Francisco Benita and Carlos M. Urzúa
This paper aims to examine the accuracy of the trade statistics between the People’s Republic of China and 20 Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the accuracy of the trade statistics between the People’s Republic of China and 20 Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper contrasts the mirror trade statistics between China and 20 Latin American countries during 2009-2014, after adding to the Chinese side the trade figures corresponding to Hong Kong and adjusting for some valuation issues. Using the resulting panel data, the paper then explores some of the possible explanatory variables, in the case of Latin America, which can account for the significant trade misinvoicing that is found among most of the countries involved.
Findings
Trade misinvoicing, be that from the part of China or of its partners, varies substantially across Latin America. It is quite large in the case of some countries such as Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Paraguay, and, on the opposite side, relatively small in the case of other countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala and Venezuela. It is found that, from a Latin American perspective, trade misinvoicing is positively related to the countries’ lack of statistical capacity and their degree of financial openness.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical paper that examines the mirror trade statistics between China and Latin American.
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Hossein Zare, Benjo Delarmente and Darrell J. Gaskin
Like many countries, the US government-imposed travel restriction policies on selected countries with a high spread of COVID-19 airports to prevent the introduction and spread of…
Abstract
Like many countries, the US government-imposed travel restriction policies on selected countries with a high spread of COVID-19 airports to prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19. Between March 2020 and October 2021, travellers from China, Iran, European Schengen countries, the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and India were restricted with some exceptions. The main objective with this study was to explore the associations between COVID-19 cases and death rates, and the proximity to airports, train stations and time of public transportation. To address the study objective, the authors used the most recent JHU COVID-19 database, the American Community Survey and Airport and Amtrak data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics from 3,132 US counties. The authors categorised the counties into three groups according to their distance from an airport: less than 25 miles, between 25 and 50 miles and more than 50 miles. The authors then ran negative binomial regressions and Cox regression models, adjusted for population density, population race/ethnicity, travel time, being close to an international airport and the main sources of commutes. The findings showed that the number of airports, the number of train station and the length of commuting time were predictors for the number of deaths and cases in a county. The authors found that counties within 25 miles of an airport had 1.372 times the rate of COVID-19 cases and 1.338 times the rate of COVID-19 deaths compared to the counties that were more than 50 miles from an airport. To prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19 and any similar pandemic that transfers by air, the timing of the travel restriction policy is a crucial element. Policymakers and officials in transportation and public health should collaborate to promulgate policies and procedures to prevent the spread of airborne infectious diseases.
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Strategic management theory differentiates between enterprise, corporate, business, functional and operational strategy. Corporate communication strategy is conceptualised as a…
Abstract
Strategic management theory differentiates between enterprise, corporate, business, functional and operational strategy. Corporate communication strategy is conceptualised as a functional strategy, providing focus and direction to the corporate communication function. Acting as a framework for the communication plans developed to implement the strategy, it makes the corporate communication function relevant in the strategic management process by providing the link between key strategic issues facing the organisation and communication plans. Corporate communication strategy is seen to be the outcome of a strategic thinking process by senior communicators and top managers taking strategic decisions with regard to the identification and management of, and communication with, strategic stakeholders.
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Benita M. Beamon and Burcu Balcik
The purpose of this paper is to compare performance measurement in the humanitarian relief chain with performance measurement in the commercial supply chain, develop performance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare performance measurement in the humanitarian relief chain with performance measurement in the commercial supply chain, develop performance metrics for the humanitarian relief chain, and present a framework that can be used as a basis for a performance measurement system in the relief sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The performance measurement analysis is developed through extensions on an existing performance measurement framework. Details regarding relief chain system were obtained through off‐site and on‐site interviews with relief professionals from World Vision International.
Findings
The paper finds that this work yielded: a comparison of performance measurement in the humanitarian relief chain with performance measurement in the commercial supply chain, new performance metrics for the humanitarian relief chain, and a performance measurement framework for the relief chain.
Research limitations/implications
The paper shows that future work includes performance measurement in community involvement and empowerment, performance measurement in community development, performance measurement in the combined relief and development mission, and understanding the role and impacts of cooperation and coordination in the relief chain.
Practical implications
This paper provides a practical procedure for developing effective performance measurement systems for relief logistics processes.
Originality/value
The paper presents to humanitarian relief professionals a new approach to performance measurement for relief logistics and to researchers in supply chain performance a comparison and contrast between performance measurement for relief and performance measurement in the commercial chain, new performance metrics for the relief chain, and implications for modern, quick‐response supply chains.
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Benita M. Beamon and Stephen A. Kotleba
To develop and test three different inventory management strategies as applied to the complex emergency in south Sudan.
Abstract
Purpose
To develop and test three different inventory management strategies as applied to the complex emergency in south Sudan.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative modeling, simulation, and statistics.
Findings
This research identified critical system factors that contributed most significantly to inventory system performance, and identified strengths and weaknesses of each inventory management strategy.
Research limitations/implications
This research represents a first step in developing inventory management systems for humanitarian relief. Future work would include modeling correlation among relief items, multiple items, and considering the impact of information.
Practical implications
In a domain that has seen limited application of quantitative models, this work demonstrates the performance benefits of using quantitative methods to manage inventory in a relief setting.
Originality/value
This research has value for relief organizations by providing a real‐world application of quantitative inventory management strategies applied to a complex emergency, and demonstrated performance advantages of quantitative versus ad hoc methods. This research has value for researchers by providing a new application of simulation and mathematical modeling (humanitarian relief).
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Gianmarco Baldini, Franco Oliveri, Michael Braun, Hermann Seuschek and Erwin Hess
Humanitarian logistics is an essential element of disaster management and it presents many challenges due to the unique disaster relief environment. The paper describes the main…
Abstract
Purpose
Humanitarian logistics is an essential element of disaster management and it presents many challenges due to the unique disaster relief environment. The paper describes the main features and challenges of humanitarian logistics and the potential role of technology. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been increasingly considered to improve the efficiency of supply chain management. Security is an important requirement for disaster management. The purpose of this paper is to propose and describe the application of secure RFID technology to improve the management and security of relief supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the challenges of disaster of supply chains and how secure RFID can address them in the overall framework of disaster management.
Findings
The paper describes the efficiency of the crypotgraphic algorithm used in the design of the secure RFID, the system architecture and the deployment workflow.
Practical implications
The establishment of a logistics tracking framework based on secure RFID has the potential to greatly increase the effectiveness of future emergency crises response operations.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper is to present the application of secure RFID to the context of disaster management, where the security of supply chains is often not addressed.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of triple-A supply chain and marketing strategy alignment on the performance by collecting and analyzing data from the textile…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of triple-A supply chain and marketing strategy alignment on the performance by collecting and analyzing data from the textile industry in Egypt.
Design/methodology/approach
A research model is proposed which describes the impact marketing strategy alignment, triple-A supply chain on supply chain performance and organizational performance. The proposed research model and hypotheses were tested using correlation analysis and structural equation modeling based on data collected from 153 companies working in the Egyptian textile industry.
Findings
The results of the study support that organizational performance is positively associated supply chain performance. Also supply chain performance is directly affected by triple-A supply chain and marketing strategy alignment.
Research limitations/implications
The data used in this study were collected from 153 companies working in the Egyptian textile industry. The generalization of the study results may be limited by the size of the sample.
Originality/value
This study provides a useful working model in the textile industry. The results suggest successful implementation of triple-A supply chain and marketing strategy alignment will help in improving the supply chain performance, which in turn improves organizational performance.