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Operations managers need to consider where to manufacture, or outsource, their manufacturing activities. A factor in location choice is productivity differences at different locations. This study aims to focus on determining productivity at the shopfloor level since this is the place where the differences in productivity ultimately affect the international competition position.

Causes for international differences in productivity for an essentially equal production technology, with an essentially equal level of shopfloor skills are determined from case analysis.

It was found that working conditions, degree of centralization, the national attitude towards time, and the motivation of the workforce influence productivity.

Productivity is dependent on factors that are connected with the external environment. Consequently, companies can not assume that productivity levels will be the same when moving to another country.

The paper illustrates factors, some outside of the company's control, that affect productivity and therefore the cost of international production.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a process‐based design of integrated management systems (IMS) implementation.

An extensive survey of peer‐reviewed literature was conducted. Based on the literature review, a comprehensive methodology for the design and implementation of an IMS was developed.

A critical review of the strategies employed and of difficulties encountered in IMS implementation reveals the need for a context‐ and process‐based design of IMS. At the operational level core activities are first designed from the perspective of stakeholders' requirements and then treated with operational excellence tools to strip away waste. The transformed core processes are then integrated with mainstream individual management systems to form one composite and holistic management system. The institutionalisation of IMS needs to be addressed in its design (through process embedded design) as well as at the users' level (through education and training of employees).

The paper provides the process‐based strategy for IMS implementation and institutionalisation.

The paper should be useful for practitioners searching for a recipe to integrate management systems, for government regulatory agencies seeking to facilitate the integration of management systems, and for researchers as a future area of research.

The research problem investigated in this paper addresses how love can intentionally be reflected in decision-making processes. The study is built on a theoretical and a practical foundation. The theoretical foundation comprises two parts with perspectives from theology and organizational theory. The practical foundation is derived from field research in the area of public administration and church leadership. Examples from field research indicate that trust and building of relationship will change adversarial behaviour into cooperative behaviour. Three network strategies are identified to make decision-making intentionally relational. The conceptual contribution is original, although the authors draw on existing insights from theology and public administration.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific practices of management in the dispatching unit and to identify mechanisms for supporting transfer of shop floor knowledge embedded in operating manufacturing equipment.

The paper applies an inductive and a case study approach for exploring three empirical cases that represent different manufacturing facility relocation processes and differences in the applied managerial practices.

The paper identifies two important gaps in international production literature when firms relocate equipment to other sites; a time gap (from dismantling to re-assembly of production facilities) and a space gap (from the current to the new site abroad). These gaps are important for understanding why relocation processes are difficult and what management can do to facilitate such processes.

The paper identifies four issues that management faces in the dispatching context when relocating manufacturing facilities.

The paper gives new insights to a limited literature of shop floor knowledge transfer when relocating manufacturing facilities.

The purpose of this study is to frame digital transformation (DT) within municipalities to improve the life cycles of urban infrastructure.

The study provides the results from a systematic review of the literature on concepts of DT and its implications for municipalities, barriers and challenges to DT, as well existing DT frameworks for municipalities and their built assets. This literature review leads to the development of a DT framework to help cities conduct a planned and federated DT beforehand. Then, workshops are conducted with two major Canadian municipalities.

The results of these studies point to the need for a dedicated DT framework for municipalities because of their particular context and their role and proximity to citizens. The theoretical framework develops 22 elements, which are divided among 6 categories. Through its application, the framework helps to identify and target the predominant issues hindering the DT of municipalities, specifically “legacy practices” and “data management.”

Limitations include limited experimental conditions and small sample size. Further work is needed to validate the framework. Other approaches are advocated to complement the data collection and analysis to generate more convincing results.

The theoretical framework was validated through two case studies on two large Canadian municipalities.

Municipalities maximize the value they provide to citizens and to be at the forefront of resilience and sustainability concerns. The use of technology, digital processes and initiatives helps cities to improve planning, optimize works and provide better services to citizens.

The framework is original in that it specifically aligns assets management with DT in a municipal context.

The purpose of this paper is through a literature study and a study of the Saab offset cases to identify strategies to increase inter-organizational transfer capability.

This paper is based on a literature study and a study of three of Saab’s offset cases and Saab’s process for technology transfer.

This study has identified inter-organizational transfer strategies based on the importance of the hierarchy of decision-making and the change from capacity transfers to capability transfers in offset business. The type of performance goals set in the business agreement decides how to realize the transfer. The hierarchy of decision-making creates a need to align the understanding of the performance goals between the different parts of the organization, which affect the plans for how to transfer knowledge between the organizational as well as the individual levels. To reach the performance goals of the technology transfer, there needs to be a balance between the disseminative capability of the sender and the absorptive capability of the receiver.

This study is based on a single case within a relatively unique industry with an offset perspective and production transfers. Therefore, there is also a need for future studies to confirm the identified relationships within outsourcing/offset within other industries and other types of transfers.

A change from capacity transfers to capability transfers in both outsourcing/offshoring and offset business indicates that more research should be placed on the disseminative capacity of the sender. The literature review revealed that the disseminative capacity of the sender has been the subject of less research than the absorptive capacity of the receiver.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Open innovation might well be a term that has only been with us since the beginning of the twenty‐first century, but the issues it raises have been with us as long as the market economy has existed. One of Henry W. Chesbrough's key observations, at the heart of his seminal 2003 work on the subject, was that “not all the smart people work for us”; external knowledge should be brought on board in order to maximize potential competitive advantage.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

This paper seeks to elaborate the reasons why quality management programs (QMPs) frequently fail to produce the intended results, and to demonstrate how QMPs could be effectively institutionalised in an organisational setting.

A survey of literature from different management fields was carried out to determine how the main issues about QMPs' implementation are discussed in diverse areas (such as strategic and operations management) and how useful insights regarding better implementation and institutionalisation of QMPs could thus be induced.

To harness maximum benefits, QMPs need to be implemented as a meta‐methodology (or meta‐management) targeting the whole enterprise. The QMPs need to be effectively integrated with the business strategy, which steers the business processes towards its unique competitive advantage. An undesirable scenario would be employing QMPs as sub‐methodologies that take the form of tools and techniques (quick fixes) and thus remain as stand‐alone programs which fail to yield desired results. Institutionalisation of QMPs requires a context specific design that promotes greater buy‐in by employees; developing the routines and structures that act as memory of organisational knowledge, and nurturing a common and fostering culture (instead of various sub‐cultures). Managerial intent of QMP implementation, i.e. performance improvement or legitimisation in the eyes of stakeholders, also determines the success or failures of QMPs.

This paper should provide practitioners and academics with a better understanding of managerial actions and factors that lead QMPs to failures and how such problems could be tackled. This research also provides a better understanding of managerial actions about QMPs implementation that are actually counter‐productive.

The paper contributes to theory and practice by explaining the reasons for QMPs failures and thus how such failures could be prevented. The research has significant originality, as there is little research to date focusing on the QMPs problems explained through perspectives from strategic management and operations management literature.

This paper aims to analyse performance measurement ambiguities in hybrid universities. In accounting research, performance measurement of universities has been discussed in detail, and there is some research on impacts of hybridity in institutional systems. However, there is a particular need in accounting research for more sophisticated theorizations of the ambiguities associated with measuring performance in hybrid organizations. Moreover, there is a dearth of accounting-related interdisciplinary studies conceptualizing the hybridity of universities with important implications for measuring and reporting performance. This paper fills this research gap by providing more elaborate basis for conceptualizing performance measurement ambiguities through the lenses of hybrid universities.

The authors critically scrutinize the promise of performance measurement in hybrid universities and explore why it may result in new policy problems. Questions asked are as follows: How can we better understand those institutional mechanisms through which the promise of performance measurement may ultimately result in new forms of ambiguities and unexpected outcomes, and what are the specific characteristics of hybridity that make those mechanisms possible in universities?

The authors propose a conceptual model for studying universities in hybrid performance settings. The model provides a new inter-disciplinary approach for conceptualizing performance measurement ambiguities in universities when they are influenced by hybridity, hybrid arrangements and hybrid governance.

This paper provides more elaborate basis for understanding hybridity of universities, not only through reforms for combining business, government and collegial professional logics (e.g. corporatization, marketization) or through new hybrid mixes of professions but also as a more comprehensive, inter-disciplinary understanding of institutional structures, logics and practices at modern universities.

The realm of standardized management systems (MSs) has expanded greatly over the last two decades. This expansion has highlighted the need for structured approaches to facilitate the integration of these systems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the integration of standardized MSs through a meta‐management approach.

An extensive survey of literature was carried out. Based on the literature review, a comprehensive framework was developed to guide the integration of standardized MSs. The framework is based on the “direction‐consistency‐coherence‐feedback” cycle.

A critical review of existing models and methodologies for the integration of standardized MSs highlighted the need for a systems‐oriented approach to integration based on stakeholder needs. The review further highlighted that the integration of MSs must be carried out at the meta‐level of organisational control. This focuses integration efforts on a higher level of abstraction, logic, and inquiry than is typically the case in efforts focused at the intervention or modeling level.

The framework will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners in the integration of standardized MSs because it provides a systematic way for addressing various stakeholder requirements. It describes how organisations could handle integration at various organisational levels and how an infrastructure for continuous improvement could be established.

The paper makes several contributions. It presents a unique approach to integration that has not been addressed in previous publications. The paper elaborates how to carry out integration of standardized MSs and how to develop a business management system for the whole organisation.