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Standardization and simplification of trade procedures constitute an urgent need to line up the document flow with the goods flow in international trade. Electronic data interchange (EDI) is a co‐operative inter‐organizational information system providing electronic exchange of messages agreed between trade partners. Outlines a possible implementation procedure for EDI. A first part consists of a six‐step feasibility study. If this study ends with a positive recommendation the implementation procedure can start. Discussions of this process concern several requirements: completely understand about EDI; agree on standards with business partners; modify existing systems; translate data: prepare communications; and management and audit of the whole process. Concerning the cost‐benefit analysis for the EDI application – a step which is mandatory in the feasibility study – gives further details on different types of cost (recurring and non‐recurring, direct and indirect) and on both quantifiable and non‐quantifiable benefits.

The prevalence, correlates (child behaviour problems and negative parenting) and determinants (risk and protective factors) of parental need for support were examined in a community sample of 177 mothers with a child aged 1.5‐3.5 years, in order to draw a profile of families that need parenting support. A substantial number of the mothers reported needing support (40% reported need for information, 10% reported family and social support needs). This need was related to child behaviour problems and to negative parenting. Maternal depression, difficult temperament of the child and negative life events, as well as total number of risk factors, significantly predicted the need for support. Satisfaction with support (but not number of support sources) acted as a protective factor.

This study aims to overcome the “time blind spot” by exploring the multifactorial synergistic effects that enhance the utilization levels of open government data (OGD) portals over time. The objective is to provide theoretical contributions and practical value for research related to open government data.

This study applies the dynamic qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method to analyze panel data from 29 municipal portals spanning 2019–2023. Specifically, it examines the trends in the utilization levels of China’s OGD portals over time and identifies configurations of conditions that consider both spatial and temporal factors.

There are no necessary but insufficient conditions affecting the utilization levels of OGD portals. Instead, rather than being controlled by a single factor, the utilization levels are influenced by the combined effect of multiple factors. A sufficiency analysis of condition combinations identifies three configuration paths: portal and data resource development driven by fiscal support, portal development and public demand driven by government leadership and portal and data resource development driven by government leadership. In particular, the level of data portal development is identified as a core factor in achieving high utilization levels of OGD portals. Furthermore, while the configuration analysis results do not show significant temporal effects, there are case effects caused by a certain degree of spatial differences.

This pioneering study combines the dynamic QCA method based on panel data with the theme of OGD. Using panel data from 29 municipal platforms over the period from 2019 to 2023, this research addresses the shortcomings of limited time frames that have been encountered in previous studies. Moreover, it explores the configurational paths to enhancing platform utilization over time, aiming to provide both theoretical contributions and practical value for research related to the utilization of OGD portals.

The purpose of this paper is to inform scholars and practitioners about the current body of knowledge on the role of social capital in scaling social impact since these concepts are still poorly understood and literature is fragmented despite their importance.

A systematic literature review of 27 highly relevant studies in leading journals is conducted, and the results are synthesized into an integrative theoretical framework.

The framework identifies possible dependent, independent, mediating and moderating variables which conceptualize the role of social capital in scaling social impact.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to systematically map social capital’s role in scaling social impact literature with the help of an integrative theoretical framework. For researchers, this framework would help by providing a shared frame of reference to conceptualize the role of social capital in scaling social impact and identify future research directions. Practitioners can use the findings of this review as a guide while designing and implementing scaling social impact programs.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for extending an understanding of resilience in complex adaptive system (CAS) such as supply chains using the adaptive cycle framework. The adaptive cycle framework may help explain change and the long term dynamics and resilience in supply chain networks. Adaptive cycles assume that dynamic systems such as supply chain networks go through stages of growth, development, collapse and reorientation. Adaptive cycles suggest that the resilience of a complex adaptive system such as supply chains are not fixed but expand and contract over time and resilience requires such systems to navigate each of the cycles’ four stages successfully.

This research uses the adaptive cycle framework to explain supply chain resilience (SCRES). It explores the phases of the adaptive cycle, its pathologies and key properties and links these to competences and behaviors that are important for system and SCRES. The study develops a conceptual framework linking adaptive cycles to SCRES. The goal is to extend dynamic theories of SCRES by borrowing from the adaptive cycle framework. We review the literature on the adaptive cycle framework, its properties and link these to SCRES.

The key insight is that the adaptive cycle concept can broaden our understanding of SCRES beyond focal scales, including cross-scale resilience. As a framework, the adaptive cycle can explain the mechanisms that support or prevent resilience in supply chains. Adaptive cycles may also give us new insights into the sort of competences required to avoid stagnation, promote system renewal as resilience expands and contracts over time.

The adaptive cycle may move our discussion of resilience beyond engineering and ecological resilience to include evolutionary resilience. While the first two presently dominates our theorizing on SCRES, evolutionary resilience may be more insightful than both are. Adaptive cycles capture the idea of change, adaptation and transformation and allow us to explore cross-scale resilience.

Knowing how to prepare for and overcoming key pathologies associated with each stage of the adaptive cycle can broaden our repertoire of strategies for managing SCRES across time. Human agency is important for preventing systems from crossing critical thresholds into imminent collapse. More importantly, disruptions may present an opportunity for innovation and renewal for building more resilience supply chains.

This research is one of the few studies that have applied the adaptive cycle concept to SCRES and extends our understanding of the dynamic structure of SCRES

This paper aims to analyse three decision-making approaches that involve humans and artificial autonomous agents, namely, human “in the loop”, “on the loop” and “out of the loop” and identifies the decision characteristics that determine the choice of a decision-making approach.

This is a conceptual paper that analyses the relationships between the human and the artificial autonomous agents in the decision-making process from the perspectives of the agency theory, sustainability, legislation, economics and operations management.

The paper concludes that the human “out of the loop” approach is most suitable for quick, standardised, frequent decisions with low negative consequences of a wrong decision by the artificial intelligence taken within a well-defined context. Complex decisions with high outcome uncertainty that involve significant ethical issues require human participation in the form of a human “in the loop” or “on the loop” approach. Decisions that require high transparency need to be left to humans.

The paper evaluates the decision-making approaches from the perspectives of the agency theory, sustainability, legislation, economics and operations management and identifies the decision characteristics that determine the choice of a decision-making approach.

The purpose of this paper is to examine combinations of contract clauses in order to ascertain which combinations correlate to high operational performance (OP).

Two hypotheses were formulated from contracting theory and tested on data collected from 45 projects. Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis was used and validated with multiple regression and simulation.

The hypotheses were tested to determine whether combinations of classical, relational, and/or associational contract clauses correlate to high OP. The results show that whereas high OP correlates to combinations of relational and associational contract clauses, classical and relational clauses should not be combined.

Directions are proposed to guide future research in order to produce a more nuanced testing of contractual complementarity.

The managerial implications of the findings include a more thorough understanding of the use of contract clauses and of which clauses managers should combine to achieve high OP.

This study contributes to the theory of contractual incompleteness and complementarity, specifically in the context of project contracting. The analysis produced two theoretical implications: first, that better performing contracts are created when combining relational and associational contract clauses; and second, that in projects, relational and classical contract clauses are not complementary with regards to realizing high OP.

The purpose of this paper is to expand understanding of the determinants of adoption innovation in SME context by empirically examining the effect of corporate governance structure on manager's innovative behavior. This was done through exploring whether ownership structure affects managers’ innovative behavior and if so, whether the effect is mediated by board composition.

Using a sample of 197 managers within Tunisian SMEs, hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling and especially using covariance structure analysis (or LISREL method) with Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) 18.0 software and maximum likelihood estimation method.

The paper found that ownership structure is significantly associated with manager's innovative behavior. Further analysis arising from introducing outsiders’ representation on the board as a mediating variable reveals that the relationship is fully mediated by this variable.

This study gives insights to policy makers who are interested in improving board efficacy in emerging economies such as Tunisia. Indeed, the study results should encourage nominating committees and seniors to reflect warily on an effective structuring of board composition by ensuring a certain priority for innovation activities in the firm.

This paper extends the understanding of how ownership structure shapes strategic decisions such as innovation in emerging markets. In addition, it fills the literature void by introducing the board composition as a mediating concept between ownership structure and innovative behavior, which was neglected by previous researchers.

This study adopts a capability-based view to investigate the attainment of organizational agility in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It first explores how these firms mobilize different types of operational and dynamic information technology (IT) capabilities to achieve a high level of agility through their digital transformation. In return, it also reveals opposite paths, i.e. those leading to its absence.

The research method involves a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of 65 Canadian manufacturing SMEs. Through necessity and sufficiency condition analysis procedures, this approach emphasizes the complexity of the digital transformation processes by revealing different sets (i.e. configurations) of what enable, or inhibit, organizational agility in these firms.

The findings indicate that manufacturing SMEs need to align at least one dynamic IT capability (sensing, learning, coordinating or integrating) and one operational IT capability (IT management, IT infrastructure or e-business) to be highly agile. In contrast, other findings indicate that there are suboptimal combinations of IT capabilities, which result in an absence of agility.

This study offers a deeper understanding of the complex interaction of IT capabilities in SMEs seeking greater agility in their business activities. Its contributions provide insights on the mobilization of a range of capabilities, both complementary and interdependent, to respond to changing conditions in their internal and external environments. These actionable findings can help various actors in the digital development of SMEs to design and implement effective IT strategies and public policies.

Despite HIV being reported as one of the major global health issues, availability and accessibility of HIV services and supplies remain limited, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The effective and efficient operation of HIV supply chains is critical to tackle this problem. The purpose of this paper is to give an introduction to HIV supply chains in low- and middle-income countries and identify research opportunities for the operations research/operations management (OR/OM) community.

First, the authors review a combination of the scientific and grey literature, including both qualitative and quantitative papers, to give an overview of HIV supply chain operations in low- and middle-income countries and the challenges that are faced by organizing such supply chains. The authors then classify and discuss the relevant OR/OM literature based on seven classification criteria: decision level, methodology, type of HIV service modeled, challenges, performance measures, real-life applicability and countries covered. Because research on HIV supply chains in low- and middle-income countries is limited in the OR/OM field, this part also includes papers focusing on HIV supply chain modeling in high-income countries.

The authors conclude this study by identifying several tendencies and gaps and by proposing future research directions for OR/OM research.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first literature review addressing this specific topic from an OR/OM perspective.