Purpose
Lean healthcare is highlighted in the literature as an approach to quality improvement and operational efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to study how Lean healthcare has been ...implemented by analyzing empirical outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a literature review as the primary research method, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses process. Peer-reviewed journals were analyzed – searching for Lean healthcare implementation, tools used, wastes addressed, outcomes and sustainability.
Findings
Evidence suggests that Lean can improve healthcare operational effectiveness. However, empirical studies show implementation is still highly localized with small successes. Most transformations are focused on implementing one or two Lean tools that primarily target patient waiting times and there is minimal evidence about sustainability. Establishing clear definitions for healthcare-related Lean terminology may improve practice, especially episodic care and service quality.
Originality/value
This work provides a Lean healthcare case review. The research makes a significant contribution to Lean healthcare by increasing understanding (scale, scope and sustainability). From a theory building perspective, the authors suggest that barriers to adoption include a common healthcare-specific Lean terminology, and a need to expand implementation beyond small successes. This understanding will help identify key areas for further research in Lean healthcare management.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to add to the quality management body of knowledge by solidifying the connection between operational and strategic aspects of lean transformation. Previous ...research has examined these issues in isolation, demonstrating mixed results in financial and operational efficiencies. The authors show that when operational and strategic changes are jointly considered the likelihood of success for lean transformation increases.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide a literature review of 109 peer-reviewed papers on lean manufacturing and qualitative analysis of 23 Baldrige award winners (2000-2014) that implemented lean to assess the importance of strategic actions in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage through lean transformation.
Findings
The authors find that lean transformation yields mixed results unless strategic actions are taken by senior management. These strategic actions include but are not limited to knowledge management, human resources, and business growth and can result in performance heterogeneity by improving the output/input ratio of the firm. This performance can then manifest as either doing the same level of business with fewer resources (a profit play) or doing more business with the same resources (a growth play). As specific examples, the authors analyzed Baldrige award winners for evidence of lean strategic action to drive performance gains. The authors suggest further model validation through directed interview and/or survey research.
Originality/value
This paper clarifies the need for jointly implementing lean tools with strategic actions. The findings provide more deliberate strategic actions for organizations wishing to increase the likelihood of success of lean transformation and ultimately improve quality.
Purpose
Entrepreneurial and strategic actions are crucial for wealth creation, and the business opportunity is a critical factor in this process. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of ...the firm’s strategic posture in the relationship between individual alertness and opportunity identification within an existing firm. This approach contributes to entrepreneurship theory building through a multilevel study.
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative research focuses on understanding the mediating role of an organization’s strategic posture in the opportunity identification process. Using a sample of 276 firms, this study tests a two-level model to explain opportunity identification.
Findings
The findings provide empirical evidence that a firm’s strategic posture mediates the relationship between individual alertness and opportunity identification. Furthermore, this study finds differences in the mediating role of a firm’s strategic posture through which entrepreneurs and managers affect opportunity identification. Years after the creation of startup, the entrepreneurs still exhibit entrepreneurial characteristics that affect opportunity identification. The findings provide evidence that entrepreneurs foster an internal culture and set of values that are more favorable to radical innovation, compared to managers who favor incremental and less risky projects.
Practical implications
The findings suggest the possibility for new theory building that can improve the fields of entrepreneurship and management research. Moreover, the proposed model constitutes a new approach to analyze the mediating role of an organization’s strategic posture in the opportunity identification process.
Originality/value
This paper provides an original approach to literature in exploring the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and firm’s strategic posture in explaining the opportunity identification process. This work will help expand the theory building that explores differences between managers and entrepreneurs in organizations.
A modified levelized cost of energy (LCOE) model was created to determine the economic crossover point (measured in €/barrel of oil) between a traditional diesel power-generating facility and a ...hybrid closed-loop wind-hydro energy system on the island of El Hierro. This island represents the first system-ofsystems coupled wind and pumped-storage hydroelectric facility in the world aimed at achieving energy independence for an island. LCOE models were developed using fixed baseline oil prices of 30, 40, and 50 €/barrel, which is the price range when the construction project was undertaken. The percentage change of the Spanish consumer price index and industrial price index were used to assess the effect of changing oil prices on the LCOE. This paper involved on-site investigation of the technical and financial elements of the project and resulted in an LCOE model that includes investment, operation and maintenance, emissions, and land costs. Sensitivity analyses were carried out at varying inflation and discount rates. Results indicate that the economic crossover point between the energy production systems to be below the current world oil price and within the range of prices when the project was initiated. Increasing inflation rates reduces the crossover point by increasing future costs associated with the diesel system, and increasing discount rates raises the crossover point by discounting future costs associated with diesel fuel expense. Under constant dollar analysis, the LCEO model robustly highlights system equivalency points; however, the inclusion of discount rate challenges this robustness by introducing the potential for gaming the analysis in favor of one technology over another.
Technological innovations are increasingly helping people expand their social capital through online networks by offering new opportunities for sharing personal information. Online social networks ...are perceived to provide individuals new benefits and have led to a surge of personal data uploaded, stored, and shared. While privacy concerns are a major issue for many users of social networking sites, studies have shown that their information disclosing behavior does not align with their concerns. This gap between behavior and concern is called the privacy paradox. Several theories have been explored to explain this, but with inconsistent and incomplete results. This study investigates the paradox using a construal level theory lens. We show how a privacy breach, not yet experienced and psychologically distant, has less weight in everyday choices than more concrete and psychologically-near social networking activities and discuss the implications for research and practice.
•An explanation of the information privacy paradox using Construal Level Theory.•Intentions mediate the relationship between privacy concerns and self-disclosure behavior.•Social Rewards predict online behavior through near-future intentions.•Privacy Concerns relate to distant-future intentions, but do not directly affect the online behavior.•Privacy concerns indirectly affect online behavior through near-future intentions.
Informal economies account for up to 70 per cent of GDP in developing countries, but few studies have explored informal entrepreneurship. To fill this gap, an exploratory study involving 855 ...university students in an emerging economy applies the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to study the cognitive process of informal entrepreneurship. The effect of past experience (PE) and necessity entrepreneurship on the intention to start a business is also explored. Our findings provide evidence that the decision to start a business in the informal economy reinforces the effect of subjective norms on entrepreneurial intentions (EIs). Implications for education programmes and for theory are discussed.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to perform a literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles investigating the relationship between Lean and Green management in light of developing an ...integrated management model.
Design/methodology/approach
After an extensive search, 60 articles from 1996 to 2016 were identified as relevant to this study.
Findings
The evidence of successful integration of Lean and Green management has largely been weak. The strongest positive evidence between the two management philosophies has been for Lean implementation pushing Green outcomes through operational waste reduction, thus improving environmental performance. The majority of studies suggest highly optimistic outcomes from integrating Lean and Green, however, an integrated operating model of the firm relating Lean and Green is lacking.
Research limitations/implications
The literature review suggests the necessary elements for proposing an integrated operating model of the firm.
Practical implications
The paper offers interesting implications for managers. While most Lean implementations have resulted in some positive environmental outcomes, both management philosophies tend to be implemented independently. Integrating the implementation of Lean and Green offers the potential for synergistic returns.
Originality/value
The findings are derived from a systematic literature review of articles that have studied the relation between Lean and Green management, resulting in a proposed integrated model of firm performance.
This two-volume set has been written primarily for engineers, technicians, and scientists who are contemplating the unknown but attractive world of technological entrepreneurship, a key driver of ...economic growth in developed countries and critical in stimulating growth in developing countries. The purpose is to prepare these professionals as members of teams focusing on commercializing new technology-based products. The material has also been used to introduce engineering students to the processes involved in technological entrepreneurship. Volume one provides a background of fundamentals and theory to prepare the reader for the venture launch. Topics include the entrepreneurial process, the venture team, developing and marketing high tech products, and launching the new venture. Volume two goes into detail in critical areas such as intellectual property protection, legal forms of organization, financial projections, and business plan preparation and delivery. The primary emphasis is focused on creating lean and agile organizations capable of recognizing opportunities, quickly developing introductory products for small test markets to better define the opportunities, and using the results of those test markets to arrive at a product with wide acceptance capable of driving growth.
This two-volume set has been written primarily for engineers, technicians, and scientists who are contemplating the unknown but attractive world of technological entrepreneurship, a key driver of ...economic growth in developed countries and critical in stimulating growth in developing countries. The purpose is to prepare these professionals as members of teams focusing on commercializing new technology-based products. The material has also been used to introduce engineering students to the processes involved in technological entrepreneurship. Volume one provides a background of fundamentals and theory to prepare the reader for the venture launch. Topics include the entrepreneurial process, the venture team, developing and marketing high tech products, and launching the new venture. Volume two goes into detail in critical areas such as intellectual property protection, legal forms of organization, financial projections, and business plan preparation and delivery. The primary emphasis is focused on creating lean and agile organizations capable of recognizing opportunities, quickly developing introductory products for small test markets to better define the opportunities, and using the results of those test markets to arrive at a product with wide acceptance capable of driving growth.
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