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This study aims to examine the performance outcomes of a store’s ownership concentration within a multi-unit franchise (MUF) network, emphasizing the nuanced effects under varying competitive conditions.

This study conducted a comprehensive analysis of all stores within the McDonald’s chain over an eight-year span. The research methodology incorporated a review of over 11 million customer evaluations to discern patterns in customer satisfaction and sales growth in relation to the store’s ownership concentration.

Stores with a pronounced ownership concentration showcased enhanced outcomes in both customer satisfaction and sales growth. However, the magnitude of these effects was moderated by the nature of competitive conditions, specifically focal market competition, non-focal market competition and legal safeguards.

The study’s concentration on McDonald’s stores introduces a specificity that might limit the universal applicability of the findings to all franchise models or sectors. Additionally, the emphasis on the store level of analysis potentially overlooks broader systemic factors.

For managers and franchise owners, understanding the nuanced roles of ownership concentration can provide strategic insights. Recognizing how different competitive conditions can moderate the effects of ownership concentration can help in making informed decisions about power dynamics and competitive positioning.

A store’s ownership concentration can have broader societal ramifications, potentially shaping consumer perceptions, community engagement and overall market health. As an owner’s stores concentrate spatially, they can contribute to a healthier market ecosystem, benefitting consumers and communities alike.

While the vertical power between the franchisor and franchisee owners have been studied, this study extends the discourse to power between MUF owners. This study provides novel insights by showing customer centric and firm centric performance outcomes of ownership concentration.

As laser scanning technology becomes readily available and affordable, there is an increasing demand of using point cloud data collected from a laser scanner to create as-built building information modeling (BIM) models for quality assessment, schedule control and energy performance within construction projects. To enhance the as-built modeling efficiency, this study explores an integrated system, called Auto-Scan-To-BIM (ASTB), with an aim to automatically generate a complete Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) model consisted of the 3D building elements for the given building based on its point cloud without requiring additional modeling tools.

ASTB has been developed with three function modules. Taking the scanned point data as input, Module 1 is built on the basis of the widely used region segmentation methodology and expanded with enhanced plane boundary line detection methods and corner recalibration algorithms. Then, Module 2 is developed with a domain knowledge-based heuristic method to analyze the features of the recognized planes, to associate them with corresponding building elements and to create BIM models. Based on the spatial relationships between these building elements, Module 3 generates a complete IFC model for the entire project compatible with any BIM software.

A case study validated the ASTB with an application with five common types of building elements (e.g. wall, floor, ceiling, window and door).

First, an integrated system, ASTB, is developed to generate a BIM model from scanned point cloud data without using additional modeling tools. Second, an enhanced plane boundary line detection method and a corner recalibration algorithm are developed in ASTB with high accuracy in obtaining the true surface planes. At last, the research contributes to develop a module, which can automatically convert the identified building elements into an IFC format based on the geometry and spatial relationships of each plan.

In the era of the circular economy, the economic growth of a country is highly dependent on the sustainable performance of the manufacturing sector. In today’s increasingly competitive world, it is important to constantly improve the manufacturing or service industry. Quality with quantity is a main characteristic, which helps a company stay in the competition. Flexibility and responsiveness to customer demands are very important for success. Generally, additional time is needed for setup caused by poor design of equipment. At this point, the terms continuous process improvement and single-minute exchange of dies (SMED) as an approach of lean manufacturing come into play. Lean manufacturing system has been identified as an approach for improving the performance of the process and product.

In this paper, high setup time is considered as major problem in the industry and a major cause and effect for high setup time was found. On the basis of the literature review and experts’ opinions, four categories of barriers, namely method, manpower, machine and tools are identified. In this study, a hybrid approach comprising of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and graph theoretic approach (GTA) has been used. First, prioritization of different categories of barriers by AHP has been done, and second, GTA has been applied for finding the barriers' intensity index. Based on this study, machine and manpower barriers have emerged as major hurdles in the high setup time of machine. The proposed framework will help organizations quantify barriers in high setup time in different manufacturing processes, thereby developing effective strategies for sustainable production.

Findings of this research will contribute to ensuring sustainable competitive advantages, but it has some limitations. Development of the permanent matrix equation for barriers of high setup time is complex and lengthy when barriers are more in number. Absolute and relative values considered while quantifying the intensity of barriers are based on experts’ opinions, which may be inconsistent. In spite of these limitations, organizations can use an illustrated approach to quantify the barriers, thereby developing strategies for successful implementation of high setup time for making them sustainable in the global market. Organizations can also benchmark their sustainability preparedness with the best in the industry. As a future scope of study, high setup time can be reduced by using SMDE technology can be further validated through an empirical and case-based approach to generalize the findings.

Authors remain confined only to setup time. The approach is generalizable and can be extended in other areas. As a future scope of study, high setup time can be reduced by using single minute die exchange technology and can be further validated through an empirical and case-based approach to generalize the findings.

The study guides and facilitates researchers and practitioners in using the most appropriate techniques such as AHP and GTA for empirical studies and in developing, modifying and/or reviewing application frameworks for production. It also guides implementation experience regarding high setup time by using advanced techniques such as single point die exchange (SMDE), which can be beneficiary for both developing and developed country contexts. Industries can accelerate implementation by understanding and using most important AHP, GTA and SMDE techniques.

Lean manufacturing system has been identified as an approach for improving the performance of the process and product. A lean manufacturing system is part of corporate culture, like tools and approaches. High setup time can be classified as waste for the company. Reduction in time is a direct way to increase the productivity and profit. Therefore, there is a need to reduce the time by using some new lean methodology. In global industry, different techniques are used for reduction of time.

India liberalized its economy in 1991, which resulted in intense global competition, quality-conscious and demanding customers. Additionally, significant technological advancements lead to enhancements in products and processes. These forced Indian organizations to adopt innovative business strategies in the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the Lean Six Sigma methodology has significantly grown with vast applicability during the past 30 years. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop the learning on Lean Six Sigma methodology in the Indian context through investigation of literature.

A three-stage systematic literature review approach was adopted to investigate the literature during the present study. In total, 187 articles published in 62 journals/conference proceedings from 2005 to 2022 (18 years) were shortlisted. The first part of the article summarizes the significant milestones towards the quality journey in the Indian context, along with the evolution of the Lean Six Sigma methodology. The second part examines the shortlisted papers on Lean Six Sigma frameworks, their applicability in industrial sectors, performance metrics, outcomes realized, publication trends, authorship patterns and leading researchers from the Indian perspective.

Lean Six Sigma has emerged as a highly acclaimed and structured business improvement strategy worldwide. The Indian economy has seen remarkable growth in the past decade and is one of the fastest-growing economies in the 21st century. Lean Six Sigma implementation in India has significantly increased from 2014 onward. The study revealed that researchers have proposed several different frameworks for Lean Six Sigma implementation, the majority of which are conceptual. Furthermore, the balanced applicability of Lean Six Sigma in manufacturing and service sectors was observed with the highest implementation in the health-care sector. Additionally, the widely adopted tools, techniques along with performance metrics exploring case studies were reported along with a summary of eminent and leading researchers in the Indian context.

This study is confined to reviewed papers as per the research criteria with a significant focus on the Indian context and might have missed some papers due to the adopted papers selection strategy.

The present study is one of the initial attempts to investigate the literature published on Lean Six Sigma in the Indian context, including perspective on the Indian quality movement. Therefore, the present study will provide an understanding of Lean Six Sigma methodology in the Indian context to graduating students in engineering and management and entry-level executives. The analysis and findings on Lean Six Sigma frameworks, research approach, publications details, etc., will be helpful to potential research scholars and academia. Additionally, analysis of case studies on Lean Six Sigma implementation by Indian industries will assist the managers and professionals in decision making.

Autistic individuals are employed and access higher education opportunities at significantly lower rates than their nondisabled peers (US Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2023; Newman, 2015). Schools are an optimal setting for intervention as most individuals access the school setting. However, traditional support to facilitate postsecondary transition effectively, such as transition plans, is currently lacking (Greene, 2018; Hughes et al., 2023). The authors of the present chapter conducted a systematic review to identify school-based interventions available for autistic youth intended to support the transition from high school to higher education, entrepreneurship, and employment. The data extraction methods used by the authors identified 19 articles on interventions. Across all studies, the authors found variation in the extent to which researchers addressed entrepreneurial skills and identified two key skill development areas across different intervention modalities: employability skills and interpersonal communication skills. Based on these results, the authors discuss available school-based programming intended to prepare autistic youth for postsecondary careers and entrepreneurial opportunities and the implications of existing interventions for practitioners and researchers interested in improving outcomes for autistic students as they transition to the workplace, particularly entrepreneurial endeavors.

Organisations are looking for a concept that can solve traditional as well upgraded production problems with current resources and technology, and this can be addressed by integration of lean six sigma (LSS) with Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies. This reduces complexity in the manufacturing process through digital technologies. Cyber physical system (CPS) is considered as primary I4.0 technology with which all other technologies are associated to extend. CPS can integrate with other prevailing manufacturing approaches like lean, LSS and so on. LSS, on the other hand, is a team-focussed performance improvement strategy which is widely used by the industries to identify problems, eliminate waste to meet customer requirements. The study aims at analysis of challenges for LSS and CPS integration.

Integrating LSS and CPS will solve both traditional and modern manufacturing problems. To integrate these technologies, organisational requirements need to be assessed. These requirements are posed as challenges in this study. Their priority weights are analysed, and challenges are prioritised using fuzzy Combinative Distance-based Assessment (CODAS) method. Sensitivity analysis is employed to assess the robustness of the results.

The result of this study enables top management to integrate LSS and CPS. In this study, 20 challenges were identified, and they are assessed to compute their relative assessment score. Requirement of new tools and methods with 0.6 score ranks first followed by interplay with big data and requirement of new communication protocol. The result highlighted the need for integration of LSS and CPS, proper utilisation of information and communication technologies, and cyber security management as the main impediments that need to be addressed to implement CPS in an LSS environment.

The analysis of challenges of LSS and CPS integration using MCDM tool is the original contribution of the authors.

The concept of lean and ISO 14001 as a combined approach is an evolving strategy for streamlining operational processes and attaining environmental sustainability in the manufacturing context. This paper explores the critical success factors (CSFs) for a combined lean and ISO 14001 implementation in the manufacturing industry for achieving the operational and environmental benefits.

A systematic literature review (SLR) based on Scopus and Web of Science databases is conducted to present peer-reviewed articles on the CSFs for lean and ISO 14001 implementation in manufacturing operations. This article applies the CSF theory to classify the CSFs for a joint lean and ISO 14001 adoption.

Numerous CSFs are synthesised from the SLR across seven theoretical contexts of industry, competitive strategy, managerial position, environmental, temporal, internal/external, monitoring and building/adapting factors for a combined lean and ISO14001 implementation.

Numerous CSFs are synthesised from the SLR across seven theoretical contexts of strategic direction, competitive strategy, leadership and management, environmental, temporal, internal/external, monitoring and continuous process improvement factors for a combined lean and ISO 14001 implementation.

This paper contributes to academic scholarship by providing a theoretical perspective through classification of CSFs for a combined lean and ISO 14001 implementation to achieve operational and environmental performance. This paper also contributes to practitioners and policymakers who can use the emergent theoretical framework for application in practice for a more efficient and effective deployment of both strategies in the manufacturing industry.

To the best of author's knowledge, this study is the first to propose a theoretical framework of CSFs for a combined lean and ISO 14001 implementation based on the CSF theory and SLR findings in the manufacturing industry.

This study aims to evaluate the current situation of the interlibrary loan in Türkiye using interlibrary loan tracking system raw data (2008–2019). Data was analyzed geographically to reveal the effect of geographical distance on the collaboration and thematically to identify the prominent areas/topics in the requests. In addition, the requests were evaluated in terms of the type and age of the university, the size of the collection and the number of library users.

The effect of geographical distance on the collaboration was revealed using VOSviewer. The place numbers and titles of the requests were used for thematic analysis, which was performed using Flourish and VOSviewer. Statistical tests were conducted with SPSS to investigate the effects of factors such as university age and type.

Geographic analysis revealed that the prominent regions are Marmara, Central Anatolia and Aegean Regions, respectively. The fact that these regions host Türkiye’s largest cities with the highest number of universities has been effective in achieving this result. The results of the thematic analysis are in accordance with the literature. Almost half of the requests are from Social Sciences, Language and Literature, History and Law. While the effects of collection size and the number of library users have relatively insignificant effects on requests, age and university type were found to be more relevant.

Interlibrary loan data of this size has not been the subject of an evaluation before in Türkiye. Hence, the results obtained have the potential to influence relevant policies and decisions on the subject. On the other hand, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, bibliographic mapping was used for the first time on interlibrary loan data.

The role of intermediate urban centers (IUCs) (like towns/small cities/rural counties) between large cities and villages in leading urbanization has been increasingly highlighted. This article conceptually and empirically examines what types of industrial agglomeration (specialized or diversified agglomeration) of rural county in China would provide a more inclusive and efficient local labor market for rural workers to be inclusively urbanized.

We employ a three-stage labor supply model to theoretically generalize the decisions of rural workers to migrate to large city, to undertake nonfarm jobs in rural counties and the length of nonfarm jobs. Then, combining three national-level datasets of China (National Economic Census (NEC), China Household Income Project (CHIP) and the China county statistical yearbook), we explore how the type of industrial agglomeration in a rural county affects the labor supply decision of rural workers.

We show that rural workers in rural counties with higher level of industrial specialization are more likely to: (1) work locally than migrating to large cities; (2) find nonfarm jobs by themselves instead of relying on social networks (3) find a more stable and formal nonfarm job. These effects are significant when rural counties specialize in industries that they have local comparative advantages compared to large cities. This work provides insights into achieving inclusive urbanization by developing industry specialization in rural counties in China, which may also be useful for other developing countries.

First, the conceptual framework of this paper extends the basic model of rural-urban migration longstanding in the literature, to a multi-choice and three-stage labor supply model. Second, we empirically quantify the industrial structure of rural counties using unique dataset, which has been emphasized in the development economics literature but neglected due to data limitations. Third, this paper expands our understanding of the role of rural counties in inclusive urbanization and contributes to the future development of the county-led urbanization policies.

This research aims to conduct a literature review of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in the Indian context and related research publications and apply bibliometric analysis and the author's visualization to map research trends in this area.

This article conducts a bibliometric analysis of LSS-related research in the Indian context using data gathered from Scopus and Web of Science databases from 2011 to 2022. The review provides information on LSS-related research in the Indian context and evaluates performance based on primary sources, authors, keywords, countries, affiliations, and documents. The analysis employs the Biblioshiny app and Bibliometrix R-tool for data analysis and scientific mapping.

The results of the bibliometric analysis indicate that the LSS culture has widely spread in India. The International Journal of Lean Six Sigma and Production Planning and Control were found to be the most productive sources for publishing LSS-related research articles. Antony J. was identified as the most active author in this field, contributing the most over the years. Among all organizations, NITs have conducted the most comprehensive research on LSS, indicating their significant investment of resources and efforts in studying this methodology and its applications in India. Additionally, the study examined the intellectual, social, and conceptual structures to identify implicit gaps and future research opportunities.

The findings of this study can inform academicians, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about the state-of-the-art and the specifics of the most prolific studies. This study will facilitate their exploration of emerging research areas in LSS.

To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first bibliometric analysis of LSS in the Indian context, providing an overview of relevant publications published between 2011 and 2022. This study analyzed 194 articles on LSS in India, which can help researchers and academics identify emerging research areas, suitable collaborators, and relevant journals for future publications.