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Private retail and brand-driven sustainable procurement standards are influencing global agri-food markets, shifting trade and export priorities and reshaping food supply chains. Using the case of Australian beef, the authors construct and evaluate three procurement activity “portfolios” and evaluate how these activity sets pull towards or against diverse organisational goals and/or science-based sustainability objectives.

A review of the academic and practitioner literature identified three key pillars for sustainable Australian beef procurement: animal welfare, environmental management and climate change (i.e. emissions). A subset of sustainable beef production activities (n = 100) was identified through this review plus semi-structured interviews with Australian beef retailers and industry bodies. This activity set was filtered (n = 40) and scored by a panel of science experts via a series of workshops and an additional survey. Using these data, the authors use a k-means cluster analysis (k = 3) to consider the strong or weak contributions of each activity portfolio towards typical sustainable beef goals.

A portfolio-based view of sustainable procurement puts the trade-offs between activities and the need for clear sustainability prioritisation into sharp focus. The authors find that individual strategies may be singularly more or less impactful, complex or popular, but when combined as a suite of activities enacted towards a particular goal or set of goals, essential for success. The authors find that obtaining balance across sustainable beef pillars versus within specific pillars can narrow the optimal set of activities that can succeed against multiple sustainability goals.

For procurement managers, the balance between clear focus and multidimensional progress is a difficult challenge. It requires the bold identification and articulation of an organisation’s interlocking corporate, industry or environmental objectives and flexibility on the strategies, tools and resources required. The authors posit that shifting away from a focus on rigid metrics may be useful in breaking the impasse on meaningful action.

Using a set of known activities and strategies that a procurement manager might draw from in operationalising sustainability goals, the authors cluster activities into three discrete activity portfolios. Each portfolio requires differing levels of effort, implementation complexity and potential for within-pillar and cross-pillar impact (i.e. co-benefits). Assessing the evidence and potential for cross-pillar impacts of individual strategies is a complex undertaking, indicative of the systems and tangled interactions that characterise sustainability science more broadly.

By assessing how the procurement function can be leveraged and operationalised towards sustainability goals through a lens of optimal portfolio management, the authors provide a way forward for the procurement managers working within large retailers and agri-food businesses to progress towards multiple sustainability pillars simultaneously.

This paper aims to study the effects of part orientation during the 3D printing process, particularly to the case of using continuous digital light processing (cDLP) technology.

The effects of print orientation on the print accuracy of microstructural features were assessed using microCT imaging and mechanical properties of cDLP microporous scaffolds were characterized under simple compression and complex biaxial loading. Resin viscosity was also quantified to incorporate this factor in the printing discussion.

The combined effect of print resin viscosity and the orientation and spacing of pores within the structure alters how uncrosslinked resin flows within the construct during cDLP printing. Microstructural features in horizontally printed structures exhibited greater agreement to the design dimensions than vertically printed constructs. While cDLP technologies have the potential to produce mechanically isotropic solid constructs because of bond homogeneity, the effect of print orientation on microstructural feature sizes can result in structurally anisotropic porous constructs.

This work is useful to elucidate on the specific capabilities of 3D printing cDLP technology. The orientation of the part can be used to optimize the printing process, directly altering parameters such as the supporting structures required, print time, layering, shrinkage or surface roughness. This study further detailed the effects on the mechanical properties and the print accuracy of the printed scaffolds.

The assignment is to design a plan that aligns patient satisfaction scores with quality care metrics. The instructor’s manual (IM) introduces models for designing and implementing a strategic plan to approach the quality improvement process.

This is a field research case. The author(s) had access to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and other members of the management team, meeting with them on numerous occasions. Cleveland Clinic Florida (CCF) provided the data included in the appendices. Additionally, relevant hospital data, also included in the appendices, is required to be made public on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) databases. Accordingly, all data and information are provided by original sources.

Osmel “Ozzie” Delgado, MBA and COO of CCF was faced with a dilemma. Under the new CMS reimbursement formula, patient satisfaction survey scores directly impacted hospital reimbursement. However, the CCF patient satisfaction surveys revealed some very unhappy patients. Delgado pondered these results that really made no sense to him because CCF received the highest national and state rankings for its clinical quality at the same time. Clearly, patients were receiving the best medical care, but they were still unhappy. Leaning back in his chair, Delgado shook his head and wondered incredulously how one of the most famous hospitals in the world could deliver such great care but receive negative patient feedback on CMS surveys. What was going wrong and how was the hospital going to fix it?

This case is designed for graduate Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), Master’s in Health Sciences Administration (MHSA) and/or Public Health (PA) audiences. While a healthcare concentration is useful, the case raises the generic business problems of satisfying the customer to increase brand recognition in the marketplace and displacing competition to increase annual revenues. Indeed, the same analysis can be applied in other heavily regulated industries also suffering from a change in liquidity and growth occasioned by regulatory change.

The purpose of this paper was to detect the most significant factors associated with each living alternative to improve socialization and mental health of the elderly. The measurements included affective evaluation, cognitive assessment, anxiety level, physical functionality, quality of life and social relationships. Individuals in home nursing residences were older and had worse affective status, functionality, cognitive state and quality of life. Social relationships in community people were better than in the institutionalized condition, particularly for less aged people.

Comparative descriptive study realized in 200 people older than 70 years in home nursing placement versus community dwelling conditions.

Multivariate analysis and logistic regression indicated that greater disability and poorer quality of social relationships were the main factors influencing the institutionalization process. Specifically, the Sociotype Questionnaire appeared as an efficient tool concerning the detection of social isolation effects as well as an acceptable integrator of prosocial information about home nursing placement.

The Geriatric Sociotype survey has shown usefulness in the evaluation of the social network of elderly people, both from the point of view of assessment and prognosis. In this sense it is considered that one of the main contributions of this study is to have included the qualitative evaluation of social relations, and to observe the differences according to the place of residence.

This paper aims to examine how the Master of Business Administration (MBA) curricula of top-ranked business schools are offering stand-alone courses on ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR). To provide additional evidence, this study tests some hypotheses to contrast the effect of different variables on the inclusion of stand-alone courses on ethics and CSR. Also, the paper provides a comparative analysis in two ways: one comparison aims to analyse how the presence of ethics and CSR stand-alone courses in the MBA programmes over the past 10 years has evolved, and the other comparison seeks to explore whether there are differences between different rankings with regard to the inclusion of ethics and CSR stand-alone courses in the MBA curricula.

A Web content analysis was conducted on the curricula of 92 of the top 100 global MBA programmes ranked by the Financial Times in their 2013 ratings.

The findings show that there is a trend towards the inclusion of stand-alone courses on CSR and ethics as electives. Empirically, the findings suggest that the presence of ethics and CSR elective stand-alone subjects in the MBA programmes is explained by the following variables: public/private, business school’s accreditation and cultural influence. Comparatively, the findings suggest that requiring CSR and business ethics stand-alone courses in the MBA programmes ranked by the Financial Times have not increased over the past 10 years. In addition, when we have compared the results of this study with other rankings, we have appreciated that there are important differences between top MBA programmes in accordance with the aims and scope of rankings.

The findings of this study seem to suggest that business schools included in the Financial Times ranking have not changed their view based on a shareholder approach, which is focused on providing an economics-centred training.

This paper aims to review the efficient use of economic and social resources to generate income and, at the same time, reduce the concentration of wealth in the 32 states of the Mexican Republic during the period 1990-2015.

Data envelopment analysis with the inclusion of a bad output was used to diagnose the efficiency of Mexican entities, and the Malmquist–Luenberger index was applied to understand how this efficiency evolves.

The results clearly show that only 3 of the 32 units studied generated and distributed wealth efficiently, while the other 29 must increase their level of income and its distribution.

According to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work that performs a temporal analysis of the efficiency in the generation of Human Development Index using bad outputs and the Malmquist–Luenberger index.

This paper examines the level of sustainability disclosures provided by Spanish hospitals using exclusively the information revealed in their institutional websites. Based on different levels of disclosure, the authors try to find the possible reasons why some Spanish hospitals reveal more sustainability information than others.

To achieve this goal, the authors conducted a content analysis of the official websites of all Spanish hospitals identified by the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality.

The results reveal that Spanish hospitals seem to use sustainability disclosures for different legitimizing purposes. In general, the results indicate that Spanish hospitals may be driven by symbolic rather than substantive actions to achieve legitimacy from stakeholders.

Due to the lack of empirical research on the hospital sector, more research is required to improve understanding of why hospitals disclose sustainability information or not.

This paper aims to explain how small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs) create information technology (IT) business value through blended IT outsourcing (ITO). The explanatory framework it proposes enables SMEs to replicate IT capability outcomes (i.e. enhance their economic, strategic and technological competences, namely, ITO success) by endorsing an ITO strategy catalyzed by IT vendor integration.

This study uses covariance-based structural equation modeling to test the proposed research model. Data are collected from 251 knowledge-intensive business SMEs located in Science and Technology Parks in Spain.

The results demonstrate empirically that SMEs can replicate IT capability benefits (i.e. enhance their non-IT competences) through blended ITO in which IT, conceptualized as a transversal supporting activity, is outsourced to an IT vendor while the value creation process remains with the buyer. The integration (i.e. process integration and information sharing) of an IT-proficient vendor catalyzes ITO success. More specifically, the results show that, although process integration is not directly related to competence enhancement, fosters information sharing, which directly facilitates ITO success. The results also show that IT vendor proficiency accounts for ex ante trust.

Managers should think of transformational ITO as a strategy to enhance firm competences. For blended ITO strategies to succeed, managers must have a comprehensive understanding of the business they run, as it is important to create conditions that foster inter-firm information sharing. To achieve these conditions, managers should take special care in selecting boundary spanners, who are the pivotal links in competence enhancement.

While most research focuses on ongoing trust (i.e. trust develops as ITO evolves), this study focuses on initial (i.e. ex ante) trust and analyzes IT vendor proficiency (expert, experienced and reputed) to examine trust as an antecedent of ITO. This study also draws on previous conceptualizations of vendor integration to develop and analyze a two-step integration model to explain how IT vendor integration (i.e. process integration and information sharing) catalyzes enhancement of the buyer’s non-IT competences. This study focuses on SMEs, which are often neglected in ITO studies.

Nowadays, networks are the basic core of social organization and interaction; consequently, networking has become an indispensable requirement in today's societies. In education, the development of different types of collaborative networks has been observed, leading, in recent years, to the creation of educational macro-networks that generate links between schools and different types of institutions. Therefore, this study consists of a systematic review to examine the most relevant findings on this type of educational macro-networks. The authors’ objectives were: to examine the main characteristics of this type of networks; to analyze the consequences they cause; and to determine which aspects contribute to or hinder their construction and development.

A bibliographic search was carried out in Web of Science, SCOPUS and Education Resources Information Center, which yielded a total of 29 studies that were analyzed thematically using Nvivo software.

Among the most noteworthy results are: the wide variety of existing structures; the benefits they generate in terms of learning outcomes, educational equity and the reduction of inequalities; and the influence exerted by the type of leadership and policies in the development of this macro-networks. Finally, future lines of research and policy implications for practice are highlighted.

In this society, networks have become the basic core of an organization and the new form of social interaction. As a result, networks have begun to play a fundamental role in today's societies, even permeating various spheres such as education. In this context, it is essential to analyse this type of relationship in the field of education in order to truly understand its implications in this sector as well as its development and structure.

This paper aims to investigate the nature of what is referred to as the Knowledge Management Engineering & Maintenance Program, which is based on practices that influence the dissemination of knowledge in a structured and sustained manner within a small-sized airport. The air transport system has undergone important changes, particularly in the development of new knowledge management (KM) approaches. In practice, however, results have been mixed. Some programs have been successful, but implementation failures are common and the intended users are frequently reluctant to use such management structures. A possible explanation for efficiency and effectiveness gaps of services provided by these knowledge structures may relate to the advantages and disadvantages of the knowledge processes that airports highlight as a result of their differential structural properties.

Using data collected from the Engineering & Maintenance Department at a Spanish Airport, this work has examined how the existence of some knowledge structures is linked to knowledge transfer and how this component is linked to customer service (external users, e.g. passengers; and internal users, including any airport staff).

This paper reports a KM program, which is customized and based on four knowledge structures: technical infrastructure; people to facilitate and drive the process; a system that supports and rewards sharing; and the team leader.

Conducting this type of single case study (an interview-based case study approach) is to be understood foremost as a prelude to further quantitative studies including common measures for passengers and users, staff, managers and board members.

In an applied sense, the model provides engineering and maintenance practitioners with identifiable factors, which enable the four frameworks and address the relevant issues by changing strategies at both the individual and the organizational levels. Without a KM program, practitioners may lose the ability to see the market signals stemming from the transport system members and they may decide to go solely by their own ways of doing and interpreting things.