Ibrahim Oluwole Raji, Eduard Shevtshenko, Tommaso Rossi and Fernanda Strozzi
Lean and agile are essential supply chain management (SCM) strategies that enhance companies' performance. Previous studies have reported the capabilities of different SCM…
Abstract
Purpose
Lean and agile are essential supply chain management (SCM) strategies that enhance companies' performance. Previous studies have reported the capabilities of different SCM strategies to enhance performance; however, the emergence of Industry 4.0 technologies has bred focus on the possibility of attaining more levels of operational performance. Despite being demonstrated helpful at enabling supply chain (SC) strategies, the literature linking Industry 4.0 with SCM strategies is still in its infancy. Thus, this work investigates the degree to which “Industry 4.0 technologies” enable the implementation of lean and agile practices and subsequently assesses the potential performance implications of integrating Industry 4.0 technologies with the SC operations.
Design/methodology/approach
The work employs an exploratory case study approach using empirical data from selected organisations drawn from an Estonian manufacturing cluster and digital solution providing companies. The data collected via interviews were used to assign numerical scores and subsequently aggregated across the five cases for the research variables of interest. The work is crowned with a model grounded on the cross-case analysis to depict which technologies impact each of the lean and agile practices.
Findings
The analysis enabled comprehension of the potential impact and level of importance of the main Industry 4.0 technologies on lean and agile practices and ultimately the potential implication on performance. The findings revealed that the technologies have a high impact on the practices. Although the impacts are of varying degrees, the analysis provides means to identify the technologies with the most significant impact on lean and agile SCM and the sets of practices with the greatest likelihood of being enabled by various digital technologies.
Practical implications
The work presents various lean and agile practices that practitioners can deploy to operations, alongside the technologies that could support the implementation of the practices towards achieving the various performance measures. Also, it provides some guides for the digital solution providing companies towards understanding the SCM practices that can be improved upon by various digital technologies. This enables them to have more saleable proposals for intending companies who might be sceptical about transiting into the digital operation phase.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to empirically address the connection between Industry 4.0 technologies and the integrated lean and agile strategies despite literature backing of the complementary nature of the two SCM strategies.
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Giuseppe Galassi and Richard Mattessich
The paper offers a survey of major Italian accounting scholars and their work for the period from 1900 to 1950. Apart from the late works of Rossi and Besta, the main focus is on…
Abstract
The paper offers a survey of major Italian accounting scholars and their work for the period from 1900 to 1950. Apart from the late works of Rossi and Besta, the main focus is on the contributions by Zappa, who undoubtedly dominated the scene. In this period, as well as later, most Italian accountants and “aziendalisti” adopted the so‐called “income system”. Although its premises originated with Fabio Besta, master of the so‐called “patrimonial or proprietorship system”, the Italian School under Zappa gave this system a new theoretical basis that differed fundamentally from that of Besta. Zappa also developed the dynamic aspect of accounting and business economics that still prevails in Italy. The paper also devotes attention to other Italian scholars, less well‐known abroad. In the area of cost accounting it concentrates on the views of De Minico and his disciple Amodeo, but also mentions other contributors. The final Section deals with Italian contributions to accounting history during this period
Rosario Miceli, Yasser Gritli, Antonino Di Tommaso, Fiorenzo Filippetti and Claudio Rossi
The purpose of this paper is to present a diagnosis technique, for rotor broken bar in double cage induction motor, based on advanced use of wavelet transform analysis. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a diagnosis technique, for rotor broken bar in double cage induction motor, based on advanced use of wavelet transform analysis. The proposed technique is experimentally validated.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed approach is based on a combined use of frequency sliding and wavelet transform analysis, to isolate the contribution of the rotor fault components issued from vibration signals in a single frequency band.
Findings
The proposed technique is reliable for tracking the rotor fault components over time-frequency domain. The quantitative analysis results based on this technique are the proof of its robustness.
Research limitations/implications
The validity of the proposed diagnosis approach is not limited to the analysis under steady-state operating conditions, but also for time-varying conditions where rotor fault components are spread in a wide frequency range.
Practical implications
The developed approach is best suited for automotive or high power traction systems, in which safe-operating and availability are mandatory.
Originality/value
The paper presents a diagnosis technique for rotor broken bar in double cage induction motor base on advanced use of wavelet transform which allows the extraction of the most relevant rotor fault component issued from axial vibration signal and clamping it in a single frequency bandwidth, avoiding confusions with other components and false interpretations.
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Cristina Fernandes, João Ferreira and Pedro Mota Veiga
The purpose of this study is use a bibliometric analysis to explore the relational nature of knowledge creation in WFM in operations. Companies live under constant pressure to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is use a bibliometric analysis to explore the relational nature of knowledge creation in WFM in operations. Companies live under constant pressure to find the best ways to plan their workforce, and the workforce emangement (WFM) is one of the biggest challenges faced by managers. Relevant research on WFM in operations has been published in a several range of journals that vary in their scope and readership, and thus the academic contribution to the topic remains largely fragmented.
Design/methodology/approach
To address this gap, this review aims to map research on WFM in operations to understand where it comes from and where it is going and, therefore, provides opportunities for future work. This study combined two bibliometric approaches with manual document coding to examine the literature corpus of WFM in operations to draw a holistic picture of its different aspects.
Findings
Content and thematic analysis of the seminal studies resulted in the extraction of three key research themes: workforce cross-training, planning workforce mixed methods and individual workforce characteristics. The findings of this study further highlight the gaps in the WFM in operations literature and raise some research questions that warrant further academic investigation in the future.
Originality/value
Likewise, this study has important implications for practitioners who are likely to benefit from a holistic understanding of the different aspects of WFM in operations.
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Lauretta Rubini and Elisa Barbieri
The purpose of this paper is to provide an updated picture of the emergence of specific firms, cities and sectors of excellence in one of the best performing industrial areas of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an updated picture of the emergence of specific firms, cities and sectors of excellence in one of the best performing industrial areas of China: Guangdong Province.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper focuses on a single province‐case study and zooms on its leading territories, sectors, firms and policies. Geographical areas, industrial sectors and firms are defined “of excellence” according to their contribution to the overall industrial performance of the province.
Findings
High industrial performances are not equally spread in the province. They involve specific sectors (such as electronics), areas (Pearl River Delta) and even specific firms (particularly Chinese‐owned and SOEs). This picture is in line with the recent policy objectives (support to ODI by national companies, indigenous innovation, national and local champions, restructuring of SOEs) and with the history of preferential industrial development policies.
Research limitations/implications
Given the concentration of industrial excellence in the province, there is a need to further investigate the leading actors. Given the persistent policy practice to encourage excellences (areas, sectors and firms), there is a need to further investigate the linkages between provincial/local policies and performances. The empirical test on the existence of a causal link between policies and performances of specific territories and sectors is left for further research.
Originality/value
While much of the existing literature concentrates on the impressive industrial growth of China as a whole, the paper stresses the degree of concentration of such growth and the importance of focusing on specific leading actors in order to fully understand the industrial development of the country.
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The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that affect Industry 4.0 applications, the expected impacts of Industry 4.0 applications in companies and to analyze the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that affect Industry 4.0 applications, the expected impacts of Industry 4.0 applications in companies and to analyze the importance of these factors and the importance of expected impacts correlatively.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides an empirical analysis of the factors affecting the adoption of Industry 4.0 transformation and its impacts on the companies. The paper is based on 103 valid answers to a questionnaire-survey distributed among companies in Turkey. The Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to determine the correlation between independent variables and dependent variables. Regression analyses were used to test the proposed hypotheses. A multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the causal relationship between independent and dependent variables. Linear regression method and stepwise regression method was employed for regression analyses. The factors that influence Industry 4.0 applications were determined as company size, technological level of products, budget allocation for R&D department, level of lean applications, level of agility/flexibility and level of automation; and the expected impacts of Industry 4.0 applications were determined as traceability of production processes, traceability of supply chain, flexibility of supply chains, communication between the partners of supply chain, productivity, real-time data analysis, integration between companies and integration in the company according to the literature review
Findings
The results of this research study revealed that, there is a stronger relationship between level of Industry 4.0 transformation and level of automation than there is between Industry 4.0 transformation and the other independent variables. From the analyses conducted, it can be stated that budget allocation for R&D and level of lean applications and level of automation had greater impacts on Industry 4.0 transformation than company size has. The independent variables included in the regression analysis had a positive effect on Industry 4.0 transformation of companies. However the effects of company size, technological level of products and level of agility/flexibility on Industry 4.0 transformation was weak. When the impacts of Industry 4.0 on companies were analyzed, it can be stated that there is a stronger relationship between Industry 4.0 transformation and real-time data analysis, traceability of production processes, integration in companies and productivity than there is between Industry 4.0 transformation and integration between companies, traceability of supply chains, flexibility of supply chains and communication between the partners of supply chain. It was determined that Industry 4.0 transformation generally impacts internal factors of company, while Industry 4.0 had limited impacts on the supply chains.
Originality/value
Although there are studies that separately investigated the factors affecting Industry 4.0 transformation and the impacts of Industry 4.0 transformation on companies, the present study provides important contributions to the literature in terms of considering the importance levels of the factors affecting Industry 4.0 transformation and the importance level of impacts of Industry 4.0 transformation on companies as a whole and in relation to each other.
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Joseph Sakdalan and Yvonne Maxwell
Despite some advances in the assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there remains a paucity of intervention and research literature in treating adults with…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite some advances in the assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there remains a paucity of intervention and research literature in treating adults with ASD. There is growing evidence supporting a relationship between the core features of ASD and emotion dysregulation. There is an overlap between ASD and borderline personality disorder (BPD) characteristics such as emotional dysregulation, sensory issues and social skills deficits. This paper aims to explore the applications of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) concepts and skills in treating ASD individuals who display challenging or offending behaviours. The similarities in characteristics between ASD and BPD and the core issue of emotion dysregulation hold promise in the utility of DBT with ASD.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper that includes a case vignette.
Findings
A DBT-informed treatment approach using the adaptations and reconceptualization, i.e. risky mind–wise mind outlined in this paper, can be considered promising in addressing issues for ASD individuals, particularly those with challenging and/or offending behaviours. DBT incorporates different elements of applied behaviour analysis, cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness skills, sensory-based treatments, psychosocial interventions and emotion regulation skills, which makes it a more cohesive and integrated approach to treatment. The authors assert that DBT can be considered a more integrated, strengths-based, habilitative and trauma-informed approach which can be promising in its application to address challenging behaviours or offending in ASD individuals.
Research limitations/implications
It is recommended that research be carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of adapted DBT programs in treating ASD individuals presenting with challenging and/or offending behaviours. Future research can focus on evaluating the effectiveness of the different DBT concepts and skills and the different DBT modules to determine which components of the program are particularly useful for this client group.
Practical implications
Treatment manuals have already been developed for clients with intellectual disability and developmental disabilities who exhibit challenging and/or offending behaviour; hence, it is recommended that modifications be made to make it more applicable and appropriate for ASD individuals. Modifications should address ASD-specific issues (e.g. black and white thinking, cognitive rigidity, sensory issues, impaired theory of mind, emotion dysregulation issues, social skills deficits and anxiety issues). The use of DBT has much wider implications regarding addressing comorbid mental health conditions and personality issues in this client group.
Originality/value
There are limited psychological interventions that prove to be useful for individuals with ASD with complex presentations and challenging or offending behaviours. This paper discusses the application of adapted DBT concepts and skills that appear to be promising in the treatment of this client group.
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Daniel Trabucchi and Tommaso Buganza
This article is based on a systematic and comprehensive review of the literature on two-sided platforms, the business structure based on the concept of matchmaking groups of…
Abstract
Purpose
This article is based on a systematic and comprehensive review of the literature on two-sided platforms, the business structure based on the concept of matchmaking groups of customers (e.g. Uber or Airbnb). The research aims to identify gaps in the existing literature while providing a structured summary of the existing knowledge in the field. Finally, we propose a conceptual framework enabling platform thinking, the ability to see hybrid multi-sided platforms as a useful resource-orchestration structure to unveil innovation opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a bibliometric approach, combing co-citation and text mining analyses of 196 papers, also implementing a longitudinal analysis that highlights the evolution of the field since its inception till today.
Findings
The novel aspect of the paper consists in taking a purely managerial stance of a very peculiar kind of platform, merging existing knowledge in comprehensive frameworks while providing potential avenues for research.
Research limitations/implications
From an academic perspective, this research highlights the double nature of two-sided platforms: as an operational choice or as a way to exploit (digital) assets and reach the economic sustainability. A research agenda is proposed, based on three pillars: a side-based standpoint, a business model perspective and an evolutionary stance to see how these businesses may evolve.
Practical implications
The research identifies different literature streams that may help practitioners in identifying how two-sided platforms may help them in fostering innovation.
Originality/value
The identification of two-sided platforms as a different way to create value (transaction platforms) or to capture value (non-transaction platform), enhancing the debate on this innovative business model. A research agenda to bring the field forward is proposed.
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Mauro Coletto and Tommaso De Monte
This chapter aims at presenting the ISO 9000 standards and their crucial role in the regulation of the quality management process in a company. To achieve this goal not only have…
Abstract
This chapter aims at presenting the ISO 9000 standards and their crucial role in the regulation of the quality management process in a company. To achieve this goal not only have the standards been deeply scrutinized but also evidences of their importance and consequences of their application have been collected after a deep period of study and research.
The chapter begins with a quick review of the standards history, followed by a consistent part that describes the process of standardization and who releases the certifications. The following part is devoted to the analysis of the structure of the standards and the principles in which their content is based. The chapter ends highlighting the areas influenced by the quality standards and the benefits that they bring to the companies.
In conlusion, this section of the book is dedicated to a normative topic that is in continuous evolution and that influences a lot the quality management system.
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Daniel Trabucchi, Paola Bellis, Diletta Di Marco, Tommaso Buganza and Roberto Verganti
In a world where innovation became a “buzzword” and everyone within companies is required to foster innovation, the engagement of people toward innovation is fundamental to prompt…
Abstract
Purpose
In a world where innovation became a “buzzword” and everyone within companies is required to foster innovation, the engagement of people toward innovation is fundamental to prompt individual motivation and actions to make innovation happen. However, despite the relevance of the relationship between engagement and innovation, the literature on the topic appears still fragmented. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the topic through a systematic literature review.
Design/methodology/approach
A final sample of 108 papers has been selected and analyzed through co-citation and text mining analyses. The former enabled the analysis of the structure of the theoretical foundation of the filed, while the latter facilitated a systematic and unbiased content-driven review of the literature.
Findings
The results of the analysis indicated two main areas of interest describing the relationship between engagement and innovation. On the one hand, there is the focus on “engagement as an attitude,” intended as the capacity of individuals to generate and realize innovation. On the other hand, there is a stream of literature focused on “engagement as involvement,” which refers to co-innovation paradigms, involving both internal and external stakeholders.
Research limitations/implications
From an academic perspective, this paper highlights the relevance of the “human-side” of innovation, proposing avenues for future research that dig into the relationship between people's engagement and innovation dynamics. Moreover, it shows how the recent developments in the innovation management literature are coherent with this emerging relevance of the human perspective in innovation.
Practical implications
From a practitioner’s perspective, this paper helps managers by highlighting the two different approaches that they can have in terms of engagement. The study aims to help them in identifying the kind of engagement they are looking for in their employees and other innovation stakeholder having the support to find relevant studies in that direction.
Originality/value
The study unveils how the evolution of both areas over the years is strictly related to the megatrends of innovation fields, which are the main areas of knowledge not covered yet. Therefore, a research agenda is proposed.