact positif de l'expérience utilisateur sur l'efficacité des processus administratifs en simplifiant les procédures et en réduisant les obstacles bureaucratiques. Des exemples concrets de bonnes pratiques d'interaction citoyen-administration, basées sur l'expérience utilisateur, sont présentés pour illustrer comment une approche centrée sur les utilisateurs peut améliorer la qualité des services publics et renforcer l'engagement des citoyens. Malgré les défis et les contraintes liés à la mise en œuvre de ces principes, tels que les contraintes budgétaires et les réglementations, l'article souligne l'importance cruciale de mettre en place une approche centrée sur les utilisateurs, en s'appuyant sur l'innovation technologique, l'évaluation continue et une réflexion éthique, afin de créer des services publics numériques efficaces, accessibles et axés sur les besoins des citoyens. &nbsp

L’ audit interne en période de crise : cas de la crise sanitaire du Covid 19

Face aux menaces globales, aucune entreprise n’est à l’abri d’être impactée par la survenance d’un évènement perturbateur, il s’agit d’un constat appuyé par l’apparition soudaine et alarmante de la pandémie du Covid 19. Si aucune entreprise n’avait prédit son apparition, nombreuses sont celles qui ont été impactées que ce soit sur le plan opérationnel, stratégique ou financier. Dans cette perspective s’inscrit l’objectif de la fonction d’audit interne en tant que troisième ligne de maitrise, permettant de renforcer le dispositif de maitrise des risques et de fournir une assurance raisonnable   de l’efficacité et l’efficience des opérations, et de permettre à l’entreprise d’assurer son plan de continuité des activités, dans un contexte contraignant et marqué par la crise. A travers une revue de littérature sur la gestion de la crise, et l’avènement de la fonction d’audit interne, le présent article éclaircit le rôle et les enjeux de la fonction d’audit interne en période de crise et explique comment elle peut assister les entreprises dans le contexte de la crise sanitaire actuelle

A holistic overview on the antecedents of organizational trust: Aggregated theoretical framework

The recent interest of management researchers in the issue of organizational trust is mainly based on its indispensable role in efficient and effective management focused on human capital. Organizational trust is thus a phenomenon of uncertainty minimization, and the embodiment of a work climate that is worthy of the name.  While organizational trust is understood as central to any exchange relationship, it has not been studied in a pre-birth approach to understand how it occurs in an organizational context. This paper aims to clarify the concept of organizational trust through different dimensions and forms, and to present a holistic overview of its antecedents levels taking into consideration all the variables that can directly or indirectly lead to organizational trust. The enrichment of the understanding of organizational trust is achieved by drawing on the affective and cognitive dimension of trust to clearly identify all the potential elements that can lead to organizational trust. Obviously, the theory mobilized in this research work is the theory of the social exchange which has been greatly shaken to study the exchange relations between the organization and its employees. For this purpose, various backgrounds are examined in this paper, including individual-level antecedents (Personality traits, propensity to trust), organizational-level antecedents (Organizational support, organizational effectiveness and Human resources policy), and cultural-level antecedents (Values, power distance, individualism/collectivism). The discussion and analysis of the different relationships with various antecedent levels of organizational trust has allowed us to propose a global theoretical framework in order to fundamentally identify multiple areas of future research and to contribute to the knowledge of the topic.     JEL Classification : M10, M14 Paper type: Theoretical ResearchThe recent interest of management researchers in the issue of organizational trust is mainly based on its indispensable role in efficient and effective management focused on human capital. Organizational trust is thus a phenomenon of uncertainty minimization, and the embodiment of a work climate that is worthy of the name.  While organizational trust is understood as central to any exchange relationship, it has not been studied in a pre-birth approach to understand how it occurs in an organizational context. This paper aims to clarify the concept of organizational trust through different dimensions and forms, and to present a holistic overview of its antecedents levels taking into consideration all the variables that can directly or indirectly lead to organizational trust. The enrichment of the understanding of organizational trust is achieved by drawing on the affective and cognitive dimension of trust to clearly identify all the potential elements that can lead to organizational trust. Obviously, the theory mobilized in this research work is the theory of the social exchange which has been greatly shaken to study the exchange relations between the organization and its employees. For this purpose, various backgrounds are examined in this paper, including individual-level antecedents (Personality traits, propensity to trust), organizational-level antecedents (Organizational support, organizational effectiveness and Human resources policy), and cultural-level antecedents (Values, power distance, individualism/collectivism). The discussion and analysis of the different relationships with various antecedent levels of organizational trust has allowed us to propose a global theoretical framework in order to fundamentally identify multiple areas of future research and to contribute to the knowledge of the topic.     JEL Classification : M10, M14 Paper type: Theoretical Researc

The contribution of public communication on the good governance process: The case of public institutions in Morocco

Good governance includes all the rules and collective processes by which the actors concerned participate in the decision-making and realization of public actions. Public communication with a strategic and well-structured vision of information exchange is part of this perspective. Despite the fact that studies have been devoted to the relationship between public communication and good governance in public institutions, few empirical studies have explained the nature of this relationship. As part of the new public management, public institutions in Morocco have moved towards a whole new way of managing through reforms and implementation of the good governance approach. The purpose of our qualitative study is to highlight the importance of public communication in the process of good governance, as well as to clarify the different components of public communication in order to understand its contribution to the process of good governance. The interviewees were managers and officials of various positions within public institutions operating in different sectors of activity. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted and subjected to a thematic content analysis. The results identify the main elements that determine public communication: public service values, free access to information, digitization, interactivity, personal skills and behaviors, ethics and transparency. Especially since each component is taken into account both theoretically and empirically in the process of good governance, takes place in Moroccan institutions more and more. Thereby, this research provides valuable implications about the potential role of public communication in contributing to transparency, clarity in decision-making, ethical behavior, the rule of law, and strengthening the public interest in public institutions in Morocco.   Keywords: Public communication, good governance, public institutions, new public management, transparency. JEL Classification: D73, D83, H83, M00 Paper type: Empirical research  Good governance includes all the rules and collective processes by which the actors concerned participate in the decision-making and realization of public actions. Public communication with a strategic and well-structured vision of information exchange is part of this perspective. Despite the fact that studies have been devoted to the relationship between public communication and good governance in public institutions, few empirical studies have explained the nature of this relationship. As part of the new public management, public institutions in Morocco have moved towards a whole new way of managing through reforms and implementation of the good governance approach. The purpose of our qualitative study is to highlight the importance of public communication in the process of good governance, as well as to clarify the different components of public communication in order to understand its contribution to the process of good governance. The interviewees were managers and officials of various positions within public institutions operating in different sectors of activity. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted and subjected to a thematic content analysis. The results identify the main elements that determine public communication: public service values, free access to information, digitization, interactivity, personal skills and behaviors, ethics and transparency. Especially since each component is taken into account both theoretically and empirically in the process of good governance, takes place in Moroccan institutions more and more. Thereby, this research provides valuable implications about the potential role of public communication in contributing to transparency, clarity in decision-making, ethical behavior, the rule of law, and strengthening the public interest in public institutions in Morocco.   Keywords: Public communication, good governance, public institutions, new public management, transparency. JEL Classification: D73, D83, H83, M00 Paper type: Empirical research &nbsp

Innovation in business as seen from different economic theories

In a world of universal competition, "globalization", innovation has become vital for companies and economies which are currently characterized by a fierce competition and an increasingly demanding clientele. Thanks to innovation, companies and, consequently, territories can improve their productivity, profitability and economic growth. This paper contributes to the understanding of the determinants of innovation behaviour of companies consider the basic theories of innovation. It is referring to the different economic approaches and theories of innovation. We present, firstly, the Schumpeterian theory which recognizes the role of the entrepreneur and market structures on the determinants of innovation; secondly, we move on to the discussion of the endogenisation of growth resources and the positive relationship between innovation, technical progress and economic growth; and we end up with the presentation of the evolutionary theory which emphasises the processual character based on learning, the trail dependency and the accumulation of knowledge which determine the factors of innovation.   JEL Classification: O30 Paper type: Theoretical ResearchIn a world of universal competition, "globalization", innovation has become vital for companies and economies which are currently characterized by a fierce competition and an increasingly demanding clientele. Thanks to innovation, companies and, consequently, territories can improve their productivity, profitability and economic growth. This paper contributes to the understanding of the determinants of innovation behaviour of companies consider the basic theories of innovation. It is referring to the different economic approaches and theories of innovation. We present, firstly, the Schumpeterian theory which recognizes the role of the entrepreneur and market structures on the determinants of innovation; secondly, we move on to the discussion of the endogenisation of growth resources and the positive relationship between innovation, technical progress and economic growth; and we end up with the presentation of the evolutionary theory which emphasises the processual character based on learning, the trail dependency and the accumulation of knowledge which determine the factors of innovation.   JEL Classification: O30 Paper type: Theoretical Researc

A holistic overview on the implementation of socially responsible practices in Higher Education Institutions

This paper aims to present a holistic overview of the integration of multiple socially responsible practices in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In fact, this topic has nowadays become crucial for universities and other higher education and scientific research institutions to guarantee the satisfaction of the multiple internal and external stakeholders (students, professors, administrative staff, external partners…) and to insure an optimal quality performance of those institutions. For this purpose, we first presented to the university in its changing context; our aim was to show up and to identify the main steps and milestones that characterized the higher education sector. Then, we tackled some several aspects of the University Social Responsibility concept (USR), starting from its roots and relationship with the CSR concept (Corporate Social responsibility), arriving to its diverse definitions. After, we discussed the importance of the university governance system and the stakeholders within the integration of socially responsible practices in HEIs. Moreover, we chose PRME “Principles of Responsible Management Education”, which is a UN (United Nations) initiative, as an example of integrating socially responsible practices in business schools and an inspiration for HEIs in all specialties to proceed in the same way. Finally, we suggested a theoretical model based on the analysis of the different discussed points in this paper. The theoretical model resulting from the analysis made in this article can serve as a basis for future empirical research, with the aim of identifying the main dimensions that act and strongly impact on the integration of socially responsible practices within higher education institutions, in particular through the implementation of a USR approach.This paper aims to present a holistic overview of the integration of multiple socially responsible practices in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In fact, this topic has nowadays become crucial for universities and other higher education and scientific research institutions to guarantee the satisfaction of the multiple internal and external stakeholders (students, professors, administrative staff, external partners…) and to insure an optimal quality performance of those institutions. For this purpose, we first presented to the university in its changing context; our aim was to show up and to identify the main steps and milestones that characterized the higher education sector. Then, we tackled some several aspects of the University Social Responsibility concept (USR), starting from its roots and relationship with the CSR concept (Corporate Social responsibility), arriving to its diverse definitions. After, we discussed the importance of the university governance system and the stakeholders within the integration of socially responsible practices in HEIs. Moreover, we chose PRME “Principles of Responsible Management Education”, which is a UN (United Nations) initiative, as an example of integrating socially responsible practices in business schools and an inspiration for HEIs in all specialties to proceed in the same way. Finally, we suggested a theoretical model based on the analysis of the different discussed points in this paper. The theoretical model resulting from the analysis made in this article can serve as a basis for future empirical research, with the aim of identifying the main dimensions that act and strongly impact on the integration of socially responsible practices within higher education institutions, in particular through the implementation of a USR approach