Srikant Gupta, Prasenjit Chatterjee, Morteza Yazdani and Ernesto D.R. Santibanez Gonzalez
Industrial organizations often face difficulties in finding out the methods to meet ever increasing customer expectations and to remain competitive in the global market while…
Abstract
Purpose
Industrial organizations often face difficulties in finding out the methods to meet ever increasing customer expectations and to remain competitive in the global market while maintaining controllable expenses. An effective and efficient green supply chain management (GSCM) can provide a competitive edge to the business. This paper focusses on the selection of green suppliers while simultaneously balancing economic, environmental and social issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, it is assumed that two types of decision-makers (DMs), namely, the first level and second-level DMs operate at two separate groups in GSC. The first-level DMs always empathise to optimize carbon emissions, per unit energy consumption per product and per unit waste production, while the second-level DMs seek to optimize ordering costs, number of rejected units and number of late delivered units in the entire GSCM. In this paper, fuzzy goal programming (FGP) approach has been adopted to obtain compromise solution of the formulated problem by attaining the uppermost degree of each membership goal while reducing their deviational variables. Furthermore, demand has also been forecasted using exponential smoothing analysis. The model is verified on a real-time industrial case study.
Findings
This research enables DMs to analyse uncertainty scenarios in GSCM when information about different parameters are not known precisely.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed model is restricted to vagueness only, however, DMs may need to consider probabilistic multi-choice scenarios also.
Practical implications
The proposed model is generic and can be applied for large-scale GSC environments with little modifications.
Originality/value
No prior attempt is made till date to present interval type-2 fuzzy sets in a multi-objective GSC environment where the DMs are at hierarchical levels. Interval type-2 fuzzy sets are considered as better ways to represent inconsistencies of human judgements, its incompleteness and imprecision more accurately and objectively. Also, crisp or deterministic forms of uncertain parameters have been obtained by taking expected value of the fuzzy parameters.
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Beibei Xiong, Yongli Li, Ernesto D.R. Santibanez Gonzalez and Malin Song
The purpose of this paper is to measure Chinese industries’ eco-efficiency during 2006-2013. The Chinese industry attained rapid achievement in recent decades, but meanwhile…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to measure Chinese industries’ eco-efficiency during 2006-2013. The Chinese industry attained rapid achievement in recent decades, but meanwhile, overconsumption of energy and environmental pollution have become serious problems. To solve these problems, many research studies used the data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the Chinese industry’s eco-efficiency. However, because the target set by these works is usually the furthest one for a province to be efficient, it may hardly be accepted by any province.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper builds a new “closest target method” based on an additive DEA model considering the undesirable outputs. This method is a mixed-integer programming problem which can measure the ecological efficiency of provinces and more importantly guide the province to perform efficiently with minimum effort.
Findings
The results show that the eco-efficiency of Chinese provinces increased at the average level, but the deviations remained at a larger value. Compared to the “furthest” target methods, the targets by the approach proposed by this study are more acceptable for a province to improve its performance on both economy and environment counts.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to introduce the closest targets concept to measure the eco-efficiency and set the target for each provincial industry in China.
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Ashish Dwivedi, Jitender Madaan, Ernesto D.R. Santibanez Gonzalez and Md. Abdul Moktadir
The execution of product recovery strategies and the definition of an adequate system to manage its performance are crucial to move toward the employment of a successful circular…
Abstract
Purpose
The execution of product recovery strategies and the definition of an adequate system to manage its performance are crucial to move toward the employment of a successful circular economy (CE) concept. Defining strategies for the efficient management of product recovery requires product data that is difficult to obtain, making it harder to handle. However, efficient product recovery management can play a key role in shifting companies from a linear economy model to a more sustainable CE model, providing economic benefits and increasing customer satisfaction by recovering and adding value to the discarded product. Therefore, this study aims to provide better models to support decision-making and to evaluate product recovery performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study highlights a comprehensive two-stage decision approach to identify and examine the relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) for performance improvement of an information facilitated product recovery system (IFPRS) in a CE context. In the first phase, a structural equation modeling (SEM) methodology is adopted to categorize the KPIs by employing exploratory factor analysis and measurement of the model fit is obtained using the confirmatory factor analysis. Further, in the second phase, the KPIs are ranked and prioritized on the basis of expert’s recommendations adopting fuzzy-technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS).
Findings
Empirical investigation is conducted by compiling data from an association of six decision-makers (DMs) and two DMs from a respective prospect. The results highlight that “Technology Capacity” is ranked as the highest and is the most prominent KPI for successful employment of IFPRS practices. The results of the study would benefit policy makers and company directors in the selection of KPIs based on their importance in a context of high competition and greater pressure to adopt sustainable practices in the management of their companies.
Originality/value
As far as the authors know, no study has been performed till date to identify and construct a structural KPIs model for IFPRS performance improvement in the context of CE. The paper, therefore, proposes a two-phase SEM-TOPSIS technique to measure the impact of KPIs which is a new integration in the existing literature. The results of the study would benefit policy makers and company directors in the selection of KPIs based on their importance in a context of high competition and greater pressure to adopt sustainable practices in managing their organizations.
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Vikas Kumar, Ihsan Sezersan, Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes, Ernesto D.R.S. Gonzalez and Moh’d Anwer AL-Shboul
In recent years, circular economy (CE) has come to prominence as an alternative to the classic approach of “make-use-dispose”. How companies can exploit the opportunities of CE to…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, circular economy (CE) has come to prominence as an alternative to the classic approach of “make-use-dispose”. How companies can exploit the opportunities of CE to position themselves better are not well articulated in the literature. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to identify the barriers and opportunities of CE in the manufacturing sector through a socio-political, economic, legal and environmental perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a positivist approach, which is deductive in nature. A survey questionnaire was designed and distributed to manufacturing companies operating in the UK and EU. The study used FAME database and social networking platform LinkedIn to identify manufacturing companies. More than 200+ companies were approached for this study and data collection lasted over two months.
Findings
The study provides a comprehensive review of the CE literature and identifies a number of barriers and opportunities to CE implementation from a socio-political, economic, legal and environmental perspective. The findings highlight key barriers, opportunities and benefits of CE for the manufacturing industries operating in the UK and EU.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are limited to 63 responses from the survey questionnaire distributed to manufacturing companies in the UK and EU. The present study aims to equip manufacturers with necessary understanding of the key opportunities and barriers to address the challenges encountered during the implementation of CE.
Originality/value
This study adds to the limited empirical literature on CE barriers and opportunities to manufacturing organisations operating in the UK and EU. The paper also identifies barriers and opportunities of CE from a socio-political, economic, legal and environmental lens.
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Gustavo Grander, Luciano Ferreira da Silva and Ernesto Del Rosário Santibañez Gonzalez
This paper aims to analyze how decision support systems manage Big data to obtain value.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze how decision support systems manage Big data to obtain value.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was performed with screening and analysis of 72 articles published between 2012 and 2019.
Findings
The findings reveal that techniques of big data analytics, machine learning algorithms and technologies predominantly related to computer science and cloud computing are used on decision support systems. Another finding was that the main areas that these techniques and technologies are been applied are logistic, traffic, health, business and market. This article also allows authors to understand the relationship in which descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analyses are used according to an inverse relationship of complexity in data analysis and the need for human decision-making.
Originality/value
As it is an emerging theme, this study seeks to present an overview of the techniques and technologies that are being discussed in the literature to solve problems in their respective areas, as a form of theoretical contribution. The authors also understand that there is a practical contribution to the maturity of the discussion and with reflections even presented as suggestions for future research, such as the ethical discussion. This study’s descriptive classification can also serve as a guide for new researchers who seek to understand the research involving decision support systems and big data to gain value in our society.
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Morteza Yazdani, Ernesto D.R.S. Gonzalez and Prasenjit Chatterjee
The implementation of circular economy strategies is one of the central objectives of several governments seeking a transition toward a sustainable development. Circular economy…
Abstract
Purpose
The implementation of circular economy strategies is one of the central objectives of several governments seeking a transition toward a sustainable development. Circular economy in agriculture deals with the production of agricultural commodities making an efficient use of resources and avoiding unnecessary waste and carbon emission generation. Disruptions in the production and supply of critical agricultural products can have serious negative repercussions for firms and consumers of the food supply chain. In recent decades, disruptions generated by natural disasters such as hurricanes, thunderstorms and floods have greatly impacted social communities and industrial sectors. Supply chain risks approaches are seen to contribute key elements to address the impacts of natural disaster toward the implementation of circular economy in agriculture, helping to prevent collapses in the production and supply of food. The purpose of this paper is to study and identify flood risk drivers and their effects on the sustainability of an agriculture supply chain in connection with a circular economy strategy. By using an extended Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis method combined with a multi-criteria decision analysis, the most essential flood drivers with a degree of importance are reported here. Then, the authors propose an Evaluation of Data based on average ASsessment method, to rank different agricultural projects that pretend to mitigate the flood risks and its impacts on crop areas. The application of this research lies within the framework of a real agricultural project founded by the European Commission Scientific Section, called RUC-APS.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use management science-based tools to address circular economy in agriculture. The authors propose a multi-criteria-based methodology to assess the risks of flooding in crops areas. To validate the proposed methodology, a case example from Spain is discussed to rank different agricultural projects that pretend to mitigate the flood risks and its impacts on crop areas.
Findings
The proposed multi-criteria methodology confirmed a successful application to rank different agricultural projects that pretend to mitigate the flood risks and its impacts on crop areas. Organizations and firms in the agricultural business can use the methodology to identify risks drivers and to detect the best projects to mitigate the highest impacts of flooding risks in crops areas.
Originality/value
The authors use supply chain risks approaches to address the impacts of natural disaster on the implementation of circular economy in agriculture. The authors propose a robust multi-criteria-based methodology to assess the risks of flooding in crops areas and we used to determine the best mitigating projects to face flooding risks on crop areas.
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Peter Josef Stauvermann, Shasnil Avinesh Chand, Daniel Borer and Ronald Ravinesh Kumar
This study examines the contribution of urban development to Vietnam's economic progress over the period 1986–2020. The study uses an augmented Solow framework, where urbanization…
Abstract
This study examines the contribution of urban development to Vietnam's economic progress over the period 1986–2020. The study uses an augmented Solow framework, where urbanization is included as a shift variable in addition to capital per worker and accounts for structural breaks. It examines the cointegration and the long-run and short-run effects of urban development from four different cases of cointegration (constant, restricted constant, restricted trend and trend options), with each case accounting for the effect of a significant structural break. Also, the study provides causality nexus to check the presence of urbanization-led growth hypothesis. From the results, we note a long-run positive effect of urbanization on economic growth, but no short-run effects. In all cases, a 1% increase in population results in 0.8–0.9 increase of output, hence supporting a positive and momentous effect of urbanization over the long-term. We note a significant positive effect of a single structural break period (1991), which is a period of major shift towards economic progress. We note bidirectional causality between capital and output and a unidirectional causality from output and capital to urbanization. The former suggests a mutually reinforcing effect of capital accumulation and economic growth, and the latter indicates that urban development necessitates economic growth and capital accumulation. The findings derived from this study provide further impetus for urban development and urban policies and consider urbanization as a critical source of economic growth for Vietnam.
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Francisca Greene Gonzalez and María José Lecaros
This paper reviews the origins of the Ethics Council of the Federation of Social Communication Media of Chile (1991-2019) and looks into the historical circumstances surrounding…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews the origins of the Ethics Council of the Federation of Social Communication Media of Chile (1991-2019) and looks into the historical circumstances surrounding its creation, the concept of self-regulation as understood by its founders, and the criteria that initially ruled its operation.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative survey of nine contemporary witnesses and the confrontation with the scientific literature.
Findings
The results reveal a significant coincidence with the academic literature both in the description of the concept of self-regulation and in the origin of the ethics councils and of the system under which they operate. However, a series of nuances not usually considered in the concept of self-regulation are described.
Originality/value
This study will help assess the national and international possibilities of self-regulation and the significance of the Chilean ethics council.
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Dr M. Vijayabaskar and Prof Paruchuru Manjushree
Internet of things (IoT) is the technology enabler in smart city adoption and creates circular economy (CE). The purpose of this chapter is to find out the relationship nexus…
Abstract
Internet of things (IoT) is the technology enabler in smart city adoption and creates circular economy (CE). The purpose of this chapter is to find out the relationship nexus between IoT, smart city and CE and its practical constraints in execution. This chapter elaborately maps the empirical evidence available in the literature survey of smart city development, information and communication technology (ICT) and CE. The contributions from outstanding scholars and current topics are analyzed using high citations index. The authors referred the topics with scholarly publishers and validated the data. Following that, significant technology subjects such as big data and analytics, as well as intelligent information systems, are individually examined. The findings are the challenges in implementing IoT and its interoperability capacity due to interlinking of different devices and systems. Another key challenger as well as drivers are data volume and quality, privacy, complexity and governance. The research can help policymakers, IT infrastructure provider, bureaucrats and all other concerned stakeholders to get sensitized on the implementation of IoT at smart city infrastructure. It also describes about the importance of collaboration and embracing open innovation (OI) while implementing IoT. This study is innovative in its approach and referred literature in the field of IoT, smart city, and CE by high citation index (HCI). It also researched about the various constraints in building CE through technology deployment and discusses about multilayer and multifunctional collaboration.
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Mukesh Kondala and Nisha Kumari
As more and more cities adopt resilient, inclusive and sustainable principles, circular economy (CE) emerges as a critical ally in developing smart cities. The technology-driven…
Abstract
As more and more cities adopt resilient, inclusive and sustainable principles, circular economy (CE) emerges as a critical ally in developing smart cities. The technology-driven environment of smart cities and CE's resource-efficient principles are perfectly compatible, overcoming challenges and highlighting benefits like increased resource efficiency. The integration of CE in smart cities is thoroughly analyzed in this chapter using VOSviewer and RStudio, tracing its history and pointing urban innovators towards a circular future. The categorization of obstacles to CE implementation in smart cities, the provision of knowledge about barriers and the facilitation of methodical solutions constitute a critical focus of research. Additionally, by analyzing pertinent literature, this investigation highlights the importance of integrating the concepts of the CE and the smart cities, illuminating the interdisciplinary nature of this field. This synthesis provides policymakers and planners with the knowledge they can use to advance sustainable urbanization effectively.