Search results

As the warehouse is increasingly viewed as a strategic component, retailers’ willingness to invest in automated warehouse systems (AWS) has increased. These investment decisions are influenced by well-known operational factors, but strategic factors, which have received limited attention in warehousing literature, also play a pivotal role. Addressing this gap, this study investigates how strategic factors influence AWS investment decisions in retail.

Based on a theoretical foundation of technology adoption, strategic intent, and automation strategy, an abductive multiple case study is conducted with eight purposefully selected retailers that had implemented or were in the process of implementing a large AWS.

The study ranks 10 competitive priorities and 21 AWS evaluation aspects and shows how the firm’s strategic intent and the AWS investment decisions can be connected via the formulation of a warehouse automation strategy. The findings reveal the content for such a strategy – including 7 categories and 17 considerations – related to, for example, technology innovativeness, efficiency versus adaptiveness, technology-supplier relationships, control and ownership, and risk exposure. The study empirically shows how manager characteristics and owner strategies influence retailers’ AWS investment decisions. Four strategic intent profiles are abductively developed: reliability and delivery service; profitable deliveries; scalable logistics for volume growth; and platform building for logistics services. The study also provides evidence of a reciprocal relationship between strategic intent and AWS investment decisions.

The study is conducted with a limited number of Swedish retailers, indicating a need for additional studies to test the findings across different contexts.

The study offers a framework for formulating a warehouse automation strategy. As a foundation for developing the framework, the study shares empirical insights from retailers in the forefront of AWS implementation.

The study contributes as a conversation changer by showing the importance of shifting from a tactical-operational focus to a strategic perspective on warehouse configuration in general and on AWS investment decisions in retail in particular.

A research gap exists regarding the impact of digital transformation on automotive open innovation, despite extensive literature on both topics individually. This study aims to fill this.

The study analyzes patent-based open innovation before and after the digital transformation, focusing on US patents filed by automakers from South Korea, Japan and Germany during three periods: 2000–2001, 2010–2011 and 2020–2021. Second, in-depth interviews with selected automotive firms from these countries were conducted to complement the patent analysis and develop grounded theory.

The common effect of digital transformation on automotive firms’ open innovation channels in all three countries follows a trajectory from R&D collaboration through value chain open innovation to open innovation in other industries. There are notable differences in the primary focus of open innovation among automakers in the three countries, with South Korea emphasizing R&D, Japan focusing on the automotive value chain and Germany engaging in open innovation with other industries.

Investigating the differences in open innovation channels and structures between electric auto parts and non-electric auto parts through case studies and the statistical research method could be a compelling next research topic as another limitation of this research.

First, this research demonstrates that firms in the same sectoral innovation system can cultivate different open innovation channels within the knowledge funnel, depending on the regional innovation system (RIS) and national innovation system (NIS). Second, with DT, existing firms’ value chains are evolving and expanding from traditional trajectories to new, information technology-related sub-sectors.

This research aims at identifying segments of luxury guests based on the benefits they seek when staying at 5-star hotels. The study also wants to investigate whether ethics and sustainability have a role in differentiating the segments.

An online panel survey allowed the collection of 508 responses with participants from Switzerland that spent at least one night in a 5-star hotel between 2022 and 2023. The survey asked about perceived benefits, sustainable tourist behavior, preferred hotel green practices, trip-related factors and socio-demographics. Hierarchical cluster analysis was employed to group participants on the benefits identified via exploratory factor analysis. The other variables were used for segment profiling.

Results show the existence of three customer segments for 5-star hotels: the ethical enthusiast, the unconcerned aesthete and the practical connoisseur. These differ in the importance they assign to ethical, social and symbolic benefits, as well as functional service benefits. The relevance of sustainability in the luxury hotel experience is stronger for the ethical enthusiast.

Luxury hotel managers should highlight sustainable practices on social media to attract ethical enthusiasts. In addition, marketing content customization should be used to appeal to the benefits and profile of each identified segment.

This is the first study that provides a benefit segmentation of luxury hotel guests, and it is also the first research that considers the role of sustainability and ethics in differentiating these customers.

Using annual mortality rates at the provincial level for men and women, we construct a Gini index to estimate changes in regional health inequalities since 1860 in Spain. We find a long steady decline in health inequality across provinces from 1860 until today, interrupted by World War I and the Spanish Civil War. Over the 40 years of Franco's rule, health inequality stopped its downward trend and rose. Today, regional differences across provinces are at their lowest historical levels.

This study aims to uncover the theoretical role and the effects of mindfulness on psychological strain as well as job satisfaction among young German employees. The study took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a stressful time for German employees. Thus, the role of mindfulness should be explained.

A sample of 198 participants was used for analysing the relationships by applying partial least squares structural equal modelling.

This study highlights that, in the working context, mindfulness was statistically significantly and negatively related to psychological strain (ß = −0.498, p < 0.000) and positively as well as statistically significantly related to job satisfaction (ß = 0.263, p < 0.000). Furthermore, psychological strain is negatively but statistically significant related to job satisfaction (ß = −0.207, p < 0.017). Additionally, psychological strain mediates the relationship between mindfulness and job satisfaction positively and significantly (ß = 0.103, p < 0.026).

This study contributes by firstly setting up a conceptual model that explicitly uncovers the paramount importance of mindfulness at work in relation to job satisfaction. Moreover, the authors contribute by highlighting that psychological strain is negatively affected by mindfulness. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first study examining this interplay and setting up a new conceptual model.

More and more literature points out that compared to fragmented strategic HRM, interactive or internally consistent HR systems can generate synergies and more effectively predict employee outcomes. Different HR subsystems (such as performance-oriented and maintenance-oriented HRM practices), respectively, play a critical role for organizations and employees. However, the impact of the synergy effect of different practices within the HRM system is less concerning to researchers. Based on self-regulation theory, this paper explores the congruence effects within the dual-oriented HR system on employee ethical behaviors (prosocial/unethical behavior).

Data were collected in a two-wave survey from 252 employees working in high-tech and service companies in China. Polynomial regression and response surface analyses were used to examine the hypotheses.

The results indicate that the internal congruence of performance-oriented and maintenance-oriented HRM practices is positively related to employees’ prosocial behavior but negatively related to employees’ unethical behavior. Employees have more prosocial behavior and less unethical behavior when they perceive the high-performance-oriented and high-maintenance-oriented HRM practices than the low-performance-oriented and low-maintenance-oriented HRM practices. Employees also have more prosocial behavior and less unethical behavior when they perceive the low performance-oriented and high maintenance-oriented HRM practices than the high performance-oriented and low maintenance-oriented HRM practices.

Drawing on self-regulation theory and the “Yin-Yang balancing” perspective, this paper extends the limited understanding of the influence of dual-oriented HR system internal congruence between performance-oriented and maintenance-oriented HRM practices on employee behaviors. This paper is of great significance for a better understanding of the complexity and potential of HR systems.