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Manufacturers find bottom of the pyramid (BOP) markets challenging to serve due to low margins and highly localized needs. As such, residents in BOP markets often go without products commonly available in developed countries. Going without medical equipment may negatively affect healthcare services. This study develops a supply chain design strategy that supports the production of medical equipment by preserving variety flexibility at low volumes that stands to create new market opportunities for manufacturers and improve healthcare for residents in BOP markets.

The authors introduce a mass-customization model called options-based planning (OBP) which offers a framework to both leverage the efficiencies of high volume production models and provide products that are customized to local market needs. An empirical simulation, grounded in data collected from a large international manufacturer of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment, illustrates how an OBP production strategy will likely perform under BOP conditions and facilitate the delivery of healthcare equipment to BOP markets.

OBP provides a means for manufacturers to provide the customization necessary to serve fragmented BOP markets, while enabling higher production volume to make serving these markets more feasible. The empirical simulation reveals the relative benefits of OBP under conditions of forecast uncertainty, product complexity (number of design parameters) and different levels of responsiveness.

Increased access to modern medical equipment should improve healthcare outcomes for consumers in BOP markets.

The MRI context in BOP markets serves to illustrate the value of the OBP model for manufacturers.

Caring for older adults is an increasingly complex and multi-dimensional global concern. This article provides a comprehensive definition of the older adult care experience and discusses its key components to help practitioners deliver older adult-centered care to maximize well-being outcomes for older adults.

Based on prior research on service operations, service experience, person-centered care and the unique, evolving needs of older adults regarding their care, this paper develops a conceptual framework in which the older adult care experience is the central construct, and key dimensions of well-being are the outcomes.

The older adult care experience is shaped by older adults' perceptions and evaluations of the care that they receive. Older adult-centered care has autonomy, dignity, unique needs and social environment as its core dimensions and results in those older adults feel empowered, respected, engaged and connected as part of their experience. The article also discusses how such experience can be evaluated by using quality dimensions from service operations, hospitality and healthcare contexts, and challenges that service firms may face in creating older adult care experience.

Given the changing demographics and unique needs of older adults, it is an imperative for academics and practitioners to have an understanding of what determines older adult care experience to better serve them. Such understanding is important as by creating and fostering older adult care experience, service organizations can contribute to individual and societal well-being.

To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first paper to provide a comprehensive conceptualization of the older adult care experience.

Reshoring is one of the supply chain risk management techniques suggested in literature. However, literature suggests that the decision-making involved in reshoring is complex and not fully understood. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, reshoring may represent a way to reduce reliance on global sources and improve resilience of their supply chains. This paper aims to explore if the pandemic is driving reshoring decisions and if the pandemic will actually lead to companies reshoring parts of their supply chain.

This paper critically engages with senior(-most) supply chain managers from three manufacturing companies as they proceed through reshoring decision-making. This enables to develop experiential knowledge about reshoring decision-making processes and their context, as well as insights into the relevance of existing knowledge about reshoring. While not a full multiple case study, the opportunity to engage directly with senior(-most) supply chain managers as they consider reshoring, enables near real-time learning. Not only is reshoring a very timely topic literature has also called for more event-based empirical research. Further to that, it is hoped that this can complement this special issue and support, in a timely manner, the many researchers that are actively studying the impact of the pandemic on supply chains.

Reshoring was being actively considered by all three companies during the research process in Q3 and Q4 of 2020. During this period the pandemic has not yet led to substantial implementation of reshoring, at least by the companies studied in this paper. In response to tariffs on Chinese imports, companies had been diversifying their supply base away from China, but doing so by developing alternative, global sources. Additionally, companies are using alternative risk management techniques, such as supplier collaboration, in the short to medium term. Reshoring decision-making is indeed found to be complex and requires a longer-term time horizon for decision-making and implementation. Logistical challenges and growth in demand do drive a willingness of consumers to pay a premium for locally sourced products. However, when supply normalizes these considerations might lose relevance well before reshoring decision-making and implementation can be completed.

This paper studies reshoring in a real-world setting, learning directly from insights from industry as they emerge. This paper develops four extensions to existing knowledge, develop these in frameworks and hope that this will support ongoing consideration in industry and support the many researchers that are active in this domain today. This paper also suggests several directions for further research.

Despite blockchain's potential supply chain benefits, few organizations have moved beyond pilot projects. The paper aims to explore blockchain adoption intentions for supply chain applications using two theoretical perspectives: innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and institutional theory (IT).

Based on theory, five propositions were developed addressing the intention to adopt blockchain. The propositions were tested using scenario-based experiments with supply chain professionals. To provide additional insights, interviews with 21 supply chain professionals in 15 organizations representing 8 industries were content analyzed.

Experiments suggest that the intention to adopt blockchain is higher when there are government regulations regarding product origin, organizations are using updated cloud-based information systems and organizations are working with third-party consultants. The content analysis suggests that organizations that face normative pressures to adopt blockchain supply chain applications and recognize blockchain's relative advantage, compatibility and complexity are more likely to be actively seeking information about and adopting blockchain supply chain applications. The authors synthesize findings and provide new propositions to guide future research.

Using a multi-method approach, the study provides an important window into supply chain managers' perceptions of the necessary conditions to support organization-level blockchain adoption. The findings also indicate key characteristics present in supply chain networks poised for blockchain adoption.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of specific supply chain information technologies (IT) for e‐commerce, e‐procurement, and enterprise resource planning (ERP), when implementing lean practices to achieve mass customization (MC) performance. The study further investigates how these technologies may be deployed differently in product and service focused contexts. “Best practices” of high performing MC firms are also explored.

Survey method was employed to collect data from 711 firms in 23 countries. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to establish simple factor structure and construct validity. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyze relationships between lean practices, IT use, and MC performance in aggregated and bifurcated samples of product and service focused manufacturers. T‐tests were used to examine differences between the practices employed by high and low MC performers.

Findings suggest that lean practices can reasonably predict MC performance. In this context, of lean practices, e‐commerce and e‐procurement reasonably predict MC performance. ERP is not shown to predict MC performance. Results suggest that e‐commerce use is a better predictor of performance than e‐procurement or ERP for service focused manufacturers. E‐commerce and e‐procurement appear to be reasonable predictors of MC performance in product manufacturers, while ERP is not. “Best practices” related to lean practices, e‐commerce, e‐procurement, and ERP emerge among high MC performers.

This paper describes what is believed to be the first study to examine these three IT approaches in the context of lean practices and supply chain MC performance. This paper also contributes to the growing interest in differences among product and service focused manufacturing firms. Finally, specific “best practices” are provided to add value for practitioners.

The purpose of this study is to explore four integrative supply chain practices – customer information technology (IT) integration, supplier IT integration, customer collaboration, and supplier collaboration – using a service‐dominant logic (SDL) lens to inform their relationships with procurement capability and ultimately firm performance. The study goes on to examine how firms with high and low procurement capability differ in their use of these practices, thus informing curiosity regarding “best practices”.

Data were collected from 711 firms in 23 countries during the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS). Exploratory factor analysis established simple factor structure and construct validity. Stepwise regression was employed to analyze relationships among customer collaboration, supplier collaboration, customer IT integration, supplier IT integration, procurement capability, and firm performance. T‐tests examined differences between the practices employed by firms with high and low procurement capability.

Findings reveal positive relationships among customer collaboration, supplier collaboration, customer IT integration, and procurement capability. Supplier IT integration is not found to be significantly related to procurement capability. Procurement capability is in turn found to be positively associated with firm performance. All four variables emerge as best practices of firm's demonstrating high procurement capability.

This study provides a rare empirical investigation, and rich insights, into SDL for value co‐creation in supply chain management by examining an international sample of manufacturers. This study contributes to the extant understanding of supply chain collaboration and integration by unpacking key practices in the context of a firm's procurement capability. Lastly, “best practices” are provided which should be of great interest for practitioners from around the globe.

With increasing emphasis on the environment, firms are required to include sustainability practices at all levels – strategic, operational, and outcome measures. The purpose of this paper is to present a research model that defines sustainability practices in the context of the competitive business environment, strategic driver, operational and supply chain practices, and performance outcomes.

This paper identifies research gaps in the areas of integration of sustainability practices across functional levels within firms and across networks. In total, 379 companies were analyzed in structural equation modeling.

This study has three important findings: First, firms striving for responsiveness to market and customers also improve environmental performance; second, this study confirms lean practices as an important mediator to achieve excellent environmental performance; third, the focal company takes the lead in achieving environmental performance, and suppliers are in the supportive circle of influence.

This study provides a research model based on rich theoretical support. It further provides reliable measures of sustainability practices as benchmark tools.

The notion of achieving competitive advantage using a strategic customer service orientation (SCSO) has received increased research attention. The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of SCSO in the context of rapidly changing competitive market environments. An organization-wide SCSO can be implemented through lean manufacturing practices to achieve favorable operational and business performances (BPs).

This study employs survey methodology to examine a research model that theorizes eight hypotheses with respect to the relationships among SCSO, human and technical lean practices, and performance outcomes (operational and BPs). Data from 571 firms participating in the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS) IV are analyzed using structural equation modeling (AMOS 20).

The findings suggest that firms with a SCSO implement both human and technical aspects of lean manufacturing practices leading to better performance results. The findings also indicate that performance outcomes are indirectly influenced through the combined efforts of technical and human lean manufacturing practices.

Generalizations here are limited to manufacturing firms. SCSO beyond manufacturing firms like healthcare or high-tech organizations that implement lean practices in response to a SCSO have yet to be examined and provide fertile opportunities for future research.

These findings suggest practical insight into how to integrate service-driven value creation and delivery for achieving both cost effectiveness and quality performance outcomes.

The examination of the consequences of SCSO in manufacturing firms from multiple countries is a novel contribution in the field, as is the examination of technical and human lean practices. It comes at a time when manufacturing firms increasingly recognize the value of services for global competitiveness.

The purpose of this study is to review a major section of the literature on benchmarking practices in order to achieve better perspectives for emerging benchmarking research streams.

The paper examines the benchmarking literature and presents a framework that suggests evolving patterns of firms' benchmarking practices. This paper examines the studies published in Benchmarking: An International Journal and other articles related to benchmarking practices in major Strategic Management, OM/SCM, and Technology Management journals from 2001 to 2010.

Benchmarking remains an important strategic tool of business in turbulent times. Five research dimensions for benchmarking are discussed in terms of the following: strategy‐based benchmarking; operational effectiveness‐based benchmarking; technical efficiency‐based benchmarking; and micro‐macro integrative benchmarking. For sustainable competitive advantage, benchmarking goes beyond the operational level and moves into a wide range of value chain, strategic, operational, and project levels.

The study contributes to the benchmarking literature by identifying key areas of benchmarking. It reflects a qualitative orientation, but future research may achieve a more systematic and quantitative analysis of the benchmarking literature.

This review paper is unique in that it examines the benchmarking literature and summarizes the results in order to gain a proper understanding of benchmarking and provide perspectives for future research.