Arijit Roy, Arpita Ghosh and Devika Vashisht
The paper aims to critically review the literature based on the factors identified by the authors to discuss and provide direction for future research. The purpose of this study…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to critically review the literature based on the factors identified by the authors to discuss and provide direction for future research. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the factors responsible for affecting consumers’ perceptions and purchasing attitudes toward organic food products.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature review follows the review methodology elaborating on key factors identified which affect the consumer’s perception and attitude toward organic farming and products. A total of 50 articles are downloaded from different sources such as Google Scholar and Scopus and later the articles were finalized based on core areas and specializations.
Findings
The findings reveal that the behavioral aspect plays a crucial role in the adoption of organic products by consumers; also various factors such as customer perspective, demand and supply, health aspect, cost-effectiveness, standard and reliability are responsible in endorsing organic products. The authors also reveal that among the factors mentioned, the lack of a supply chain market for organic products is the prime concern for the non-availability of products.
Research limitations/implications
The lack of effective distribution and promotion system affects the availability of organic food products.
Originality/value
The paper provides a comprehensive review of organic food in terms of highlighting the factors affecting the perception and purchasing attitude of consumers toward organic food products consumption. Also, the present review study gives an idea of organizing the literature on the organic food based on factors influencing the customer responses.
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Pradipta Patra, Arijit Roy, Arpita Ghosh and Parul Malik
India has taken a successful step towards meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by providing access to basic amenities such as safe drinking water, waste management…
Abstract
Purpose
India has taken a successful step towards meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by providing access to basic amenities such as safe drinking water, waste management, drainage systems and bio-compost pits in households. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that significantly impact access to such basic amenities in villages in two states in the hilly regions of India.
Design/methodology/approach
Village-level secondary data collected from the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) website has been analyzed using multiple linear regression and non-parametric statistical tests. Socio-economic and demographic variables are the independent factors in regression whereas availability of basic amenities is the dependent variable.
Findings
Findings reveal that in Himachal Pradesh, gender ratio, annual income per family, percentage of BPL households, percentage of pucca houses, and percentage of village population above graduation, significantly impact access to piped water in village households. Also, literacy rate and percentage of population with education above graduation significantly impact availability of compost pits. Further, in Uttarakhand, percentage of pucca houses influences access to waste collection system and availability of compost pits. Availability of drainage systems is influenced by literacy rate. A comparison between the two hilly states reveals that Himachal Pradesh is better off in terms of ease of access to drinking water whereas Uttarakhand is ahead in terms of other amenities.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other studies have used socio-economic and demographic variables to study access to basic amenities in villages in hilly states in India.
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This paper aims to consider the effects of a merger on technology adoption and welfare in the presence of passive cross ownership. Merger increases investments in process…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to consider the effects of a merger on technology adoption and welfare in the presence of passive cross ownership. Merger increases investments in process technology and may increase welfare. The results are important for antitrust policies and suggest that the antitrust authorities may not need to be too concerned about mergers in industries with cross ownership.
Design/methodology/approach
Game-theoretic analysis.
Findings
Merger increases investments in process technology and may increase welfare.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is original.
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Qile He, Abby Ghobadian, David Gallear, Loo-See Beh and Nicholas O'Regan
– Recognizing the heterogeneity of services, this paper aims to clarify the characteristics of forward and the corresponding reverse supply chains of different services.
Abstract
Purpose
Recognizing the heterogeneity of services, this paper aims to clarify the characteristics of forward and the corresponding reverse supply chains of different services.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops a two-dimensional typology matrix, representing four main clusters of services according to the degree of input standardization and the degree of output tangibility. Based on this matrix, this paper develops a typology and parsimonious conceptual models illustrating the characteristics of forward and the corresponding reverse supply chains of each cluster of services.
Findings
The four main clusters of service supply chains have different characteristics. This provides the basis for the identification, presentation and explanation of the different characteristics of their corresponding reverse service supply chains.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this research can help future researchers to analyse, map and model forward and reverse service supply chains, and to identify potential research gaps in the area.
Practical/implications
The findings of the research can help managers of service firms to gain better visibility of their forward and reverse supply chains, and refine their business models to help extend their reverse/closed-loop activities. Furthermore, the findings can help managers to better optimize their service operations to reduce service gaps and potentially secure new value-adding opportunities.
Originality/value
This paper is the first, to the authors ' knowledge, to conceptualize the basic structure of the forward and reverse service supply chains while dealing with the high level of heterogeneity of services.
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Andrew Thomas, Paul Byard, Mark Francis, Ron Fisher and Gareth R.T. White
The purpose of this paper is to identify the tools, methods and models that UK manufacturing companies adopt and apply in order to achieve resiliency and economic sustainability…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the tools, methods and models that UK manufacturing companies adopt and apply in order to achieve resiliency and economic sustainability. The results of this work can assist in developing the foundations for defining a new joint resiliency/sustainability paradigm to assist industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a detailed, triangulated secondary data analysis and industry survey, the authors initially identify and then analyse the key resiliency and sustainability characteristics surrounding manufacturing operations. This paper initially reviews key literatures around resiliency and sustainability models and frameworks and subsequently draws out their key features and weaknesses. The work then details the research survey undertaken in to manufacturing companies aimed at identifying the resiliency/sustainability approaches that are adopted in companies. A sample of 72 manufacturing companies are used in the survey and from which the results are based.
Findings
Through analysing the fundamental business data of sales and manufacturing costs for 72 manufacturing companies, the authors cluster the companies in to four key manufacturing profiles. The work then shows through a more detailed analysis of the profiles that companies which are sustainable and more resilient in nature are, better engaged and connected to the development and application of resiliency and sustainability models. It was found that companies who seem to struggle in achieving economic sustainability or lack the ability to bounce back from various set-backs either do not employ such models or at best apply tools and techniques in an ad hoc manner.
Research limitations/implications
The paper provides key insights in to the adoption of tools, techniques and models surrounding the achievement of resiliency and sustainability in manufacturing companies. In so doing, the paper offers a new view on these issues and with the profiling exercise undertaken, companies will be able to identify their position in relation to the survey companies. This can be of benefit to the wider industrial and academic community. The development of a qualitative assessment around a relatively small sample size has its obvious limitations and it is crucial that further work with a range of companies in the area of manufacturing sustainability is key to developing (and also validating) a comprehensive set of resiliency and sustainability characteristics.
Practical implications
The paper highlights the issues surrounding existing academic resiliency/sustainability models and through the industry survey, it provides further information on where UK manufacturing companies are on adopting specific resiliency/sustainability models. The work suggests that the resiliency/sustainability landscape of UK manufacturing companies is much more complex and that a single strategic approach towards achieving improved manufacturing performance is somewhat dated and ineffective.
Originality/value
The development of a set of resiliency/sustainability profiles including the identification of the specific tools and techniques adopted by industry is aimed at tackling directly the issues of improving company performance and is considered by the authors as one of a kind. The results of the survey provide essential information on the resiliency/sustainability landscape of UK manufacturing companies.
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The purpose of this paper is to present a study in developing a cost-effective meat supply chain network design aiming to minimizing the total cost of transportation, the number…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a study in developing a cost-effective meat supply chain network design aiming to minimizing the total cost of transportation, the number of transportation vehicles and the delivery time of meat products. The developed model was also used for determining the optimum numbers and allocations of farms and abattoirs that need to be established and the optimal quantity flow of livestock from farms to abattoirs and meat products from abattoirs to retailers.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-objective possibilistic programming model was formulated with a focus on minimizing the total cost of transportation, the number of transportation vehicles and the delivery time of meat products. Three sets of Pareto solutions were obtained using the three different solution methods. These methods are the LP-metrics method, the ɛ-constraint method and the weighted Tchebycheff method, respectively. The TOPSIS method was used for seeking a best Pareto solution as a trade-off decision when optimizing the three conflicting objectives.
Findings
A case study was also applied for examining the effectiveness and applicability of the developed multi-objective model and the proposed solution methods. The research concludes that the ɛ-constraint method has the superiority over the other two proposed methods as it offers a better solution outcome.
Research limitations/implications
This work addresses as interesting avenues for further research on exploring the delivery planner under different types of uncertainties and transportation means. Also, environmentalism has been increasingly becoming a significant global problem in the present century. Thus, the presented model could be extended to include the environmental aspects as an objective function.
Practical implications
The developed design methodology can be utilized for food supply chain designers. Also, it could be applied to realistic problems in the field of supply chain management.
Originality/value
The paper presents a methodology that can be used for tackling a multi-objective optimization problem of a meat supply chain network design. The proposed optimization method has the potential in solving the similar issue providing a compromising solution due to conflicting objectives in which each needs to be achieved toward an optimum outcome to survive in the competitive sector of food supply chains network.