Raja Wasim Ahmad, Walaa Al Khader, Raja Jayaraman, Khaled Salah, Jiju Antony and Vikas Swarnakar
The purpose of this research is to study and analyze the literature that integrates Lean Six Sigma (LSS) approach with blockchain technology in different sectors for improved…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to study and analyze the literature that integrates Lean Six Sigma (LSS) approach with blockchain technology in different sectors for improved quality management.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents a scoping review on the application of integrated LSS and blockchain technology in the manufacturing and healthcare sector. Further, the authors examined existing blockchain-based solutions on a variety of dimensions, including application area, technical approach, methodology, application scenario, various blockchain platforms, purpose, and monitoring parameters. The authors study LSS approaches in detail, as well as the key benefits that blockchain technology can enable. Finally, the authors discuss significant research problems to be addressed in order to develop a highly efficient, resilient, and secure quality management framework using blockchain technology.
Findings
It has been observed that the adoption of blockchain technology for quality management and assurance is influenced by several factors such as transaction execution speed, throughput, latency. Also, prior blockchain-based solutions have neglected to leverage the benefits of LSS methodologies for effective quality management.
Originality/value
This is the first study to explores the influence of blockchain technology on quality management and assurance in manufacturing and healthcare industry. Furthermore, prior research has not examined how integrating the LSS methodology with blockchain technology can aid in the control of product quality management.
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Walaa AlKhader, Raja Jayaraman, Khaled Salah, Andrei Sleptchenko, Jiju Antony and Mohammed Omar
Quality 4.0 (Q4.0) leverages new emerging technologies to achieve operational excellence and enhance performance. Implementing Q4.0 in digital manufacturing can bring about…
Abstract
Purpose
Quality 4.0 (Q4.0) leverages new emerging technologies to achieve operational excellence and enhance performance. Implementing Q4.0 in digital manufacturing can bring about reliable, flexible and decentralized manufacturing. Emerging technologies such as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Blockchain and Interplanetary File Storage (IPFS) can all be utilized to realize Q4.0 in digital manufacturing. NFTs, for instance, can provide traceability and property ownership management and protection. Blockchain provides secure and verifiable transactions in a manner that is trusted, immutable and tamper-proof. This research paper aims to explore the concept of Q4.0 within digital manufacturing systems and provide a novel solution based on Blockchain and NFTs for implementing Q4.0 in digital manufacturing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reviews the relevant literature and presents a detailed system architecture, along with a sequence diagram that demonstrates the interactions between the various participants. To implement a prototype of the authors' system, the authors next develop multiple Ethereum smart contracts and test the algorithms designed. Then, the efficacy of the proposed system is validated through an evaluation of its cost-effectiveness and security parameters. Finally, this research provides other potential applications and scenarios across diverse industries.
Findings
The proposed solution's smart contracts governing the transactions among the participants were implemented successfully. Furthermore, the authors' analysis indicates that the authors' solution is cost-effective and resilient against commonly known security attacks.
Research limitations/implications
This study represents a pioneering endeavor in the exploration of the potential applications of NFTs and blockchain in the attainment of a comprehensive quality framework (Q4.0) in digital manufacturing. Presently, the body of research on quality control or assurance in digital manufacturing is limited in scope, primarily focusing on the products and production processes themselves. However, this study examines the other vital elements, including management, leadership and intra- and inter-organizational relationships, which are essential for manufacturers to achieve superior performance and optimal manufacturing outcomes.
Practical implications
To facilitate the achievement of Q4.0 and empower manufacturers to attain outstanding quality and gain significant competitive advantages, the authors propose the integration of Blockchain and NFTs into the digital manufacturing framework, with all related processes aligned with an organization's strategic and leadership objectives.
Originality/value
This study represents a pioneering endeavor in the exploration of the potential applications of NFTs and blockchain in the attainment of a comprehensive quality framework (Quality 4.0) in digital manufacturing. Presently, the body of research on quality control or assurance in digital manufacturing is limited in scope, primarily focusing on the products and production processes themselves. However, this study examines the other vital elements, including management, leadership and intra- and inter-organizational relationships, which are essential for manufacturers to achieve superior performance and optimal manufacturing outcomes.
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Bhavini Desai, Sylvie Studente and Filia Garivaldis
This chapter offers a preliminary investigation into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer purchasing behaviour within the grocery retail industry and supports evidence…
Abstract
This chapter offers a preliminary investigation into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer purchasing behaviour within the grocery retail industry and supports evidence that since the pandemic began at the end of 2019, there have been changes in the demands and behaviours of consumers (Donthu & Gustafsson, 2020). Previous research has reported that the pandemic resulted in retail consumers spending less and saving more (Jorda, Singh, & Taylor, 2020), as well as panic buying (Nazir, 2021), both of which initially contributed to the limited availability of goods. This preliminary study reports upon survey data collected from retail consumers and answers the question ‘What were the changes in consumer behaviour in the grocery sector as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?’ Findings reveal that an increase in online shopping occurred more distinctly during the first of the UK’s lockdowns, which waned over time. Findings also reveal a lower shopping frequency, but higher shopping spends during lockdown, and that social distancing and discipline were key drivers of this behaviour change. Findings also reveal an intention to maintain a combination of new and old shopping behaviours and habits after lockdown, giving rise to the continuing importance of meeting consumers’ grocery needs online as well as in-store. This chapter further discusses the implications arising from the reported findings.
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Swagota Saikia, Alka Maurya and Manoj Kumar Verma
The emergence of cryptocurrencies has tremendously changed the way of financial transactions around the world which has led to form distinct discussions in the field regarding its…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of cryptocurrencies has tremendously changed the way of financial transactions around the world which has led to form distinct discussions in the field regarding its reliability. This paper aims to evaluate the published literatures on cryptocurrency identifying its growth, citation, prolific authors, journals, countries, active funding agencies, collaboration pattern and emerging research hotspots in the area.
Design/methodology/approach
Scientometrics and Altmetrics parameters have been incorporated in the study. Literatures covered from the Scopus database searching within “Article Title, Abstract, Keywords” with keywords “cryptocurrency” OR “digital currency” OR “bitcoin” OR “Ethereum” by limiting the time range of 2013–2022, English language and journal articles only. Total 6,107 documents have been identified. The further analysis and visualisation is performed using MSExcel, VOSviewer, Biblioshiny and Tableau. Another tool, Dimension.ai is used to identify the Altmetric Attention Score.
Findings
The findings reveal that the growth of research and citation rate hiked from the year 2017 till now. Elie Bouri is the top contributor, IEEE Access is the most prolific journal, China being the prolific country. Topics like Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ethereum, smart contracts, financial markets are emerging researched hotspots. The reliability of crypto market is still not clear because of its high volatility. The findings of the study will be more useful in the academia, subject specialists, research institutions, funding agencies, publishing agencies in decision-making.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no such study found considering both Scientometrics and Altmetrics approaches on cryptocurrency research with the selected time bound.
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Lanhui Cai, Kum Fai Yuen, Mingjie Fang and Xueqin Wang
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes in consumer behaviour, which has had a cascading effect on consumer-centric logistics. As a result, this study conducts a…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes in consumer behaviour, which has had a cascading effect on consumer-centric logistics. As a result, this study conducts a focused literature review of pandemic-related consumer behaviour research to address two research questions: 1) what are the pandemic's direct effects on consumer consumption behaviour, with an emphasis on changes in their basic and psychological needs? and 2) what are the consequences of behavioural changes on consumer-centric logistics?
Design/methodology/approach
The scientific procedure and rationales for systematic literature review (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol and the theory, context, characteristics and methodology (TCCM) framework were adopted as a guideline to map, refine, evaluate and synthesise the literature. A total of 53 research articles were identified for further analysis.
Findings
Using Maslow's hierarchy of human needs as a theoretical guide, this review synthesises the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on consumer behaviour into four categories: abnormal buying behaviour, changes in consumer preferences, digitalisation of shopping behaviour and technology-related behaviour. Furthermore, four consumer-centric logistics propositions are proposed based on the four aspects of consumer behavioural changes.
Originality/value
This study outlines the significant behavioural changes in consumers in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and how these changes impact consumer-centric logistics, with implications for managing consumers' involvement in logistics and pointing out future research directions.
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Chien-Wen Shen and Phung Phi Tran
This study aims to provide a more complete picture of blockchain development by combining numerous methodologies with diverse data sources, such as academic papers and news…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a more complete picture of blockchain development by combining numerous methodologies with diverse data sources, such as academic papers and news articles. This study displays the developmental status of each subject based on the interrelationships of each topic cluster by analyzing high-frequency keywords extracted from the collected data. Moreover, applying above methodologies will help understanding top research topics, authors, venues, institutes and countries. The differences of blockchain research and new are identified.
Design/methodology/approach
To identify and find blockchain development linkages, researchers have used search terms such as co-occurrence, bibliographic coupling, co-citation and co-authorship to help us understand the top research topics, authors, venues, institutes and countries. This study also used text mining analysis to identify blockchain articles' primary concepts and semantic structures.
Findings
The findings show the fundamental topics based on each topic cluster's links. While “technology”, “transaction”, “privacy and security”, “environment” and “consensus” were most strongly associated with blockchain in research, “platform”, “big data and cloud”, “network”, “healthcare and business” and “authentication” were closely tied to blockchain news. This article classifies blockchain principles into five patterns: hardware and infrastructure, data, networking, applications and consensus. These statistics helped the authors comprehend the top research topics, authors, venues, publication institutes and countries.
Research limitations/implications
Since Web of Science (WoS) and LexisNexis Academic data are used, the study has few sources. Others advise merging foreign datasets. WoS is one of the world's largest and most-used databases for assessing scientific papers.
Originality/value
This study has several uses and benefits. First, key concept discoveries can help academics understand blockchain research trends so they can prioritize research initiatives. Second, bibliographic coupling links academic papers on blockchain. It helps information seekers search and classify the material. Co-citation analysis results can help researchers identify potential partners and leaders in their field. The network's key organizations or countries should be proactive in discovering, proposing and creating new relationships with other organizations or countries, especially those from the journal network's border, to make the overall network more integrated and linked. Prominent members help recruit new authors to organizations or countries and link them to the co-authorship network. This study also used concept-linking analysis to identify blockchain articles' primary concepts and semantic structures. This may lead to new authors developing research ideas or subjects in primary disciplines of inquiry.
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Anan Deek, Khaled Alshaketheep, Omar Zraqat, Bara Asfour and Arafat Deeb
In today's contemporary landscape, profound shifts are being driven by technological advancements that are propelling innovation to unprecedented heights. As societal needs and…
Abstract
In today's contemporary landscape, profound shifts are being driven by technological advancements that are propelling innovation to unprecedented heights. As societal needs and demands are undergoing perpetual evolution, organizations find themselves compelled to be continually pursued excellence, thereby redefining technologies to elicit consumer satisfaction and secure a competitive edge. Concurrently, the prevalence of online decision-making processes is being surged, mirroring a consumer base that is increasingly inclined toward digital transactions and technological interfaces. Moreover, the global proliferation of plastic currency underscores the dynamic nature of societal needs and the imperative for innovation, as individuals are readily adapting to the evolving milieu. This study is being endeavored to elucidate the most salient technologies employed to enhance the customer online decision-making process within the Middle East region. Employing a qualitative research approach rooted in descriptive research philosophy, the study is meticulously analyzing the theoretical and practical implications of these technologies. Furthermore, recommendations and strategic insights are being proffered for both future research endeavors and organizational frameworks, with the aim of fostering seamless operational efficacy.
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Anan Deek, Ahmad Shajrawi, Khaled Alshaketheep, Omar Zraqat, Bara Asfour and Arafat Deeb
Some of the major concerns that still face Jordan include poverty and income inequality, which work to retard economic growth. Poverty and income inequality have been a prevailed…
Abstract
Some of the major concerns that still face Jordan include poverty and income inequality, which work to retard economic growth. Poverty and income inequality have been a prevailed issue in Jordan, particularly as it is more prevalent in the countryside than it is in urban areas. Beginning in the 1950s, a series of governmental efforts by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has taken place with the intention of alleviating both poverty and unequal distribution of income. The next research is focused on the extent of poverty and unequal distribution of income in Jordan, together with government interventions for further economic development. Targeting the working population in Amman and Karak, this study uses the questionnaire dissemination method to identify information about the dynamics of poverty and unequal distribution of income and analyze the governmental strategies for improving the present situation. It also provides recommendations toward improvements in education policies and increased funding from the government and nongovernmental organizations to improve living standards among poor and low-income groups.
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Rami Khaled Al Shawabkeh, Ahmad M. Alzouby, Abdelmajeed Rjoub, Mays Alsmadi, Maram AlKhamaiseh, Deema Shboul, Ahmad Smadi, Ahmad Al-Bzour, Rawan Al-Omari and Esraa Alobaidat
Non-gated residential communities (NGR) are now becoming significant in Jordan resulting in an increase in low and medium-income areas. This study aims to investigate the sense of…
Abstract
Purpose
Non-gated residential communities (NGR) are now becoming significant in Jordan resulting in an increase in low and medium-income areas. This study aims to investigate the sense of community at residential level within NGR by testing the characteristics presented in the first and largest non-gated community in Jordan (Al-Sharq project).
Design/methodology/approach
Such characteristics were identified via literary reviews and visual data collected through site visits, observation and photographs of the project's physical settings. This formed the basis of a questionnaire/survey that was distributed to the residents. This research depends on the mixed-method approach (qualitative and quantitative) to achieve the research objectives. The quantitative method involved the use of a questionnaire/survey, while the qualitative method undertook a comparative process using some statistical methods for the main characteristics. The results were analysed by using descriptive statistics, comprising frequency and factor analyses.
Findings
The study concludes with a framework consisting of suggestions and recommendations to remove the main constraints on improving the quality of life for the non-gated residential community.
Practical implications
The outcome of this study will influence the decisions made by the parties involved in urban development in Jordan when designing residential neighborhoods.
Originality/value
The significance of this paper is that while the majority of studies have been on the evaluation of gated communities in developing countries, there have only been a limited of studies specifically examining the experience of residents in those environments. Therefore, this paper contributes and adds to the existing knowledge in the development of non-gated communities in a developing country.
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Salman Alzayani, Mohammed Al Sedran, Safa Aburowais, Jumana Hammad, Noora Almuaili, Shaikha Alkawari, Rayan Bureshaid, Muhannad Almalki, Amer Almarabheh and Afif Ben Salah
Seasonal influenza epidemics accounted for significant morbidity and mortality loads worldwide despite the availability of a safe vaccine as an efficient tool against severity of…
Abstract
Purpose
Seasonal influenza epidemics accounted for significant morbidity and mortality loads worldwide despite the availability of a safe vaccine as an efficient tool against severity of the disease. However, the uptake of the latter was sub-optimal. This study aims to identify predictors and barriers related to seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study enrolled 502 individuals attending primary healthcare centers in Bahrain for ambulatory care between July and August 2022. The data were collected using an interviews-based questionnaire which included questions on demographic data, knowledge and attitudes and practices toward influenza vaccine. The authors identified the barriers as well as the determinants of the vaccine uptake and its recommendation to others.
Findings
The mean age of participants was 35.07 years (SD = 13.9). Most of the respondents were Bahraini (86.5%) and 53.4 % were females. The results revealed that 34.1% have previous information about the influenza vaccine and 36.9% versus 69.9% are willing to receive the vaccine or advice it to others, respectively. Determinants of vaccine uptake were identified.
Originality/value
This study confirmed a sub-optimal influenza vaccine acceptance in the general community of Bahrain despite a global access in primary care. Health professionals need to be more proactive in mobilizing the community and particularly females toward influenza vaccination.