Henrique Benedetto, Maurício Moreira e Silva Bernardes and Darli Vieira
The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework to assist in the estimation of effort for projects in the field of design. The study first seeks supporting material to outline…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework to assist in the estimation of effort for projects in the field of design. The study first seeks supporting material to outline an understanding of how design professionals have access to time estimation information for quoting their projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The work was based on in-depth interviews conducted with 13 professionals from various design sectors that focused on understanding important elements of the project quotation process. Content analysis was performed on the information provided, and four dimensions were identified. A framework that included these dimensions was designed and validated using a focus group composed of professionals involved in project quotation. The framework includes the generation of a project network structure; identifying tasks and their duration for each design activity; and the ways in which this information remains updated and evolves through the incorporation of dynamic systems concepts.
Findings
The results of this study will be the production of an external knowledge base that designers can use as a basis for performing their profession.
Originality/value
This study is relevant because there is no information source that addresses tasks and associated durations on which design professionals can rely for the development of quotations.
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Wesley Ricardo de Souza Freitas, Jorge Henrique Caldeira Oliveira, Adriano Alves Teixeira and Nelson Oliveira Stefanelli
This paper aims to analyze green human resource management's (GHRM’s) relationships with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customer relationship management in Brazilian…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze green human resource management's (GHRM’s) relationships with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customer relationship management in Brazilian companies.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 142 companies – from the electro-electronics, mechanical metals, packaging, footwear and plastics industries – was examined using the partial least squares method.
Findings
The results reveal that GHRM practices positively influence CSR practices, which act as a moderating construct to positively influence customer relationship management.
Research limitations/implications
The results cannot be generalized due to the non-probabilistic sampling used; however, the results meet the requirements of the statistical methodology.
Practical implications
These findings contribute to business managers' decision-making, as they demonstrate that organizations must develop a consistent culture focused on social and environmental issues. This also reveals that the human resources field can contribute to developing a socially correct company, with the subsequent possibility of satisfying customers to retain and create customer loyalty.
Social implications
The results show that for a company to be sustainable from an economic, social, and environmental perspective, the involvement of human resource management is fundamental.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to academia by presenting a new theoretical model, tested using a sample of Brazilian companies, which illuminates GHRM as an area still under development.
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Vanessa Nappi, Thayla Tavares Sousa-Zomer, Paulo A. Cauchick-Miguel and Henrique Rozenfeld
The integration of sustainability, performance measurement and new product development (NPD) is key for aligning environmental and social objectives with business strategies…
Abstract
Purpose
The integration of sustainability, performance measurement and new product development (NPD) is key for aligning environmental and social objectives with business strategies. While previous research has initiated proposals for integrating sustainability into NPD or incorporating sustainability into corporate measurement systems, there is a notable deficiency in studies that comprehensively integrate these three perspectives. In this sense, this study proposes a performance framework (PF) to integrate sustainability performance indicators (PIs) into the measurement system considering the company’s NPD phases.
Design/methodology/approach
The PF was developed through a literature review and action research (AR). This resulting PF was positively evaluated by the practitioners in the company.
Findings
First, the review enabled the synthesis of an initial conceptual PF with 188 sustainability PIs and a five-step procedure. Then, the empirical results of the AR led to a new PF that presents the systematisation of the PIs database and a practice-based seven-stage approach.
Research limitations/implications
This action-oriented research limits the extent to which this study’s findings can be generalised. Future research should apply the PF in different research designs to produce managerially relevant knowledge.
Practical implications
This PF may provide managers with actionable knowledge that best supports the measurement system integration with sustainability PIs considering the NPD phases.
Originality/value
Integrating sustainability, performance measurement and the NPD has been recognised as critical for supporting decision-making concerning the impact of processes and products. Compared with previous frameworks, the proposed PF extends the existing literature by introducing a systematised PIs database and a novel procedure for integrating sustainability measurement throughout the NDP.
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Xiaochen Yue, Baofeng Huo and Yuxiao Ye
The purpose of this paper is to understand whether firms are driven by external pressure or intrinsic value to conduct green management; this study examines the effects of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand whether firms are driven by external pressure or intrinsic value to conduct green management; this study examines the effects of coercive pressure and ethical responsibility on cross-functional green strategy alignment (GSA) and green process coordination (GPC), and in turn, market and environmental performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on data from 206 Chinese manufacturers, this study empirically tests the proposed relationships using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results highlight the role of coercive pressure in promoting both GSA and GPC that represent functional green efforts at both strategic and operational levels, indicating firms’ critical concern of obtaining external legitimacy from stakeholders. Ethical responsibility as an intrinsic value promotes GPC that demands joint working from different functions at the operational level. Besides, the authors find that GSA improves market and environmental performance, whereas GPC only enhances environmental performance.
Originality/value
This study adds to the knowledge of the drivers of cross-functional green management from external pressure and intrinsic value perspectives. The findings are also fruitful for practitioners and policymakers.
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Letícia de Oliveira Paula, Dário Henrique Alliprandini and Gabriela Scur
This paper aims to describe the product development process (PDP) of companies in the textile industry, seeking to understand the dynamics of their management from different…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the product development process (PDP) of companies in the textile industry, seeking to understand the dynamics of their management from different actors along the production chain.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative empirical research adopted a multiple case studies design in five large Brazilian organizations, each representing a link in the production chain.
Findings
Textile PDP follows structured steps. However, it is still an informal process. The use of methodologies and tools for decision-making and control gates throughout the process is limited. Performance indicators do not cover all dimensions of the PDP since sales and profit are the main parameters for assessing projects. The predevelopment macro phase varies according to the product type and the company's business model, whereas the postdevelopment macro phase is nonexistent. PDP projects are executed through collective efforts of multiple departments in cross-functional teams, except for the commodities firms.
Practical implications
The study allows managers of Brazilian textile companies to understand the best practices in the PDP and those that require more attention, taking into account different business models and sectors of the production chain.
Originality/value
Our results contribute to the literature and practitioners by providing an overview of PDP management in the textile industry, covering its different production chain actors, types of projects and companies' characteristics.
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Competition for space in peer-reviewed academic journals, together with a plethora of changes in the academic publishing processes, including, for example, open access publishing…
Abstract
Purpose
Competition for space in peer-reviewed academic journals, together with a plethora of changes in the academic publishing processes, including, for example, open access publishing, the internationalisation of the publishing community, predatory publishing and the increasing role of journal ranking systems presents challenges for early career researchers (ECRs). The purpose of this paper is to offer practical advice on getting published in business and management.
Design/methodology/approach
The stages in the publishing journey are identified. The journey commences with the articulation of a contribution and building relationships with supervisors and other researchers. It then moves on to the evaluation and selection of appropriate journals (including consideration of open access publishing options), publishing policies and ethics, writing and revising the article and submitting and subsequently revising your article in response to reviewers’ comments.
Findings
This paper concludes with an acknowledgement of the shifting nature of journal publication processes and contexts and the need for doctoral and ECRs to continue to monitor changes in journal publication practices.
Originality/value
Whilst other articles and publisher web pages offer advice on getting published in specific journals and disciplines, few provide a rounded perspective of the experience of publishing and how this can be navigated successfully.
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Hyunju Shin and Lindsay R.L. Larson
Displaying a sense of humour provides various interpersonal benefits including reducing tension and promoting conflict resolution, but should a firm use humour in response to…
Abstract
Purpose
Displaying a sense of humour provides various interpersonal benefits including reducing tension and promoting conflict resolution, but should a firm use humour in response to publicly viewable online customer complaints after a service failure? The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that a firm’s use of humour in response to negative online consumer reviews has both positive and negative effects on perceptions of corporate image from a customer-as-onlooker perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experimental studies are conducted and analysis of variance is used to empirically test the hypotheses.
Findings
Although humorous responses have an unfavourable influence on perceived trustworthiness of the firm, they have a favourable influence on perceived excitingness of the firm. The former influence is tied to lower perceived firm sincerity, whereas the latter is tied to higher perceived firm innovativeness and coolness. Furthermore, humour within the customer complaint itself is shown to moderate the influence of humorous responses on perceptions of the firm. Finally, regardless of the type of humour used (i.e. affiliative or aggressive humour) in the humorous response, the positive effect of humorous response remains strong, although aggressive humour further aggravates the negative impact of humorous response on trustworthiness.
Research limitations/implications
The experimental set-up may limit external validity of the study, and the research is limited to the variables examined.
Practical implications
Humorous response is identified as a non-traditional approach to online customer complaints that poses a double-edged sword for managers of service organizations. Firms should avoid using humour in online service recovery if perceptions of trustworthiness are critical or if complaints are written in a neutral tone. However, such responses may be successfully used when a firm wants to position itself as exciting and if complaints are also humorous. Finally, firms are advised to avoid aggressive humour.
Originality/value
The present research represents one of the few studies in marketing to examine the potential of injecting humour into complaint management and service recovery. In addition, this study considers the consumer-as-onlooker perspective inherent in social media.
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A.A. (Alex) Alblas, K. (Kristian) Peters and J.C. (Hans) Wortmann
This paper investigates the challenges encountered by manufacturing companies in managing sustainability in new product development (NPD). It describes six case studies of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the challenges encountered by manufacturing companies in managing sustainability in new product development (NPD). It describes six case studies of manufacturers aiming for sustainability improvements but experiencing difficulties in implementing them.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper starts with a literature study. Academic literature offers explanations as to why manufacturers want to implement sustainability in NPD, and suggests methods for such implementations. This paper employs the systems theory of control to build a research framework for analyzing the challenges. Empirical data are gathered through workshops and interviews with NPD managers in the case companies.
Findings
In-depth analyses have provided three insights. First, the study shows that sustainability pressures and incentives in a firm's contexts can be fuzzy or even absent. The fuzziness of sustainability incentives is often neglected in the literature on sustainability and NPD. Second, the case companies face difficulties when setting the scope, goals, and ambitions that effectively direct NPD decisions and efforts toward designing sustainable products. Third, the results show that deploying sustainability methods, tools, and metrics, such as a life-cycle assessment or design for environment (DfE), are not sufficient to achieve sustainability in NPD. These findings call for research on sustainability and NPD processes in contexts where sustainability incentives and needs are fuzzy so as to acquire insights applicable to sustainable product development management that is proactive rather than reactive.
Originality/value
Instead of focusing only on the output of sustainable products, this paper presents a more nuanced perspective on managing sustainability in NPD. Moreover, by adopting the holistic perspective of the systems theory of control, the authors challenge the assumption that there are already sufficient external incentives to force companies toward greater sustainability. Consequently, in the light of proactive sustainability management, the authors recommend three tracks for further research: organization and filtering of information concerning sustainability pressures and incentives in a firm's context; and how to manage sustainability proactively rather than reactively.
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Filip Flankegård, Glenn Johansson and Anna Granlund
This paper aims to identify critical factors that influence small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers’ involvement in their customers’ product development and contrast…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify critical factors that influence small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers’ involvement in their customers’ product development and contrast these with the factors identified from the customer perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study approach was used, including four companies. Data were collected through 32 semi-structured interviews, six workshops and documents.
Findings
A model is presented that merges this study’s nine identified critical factors with seven critical factors from the customer perspective. The model provides a dual perspective of supplier involvement in product development, wherein the supplier and customer perspectives are concurrently addressed. Some factors are unique for the supplier, but several mirror those on the customer side.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on data from SME suppliers in Northern Europe. As it is expected that SME companies are more constrained by limited resources, future studies could study critical factors at larger suppliers.
Practical implications
Customers and suppliers having insights about the critical factors can provide better conditions for product development for the other actor; for example, when evaluating customer–supplier integration.
Originality/value
The presented model of critical factors provides a more nuanced picture of supplier involvement in product development as prior research has been biased toward the customer perspective. This study emphasizes the importance of contextual information that has been unnoticed in the literature.