The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0): technologies disruption on operations and supply chain management 1.1 Context During the last five years, journals in robotics, electronics, computer ...science and production engineering have devoted significant attention to Industry 4.0 and related subjects, including additive manufacturing/3D printing, intelligent manufacturing and big data (Lee et al., 2014; Xi et al., 2015; Pfeiffer et al., 2016; Mosterman and Zander, 2016; Chen and Zhang, 2015; Jia et al., 2016). A few prominent exceptions are represented by the recent attempts to shed lights on: the link between Industry 4.0 and lean manufacturing (Buer et al., 2018; Tortorella and Fettermann, 2018); the link between Internet of Things (IoT) and supply chain management (Ben-Daya et al., 2017); the impact of additive manufacturing on supply chain processes and performances (Liu et al., 2014; Oettmeier and Hofmann, 2016; Li et al., 2017); and the short-term supply chain scheduling in smart factories (Ivanov et al., 2016). Here, the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) refers to the “confluence of technologies ranging from a variety of digital technologies (e.g. 3D printing, IoT, advanced robotics) to new materials (e.g. bio or nano-based) to new processes (e.g. data driven production, Artificial Intelligence, synthetic biology)” (OECD, 2016). Whilst classical theories such as resource based view, institutional theory, chaos theory, systems theory, stakeholder theory, transaction economic cost theory, evolutionary theory to name a few may need reshaping, the issues of trust will become prominent in such a disruptive digital environment, driving major evolvement of technological singularity in the transformation process, where blockchain may play a central role with IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Carter and Koh, 2018).
Production research literature and industry practice have started to pay increasing attention to the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) phenomenon. Scholars and practitioners identified a strong link between this ...paradigm and the well-known Lean Production (LP) paradigm. Most studies consider LP as a prerequisite of I4.0 and I4.0 as a tool to overcome LP limits and boost its practices. However, so far, these effects have been studied only at a high level, without an in-depth and comprehensive pairwise analysis at a practice-technology level. Moreover, few empirical studies have been carried out on this topic. Our paper attempts to fill these gaps by conducting a multiple case studies research to explain the one-to-one relationships between LP techniques and I4.0 technologies, and vice versa. More specifically, the one-to-one analysis examines the enabling effect of LP on I4.0 and the empowering effect of I4.0 on LP. Based on the empirical analyses, we propose a framework on the relationships between the two paradigms structured into six areas drawn from previous research (i.e. manufacturing equipment and processes, shop-floor management, workforce management, new product development, supplier relationships, customer relationships). Such representation clarifies the interdependence of the two paradigms in the whole supply chain.
Soilless cultivation represent a valid opportunity for the agricultural production sector, especially in areas characterized by severe soil degradation and limited water availability. Furthermore, ...this agronomic practice embodies a favorable response toward an environment-friendly agriculture and a promising tool in the vision of a general challenge in terms of food security. This review aims therefore at unraveling limitations and opportunities of hydroponic solutions used in soilless cropping systems focusing on the plant mineral nutrition process. In particular, this review provides information (1) on the processes and mechanisms occurring in the hydroponic solutions that ensure an adequate nutrient concentration and thus an optimal nutrient acquisition without leading to nutritional disorders influencing ultimately also crop quality (e.g., solubilization/precipitation of nutrients/elements in the hydroponic solution, substrate specificity in the nutrient uptake process, nutrient competition/antagonism and interactions among nutrients); (2) on new emerging technologies that might improve the management of soilless cropping systems such as the use of nanoparticles and beneficial microorganism like plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs); (3) on tools (multi-element sensors and interpretation algorithms based on machine learning logics to analyze such data) that might be exploited in a smart agriculture approach to monitor the availability of nutrients/elements in the hydroponic solution and to modify its composition in
. These aspects are discussed considering what has been recently demonstrated at the scientific level and applied in the industrial context.
This paper throws light on the determinants of the duration of manufacturing offshore experiences by US and European firms prior to reshoring. By applying survival analysis to a dataset of 249 ...offshoring experiences terminated with a relocation to the home country/region, we estimate the effects of different groups of survival determinants. Results highlight that contextual factors such as the industry, the home country, the host country, and the size of the firm significantly affect the duration of offshoring experiences. The likelihood of termination is in fact higher for the electronics and automotive industries, for small firms, for firms headquartered in Europe, and for offshoring to Asia. The analysis of the motivations for reshoring shows that quality issues experienced offshore emerge as the key factor giving rise to shorter offshore stays. Based on these empirical findings, a set of testable propositions is developed. In particular, we conjecture that the likelihood of termination of offshore manufacturing and the return to the home country may be accelerated by technology-based industries, small firm sizes, shrinking cost differentials and the psychic distance between home and host country, the organizational archetypes, and quality related motivations.
•The duration of offshoring prior to the decision to reshore production is examined.•The eclectic paradigm is used to build a conceptual framework explaining duration.•A survival analysis is performed on a set of 249 back-/near-shoring experiences.•Industry, home and host country, and firm size affect the offshoring duration.•Based on the empirical findings, a set of testable propositions is developed.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a synthesised conceptual framework for global sourcing (GS) strategy and structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt a systematic ...literature review method and analyse through content analysis techniques 52 peer-reviewed journal articles focussed on GS strategy and structure. Based on these analyses, a conceptual model is developed.
Findings
A synthesised construct of GS strategy, consisting of three dimensions, i.e., supply internationalisation, internal integration and external integration, is proposed. The GS structure construct is further broken down into structural design and control and coordination, consisting of three dimensions for each. Propositions for GS strategy, GS structure and, in particular, the relationships between them are developed for future empirical validation.
Originality/value
This is the first study which synthesises various dimensions of GS strategy and GS structure and advances/extends the theory of the strategy-structure nexus to a GS context. The conceptual model provides a comprehensive framework for future empirical work and opens avenues of research on this topic.
The book describes the most important quality management tools (e.g. QFD, Kano model), methods (e.g. FMEA, Six Sig-ma) and standards (e.g. IS0 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISO 45001, SA8000). It ...reflects recent developments in the field. It is considered a must-read for students, academics, and practitioners.
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is one of the most important corporate social responsibility initiatives; its aim is to align companies’ strategies and operations with principles that ...involve human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.
After approximately 15 years of research on the UNGC, we provide a systematic literature review on this topic. We start with a keyword search of 96 papers on the UNGC. We then code these papers based on a deductive–inductive approach and classify them by year of publication, publication outlet, research focus, methodology, and underpinning theory. We frame and summarize the debate on the five main topics of UNGC literature, namely motivations driving the companies toward UNGC adoption, weaknesses, impacts, contextual factors affecting adoption, and contextual factors affecting performance. For each of the five streams of research, we identify several factors or variables that enrich the knowledge of it. Building on these findings, we identify various research gaps and develop a set of hypotheses for future empirical validation that are grounded on prominent theoretical frameworks, such as the stakeholder theory (in combination with the Human Resource Management literature) and the signal theory.
•This study presents a systematic literature review on UNGC.•Ninety-six contributions have been collected, classified, and summarized.•Five streams of research have been identified and discussed in detail.•A set of knowledge gaps of the current literature has been identified.•A future research agenda grounded on mainstream theories is proposed.
Setting up an international purchasing office (IPO) is one of the key steps for firms doing global sourcing. This paper aims to explore the relationship between strategy and structure in a ...contemporary global purchasing context. We build a theory of IPOs, employing a case study method to address two research questions—what types of IPOs exist in China? And how may an IPO become strategic to its parent's global purchasing? We identify three types or clusters of IPOs along four dimensions: motives for sourcing from China; global purchasing strategy for China; IPO structure and IPO followership. We present a causal model and associated propositions to explain how an IPO may become more strategic for its parent company. In the model we identify that, in addition to the direct link of ‘structure follows strategy’, IPO followership can be an underlying construct, linking IPO structure and global purchasing strategy for China. The paper opens up new avenues for global sourcing research and provides new insights for managers on global purchasing strategy, specifically with respect to IPO organisational design and capabilities.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines have emerged as an important instrument used by firms to structure the content of sustainability reporting (SR). This development has led to the ...question of whether the elaboration of GRI SR is beneficial to a firm’s financial performance. In this study, building on signaling theory, we carry out an empirical investigation of the impact of GRI SR on firm profitability and the factors moderating that impact. Drawing from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR), the WIND Economic, and the Chinese Research Data Services Platform (CNRDS) databases, we identified a sample of 122 listed firms with GRI SR in China. We then employed an event study method to compare the firms following GRI SR with a set of matched firms reporting sustainability without following the GRI guidelines. The results show that GRI SR significantly increases firm profitability. Moreover, firms with local political ties reap more benefits from GRI SR, while the moderating effect of central political ties is not significant. Surprisingly, the performance impact of GRI SR is negatively correlated to the firm’s internationalization level.
A very important decision for multinational companies’ managers concerns what activities, phases and competences should be located in the home country and what could instead be offshored. Our study ...seeks to support them in this choice by answering to the following questions: (a) should the specializations assigned to foreign plants be different from those of domestic plants? (b) should key competences be held only in the domestic manufacturing base or also in the offshore one? We collect and analyze a wide set of data of an international research project, concerning competences and manufacturing practices of 236 MNC plants located in nine countries. We identify through cluster analysis different group profiles within domestic and foreign subsamples and compare the corresponding ones. We then compare domestic and foreign plants in a set of competences and manufacturing practices. Our empirical findings show that (a) the specializations (strategic types) of domestic and foreign plants can be substantially the same and (b) offshore plants rather than domestic ones tend in general to hold the most advanced competences.
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