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Reshoring implies the reconfiguration of supply networks. Focusing on the specific case of a born-offshored firm that engaged in reshoring of outsourced activities, this study aims to analyse how initial key suppliers in the home country can help the reshoring firm to organize a new supply network.

The research is qualitative and based on a single exploratory case study. The data was collected from multiple primary and secondary sources, and using different techniques, such as in-depth interviews, direct observation and network pictures.

The study provides insights on how an initial key supplier can enable its customers’ reshoring in the home country. Specifically, the authors identify 10 roles played by a key supplier. The results also identify supply network formation as an essential component of the reshoring process.

This paper provides unique contributions. Firstly, it presents the specific and under-explored case of a born-offshored firm engaged in outsourced reshoring; secondly, it sheds light on the roles that key suppliers may play for the reshoring process; thirdly, it explores the formation of business relationships in the context of reshoring. In essence, the paper contributes to the reshoring literature, by stressing the importance of supply network formation in the reshoring process and by identifying the multiplicity of roles that key suppliers can play when implementing reshoring, and to the industrial marketing and purchasing (IMP) literature, by showing how relationships and networks develop during reshoring, a phenomenon so far understudied by IMP scholars.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the great contributions made by the American library expert, Mary Elizabeth Wood, to Chinese library development.

As a pioneer of the modern library movement Mary Elizabeth Wood devoted herself to a Chinese library career. It was structured according to the following theme: setting up the Boone Library and introducing the modern American public library into China; establishing Boone Library School and initiating Chinese library science education; raising money and appealing for China's library development; helping forward the foundation of the Library Association of China; as well as promoting Chinese library intercommunion and cooperation with the West.

With the background of underdeveloped Chinese librarianship, Mary Elizabeth Wood introduced modern American public library spirit into China, opened the gate of Chinese library science, and promoted Chinese library science.

The paper discusses the library history of China and the role of an American librarian in Chinese library history; thus, it should be of wide interest to researchers involved in library history.

Mary Elizabeth Wood devoted herself to a Chinese library career, and promoted Chinese library science greatly, but research on her is limited. This paper considers her contribution to Chinese library science.

The library services we provide today are built on the skill, energy and vision of earlier generations of librarians; yet most of these pioneers remain unknown. Examines the career of Butler Wood, librarian at Bradford for 50 years, 41 of them as chief librarian. In addition to the successful development of a major municipal library, he developed art gallery and museum services; was a founder member and contributor to many literary, historical and cultural organizations; he influenced the development of reference and rural libraries; and he contributed to the growth of the library profession itself. An appreciation of this visionary scholar/ administrator can provide inspiration today.

Taking the perspective of a start-up company, the purpose of this paper is to analyse resource renewal in heavy business networks.

The theoretical framework is based on the Industrial Network Approach and, especially, the resource interaction framework, business network settings and studies of starting up in business networks. The basis for the paper is a case study of a start-up in the Swedish wind energy context.

Resource renewal in this case means replacing one resource, having implications for the resource interfaces in the three business network settings.

The paper contributes to the area of studies of starting up in business networks by identifying a distinct form of resource renewal in heavy business networks enabled by development of resource interfaces in three business network settings.

Managers in start-ups as well as established firms need to interact to create and develop the resource interfaces that are needed to achieve resource renewal. Resource renewal not only is in the hands of start-ups but also requires interactive resource development with various collaboration partners.

This study takes a start-up’s perspective to resource renewal of heavy business networks and analyses heaviness based on resource interfaces in three business network settings.

The aim of the paper is to argue that accounting practices in colonial systems of government can help to construct the identity and “competency” of colonised communities.

The approach was a historical analysis of the colonial political and economic policies of the USA in the Philippines from 1898 to 1924. The role of accounting practices was demonstrated by focusing on the case of the Philippine National Bank from 1916 to 1924. The bank was created by a wholly‐Filipino Legislature when Americans were actively promoting “home rule” by the Filipinos as a prelude to independence. Using Weber's theoretical distinction between modern and traditional societies, primary documents on the bank and secondary references of the policies of the USA during the period of study were examined.

It was found that the Americans used controls over government moneys to express their modernity, efficiency and goodness, while the Filipinos resisted them to perpetuate traditional social arrangements in the context of a “modern” Philippine state. The controls “failed” under the stress of such tensions. The Americans concluded that the Filipinos were unable to manage government moneys “properly”, thus denying them their independence.

Weber's theorization of traditional and modern societies should be applied to understand interactions between coloniser and colonised in cases other than the Philippines.

This paper will be valuable to academics and policy makers because it shows that accounting need not be an active agent by colonisers/administrators to appropriate spoils from its colony.

This paper uses a stakeholder framework to review the empirical literature on corporate social performance (CSP), focusing particularly on studies attempting to correlate social with financial performance. Results show first that most studies correlate measures of business performance that as yet have no theoretical relationship (for example, the level of corporate charitable giving with return on investment). To make sense of this body of research, CSP studies must be integrated with stakeholder theory. Multiple stakeholders (a) set expectations for corporate performance, (b) experience the effects of corporate behavior, and (c) evaluate the outcomes of corporate behavior. However, we find that the empirical CSP literature mismatches variables in terms of which stakeholders are relevant to which kind of measure. Second, only the studies using market‐based variables and theory show a consistent relationship between social and financial performance, particularly those showing a negative abnormal return to the stock price of companies experiencing product recalls. Although this paper shows that the CSP construct is not yet well‐specified enough to produce stronger results, recent research suggests that much progress is being made both empirically and theoretically in developing valid and reliable measures of corporate social performance.

This study aims to investigate the potential of wood as a water-lubricated bearing material, determine the factors influencing the water-lubricated properties of wood and identify suitable alternatives to Lignum vitae.

Three resource-abundant wood species, Platycladus orientalis, Cunninghamia lanceolata and Betula platyphylla, were selected, and their properties were compared with those of Lignum vitae. The influencing mechanism of the tribological properties of different woods under water lubrication was thoroughly analyzed, in conjunction with the characterization and testing of mechanical properties, micromorphology and chemical composition.

The findings reveal that the mechanical properties and inclusions of wood are the primary factors affecting its tribological properties, which are significantly influenced by the micromorphology and chemical composition. The friction experiment results demonstrate that Lignum vitae exhibits the best tribological properties among the four wood species. The tribological properties of Platycladus orientalis are comparable to those of Lignum vitae, being only 17.1% higher. However, it is noted that higher mechanical properties can exacerbate the wear of the grinding pair.

The originality of this study lies in the combination of friction experiments and wood performance tests to identify the factors contributing to the superior water lubrication performance of wood, thereby guiding the application and improvement of different wood types in water-lubricated bearings.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-07-2024-0284/

In January Freddie Wood, pictured right becomes part‐time chairman of the National Bus Company. His selection for the post is not difficult to understand for, as Ken Gooding reports, his shrewd management in the past 20 years has built up Britain's largest oleo‐chemical concern, Croda International. Pictures by Martin Slavin.

Entrepreneurship, Corporate sustainability, CSR, Supply chain.

Master's courses: Entrepreneurship, Strategic management.

In 2002, potential risks deriving from emerging normative demands in the CSR debate prompted Axel Springer (AS) to rethink their supply chain strategy for Russian wood. Being one of the first movers in CSR in the publishing business, AS realized that current practices could spark future public discussion that might put pressure on AS, a key player in these supply chains. In early 2002, AS and one of their main suppliers, Stora Enso, started a joint initiative to redesign the supply chain processes in two of the major Russian logging regions to improve their social and ecological performance. Sometime later, other major players in the publishing sector as well as critical reviewers from several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were invited to participate in the design of the new voluntary sustainability initiative called “Tikhvin Chalna project”, the second phase of which was accomplished by the end of 2006.

Learn that organizations (specifically high-brand owners) are responsible for practices within their entire supply chains (social as well as environmental performance).

Explore proactive corporate sustainability, CSR strategies are market but also institutional driven; Strategizing involves forming and transforming the rules, norms and standard models of customers as well as institutions such as NGOs or governmental bodies. Whether the initiator of such strategy is successful in increasing or manipulating demands is dependent on its resources and capabilities as well as on its network position. The case supports students in understanding resources being used to successfully transform or create institutional arrangements.

Discover that the value of a business' relationships and its network position.

Teaching note, Video files

The purpose of this paper is to study the bonding properties of Larch with water‐based polymer isocynate (WPI) adhesive to provide theoretical instruction for practical production of Larch glued laminated timber with WPI adhesive.

This study adopted Japanese JIS K6806 standard to test bonding properties of Larch with WPI adhesive. Scanning electron microscope was used to observe morphography of Larch surface. Micro photos were adopted to show the penetration of WPI adhesive on the radial and tangential surfaces of Larch.

There was significant difference in bonding strength between Larch radial and tangential glue‐blocks glued with WPI adhesive. Dry compressing shear strength of Larch radial glue‐block bonded with WPI adhesive was 1.41 times that of Larch tangential glue‐block bonded with WPI adhesive in normal conditions. Wood failure showed that the difference between Larch radial and tangential glue‐block was caused by wood structure of Larch itself.

The research conclusion that the dry compressing shear strength of Larch radial glue‐block bonded with WPI adhesive was bigger than that of Larch tangential glue‐block bonded in normal conditions. These would be changed if other adhesives were adopted to glue Larch wood.

The conclusion developed in this study provided a practical production instruction for Larch glued laminated timber with WPI adhesive. In order to obtain better bonding properties during the production of Larch glued laminated wood, Larch wood should be sawn into radial boards rather than tangential boards in order to obtain maximum bonding strength of Larch wood.

The paper shows that there was significant difference in bonding strength between Larch radial and tangential glue‐bonded blocks with WPI adhesive. Dry compressing shear strength of Larch radial glue‐block bonded with WPI adhesive was 1.41 times that of Larch tangential glue‐block bonded with WPI adhesive in normal conditions.