Roling-window bounds testing approach to analyze the relationship between oil prices and metal prices

[ArticleInPress]This paper is to find how the existence of a long-run relationship between oil prices and metals prices evolved for the time from January 1979 to December 2017. The rolling-window autoregressive lag mod- eling (RARDL) testing approach of cointegration has been introduced and applied to assess the long-run relationship considering four rolling windows of 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. The empirical evidence concludes that for a small rolling window of 5 years, there is no evidence of the long-run relationship between oil prices and metals prices, i.e. gold, platinum, and silver. However, there is a long-run relationship between oil prices and steel prices from December 2003 to December 2014. At larger rolling windows of 10, 15 and 20 years, oil prices and gold prices are not cointegrated; however, steel, silver, and platinum have a long-run relationship with oil prices in different periods

Intellectual capital, blockchain-driven supply chain and sustainable production: Role of supply chain mapping

The production and consumption of products are held responsible for most environmental challenges and climatic changes, which adversely affect human lives and compromise the future of generations to come. Sustainable production appears as a strategic route to combat these adversities, the pursuit of which is highly challenging. In this study, we argue that Intellectual capital (IC), featured by human capital, relational capital, and structural capital, can play a dual role in improving the sustainable production of a firm. We put forward that IC contributes to sustainable production directly and indirectly through the adoption of blockchain-driven supply chain management (BCSCM). In this context, the objective of this study is to examine the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on sustainable production. The study also investigates the role of SC mapping and BCSCM in the association between IC and sustainable production. Data were collected from 289 textile firms of Pakistan and Bangladesh with the help of a designed questionnaire. The study employed CB-SEM to examine the modeled relationship. Further, PLS-Multi-group Analysis (MGA) was used for cross-country comparison of the results. The results diverge from the conventional wisdom exhibiting an insignificant direct impact of IC in sustainable production. Nevertheless, the results show a meaningful indirect effect of IC through BCSCM and SC mapping on sustainable production. Results also exhibit a significant direct impact of BCSCM on the sustainable production of a firm. The results call for consideration of IC and BCSCM in improving the sustainability of a firm

The Impact of Lean Practices on Educational Performance: An Empirical Investigation for Public Sector Universities of Malaysia

Education is considered the backbone of any country. Although Malaysia is a growing economy, this growth cannot sustain without education. In the last few decades, this factor has affected negatively, particularly due to the reduction in the budget; public sector universities have suffered significantly. However, various strategies and approaches are available in the literature that can help institutions to tackle the problems by improving efficiency and effectiveness. Lean management is considered as a crucial element for every organization. By applying lean approaches organizations can improve not only the performance for the manufacturing sector but also for service sectors as well. The purpose of the current article is to determine the probable advantages of lean approaches in the public sector of Malaysia. Three approaches were selected for this study, “total quality management (TQM), 5’s services and quick change over”. A questionnaire was adopted and distributed among the public sector universities of Malaysia. Meanwhile, after the screening, 367 responses were considered for data analysis. SPSS version 23 has been used for data analysis. Missing values, outliers, linearity, and normality was assessed before multiple regressions. The results revealed that all three approaches positively and significantly enhanced the educational performance of Malaysia. This study will help the administrators of the universities to understand better how they can reduce their work; build their operations more effectively and efficiently. There is a necessity to examine other approaches and conduct a qualitative study to discover the lean management in the educational system in Malaysi

Intellectual capital, blockchain-driven supply chain and sustainable production: role of supply chain mapping

The production and consumption of products are held responsible for most environmental challenges and climatic changes, which adversely affect human lives and compromise the future of generations to come. Sustainable production appears as a strategic route to combat these adversities, the pursuit of which is highly challenging. In this study, we argue that Intellectual capital (IC), featured by human capital, relational capital, and structural capital, can play a dual role in improving the sustainable production of a firm. We put forward that IC contributes to sustainable production directly and indirectly through the adoption of blockchain-driven supply chain management (BCSCM). In this context, the objective of this study is to examine the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on sustainable production. The study also investigates the role of SC mapping and BCSCM in the association between IC and sustainable production. Data were collected from 289 textile firms of Pakistan and Bangladesh with the help of a designed questionnaire. The study employed CB-SEM to examine the modeled relationship. Further, PLS-Multi-group Analysis (MGA) was used for cross-country comparison of the results. The results diverge from the conventional wisdom exhibiting an insignificant direct impact of IC in sustainable production. Nevertheless, the results show a meaningful indirect effect of IC through BCSCM and SC mapping on sustainable production. Results also exhibit a significant direct impact of BCSCM on the sustainable production of a firm. The results call for consideration of IC and BCSCM in improving the sustainability of a firm

Supply chain mapping for ‘visilience’: role of blockchain-driven supply chain management

Supply chain visibility and resilience—co-termed as visilience—have emerged as major areas requiring significant improvement. Practitioners have put forward supply chain mapping as one of the effective strategies for supporting supply chain visilience. Since supply chain mapping is a complex process, involving various entities, it is essential to determine how supply chain mapping could be achieved.  In this chapter, we put forward blockchain-based supply chain management as a major enabler of supply chain mapping. We also argue that blockchain-based supply chain management will help a firm to attain effective supply chain mapping, which will improve its overall visilience. A few of the issues related to blockchain adoption have also been highlighted. This chapter will offer some background and insights to researchers, students, and practitioner

Supply chain sustainability in VUCA: role of BCT-driven SC mapping and ‘visiceability’

The study investigates the role of three essential supply chain capabilities: visibility, traceability, and mapping, collectivity termed as 'visiceability', in the relationship between blockchain technology and supply chain sustainability. The study focuses on Malaysia's Electronics Component manufacturing firms, a sub-sector of the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry. Data were collected from 105 through a close-ended questionnaire. PLS-SEM was employed to examine the modeled relationships. The findings of the study challenge the notion that supply chain (SC) traceability alone is responsible for mediating the impact of blockchain technology (BCT) on SC sustainability. However, findings confirm the significant roles of SC Mapping and Visibility in the association between BCT and SC sustainability. Findings further validate the significant impact of blockchain technology (BCT) on supply chain (SC) sustainability, highlighting its multifaceted role. The findings suggest that firms can build their intermediary capabilities instead of exclusively focusing on adopting BCT for SC sustainability. These capabilities can further channel the impact of BCT on improving SC Sustainable. Our findings illustrate that BCT can enhance SC visibility by offering a precise and transparent record of the products, inventory, and transactions. Hence, we strongly suggest that managers consider leveraging BCT to improve their SC visibility, thereby uplifting the sustainability of a supply

Does the private university sector exploit sustainable residential life in the name of supporting the fourth industrial revolution?

Following WTO (World Trade Organisation) advice, a privatised university sector in the developing world began in the early 1990s and it grew rapidly. The purpose of establishing a private university sector was to make the education system respond to the needs of industry. In the 1990s, the anticipated technological boom would change many industries globally. Traditionally, public universities are often reluctant to welcome innovation so it was left to the private sector to welcome the challenges in regard to the fourth industrial revolution. Unfortunately, owing to a number of limitations, private universities have not fully embraced what industries want. They are mainly established in prime residential areas and therefore the core goal of private universities is redundant; there are now many ‘sustainable elements’ of residential life being degraded. This study investigated the impact of unplanned expansion of private sector universities on sustainable residential life adopting the qualitative method. Both primary and secondary data were used. Greenery, heat and night light intensity indexes were considered as fundamental parameters to measure ‘sustainable residential life’. Findings show that rapid growth of the student population has compromised the sustainability indexes. While the greenery index has dramatically declined, heat and night light indexes have increased unexpectedly. These intensifications have impacted greatly on the concept of sustainable residential life. Conversely, the private university sector does not necessarily produce the skilled manpower needed by various industries to solve the challenges that characterise the fourth industrial revolution. Yet the residential areas have great potential as commercially vibrant places in which sustainable residential and academic life can co-exist. An integrated policy framework is suggested to improve this situation

Multi-tier sustainable supply chain management: a case study of a global food retailer

Purpose: implementing sustainable practices in multi-tier supply chains is a difficult task. This study investigates why such endeavours fail and how multi-tier supply chain partners can address them.Design/methodology/approach: a single case study of a global food retail company was used in this study. Semi-structured interviews with the case firm and its first- and second-tier suppliers were used to collect data, which were then qualitatively analysed using thematic analysis.Findings: major barriers impeding the implementation of sustainability in multi-tier food supply chains were revealed such as the cost of sustainability, knowledge gap, lack of infrastructure, and supply chain complexity. Furthermore, the findings reveal five possible solutions such as multi-tier collaboration and partnership, diffusion of innovation along the chain, supply chain mapping, sustainability performance measurement, and capacity building, all of which can aid in the improvement of sustainability practices.Research limitations/implications – Future research should investigate how specific barriers and drivers affect specific aspects of sustainability, pointing practitioners to specific links between the variables that can aid in tailoring sustainability oriented investment.Practical implications: this research supports managerial comprehension of multi-tier supply chain sustainability, pointing out ways to improve sustainability performance despite the complex multi-tier system of food supply chains.Originality/value: the research on multi-tier supply chain sustainability is still growing, and this research contributes to the debate about how multi-tier supply chains can become more sustainable from the perspective of the triple bottom line, particularly food supply chains which face significant sustainability challenges

Supply chain mapping: a proposed construct

During COVID-19, supply chain (SC) mapping has appeared as one of the critical supply chain capabilities that could make a striking difference in organizations’ supply chain performance. Despite its crucial role in responding to SC disruptions, there is a void in the literature on this topic. In this context, the prime objective of the current study is to introduce a comprehensive measure of SC mapping accounting for its various dimensions. A review of the literature is conducted to identify the relevant dimensions and sub-dimensions of SC mapping. Next, two rounds of focused group discussions are conducted in order to refine the identified dimensions and to add any relevant dimensions of SC mapping. Third, we employ exploratory factor analysis to develop the construct of SC mapping. The findings reveal that SC mapping has three major dimensions, namely upstream mapping, downstream mapping, and midstream mapping, with a total 25 items. The developed construct can be used to operationalize the SC mapping and to examine its antecedents and precedents

Designing an integrated decision support system to link supply chain processes performance with time to market

This study aims to evaluate the relative importance of critical performing supply chain (SC) processes instrumental in reducing the Time to Market (TTM) of a firm by taking the case of an apparel company. An integrated decision support system based on the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been employed to prioritize the critical strategic factors and their relevant sub-factors essential for TTM. This approach also allows determining the degree of impact of each factor on the company’s TTM. The results show the instrumental role of Plan and Deliver in SC processes in reducing the TTM. Within Plan and Deliver, the role of demand forecasting error and service quality was found to be substantial in controlling TTM. The findings of the study can be helpful for the managers and decision-makers to identify the key areas at the operational level that need to be improved and has an impact on strategic level performance, i.e., TTM. The use of a decision support system to identify the critical supply chain processes and sub-processes is the major contribution of this study