Carving out new business models in a small company through contextual ambidexterity: the case of a sustainable company

Business model innovation (BMI) and organizational ambidexterity have been pointed out as mechanisms for companies achieving sustainability. However, especially considering small and medium enterprises (SMEs), there is a lack of studies demonstrating how to combine these mechanisms. Tackling such a gap, this study seeks to understand how SMEs can ambidextrously manage BMI. Our aim is to provide a practical artifact, accessible to SMEs, to operationalize BMI through organizational ambidexterity. To this end, we conducted our study under the design science research to, first, build an artifact for operationalizing contextual ambidexterity for business model innovation. Then, we used an in-depth case study with a vegan fashion small e-commerce to evaluate the practical outcomes of the artifact. Our findings show that the company improves its business model while, at the same time, designs a new business model and monetizes it. Thus, our approach was able to take the first steps in the direction of operationalizing contextual ambidexterity for business model innovation in small and medium enterprises, democratizing the concept. We contribute to theory by connecting different literature strands and to practice by creating an artifact to assist managemen

Special issue on cost-benefit analysis for economic sustainability in supply chains

In the actual competitive arena, competition occurs among supply chains, which must be globally resilient and sustainable [...

El Diseño Industrial y el Cambio Tecnológico - Apuntes desde estudios CTS

En el último siglo, el diseño ha sido un importante agencia estética entre, el desarrollotecnológico y el universo de artefactos difundidos en la sociedad, la cultura y el medioambiente.Simultáneamente, la economía, los modos y medios de producción se afectan porel cambio tecnológico, incidiendo en los diseños y productos derivados, transformandoen grado y modo su naturaleza. Hasta hace tres décadas, el carácter de los diseños secomprendía dentro de principios: discretos, simples, contemplativos. Ahora, ese carácteres complejo: móvil, dinámico, y adaptativo. Este estudio CTS, hace una mirada generalal Diseño Industrial en los dos cambios tecnológicos del último siglo

Spare parts criticality analysis using a fuzzy AHP approach

Specifično obilježje sustava zalihe rezervnih dijelova je potreba da se procijeni ili odredi kritičnost stavki u zalihi. Stoga je, između ostalih, potrebno razmotriri čimbenike poput cijene, intenziteta kvarenja i raspoloživosti. Postoji mali broj radova u literaturi koji obrađuju relevantne metode za određivanje pouzdane hijerarhije u skupini rezervnih dijelova. Do sada, nijedan rad nije obradio čimbenike nesigurnosti i dvosmislenosti prilikom analize kritičnosti rezervnih dijelova. Uz to, analiza kritičnosti uključuje istovremeno razmatranje višestrukih kriterija, uključujući stvarne i nestvarne čimbenike; davanje prednosti tim čimbenicima može predstavljati veliki izazov i složen zadatak. Zbog toga se nije pokušalo uključiti neizrazitost (fuzziness) pri donošenju odluka o višestrukim kriterijima u analizi kritičnosti kod upravljanja rezervnim dijelovima. U ovom se radu predlaže fuzzy-temeljena metodologija kod određivanja prednosti (prioritizacije) rezervnih dijelova. Prijedlog se zasniva na metodi donošenja odluke na temelju višestrukih kriterija nazvanoj Analitički Hijerarhijski Proces (AHP) s trokutastim (triangular) brojevima. Daje se primjer za ilustraciju ove metodologije.A distinctive characteristic of the spare parts inventory system is the need to evaluate or define the criticality of items in the inventory. Therefore, there is a need to consider factors such as cost, failure rate and availability, among others. There are few papers in literature that discuss relevant methods to define a reliable hierarchy of a set of spare parts. Up to now, no article has considered ambiguity and uncertainty factors when performing criticality analysis of spare parts. In addition, criticality analysis involves the simultaneous consideration of multiple criteria, including tangible and intangible factors; prioritizing these factors can be a great challenge and a complex task. Therefore, no attempt has been made to incorporate fuzziness into multicriteria decision-making in the criticality analysis in spare parts management. This work proposes a fuzzy–based methodology for prioritization of spare parts. The proposal is based on a multicriteria decision method called Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with triangular numbers. An example is given to illustrate the proposed methodology

Cost of ownership of spare parts under uncertainty: integrating reliability and costs

In capital-intensive organizations, decisions regarding capital costs play an important role due to the significant amount of investment required and the expected return on investment. Spare parts management is crucial to those ends, as spare parts management can constitute a significant portion of OPEX. Companies must implement a trade-off analysis between stock levels and assets’ availability. Decision-making supports mechanisms such as the Level of Repair Analysis (LORA), Integrated Logistics Systems (ILS), and life-cycle costing (LCC) models have been developed to aid in equipment selection, implementation, and decommissioning. Nowadays, these mechanisms appear to be integrated with risk-management models and standards. This paper proposes a long-term costing model that integrates a capacity analysis, reliability functions, and risk considerations for the cost management of logistics activities, particularly in MRO structures. The model is built upon Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TD-ABC) and incorporates the volume of activities generated by MRO needs. It also addresses uncertainty through the integration of a cost-at-risk model. By integrating spare parts, activity-based cost models, and risk measurement through Monte Carlo simulation, this study offers powerful insights into optimizing spare parts logistics activities. The proposed model is a novel approach to include the risk of cost in spare parts management, and its matrix-activity-based structure makes possible the development of sophisticated mathematical models for costing and optimization purposes in different domains.(undefined

Performance measurement model for sustainability assessment of the swine supply chain

In this paper, a model and a set of indicators for evaluating the sustainability in swine supply chains are presented and discussed. Using the Delphi method, environmental, social and economic indicators were identified (namely environmental performance indicators to evaluate soil, water, air, energy and environmental practices; social performance indicators related to human capital and social interaction; and economic performance indicators that address labor remuneration and return on investment). Subsequently, the proposed sustainability assessment model was applied for validation purposes in three different companies belonging to the swine supply chain in the southern region of Brazil. This study differs from previous ones by focusing on the sustainability assessment of the upstream and downstream of the supply chain, which are responsible for significant impacts. The performance of the studied companies from the three triple bottom-line (TBL) dimensions is significantly different. Both negative and positive impacts were found to be related to most of the specific metrics. The economic dimension presented a better performance than the environmental and social ones. Furthermore, there was a predominance of negative impacts in the environmental dimension, in relation to the soil, water, air, and energy indicators. Thus, specific actions, strategies, and policies must be designed for the different companies towards an effective and comprehensive sustainability throughout the swine supply chain. The proposed model can be extended to other companies in the same supply chain, replicated in other livestock and agribusiness industries and supply chains (such as cattle and poultry), and it can be used in different locations and including additional indicators and metrics

Ajuste por inflación

El presente trabajo de investigación aborda la problemática del fenómeno inflacionario y sus principales consecuencias económicas y financieras; los diferentes enfoques que la profesión contable puede adoptar respecto al mismo y un resumen de los utilizados a lo largo del tiempo en Argentina. Asimismo, se considera el impacto de la más reciente modificación normativa realizada por la Federación Argentina de Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Económicas (FACPCE) y la opinión de la más destacada doctrina. Finalmente, se intenta acercar al lector a la realidad suministrando ejemplos de aplicación práctica de lo expuesto.Fil: Comiso, Orlando. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Durán, Ana Ivón. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Orts, Daiana. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Sarkotic, Agustina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Venturín, Franco. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas

Throughput based Prioritization of Physical Assets in a Crushing Plant

Se propone una técnica para la priorización de activos físicos que se basa en la contribución que hace cada uno de ellos al rendimiento global (throughput). La técnica presentada está basada en la Eficiencia del Rendimiento Global del Sistema (Overall Throughput Effectiveness, OTE) y relaciona la disponibilidad de cada equipo con su utilización y con el rendimiento global del sistema. La hipótesis es que, bajo la óptica del mantenimiento se pueden jerarquizar equipos en función del impacto que su indisponibilidad genera en el desempeño a nivel de fábrica. A través de un estudio de caso, basado en una planta de conminución chilena, se demuestra la viabilidad de la técnica y la posibilidad de analizar las tendencias que los impactos de los equipos muestran en el tiempo. Se concluye que la técnica puede ser utilizada para definir las políticas de mantenimiento, destinar recursos y revisar decisiones operativas, tales como mejorar los niveles de utilización y disponibilidad.A physical assets prioritization technique is proposed. The technique is based on the contribution that each equipment makes to global throughput. The proposed technique is based on the Overall Throughput Effectiveness (OTE) and relates the availability of each equipment, its utilization index with the throughput of the entire system. The hypothesis is that, from the point of view of maintenance, equipment can be ranked according to the impact that their unavailability generates in the performance at the factory level. Through a case study, based on a Chilean comminution plant, the viability of the technique and the possibility of analyzing the trends that the equipment's impacts show over time are demonstrated. It is concluded that the technique can be used to define maintenance policies, allocate resources and review operational decisions, in terms of improving levels of use and availability