The US$1.2 million company faces critical issues of management succession, business strategy, market expansion and innovative product improvements. These would prevent a steady…
Abstract
The US$1.2 million company faces critical issues of management succession, business strategy, market expansion and innovative product improvements. These would prevent a steady flow of future potential earnings. The core knowledge resides in the management team who has worked in the factory from young. They have not patented the equipment designs or the proprietary processes. The first step in managing its intellectual capital uses the framework of the ISO 9000 standard to provide a mapping structure for capturing its core knowledge in products, process, management and customers. The focus on quality sets the context for shaping and organising the work of capturing its core knowledge. The ISO 9000 standard provides convenient categories for knowledge mapping, and presents a common language for consultant‐client interaction during the mapping process. A limitation in using the ISO 9000 standard for knowledge mapping is its inability to map knowledge concerning the customer base and product opportunities.
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Michael S.H. Heng, Yu Chung William Wang and Xianghua He
The purpose of this research note is to investigate the implications of supply chain management of e‐business for the macroeconomic phenomenon of business cycles.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research note is to investigate the implications of supply chain management of e‐business for the macroeconomic phenomenon of business cycles.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a list of propositions, which form the broad basis of an empirical research agenda, to explore and investigate the mechanisms through which supply chain innovations can influence business cycle.
Findings
Economic research literature has pointed out that there are linkages between inventory investment and business cycle fluctuation. Given that the e‐business supply chain management drastically alters inventory investment across a range of industries, it is likely to affect the behaviour of economic fluctuation.
Originality/value
This research has the potential to contribute to a better‐informed formulation of economic policies at national and global level.
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Hongxia Ma, Wei Wu, Heng Zhang and Zeyun Wang
This paper aims to propose a new strategy to functionalize zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8) to improve its dispersion stability and tribological properties in lubricating…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a new strategy to functionalize zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8) to improve its dispersion stability and tribological properties in lubricating oil.
Design/methodology/approach
Dialkyl dithiophosphate polydopamine ZIF-8 (DDP@PDA@ZIF-8) was prepared via mussel-inspired chemistry and the Michael addition reaction. The tribological properties of DDP@PDA@ZIF-8 as an additive in the white oil were evaluated with four-ball friction and wear tester at different temperatures. The worn surface was analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS).
Findings
The as-prepared DDP@PDA@ZIF-8 shows high dispersion stability in the white oil. Tribological results confirmed that the DDP@PDA@ZIF-8 exhibited a small wear scar diameter at 25°C. However, excellent friction reduction and anti-wear properties were observed at 75°C. The XPS result indicates that a series of tribochemical reactions occurred on the worn surface, forming the complex protective film.
Originality/value
This paper provides a study of highly dispersed ZIF-8 as lubrication additives.
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The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains…
Abstract
The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.
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What insights might attending to the cyclical history of colonially imposed environmental change experienced by Indigenous peoples offer to critical intellectual projects…
Abstract
What insights might attending to the cyclical history of colonially imposed environmental change experienced by Indigenous peoples offer to critical intellectual projects concerned with race? How might our understanding of race shift if we took Indigenous peoples' concerns with the usurpation and transformation of land seriously? Motivated by these broader questions, in this chapter, I deploy an approach to the critical inquiry of race that I have tentatively been calling anticolonial environmental sociology. As a single iteration of the anticolonial environmental sociology of race, this chapter focuses on Native (American) perspectives on land and experiences with colonialism. I argue that thinking with Native conceptualizations of land forces us to confront the ecomateriality of race that so often escapes sight in conventional analyses. The chapter proceeds by first theorizing the ecomateriality of race by thinking with recent critical theorizing on colonial racialization, alongside Native conceptualizations of land. To further explicate this theoretical argument, I then turn to an historical excavation of the relations between settlers, Natives, and the land in Rhode Island that is organized according to spatiotemporal distinctions that punctuate Native land relations in this particular global region: the Reservation, the Plantation, and the Narragansett.
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Harini K.N. and Manoj T. Thomas
Over the years, the impact of the business cycle on firm strategy has been neglected in the area of strategic management and remains one of the most important but least developed…
Abstract
Purpose
Over the years, the impact of the business cycle on firm strategy has been neglected in the area of strategic management and remains one of the most important but least developed research streams in management scholarship. Studies in this area are scattered across time and domains, therefore, there is a need to consolidate this fragmented literature to provide a comprehensive review and thus avenues for further research. This study aims to address this gap.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the systematic literature review (SLR) method is used to select and examine research articles in the area of firm responses and decisions during recession. This SLR examines 127 studies and carries out a thematic synthesis of the literature.
Findings
Based on the SLR and thematic synthesis of the literature, the themes identified in this study include – severity of recession impact (Theme 1); firm specific characteristics (Theme 2); resource adjustment activities (Theme 3); and firm performance (Theme 4), based on these themes and analysis this paper maps and proposes various relationships and linkages in this research domain that can be explored further for the development of scholarship in this field of study.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills the need for a systematic review of the extant literature on firms’ responses during recession. The study synthesizes literature and carries out a thematic analysis from 1980 till the period February 2024 to provide directions to advance this domain of literature.
Sadith Chinthaka Vithanage, Michael Sing, Peter Davis and Manikam Pillay
Off-site manufacturing (OSM) has emerged as a method of modern construction that provides several benefits including achieving lower costs, a quicker schedule and environmentally…
Abstract
Purpose
Off-site manufacturing (OSM) has emerged as a method of modern construction that provides several benefits including achieving lower costs, a quicker schedule and environmentally friendly solutions. Although numerous researches are available that advocate the adoption of OSM, the devotion towards OSM safety is somewhat limited. However, OSM invariably generates safety risks, including dynamics and uncertainty in safety management. There is a unique call to have an investigation on the identification of OSM safety risks.
Design/methodology/approach
To provide a full picture on the OSM safety, a systematic literature review was adopted based on interpretivist philosophical stance. The literature search was conducted in key electronic databases to identify OSM safety-focused publications. Bibliometric analysis was adopted to identify co-occurrences of keywords and collaboration among authors in OSM safety-related research publications. Content analysis was conducted to provide a taxonomy of OSM safety risks. The identified studies were critically analysed to determine the focus of OSM safety research and provide future research directions.
Findings
The results demonstrated frequently appeared OSM safety aspects while highlighting the limitedness of collaborative research outputs in common authorships. Content analysis subsequently unveiled safety risks in OSM under human, organisational and work environmental factors. A critical analysis of extant literature revealed seven research classifications of OSM safety. Directions were offered to enhance OSM safety by applying principles of targeted safety management concepts, technology-driven safety measures and bespoke training programs.
Originality/value
This study provides a comprehensive review on the identification of safety risks throughout OSM while presenting the avenues useful for the development of OSM safety management strategies.
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Sten Söderman and Harald Dolles
The aim of this research was to identify and describe driving forces of importance in sponsorship during the seven years preceding a mega-sporting event like the Olympic Games…
Abstract
The aim of this research was to identify and describe driving forces of importance in sponsorship during the seven years preceding a mega-sporting event like the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing. This was done through the development of a conceptual 'meansobjectives model' linking sponsorship to brand equity factors and to objectives. The proposed model enables matching with real data consisting of 200 randomly chosen advertisements, articles and press releases from Chinese newspapers and the internet, revealing six types of means-objectives in sponsorship.
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Hsiu Ying Huang and Ming Huei Hsieh
The purpose of this study is to explore and conceptualize the process of how an emerging‐market firm develops a successful international brand.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore and conceptualize the process of how an emerging‐market firm develops a successful international brand.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study approach was employed in this study. Two rounds of data collection were conducted. Data sources include archival, interview and field notes. A total of 13 in‐depth interviews were conducted. Interviewees were drawn from across different functions and comprised top management to lower‐level employees. Collected data were analyzed in the iterate process, and emergent themes from the case form the basis of strategy conceptualizing.
Findings
An effective international branding process can be conceptualized as four sequential strategic steps: create a transcultural brand name; identify a universal appeal for its products; develop a global brand essence; and convey the brand essence through products. The case finding also shows that the ability to fuse three pairs of seemingly contrasting elements across geographical and temporal boundaries is essential in the strategic process. The three pairs of elements include Western and Eastern cultures, historical and modern elements and craftsmanship and mass‐production.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is rich in qualitative detail, but with all single case study research, its limitations regard applicability to other contexts. The applicability may suffer from the idiosyncratic characteristics of the case company as well as the difference between industries and products.
Practical implications
The finding provides insights into how an emerging‐market firm can craft its international brand both faster and more effectively. The identified international branding process has managerial implications for international marketers in both emerging‐market and non‐emerging‐market firms.
Originality/value
The study fills the void in the research of international branding strategy of emerging‐market firms. The conceptualization of an international branding provides a basis for further research on how to effectively craft an international brand.
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Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18;…
Abstract
Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.