Olga Ievtushenko and George L. Hodge
Today, the strategy of innovation is perhaps the most pervasive strategy for textile companies to achieve a competitive advantage while facing severe competition in the global…
Abstract
Today, the strategy of innovation is perhaps the most pervasive strategy for textile companies to achieve a competitive advantage while facing severe competition in the global textile market. To be successful a company must bring new products to the market which can completely satisfy customers' expectations, as well as the company's desire to increase its profitability. Because product price is an important decisive factor which influences customers' purchase behavior, and it is generally established independently as a result of pure competition, the only way to get a higher profit margin is to reduce product costs. The product costs are committed as the product goes through new product development stages and it is therefore critical for the company to manage costs in every phase of this process. The main focus of this paper is to review current cost techniques and methods which can be successfully applied during the development of new textile products. This work builds a foundation for future research in the field of cost engineering of textile products and can be used by company's executives to become familiar with current cost estimating tools.
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Ngoc Dung Tran, Phuong Hoa Dinh, Dinh Hoang Uyen Nguyen and Van Vinh Nguyen
This paper aims to investigate “corporate governance” of the English East India Company (EIC) in the late 17th century through a case study of the Tonkin factory (1672–1697).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate “corporate governance” of the English East India Company (EIC) in the late 17th century through a case study of the Tonkin factory (1672–1697).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws upon British primary materials relating to the Tonkin factory to examine and analyze the EIC’s style of management in Tonkin (Vietnam) and Bantam (Java). Qualitative and comparative methods are applied to the analysis of reports, records and letters written by EIC staff.
Findings
The paper finds that the EIC faced principal-agent problems as it had difficulties administering its distant agents and subsidiaries in the 17th century. London was strategically weakened, both by the limiting power of regional headquarters and by its use of experienced factors. Before 1682, London failed to temper the Bantam Council’s influence, and there were serious internal conflicts and power struggles between English Tonkin employees seeking to improve their positions. After 1686, London successfully forced Madras to adopt a noninterventionist stance in Tonkin’s business, but it faced the problem of “adverse selection.”
Originality/value
This paper provides evidence from the Tonkin factory (1672–1697) to show the EIC’s governance in the perspective of the agency theory.
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Hassan Chaudhry and George Hodge
The purpose of this paper is to explore the applications of postponement strategy in the textile and apparel industry, with a particular focus on the supply chain structure…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the applications of postponement strategy in the textile and apparel industry, with a particular focus on the supply chain structure, relationships and enabling activities supporting postponement strategy across the supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
For this research, a case study approach, supported by structured interviews, was adopted. The purpose was to explore the application of postponement with the objective of gathering considerable data from an organization or multiple organizations to develop the clearest possible picture of the phenomenon.
Findings
The nature of product, downstream demand and the supply chain structure impacts the choice of postponement strategy. Companies operating with manufacturing and logistics postponement share data across their supply chain extensively, while companies adopting purchasing postponement work towards enhancing suppliers’ capabilities and fostering relationships across their supply chains.
Research limitations/implications
The case study method limitations include lack of rigor and statistical generalization, small sample size and convenience sampling and lack of establishment of causal relationship. However a thorough study design and process can make case‐based research more rigorous and reliable, but caution still needs to be exercised while applying findings on differing scenarios.
Originality/value
The case studies depict the application of postponement and the enabling supply chain structures. Previous studies have either looked on the organizational perspective or supply chain perspective with regards to the power and dependence attributes. These cases look at the interaction routines and structures among the supply chains.
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NEVER since the Industrial Revolution have there been so many radical changes in the manner of producing goods as we are witnessing today. Manufacturing is new in its concepts, in…
Abstract
NEVER since the Industrial Revolution have there been so many radical changes in the manner of producing goods as we are witnessing today. Manufacturing is new in its concepts, in technical and mechanical techniques and largely new in materials, methods and machines.
The aim of this chapter is to investigate the potential of the disruption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic to break the stagnation in the field of comparative and…
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to investigate the potential of the disruption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic to break the stagnation in the field of comparative and international education, detected on many fronts of the field by various scholars in the field. The chapter commences with a survey of the historical evolution of the field of comparative and international education, showing how the field has historically come to be defined by contextually induced discourse. At the same time, the historically trodden furrows have resulted in the field becoming trapped by historical forces, resulting in some stagnation in the field. It is argued that impediments to progress in the field of comparative and international education are the severance from practice, the “black box” syndrome of paying more attention to the societal context than to education, the tenacious attachment to the nation-state as the sole geographic level of analysis, the lack of an autochthonous theory, persistent Northern hegemony, and the regression of space and infrastructure at universities. Thereafter, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact thereof on education are discussed. In conclusion, the potential of the disruption brought about by the pandemic for the revisitation of comparative and international education is assessed.
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The inequalities in health and economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in communities of color and the racial uprising that followed the death of George Floyd have…
Abstract
The inequalities in health and economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in communities of color and the racial uprising that followed the death of George Floyd have forced organizational leaders to confront their own shortcomings and those of their organizations regarding ways they prioritize stakeholder issues related to employees, local communities, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitment as it relates to organizational infrastructures. This chapter examines the impact of institutional racism on the ability of PR practitioners to engage with and manage social responsibility (SR) in relationships with communities of color and impact on their discourse. I use the lenses of critical race theory, stakeholder theory, and situational crisis communication theory to illustrate some organizations' communication strategies employed in response to COVID-19 and antiracism protests supporting prioritization of Black and Brown communities' needs. My central argument is that the concerns of communities of color are generally ignored because Black and Brown people often are invisible to organizations and the PR professionals that are supposed to represent them because of institutionalized racism and the sociocultural environment in which PR professionals operate.
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Marcelo J. Alvarado-Vargas, Stephen K. Callaway and Sonny Ariss
The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effects of different R&D funding inputs – including funding for basic research, applied research, and development – on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effects of different R&D funding inputs – including funding for basic research, applied research, and development – on different innovation outcomes (e.g. inventions, patents, licenses, and start-ups).
Design/methodology/approach
The study borrowed the resource dependence theory perspective by focusing on the proportion of funding secured from various external sources that fund university R&D, and assessed its effect on the nature and outcomes of the university research activity.
Findings
Results indicated that greater funding of basic research was associated with more inventions and patents; greater funding of applied research was associated with more licenses; and greater funding for development activities was associated with more university start-ups.
Originality/value
The contributions of this study are two folded: first, it added to the debate that more R&D investment is indeed associated with more innovation outcomes; and second, it is important to differentiate the R&D funding inputs as they are related to different innovation outcomes.
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In this article I analyze the official portrait of U.S. President George W. Bush to exemplify my previous theoretical elaboration of an interpretive analytics of the sign based on…
Abstract
In this article I analyze the official portrait of U.S. President George W. Bush to exemplify my previous theoretical elaboration of an interpretive analytics of the sign based on socio-semiotics and symbolic interactionism. President Bush’s official portrait is analyzed paradigmatically and syntagmatically as a complex multimodal text. I examine this sign diachronically by reflecting on the processes of production, distribution, and especially consumption of the portrait occurring throughout his tenure and within the exo-semiotic context of the American and World society at the turn of the millennium. In particular, I focus on the socio-semiotic process of interpretation by building upon Start Hall’s coding/decoding model. Thus, I offer an overview of how hegemonic, oppositional, and negotiated codes are constituted by and in turn constitute discourses about the objects represented in this picture. In conclusion, I examine how social semiotics can be used to view semiosis as an everyday socio-political performance.