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Organizations increasingly rely on cross-functional teams to deal with supply chain (SC) disruptions. These teams may use their broad range of connections and expertise to gather or scout relevant information, enabling them to develop integrative countermeasures and increase their organization’s resilience. Despite their potential, cross-functional teams often struggle to attain information scouting’s prospective benefits for effectively resolving disruptions. By drawing from group information-processing theory, this study aims to explore when and how cross-functional teams can realize information scouting’s full potential for ensuring their organization’s resilience.

Multisource, multi-informant data were collected from 80 cross-functional teams exposed to SC disruptions in a realistic SC management simulation.

The results show that a cross-functional team’s ability to effectively use information scouting for ensuring its organization’s resilience is contingent upon the degree to which the team’s members share information and align decisions internally (i.e. internal integration). The findings further reveal that this moderating role of internal integration is strengthened when the cross-functional team faces a volatile environment in which multiple SC disruptions are likely to occur (i.e. higher SC vulnerability).

This study contributes by advancing a more complete perspective on how a cross-functional team may contribute to its organization’s resilience. Specifically, the present research reveals how the benefits of a cross-functional team’s information scouting for dealing with SC disruptions are critically dependent upon internal conditions within the team, as well as external conditions related to its organization’s overall SC (i.e. beyond individual dyadic relationships).

Uganda’s health service delivery structure includes village health teams (VHTs), grass root structures that comprise volunteers that deliver basic health services and education. VHTs do COVID-19 surveillance and rural environments are likely to be more affected by COVID-19 than the urban environments. Standard operating procedures for prevention of COVID-19 necessitate use of basic necessities, such as water, soap or masks which are not easily affordable. The VHTs as first responders in the rural areas are at times poorly facilitated and this puts their lives at risk of infection. This study applied a qualitative approach where data were collected using in-depth interviews with VHT members, community members and local leaders. Twenty-two study participants were conveniently sampled from 12 villages. The interviewees were conducted by telephone as a precaution of observing and adhering to Uganda’s COVID-19 pandemic response that included a total lockdown. Data were analysed using Nvivo and categorised in themes and patterns. Findings indicate that VHTs do health monitoring and provide reliable information regarding COVID-19 to the community members. VHTs work despite being amidst material and financial constraints. Hence, they are very helpful in resource- and health care-constrained rural communities. The rural environments were associated with lack of awareness on the pandemic, poverty, low levels of education, reluctance in complying with the presidential directives with regard to responding and preventing COVID-19, inadequate protective gears, among others.

Fibre metal laminates were developed at Delft University during the last two decades as a family of new hybrid materials consisting of bonded thin metal sheets and fibre/adhesive layers. This laminated structure provides the material with excellent fatigue, impact and damage tolerance characteristics and a low density. While the 20 per cent weight reduction was the prime driver behind the development of this new family of materials, it turns out that additional benefits like cost reduction and an improved safety level have become more and more important. The combination of these aspects in one material makes fibre metal laminates a strong candidate material for fuselage skin structures of the new generation of high capacity aircraft. The focus on this application currently leads to industrialization and qualification that makes this material available to the aircraft designer.

This paper aims to deal with the construction of seasonal price indices for the housing market, based on Rosen's hedonic equations and using spatial econometric autoregression (SAR) techniques.

More precisely, the hedonic equations are estimated using disaggregated data, and the extracted indices are averaged over zip code areas. Then the seasonality, which is considered deterministic, is extracted after eliminating the spatial effects. The data set used consists of 8,685 valuations of dwellings, detached dwellings and detached houses that took place in Attica on behalf of a commercial bank during the period 2000‐2009.

The paper concludes that evidence exists to support the hypothesis that property prices are affected by seasonal and spatial effects beyond structural effects and the effects of the general economic situation. Property valuations are strongly connected with deterministic exogenous variables, such as the size, age and location of the property, the general economic situation, and to a lesser effect the spatial system and the season during which the valuation took place. The estimated spatial effect is positive and quite large in value, indicating a landscape consisting of large homogeneous sub‐areas, while the results demonstrate a seasonal upturn during the first semester and downturn towards the end of the year.

This paper provides a framework for incorporating spatial and seasonal effects in property price index construction.

The study aims to investigate the effects of bodily feelings on preference for robotic service by examining direct and indirect sensations from physical and metaphorically projected bodily feelings.

Through four empirical experiments involving video and recall tasks to metaphorically manipulate participants’ bodily warmth and directly manipulate ambient temperature, the authors explored the mediating role of the need for warmth and the moderating role of robotic features (warmth vs competence) on consumer willingness to engage with and pay for robotic services.

Warmth perception exhibits a positive correlation with robotic services. This relationship is mediated by the need for warmth. Moreover, when customers experience a sensation of physical warmth, they show a greater willingness to pay for a robotic service exhibiting competence versus warmth.

This research contributes to the literature by integrating the feelings-as-information theory and the mind perception view to understand the judgment of robotic services. It extends the application of the embodied cognition theory, highlighting the significance of bodily feelings as a source of information in customer decision-making processes. Furthermore, this research explores the metaphoric influence of service features on bodily responses, providing new insights into the role of embodiment and mental perception in robotic service evaluations.

Managers should consider using different robots based on seasonal settings to meet customers’ need for warmth. Understanding customers’ bodily feelings and the metaphoric influence of service features contributes to the design of more effective and customer-centric robotic services.

This inquiry explores the metaphoric influence of service features on bodily responses, providing new insights into the role of embodiment and mental perception in robotic service evaluations.

This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.

This research offers clarity regarding process supply chain integration through two deliverables: (1) developing six constructs (both integrative mechanisms and integrative practices for internal, customer, and supplier integration); and (2) empirically testing a theoretically grounded supply chain process model using three distinct datasets (internal, customer, and supplier integration).

The construct development procedure involved a continuous improvement cycle for identifying 1,450 items previously used to measure internal, customer, and/or supplier integration constructs; classifying the items into one of six categories; and refining the instruments based on pilot data and peer feedback. Three surveys (targeted key informants based on their specialized knowledge on internal, customer, or supplier integration) were disseminated for evaluating the measurement instruments and testing the theoretically grounded supply chain management process models, by performing the Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) analysis technique.

The findings revealed consistencies across all three dimensions of supply chain integration where integrative mechanisms and integrative practices are distinct constructs; integrative mechanisms make it possible for integrative practices and supply chain orientation to occur in a supply chain company; and integrative practices and supply chain orientation improve business performance.

Our study contributes to answering how process-oriented supply chain management occurs, responding to calls for research in the supply chain management discipline and advancing theory development around supply chain integration. The theoretical and managerial contributions of developing six constructs and testing three supply chain management process models relate to identifying the specific aspects of supply chain integration that improves business performance. The three tested models also reveal both direct and mediating effects of integrative practices and supply chain orientation, which contributes to the practical understanding of effective supply chain management implementation.

The purpose of this study is to study the buckling behavior of new aircraft material, i.e. glass fiber metal laminated (GFML) plates.

The first-order Reissner–Mindlin theory is used in the present finite element formulation to determine the buckling loads of GFML plates. A program is developed in MATLAB for analyzing the effect of different parameters on buckling loads GFML plates. A set of experiments was performed to determine critical buckling loads of GFML plates using universal testing machine INSTRON 8862 and compared with predictions using the numerical model.

The effects of various parameters such as aspect ratio, side to thickness ratio, ply orientation and boundary conditions on buckling loads of GFMLs are examined. With the increase of aspect ratio, the reduction in buckling load is observed, while the increase inside to thickness ratio decreases the buckling load of GFML plates. There is a slight variation in buckling load with the increase of ply orientation. The buckling load is significantly influenced by boundary conditions because of restraint at the edges.

These types of materials are used in lightweight structures such as aircraft, aerospace and military vehicles. The results reported in the present study can be used as design guidelines while designing fiber metal laminated (FML) plated structures.

For the first time, the authors have studied the buckling behavior of bidirectional woven FML plates using both numerical and experimental techniques.

The overall goal of science is to build a valid and reliable body of knowledge about the functioning of the world and how applying that knowledge can change it. As personnel and human resources management researchers, we aim to contribute to the respective bodies of knowledge to provide both employers and employees with a workable foundation to help with those problems they are confronted with. However, what research on research has consistently demonstrated is that the scientific endeavor possesses existential issues including a substantial lack of (a) solid theory, (b) replicability, (c) reproducibility, (d) proper and generalizable samples, (e) sufficient quality control (i.e., peer review), (f) robust and trustworthy statistical results, (g) availability of research, and (h) sufficient practical implications. In this chapter, we first sing a song of sorrow regarding the current state of the social sciences in general and personnel and human resources management specifically. Then, we investigate potential grievances that might have led to it (i.e., questionable research practices, misplaced incentives), only to end with a verse of hope by outlining an avenue for betterment (i.e., open science and policy changes at multiple levels).

The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical evidence of the impacts of supply chain uncertainty and risk on the logistics performance in the Australian courier industry. This study examines the impacts of supply chain and risk on the logistics performance in the Australian courier industry.

This study provides an in-depth analysis of supply chain uncertainty and risk’s impacts on the logistics performance. The structure equation modelling approach is applied to examine the relationship between supply chain uncertainty and risk and logistics performance. Company-side uncertainty and risk, customer-side uncertainty and risk, and environment uncertainty and risk are used to measure the impacts of supply chain uncertainty and risk on the industry. This paper gives attention to the supply chain uncertainty and risk in the industry.

The results indicate that supply chain uncertainty and risk have negative impacts on logistics performance. Moreover, the greatest impact of supply chain uncertainty and risk was from outside company in the Australian courier industry.

The study focuses on the Australian courier industry, this may limit the implications of findings in different industries. However, the research models may be examined and validated in the different context.

The results may provide directions in the implementation of strategies to manage supply chain uncertainty and risk and improve logistics performance. The findings may enlighten both academics and practitioners to understand and pay attention to the supply chain uncertainty and risk in the courier industry.

There is an argument whether the impacts of supply chain uncertainty and risk are positive or negative in previous studies. In addition, there are very few studies on courier industry. This study clarifies the impacts of supply chain uncertainty and risk on the logistics performance in the courier industry.