Christophe Theys and Theo Notteboom
The awarding of terminals to private operators is considered a prime task of landlord port authorities. Yet, terminal concessions in seaports have only recently gained interest in…
Abstract
The awarding of terminals to private operators is considered a prime task of landlord port authorities. Yet, terminal concessions in seaports have only recently gained interest in academic circles. The awarding process poses a complex set of managerial challenges to port authorities, one of the key issues being the determination of the duration of the concession.
Despite the importance of the duration of terminal concessions in seaports, the issue has not received much attention in academic circles. Factors impacting on the duration of contracts, leases or concessions have, however, been studied extensively in other research areas, such as agriculture, coal contracts, franchising and natural gas. This paper uses insights from these academic studies to obtain a better understanding of the impact of concession duration on the stakeholders involved and relates them to empirical evidence on concession length in European seaports. The paper then proposes a classification scheme for the exogenous determination of concession duration, based on techniques developed for Public-Private-Partnerships in large infrastructure projects. In the last section the paper discusses the importance of concession durations to various stakeholders in seaports and illustrates these principles using a case study.
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Christophe Theys, Dong Keun Ryoo and Theo Notteboom
This paper presents a generic framework on port logistics development and its interaction with hinterland regions. Although earlier work on the topic (e.g. by Ferrari et al.…
Abstract
This paper presents a generic framework on port logistics development and its interaction with hinterland regions. Although earlier work on the topic (e.g. by Ferrari et al., 2006; Kuipers and Eenhuizen, 2004) offers valuable insights in the subject, it contains limitations in geographical applicability. Ports indeed face dissimilarities in, for instance, locational characteristics (a.o. distance from the sea and nautical accessibility) and hinterland connections. Only when a model for determining seaport-located logistics activities takes into account these issues of dissimilarity among ports, the framework could be applied to a variety of seaport ranges worldwide. In this paper we aim to provide a first version of such a framework. More particularly, by means of a survey conducted in the Port of Busan the shortcomings of traditional approaches are illustrated. We then propose a more encompassing model, which seems to explain fairly well the attractiveness of Busan in terms of logistics activities. This framework explicitly adds port and hinterland characteristics to the list of factors decisive in the choice of the location of logistics activities. Finally, we would like to remark that our research on this topic is still ongoing and results for surveys planned in New York and Antwerp will be reported in a later stage.
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Gregory B. Fairchild and Joe Toomer
This case is designed to illustrate the methods private-equity investors use in assessing the value of market opportunities--in this instance, a plus-size clothing retailer…
Abstract
This case is designed to illustrate the methods private-equity investors use in assessing the value of market opportunities--in this instance, a plus-size clothing retailer targeted to African-American and Hispanic women. The case addresses several issues, including niche marketing, urban development, and the challenge of evaluating market potential. The protagonist, a private-equity partner, must determine the market viability of an investment opportunity offered to his firm.
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Sihem Dekhili, Roberta Crouch and Omar El Moussawel
Whilst country-of-origin (COO) effects have been studied extensively since the 1960s, little research has explored these effects with respect to ecological considerations. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Whilst country-of-origin (COO) effects have been studied extensively since the 1960s, little research has explored these effects with respect to ecological considerations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the COO ecological image (CEI) construct by defining its facets across consumers and professionals from two different countries, namely, France and Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
Because of the exploratory nature of the research, the authors used two qualitative techniques, namely, semi-structured interviews and focus groups.
Findings
Findings indicate the CEI construct is composed of eight dimensions, namely, policy, technological, economic, people characteristics, natural, climatic, historical and eco-product features.
Research limitations/implications
The research provides insights into the CEI construct and justifies future studies to develop a scale measure for it. However, the generalisability of the results must be considered limited due to the qualitative exploratory nature of the study.
Practical implications
The research offers implications for companies and policymakers by allowing them to understand how consumers form a CEI. It suggests new applications respective to how to leverage positive aspects of a CEI and how to mitigate negative ones.
Originality/value
The study extends the literature on COO by identifying the possible dimensions of the CEI construct, thus providing better insights into the little-explored link between COO and sustainable products.
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Yancheng Zhang, Hugo Behlal, Charles-André Gandin, Oriane Senninger, Gildas Guillemot and Michel Bellet
This paper aims to report on a homogenized model for the anisotropic thermal conductivity of support structures constructed by the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process, and its…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on a homogenized model for the anisotropic thermal conductivity of support structures constructed by the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process, and its application to the numerical simulation of the L-PBF process.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering both analytical and numerical approaches, the model is developed across a temperature interval encompassing the entire L-PBF process. Subsequently, the homogenized material properties are incorporated into a thermal finite element model (FEM) of the L-PBF process to consider the effects of the support structures, taking into account their anisotropic properties.
Findings
The simulation results of the L-PBF process indicate that the support structures act as a thermal barrier, retaining more heat in part compared to direct printing on the substrate. The implementation of homogeneous thermal conductivity in the L-PBF process simulation demonstrates its efficiency and potential application to better control heat transfer during part construction.
Originality/value
The homogenized anisotropic thermal conductivity of a support structure has been characterized by both analytical and numerical approaches. Such homogenized anisotropic tensor was implemented in L-PBF numerical simulation. This showed a strong influence of the supports on the temperature distribution and evolution.
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Nathan Kunz, Luk N. Van Wassenhove, Maria Besiou, Christophe Hambye and Gyöngyi Kovács
This paper is based on a panel discussion at EurOMA 2015. The purpose of this paper is to identify a number of barriers to relevant research in humanitarian logistics. The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is based on a panel discussion at EurOMA 2015. The purpose of this paper is to identify a number of barriers to relevant research in humanitarian logistics. The authors propose a charter of ten rules for conducting relevant humanitarian research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use operations management literature to identify best practices for doing research with practice. The authors compile, condense and interpret opinions expressed by three academics and one practitioner at the panel discussion, and illustrate them through quotes.
Findings
The increasing volume of papers published in the humanitarian logistics literature has not led to a proportional impact on practice. The authors identify a number of reasons for this, such as poor problem definition, difficult access to data or lack of contextualization. The authors propose a charter of ten rules that have the potential to make humanitarian logistics research more relevant for practice.
Practical implications
By developing best practices for doing relevant research in humanitarian logistics, this paper enables the academic community and practice to better work together on relevant and impactful research projects. Academic knowledge combined with practice-inspired problems has the potential to generate significant improvements to humanitarian practice.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to address the problem of relevance of humanitarian logistics research. It is also one of the few papers involving a practitioner to discuss practical relevance of research. Through this unique approach, it is hoped that this paper provides a set of particularly helpful recommendations for researchers studying humanitarian logistics.
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Mary-Lieta Clément and Christophe Roux-Dufort
This article aims to explore the tragic nature of crisis and identify managers’ decision-making processes and strategies when they are trapped by events beyond their understanding…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to explore the tragic nature of crisis and identify managers’ decision-making processes and strategies when they are trapped by events beyond their understanding and control. In this article, the tragic is viewed as the collision of an overdetermined scenario perceived as inevitable, insurmountable and irreparable and the managers' strategies to free themselves from this scenario and divert its trajectory.
Design/methodology/approach
We make a crossed literature review between crisis management and Greek tragedy as proposed by scholars in classical literature.
Findings
We make two theoretical contributions to the literature on crisis management. First, we articulate a set of research proposals into a model to explain how managers' decisions make the crisis tragic. Second, we enrich the field of crisis management by highlighting strategies in order to avoid them.
Originality/value
We use Greek tragedy, not as a metaphor to characterize the consequences of crises as the authors usually do, but as an analytical lens to explore their inexorable, insurmountable and irremediable nature and the decisions made by managers that would make crises tragic.
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Xu Haoran, Antoinette Verhage and Christophe Vandeviver
This research uses rational choice theory to analyze the effects of motivation, premeditation and offender characteristics on offenders' weapons during decision-making processes…
Abstract
Purpose
This research uses rational choice theory to analyze the effects of motivation, premeditation and offender characteristics on offenders' weapons during decision-making processes when they are violent towards on-duty police officers. The paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers examined 597 cases (n = 597) of violence against the police in the China Judgments Online (CJO) database, and analyzed the data using multinomial logistic regression methods. Rational choice theory was used to explore the offenders' weapons decision-making process.
Findings
The research results showed that offenders with premeditation were more likely to use a weapon, and tended to choose sharp weapons; offenders motivated to “escape arrest” were more likely to use a weapon, and tended to choose a vehicle as a weapon; and offenders motivated by “conflict resolution” were more likely to choose a sharp or blunt weapon.
Research limitations/implications
These findings have limited applicability to other countries and must be considered in the local background of violence against police.
Practical implications
Through the rational choice theory analytical framework, this study clarifies how motivation and premeditation influence offenders' weapons decision-making processes.
Social implications
Also, this study may provide support for frontline police officers' law enforcement.
Originality/value
The research identified some specific connections between offenders' weapon choice preferences, their motivation for the violence and whether or not there was premeditation. The findings provide guidance for police agencies developing preventive policies, and for frontline officers in interpreting and managing the situations they face.
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Emilie Raymond, Christophe Tremblay and Jean-Guy Lebel
This paper aims to share a practical evaluation tool intended to guide and support the participation of older people in PAR projects. Participatory action research (PAR) studies…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to share a practical evaluation tool intended to guide and support the participation of older people in PAR projects. Participatory action research (PAR) studies with older adults have been increasing over the past ten years. Scientific evidence provides key principles for PAR projects to achieve meaningful participation by older people; however, respecting the ideals of PAR is not always straightforward.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a case study that evaluated the involvement of nonacademic researchers in a PAR project using an evaluation tool derived from a literature review of PAR undertaken with this population (Corrado et al., 2020). The study goals were first to assess the assets and limits of the older co-researchers’ participation within the PAR project, and second to provide a revised version of the evaluation tool to support future PAR with older people. First, the authors designed an evaluation tool for nonacademic participation in PAR studies by older people that covers three main themes: older people positioned as prominent research partners; symmetrical power relations between academic and nonacademic researchers; and commitment regarding inclusiveness and long-term collaboration. Second, the authors performed an evaluation using this tool within the Active Aging with Dignity PAR Project.
Findings
Third, the authors used the results of this experiment to suggest improvements for an enhanced version of the evaluation tool aiming at supporting fuller involvement of older nonacademic researchers in PAR studies.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this evaluative tool is a methodological innovation in gerontology.
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This study analyzes how small French retailers are adapting their front-office to the digitalization of their business environment.
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes how small French retailers are adapting their front-office to the digitalization of their business environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative study focuses on dynamic capabilities of 27 independent French retailers, in a wide variety of sectors.
Findings
The digitalization of small retailers does not date from the pandemic health crisis. Small retailers are willing, agile and organized to make controlled progress, ranging from the visibility on social networks to online sales with its specific logistical constraints. Even if their presence on marketplaces is trickier to implement, it represents the culmination of the digitalization process, once their online store has been launched. The digital transformation of independent retailers should be less radical than for large retailers.
Research limitations/implications
By distinguishing between the concepts of adaptive, absorptive and innovative capabilities, this research highlights strong differences between small retailers, that is SMEs, and larger companies. In terms of adaptive capabilities, it confirms that small retailers are not embracing digitalization as a fad, but because of real changes in the market, and particularly in demand. In contrast to large companies, small retailers drive it more around external objectives linked to their intimate knowledge of changing customer behavior (customer centricity). In terms of absorptive capabilities, the success or failure of digital transformation weighs directly on the entrepreneur's shoulders, but is less hampered by technological legacy. Despite interviews only conducted in the Paris region, it converges with professional studies carried out on a larger scale in France. Its widespread use is certainly easier in countries at the same stage of commercial development.
Practical implications
In terms of innovative capabilities, independent retailers need to focus on four key areas: reinventing the in-store experience; increasing visibility on social networks; creating an online store; being present in one or two marketplaces or creating a common platform with other local merchants.
Originality/value
This research is one of the first to analyze the digital transformation experienced by small structures. It draws on the concept of dynamic capabilities, well-suited to technologically and commercially dynamic markets. It puts into perspective studies carried out in other countries on less diversified types of shops. Unlike other studies examining the front office, it does not exclude stores and SEO in marketplaces.