Lim Wei Kheong Jimmy, Timothy Barkham, Chen Qian Ming, Lynda Lim, Jia Lin, Goh Lay Hong and Heng Wee Jin
Prolonged hospital stay in the course of management of microbial keratitis patients has been a burden to the resources of a multi‐disciplinary tertiary hospital. The paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Prolonged hospital stay in the course of management of microbial keratitis patients has been a burden to the resources of a multi‐disciplinary tertiary hospital. The paper aims to evaluate the impact of streamlining the workflow and increased cross‐disciplinary interactions on the average length of hospitalisation. It also seeks to study secondary outcomes including the average time for initiation of therapy, microbial culture positive rate, patients' satisfaction and resource savings.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employed the model of clinical practice improvement (CPI) (New South Wales Health Department) methodology for a systematic approach to improve processes of care and service delivery. A team consisting of ophthalmologist, microbiologist, pharmacist and nursing staff was formed to brainstorm and highlight the problems. A new workflow was formulated and data were prospectively collected to evaluate and to identify areas where improvements could be made.
Findings
The average length of hospitalisation stay was reduced from 7.43 to 5.93 days with a mean difference of 1.50±0.63 days (p<0.05). The microbial keratitis culture positive rate increased from 54.6 to 73.0 per cent (p>0.05). The average time taken to initiate antibiotic eye drops after first contact with the doctor was 26.1 minutes (n=28), and 74.4 per cent of the patients surveyed were satisfied with their length of stay.
Research limitations/implications
Intervention was carried out on the top 20 per cent of areas for improvement after voting by the team members.
Practical implications
The reduction in average length of hospitalisation can be improved by strict adherence to a formulated workflow and coordinated cross‐disciplinary interactions.
Originality/value
The management protocol discussed in the paper for microbial keratitis enables more effective and efficient treatment for the inpatients. Increased cross‐discipline and nursing coordination decreases length of hospitalisation of microbial keratitis patients and achieve better care for these patients.
Details
Keywords
In the face of Singapore's land scarcity problem, there is an increasing prevalence of strata‐titled developments providing private housing in Singapore. This paper considers the…
Abstract
In the face of Singapore's land scarcity problem, there is an increasing prevalence of strata‐titled developments providing private housing in Singapore. This paper considers the awareness in certain quarters of certain fundamental aspects of this unique form of property ownership. The particular aspect which this paper considers is the understanding and interpretation of the term “common property” among two important groups of people. The first group comprises those who purchase strata title properties – they are referred to as “subsidiary proprietors”. The second group comprises “managing agents” (MAs), who may be delegated this task of professionally managing and maintaining the strata‐titled development. The findings of a survey are that their understanding of this fundamental term is inadequate. Based on these findings, the paper concludes with recommendations for improving the level of professionalism among MAs through licensing and courses for continuing professional development. This will bode well for the overall state of strata‐titled developments which are not only here to stay, but are expected to increase in number in Singapore.
Details
Keywords
Vaibhav Chaudhary, Rakhee Kulshrestha and Srikanta Routroy
The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze the perishable inventory models along various dimensions such as its evolution, scope, demand, shelf life, replenishment policy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze the perishable inventory models along various dimensions such as its evolution, scope, demand, shelf life, replenishment policy, modeling techniques and research gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 418 relevant and scholarly articles of various researchers and practitioners during 1990-2016 were reviewed. They were critically analyzed along author profile, nature of perishability, research contributions of different countries, publication along time, research methodologies adopted, etc. to draw fruitful conclusions. The future research for perishable inventory modeling was also discussed and suggested.
Findings
There are plethora of perishable inventory studies with divergent objectives and scope. Besides demand and perishable rate in perishable inventory models, other factors such as price discount, allow shortage or not, inflation, time value of money and so on were found to be combined to make it more realistic. The modeling of inventory systems with two or more perishable items is limited. The multi-echelon inventory with centralized decision and information sharing is acquiring lot of importance because of supply chain integration in the competitive market.
Research limitations/implications
Only peer-reviewed journals and conference papers were analyzed, whereas the manuals, reports, white papers and blood-related articles were excluded. Clustering of literature revealed that future studies should focus on stochastic modeling.
Practical implications
Stress had been laid to identify future research gaps that will help in developing realistic models. The present work will form a guideline to choose the appropriate methodology(s) and mathematical technique(s) in different situations with perishable inventory.
Originality/value
The current review analyzed 419 research papers available in the literature on perishable inventory modeling to summarize its current status and identify its potential future directions. Also the future research gaps were uncovered. This systemic review is strongly felt to fill the gap in the perishable inventory literature and help in formulating effective strategies to design of an effective and efficient inventory management system for perishable items.
Details
Keywords
Siqi Wang, Jun-Hwa Cheah, Weng Marc Lim, Satish Kumar, Xin-Jean Lim and Neil Towers
This study aims to embark on a bibliometric journey through the International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management (IJR&DM) to delve into its rich repository of applied…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to embark on a bibliometric journey through the International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management (IJR&DM) to delve into its rich repository of applied retailing research.
Design/methodology/approach
626 publications in IJR&DM between 2015 and 2023 have been retrieved from Scopus for performance analysis of the journal’s publication (productivity) and citation (impact) trends as well as a science mapping of the journal’s collaborators (contributors) and major themes (contributions).
Findings
The performance analysis highlights the growth in the productivity and impact of IJR&DM alongside its most cited publications, most prolific contributors, most relied-on journals, as well as the authors, institutions, countries, and journals that the journal has impacted the most. The co-authorship analysis reveals the collaboration (i.e., international with a high concentration in Europe and North America along with an emerging presence in Asia) of IJR&DM. Keyword co-occurrence analysis and bibliographic coupling reveal eight themes. Our exploration revealed close interconnections among various domains including retailing and adaptive strategies, channel strategies, customer experience, market innovations, operations management, relationship marketing, shopping motivation, and sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
Although this study delivers a state-of-the-art overview of the retail industry through the scientific contributions from IJR&DM, it remains limited to the insights from a single authoritative source of knowledge on retailing.
Originality/value
No review, to date, has been conducted for IJR&DM. This study provides the inaugural retrospective of the scientific contributions of IJR&DM, outlining publication and citation trends alongside the intellectual structure of its body of knowledge on retailing. Theoretically, this retrospective is pivotal in charting the intellectual growth and thematic nuances inherent in retail research. Practically, this study serves as a guide for practitioners, enabling them to make strategically informed decisions and craft forward-looking strategies in sync with current realities.
Details
Keywords
Barbara Maggi, Claudia Pongelli and Salvatore Sciascia
Although research on family firms (FF) internationalization has seen a boom over the past 30 years, the understanding of how FFs internationalize with equity modes is still…
Abstract
Purpose
Although research on family firms (FF) internationalization has seen a boom over the past 30 years, the understanding of how FFs internationalize with equity modes is still fragmented. Indeed, the majority of extant literature on this topic identifies internationalization with export, overlooking the alternative equity-based entry modes FFs have when entering a foreign country. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap with a framework-based systematic literature review on the topic to improve the understanding of this phenomenon and propose a way forward.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted a framework-based systematic literature review of 93 papers published between 1993 and 2021.
Findings
This study adds to the current debate on FFs internationalization by integrating previous review efforts with a deeper investigation of FFs’ equity-based entry modes. This study contributes to this body of knowledge in the family business research by synthetizing and systematizing extant literature with a framework-based approach from the international business (IB) field. In so doing, this study builds a stronger link between these two areas of research. Finally, research gaps and promising research avenues for future studies are also presented.
Originality/value
This study responds to the call to create a dialogue between the FFs and IB fields by systematizing the extant body of knowledge and integrating the FF literature with one of the most widely used frameworks (Pan and Tse, 2000) on entry modes in the IB domain.
Details
Keywords
Akanksha Jaiswal, Santoshi Sengupta, Madhusmita Panda, Lopamudra Hati, Verma Prikshat, Parth Patel and Syed Mohyuddin
The COVID-19 pandemic and technological advancements have enabled employees to telework. Referring to this emerging phenomenon, the authors aim to examine how employees' levels of…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic and technological advancements have enabled employees to telework. Referring to this emerging phenomenon, the authors aim to examine how employees' levels of trust in management mediated by psychological well-being impact their performance as they telework. Deploying the theoretical lens of person-environment misfit, the authors also explore the role of technostress in the trust-wellbeing-performance relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The data was collected from 511 full-time service sector employees across Indian organizations through a structured survey questionnaire. The proposed moderation-mediation model for this study was tested using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping method.
Findings
Structural equation modeling results indicate that trust in management significantly impacts employee performance while teleworking. While psychological well-being was observed as a significant mediator, technostress played the moderator role in the trust-performance relationship. The moderated-mediation effect of psychological well-being in the trust-performance relationship was stronger when technostress was low and weaker when technostress was high.
Research limitations/implications
The authors extend the person-environment misfit theory in the context of telework, highlighting the role of technostress that may impact the trust-wellbeing- performance relationship in such work settings.
Practical implications
The study informs leaders and managers on balancing delicate aspects such as employee trust and well-being that significantly impact performance as they telework. The authors also highlight the critical role of managers in respecting employees' personal and professional boundaries to alleviate technostress.
Originality/value
The authors make a novel theoretical contribution to the emerging literature on teleworking by examining the trust-psychological wellbeing-performance link and the role of technostress in this relationship.