Dario Messina, Ana Cristina Barros, António Lucas Soares and Aristides Matopoulos
To study how supply chain decision makers gather, process and use the available internal and external information when facing supply chain disruptions.
Abstract
Purpose
To study how supply chain decision makers gather, process and use the available internal and external information when facing supply chain disruptions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews relevant supply chain literature to build an information management model for disruption management. Afterwards, three case studies in the vehicle assembly sector, namely cars, trucks and aircraft wings, bring the empirical insights to the information management model.
Findings
This research characterises the phases of disruption management and identifies the information companies use to recover from a variety of disruptive events. It presents an information management model to enhance supply chain visibility and support disruption management at the operational level. Moreover, it arrives at two design propositions to help companies in the redesign of their disruption discovery and recovery processes.
Originality/value
This research studies how companies manage operational disruptions. The proposed information management model allows to provide visibility to support the disruption management process. Also, based on the analysis of the disruptions occurring at the operational level we propose a conceptual model to support decision makers in the recovery from daily disruptive events.
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Ricardo Zimmermann, Luis Miguel D.F. Ferreira, Antonio Carrizo Moreira, Ana Cristina Barros and Henrique Luiz Correa
This paper investigates the effect of the fit between supply and demand uncertainty (SDU) and supply chain responsiveness (SCR) (SC fit) on business and innovation performance in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the effect of the fit between supply and demand uncertainty (SDU) and supply chain responsiveness (SCR) (SC fit) on business and innovation performance in Brazilian companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The study presented an analysis carried out on an empirical study based on a sample of 150 manufacturing companies. Business and innovation performance of companies with different types of SC fit ( high–high and low–low fits) and misfit (positive and negative) are compared and discussed.
Findings
The results indicated that SC fit had a positive effect on both business and innovation performance. Further analyses suggested that companies with SC fit present similar business performance, independent of the level of SDU that characterizes the environment where they compete, while companies in environments with higher levels of uncertainty tend to present superior innovation performance. Companies with positive and negative misfit present similar performance.
Originality/value
An analysis of the literature showed that there is no consensus when it comes to the definitions and measurements of SC fit. The paper investigates the effects of SC fit on business and innovation performance, while previous empirical studies have mainly addressed its impact on financial performance. Moreover, this study compares the effects of two types of fit and two types of misfit and assesses SC fit in Brazilian manufacturing companies, analyzing the context of an under-researched reality.
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Ana Cristina Barros, Ana Paula Barbosa‐Póvoa and Edgar E. Blanco
The purpose of this paper is to investigate what hinders businesses to achieve superior supply chain performance and how this knowledge may be used in the process of selection of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate what hinders businesses to achieve superior supply chain performance and how this knowledge may be used in the process of selection of tailored practices for supply chain management (SCM).
Design/methodology/approach
Literature review and secondary case studies were used to identify hinders of superior supply chain performance. A method for the selection of tailored practices for SCM is developed. Case study research is used to validate the value of the developed method for practice and research.
Findings
This research identifies detrimental phenomena that are observed in the management of supply chains: waste, uncertainty, vulnerability, congestion, bullwhip, diseconomies of scale and self‐interest. It develops and illustrates a method for the selection of tailored SCM practices.
Research limitations/implications
This research did not verify the completeness of the list of phenomena identified. The implementation of the selected practices was not in the scope of the case studies.
Practical implications
Researchers may use the phenomena to study the impact of different practices in the overall supply chain performance, as well as to study the interactions between the different phenomena. Practitioners may use the proposed method as a diagnosis and continuous improvement tool for their supply chain.
Originality/value
Although the supply chain phenomena have been explored individually in the literature, a holistic approach of the phenomena had not yet been developed to the best of our knowledge. The method developed identifies a set of tailored practices that are in alignment with the context and strategy of the business and decrease the overall effects of the detrimental phenomena.
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Aristides Matopoulos, Ana Cristina Barros and J.G.A.J. (Jack) van der Vorst
The study aims to define a research agenda for creating resource-efficient supply chains (RESCs) by identifying and analysing their key characteristics as well as future research…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to define a research agenda for creating resource-efficient supply chains (RESCs) by identifying and analysing their key characteristics as well as future research opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
We follow a systematic review method to analyse the literature and to understand RESC, taking a substantive theory approach. Our approach is grounded in a specific domain, the agri-food sector, because it is an intensive user of an extensive range of resources.
Findings
The review shows that works of literature has looked at the use of resources primarily from the environmental impact perspective. There is a need to explore whether or not and how logistics/supply chain decisions will affect the overall configuration of future food supply chains in an era of resource scarcity and depletion and what the trade-offs will be.
Research limitations/implications
The paper proposes an agenda for future research in the area of RESC. The framework proposed along with the key characteristics identified for RESC can be applied to other sectors.
Practical implications
Our research should facilitate further understanding of the implications and trade-offs of supply chain decisions taken on the use of resources by supply chain managers.
Originality/value
The paper explores the interaction between supply chains and natural resources and defines the key characteristics of RESC.
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Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…
Abstract
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.
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Cláudio de Jesus Marques Soares and Ana Cristina Paixão Casaca
Since enacting Act 8630/93, Brazilian port activities have been going through significant modifications, changing from the public port service management to the landlord model…
Abstract
Purpose
Since enacting Act 8630/93, Brazilian port activities have been going through significant modifications, changing from the public port service management to the landlord model. Act 12815/2013 enforced a new regulatory framework increasing Port Authorities' dependence on the Federal Government. Since 2019, the Government has attempted to elaborate a Port Authorities' identity based on the private port governance model inspired by the Australian and United Kingdom ones. This paper assesses Brazilian's Port Authorities management models from 1993 to 2020 and considers the Australian, the United Kingdom and Antwerp port governance models as benchmarks.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a two-step methodological approach, namely a combined desk and field research methodological approach and considers three essential resources: government legislative acts and published data available online; ports' data and information issued by governments' agencies, academic papers and national and international ports' websites; and a semi-structured questionnaire survey targeting the leading associations representing port users, foreign trade and stevedoring companies.
Findings
The outcome shows that the solutions to overcome the existing Brazilian Port Authority governance problems remain in the Federal Government's hands by (1) removing its control through bureaucracy, (2) preventing the party-political influence following in the public ports and (3) decentralising port management by chief executive officers named by Port Authority Councils.
Research limitations/implications
This paper does not explore the regulatory frameworks underlying the “Lease Terminal” and “Private User Terminal”.
Originality/value
This paper assesses the management models that led Brazilian's Port Authorities from 1993 to 2020, comparing them with the UK and Australian private service port and Antwerp landlord model.
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Ana Carla de Souza Gomes dos Santos, Augusto da Cunha Reis, Cristina Gomes de Souza, Igor Leão Santos, Letícia Ali Figueiredo Ferreira and Pedro Senna
Lean healthcare (LHC) applies lean philosophy in the healthcare sector to promote a culture of continuous improvement through the elimination of non-value-added activities…
Abstract
Purpose
Lean healthcare (LHC) applies lean philosophy in the healthcare sector to promote a culture of continuous improvement through the elimination of non-value-added activities. Studies on the subject can be classified as conceptual (theoretical) or analytical (applied). Therefore, this research compares bibliometric indicators between conceptual and analytical articles on LHC.
Design/methodology/approach
For data collection, the PRISMA Protocol was employed, and 488 articles published from 2009 to 2021, indexed in the Scopus and WoS databases, were retrieved.
Findings
This study reveals how conceptual and analytical LHC studies are organized in terms of the most relevant journals, articles, institutions, countries, the total number of citations, collaboration networks (co-authorship, international collaboration network and institutional collaboration network) and main co-words.
Originality/value
Only four papers conducting bibliometric analysis on LHC studies were identified in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. In addition, none of these papers compared conceptual and analytical bibliometric indicators to reveal the evolution, organization and trends of each category. Therefore, this work is not only the first to make this comparison but also the first to analyze the collaboration between authors, institutions and countries in relation to studies on LHC. The analyses performed in this work allow one new possible understanding, by researchers and health professionals, of the literature behavior in this field of study.
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Fernando Augusto Gouvea-Reis, Danniely Carolinne Soares da Silva, Lairton Souza Borja, Patrícia de Oliveira Dias, Jadher Percio, Cassio Peterka, Janaína de Oliveira, Giselle Sodré, Claudia Mendes Feres, Wallace Dos Santos, Fábio Souza, Ana Izabel Passarella Teixeira, Daiani Cristina Cilião-Alves, Gustavo Adolfo Sierra Romero, Elza Ferreira Noronha, Julio Croda, Rodrigo Haddad, Walter Massa Ramalho, Camile de Moraes and Wildo Navegantes de Araújo
This study aims to estimate the overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and evaluate the accuracy of an antibody rapid test compared to a reference serological assay during a COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to estimate the overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and evaluate the accuracy of an antibody rapid test compared to a reference serological assay during a COVID-19 outbreak in a prison complex housing over 13,000 prisoners in Brasília.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors obtained a randomized, stratified representative sample of each prison unit and conducted a repeated serosurvey among prisoners between June and July 2020, using a lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA). Samples were also retested using a chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLIA) to compare SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and 21-days incidence, as well as to estimate the overall infection fatality rate (IFR) and determine the diagnostic accuracy of the LFIA test.
Findings
This study identified 485 eligible individuals and enrolled 460 participants. Baseline and 21-days follow-up seroprevalence were estimated at 52.0% (95% CI 44.9–59.0) and 56.7% (95% CI 48.2–65.3) with LFIA; and 80.7% (95% CI 74.1–87.3) and 81.1% (95% CI 74.4–87.8) with CLIA, with an overall IFR of 0.02%. There were 78.2% (95% CI 66.7–89.7) symptomatic individuals among the positive cases. Sensitivity and specificity of LFIA were estimated at 43.4% and 83.3% for IgM; 46.5% and 91.5% for IgG; and 59.1% and 77.3% for combined tests.
Originality/value
The authors found high seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within the prison complex. The occurrence of asymptomatic infection highlights the importance of periodic mass testing in addition to case-finding of symptomatic individuals; however, the field performance of LFIA tests should be validated. This study recommends that vaccination strategies consider the inclusion of prisoners and prison staff in priority groups.
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Paula Correia, André Vítor, Marlene Tenreiro, Ana Cristina Correia, João Madanelo and Raquel Guiné
Thistle flower (Cynara cardunculus) aqueous extracts, as rich source of milk-clotting peptidases, have been widely used for cheeses marketed under the Registry of the Protected…
Abstract
Purpose
Thistle flower (Cynara cardunculus) aqueous extracts, as rich source of milk-clotting peptidases, have been widely used for cheeses marketed under the Registry of the Protected Designation of Origin, as it is the case of Serra da Estrela cheese, manufactured from raw ewes’ milk and without addition of any commercial starter culture. This paper aims at studying the influence of six different ecotypes of thistle flowers in cheese properties during the ripening and of final products.
Design/methodology/approach
Cheeses were produced with different thistle flower extracts and then the clotting time, weight and colour of cheeses, as well as texture properties and sensorial characteristics, were evaluated.
Findings
The clotting time varied from 47 to 66 min, and the weight loss along ripening varied between 32 and 40 per cent. There was some influence of thistle flower ecotype on the colour during ripening and in the final product. The results of texture analysis revealed significant differences between the thistle ecotypes: crust firmness varying from 2.4 to 5.6 N; inner firmness from 0.82 to 1.82 N; stickiness from −0.5 to −1.60 N; adhesiveness from −3.0 to −11.3 N.s; and Ecotype C was particularly distinguishable. Sensorial evaluation revealed differences among the cheeses, with Ecotype C receiving the highest score for global appreciation.
Originality/value
The usage of different extracts of thistle flower to produce Serra da Estrela cheese with different properties is a novelty, and it allows the possibility of manipulating this parameter in the future so as to produce cheeses with specific characteristics, addressed to different consumer targets.