bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A decision theory perspective on complexity in performance measurement and management
Authors: Alexander Anthony , Kumar Maneesh , Walker Helen 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply the aspects of decision theory (DT) to performance measurement and management (PMM), thereby enabling the theoretical elaboration of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity in the business environment, which are identified as barriers to effective PMM.

Design/methodology/approach
A review of decision theory and PMM literature establishes the Cynefin framework as the basis for extending the performance alignment matrix. Case research with seven companies explores the relationship between two concepts under-examined in the performance alignment matrix – internal dominant logic (DL) as the attribute of organisational culture affecting decision making, and the external environment – in line with the concept of alignment or fit in PMM. A focus area is PMM related to sustainable operations and sustainable supply chain management.

Findings
Alignment between DL, external environment and PMM is found, as are instances of misalignment. The Cynefin framework offers a deeper theoretical explanation about the nature of this alignment. Other findings consider the nature of organisational ownership on DL.

Research limitations/implications
The cases are exploratory not exhaustive, and limited in number. Organisations showing contested logic were excluded.

Practical implications
Some organisations have cultures of predictability and control; others have cultures that recognise their external environment as fundamentally unpredictable, and hence there is a need for responsive, decentralised PMM. Some have sought to change their culture and PMM. Being attentive to how cultural logic affects decision making can help reduce the misalignment in PMM.

Originality/value
A novel contribution is made by applying decision theory to PMM, extending the theoretical depth of the subject.
Strategy, operations, and profitability: the role of resource orchestration
Authors: Hughes Paul , Hodgkinson Ian Richard , Elliott Karen , Hughes Mathew 
Published: February 2018

PurposeDeveloping and implementing strategies to maximize profitability is a fundamental challenge facing manufacturers. The complexity of orchestrating resources in practice has been overlooked in the operations field and it is now necessary to go beyond the direct effects of individual resources and uncover different resource configurations that maximize profitability. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on a sample of US manufacturing firms, multiple regression analysis (MRA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) are performed to examine the effects of resource orchestration on firm profitability over time. By comparing the findings between analyses, the study represents a move away from examining the net effects of resource levers on performance alone.FindingsThe findings characterize the resource conditions for manufacturers’ high performance, and also for absence of high performance. Pension and retirement expense is a core resource condition with R&D and SG&A as consistent peripheral conditions for profitability. Moreover, although workforce size was found to have a significant negative effect under MRA, this plays a role in manufacturers’ performance as a peripheral resource condition under fsQCA.Originality/valueAccounting for different resource deployment configurations, this study deepens knowledge of resource orchestration and presents findings that enable manufacturers to maximize profitability. An empirical contribution is offered by the introduction of a new method for examining manufacturing strategy configurations: fsQCA.
A design-thinking perspective on capability development
Authors: Beltagui Ahmad 
Published: February 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction between new product development (NPD) capabilities and business model innovation (BMI) by studying the adaptation of capabilities in a manufacturing firm as it adopts a service business model.Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth case study is used to identify design capabilities and document how these have been developed as the firm has adapted its NPD processes to the needs of its service business model.FindingsDesign capabilities are proposed as a facilitator of servitization, allowing a manufacturing firm to develop service offerings that build on resources such as knowledge and experience. Conversely, the scope of servitization is restricted by the extent to which these design capabilities can be updated to suit the demands of a new business model.Practical implicationsServitization is presented as an imperative for manufacturing firms, yet research has not addressed the implications for NPD nor investigated how BMI affects NPD capabilities. This study shows the need to identify whether current NPD processes help or hinder BMI and proposes how managers can adapt NPD processes to a new business model.Originality/valueA three-stage process is identified for adapting NPD processes – as BMI changes the nature of products and services required, existing processes are supplemented by design activities requiring expert knowledge, these are subsequently refined into design methods that can be incorporated into the NPD process, and eventually design tools allow automation and efficiency.
Examining desorptive capacity in supply chains: the role of organizational ambidexterity
Authors: Roldán Bravo María Isabel , Ruiz-Moreno Antonia , Lloréns Montes Francisco Javier 
Published: February 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain how a buying organization’s desorptive capacity relative to its supply network enhances the organization’s supply chain competence. The research also analyzes the contingent role of the balanced and combined dimensions of ambidexterity in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical results are obtained through analysis of survey data from a sample of 270 European firms. Hierarchical regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results confirm, first, the positive and significant relationship between the buying organization’s desorptive capacity and supply chain competence; and, second, the key moderating role of organizational ambidexterity, especially in its combined dimension, in this relationship.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that desorptive capacity is key to the organization’s contribution to supply chain competitiveness. The authors also provide practitioners with better understanding of the extent to which they should attempt to balance exploration and exploitation or/and to maximize both simultaneously when seeking greater benefit from desorptive capacity.Originality/valueThis study extends desorptive capacity research to supply chain management. It responds to calls in the desorptive capacity literature for deeper understanding of the benefits of desorptive capacity and of the role organizational ambidexterity plays in the success of desorptive capacity. By analyzing the independent effects of the combined and balanced dimensions of ambidexterity, the authors advance conceptual and operational understanding of the role of ambidexterity needed in the literature.
The introduction of mandatory inter-municipal cooperation in small municipalities
Authors: Giacomini Davide , Sancino Alessandro , Simonetto Anna 
Published: February 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the effects of mandatory inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) in small Italian municipalities. Data from 280 small Italian municipalities on the effects of IMC in terms of higher efficiency, better effectiveness of local public services, and greater institutional legitimacy of the small municipalities participating in IMC have been investigated against four variables: size, geographical area, type of inter-municipal integration, and IMC membership (the presence in the IMC of a bigger municipality, the so-called big brother).Design/methodology/approachData were gathered from a mail survey that was sent to a random sample of 1,360 chief financial officers acting in municipalities of under 5,000 inhabitants, stratified by size (0-1,000 and 1,001-5,000) and geographic area (North, Center, and South) criteria. To analyze the dependency relationships between the three potential effects of participating in IMC and possible explanatory variables, the authors used a logistic regression model as the benefits were binarily categorized (presence or absence of benefits).FindingsThe findings show that in more than two-thirds of the municipalities participating in IMC, there were benefits in terms of costs reduction and better public services, whereas greater institutional legitimacy was detected in about half of the cases. The statistical analysis with logistic regression highlighted that IMC type is particularly critical for explaining successful IMC. In particular, the positive effects of IMC were mainly detected in those small municipalities that promoted a service delivery organization rather than participating in service delivery agreements or opting for mixed arrangements of joint public services delivery.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on small municipalities where studies are usually scant. The analysis highlighted that the organizational setting is particularly critical for explaining a successful IMC.
Rationality, accounting and benchmarking water businesses
Authors: Pawsey Nicholas , Ananda Jayanath , Hoque Zahirul 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the sensitivity of economic efficiency rankings of water businesses to the choice of alternative physical and accounting capital input measures.

Design/methodology/approach
Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to compute efficiency rankings for government-owned water businesses from the state of Victoria, Australia, over the period 2005/2006 through 2012/2013. Differences between DEA models when capital inputs were measured using either: statutory accounting values (historic cost and fair value), physical measures, or regulatory accounting values, were scrutinised.

Findings
Depending on the choice of capital input, significant variation in efficiency scores and the ranking of the top (worst) performing firms was observed.

Research limitations/implications
Future research may explore the generalisability of findings to a wider sample of water utilities globally. Future work can also consider the most reliable treatment of capital inputs in efficiency analysis.

Practical implications
Regulators should be cautious when using economic efficiency data in benchmarking exercises. A consistent approach to account for the capital stock is needed in the determination of price caps and designing incentives for poor performers.

Originality/value
DEA has been widely used to explore the role of ownership structure, firm size and regulation on water utility efficiency. This is the first study of its kind to explore the sensitivity of DEA to alternative physical and accounting capital input measures. This research also improves the conventional performance measurement in water utilities by using a bootstrap procedure to address the deterministic nature of the DEA approach.
Research on the leakage of continuous rotary electro-hydraulic servo motor based on fluid structure interaction analysis
Authors: Wang Xiaojing , Man Guojia , Zhang Mengjian 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
Internal leakage is one of the key factors that influence the super-low speed performance of continuous rotary electro-hydraulic servo motor. Therefore, this paper aims to study the change rule of internal leakage for improving the low speed performance of motor.

Design/methodology/approach
The mathematical models of internal leakage of continuous rotary electro-hydraulic servo motor were established, and according to the working principle of the motor, the 3D models of internal leakage location were established. Simulation analysis was implemented on the continuous rotary electro-hydraulic servo motor by the finite element analysis software ANSYS based on the fluid-structure interaction theory.

Findings
The results show the deformation of motor’s key parts and the changing rule of internal leakage. The effect of the leakage to the low speed performance of electro-hydraulic servo motor was analyzed, and at the same time, the motor’s leakage experiment was also conducted to verify the validity of simulation results.

Originality/value
This paper lays the foundation for improving the low speed performance of motor.
Synthesis and tribological properties of nanogrease
Authors: Mohamed Alaa , Hamdy Mohamed , Bayoumi Mohamed , Osman Tarek 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
To enhance the tribological properties of nanogrease, one of the new technologies was used to synthesize a nanogrease having carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanoparticles (NPs) with different concentrations. The microstructures of the synthesized NPs were characterized and evaluated by x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tribological properties of the nanogrease were evaluated using a four-ball tester. The worn surface of four steel balls was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX).

Design/methodology/approach
Grease was dissolved in chloroform (10 Wt.%), at 25 °C for 1 h. In parallel, functionalized CNTs with different volume concentrations (0.5, 1, 2 and 3 Wt.%) were dispersed in N, N-dimethylformamide. The mixture was stirred for 15 min and then sonicated (40 kHz, 150 W) for 30 min. After that, the mixture was added to the grease solution and magnetically stirred for 15 min and then sonicated for 2 h.

Findings
The results suggested that CNTs can enhance the antiwear and friction properties of nanogrease at 0.5 Wt.% CNTs to about 57 and 48 per cent, respectively. In addition, the weld load of the base oil containing 0.5 Wt.% CNTs was improved by 17 per cent compared with base grease.

Originality/value
This work describes the inexpensive and simple fabrication of nanogrease for improving the properties of lubricants, which improve power efficiency and extend lifetimes of mechanical equipment.
Detecting lubricating oil components through a new clustering method based on sample data
Authors: Wang Guijun , Zhang Guoying 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
This paper aims to overcome the defect that the traditional clustering method is excessively dependent on initial clustering radius and also provide new technical measures for detecting the component content of lubricating oil based on the fuzzy neural system model.

Design/methodology/approach
According to the layers model of the fuzzy neural system model for the given sample data pair, the new clustering method can be implemented, and through the fuzzy system model, the detection method for the selected oil samples is given. By applying this method, the composition contents of 30 kinds of oil samples in lubricating oil are checked, and the actual composition contents of oil samples are compared.

Findings
Through the detection of 21 mineral elements in 30 oil samples, it can be known that the four mineral elements such as Zn, P, Ca and Mg have largest contribution rate to the lubricating oil, and they can be regarded as the main factors for classification of lubricating oil. The results show that the fuzzy system to be established based on sample data clustering has better performance in detection lubricant component content.

Originality/value
In spite of lots of methods for detecting the component of lubricating oil at the present, there is still no detection of the component of lubricating oil through clustering method based on sample data pair. The new nearest clustering method is proposed in this paper, and it can be more effectively used to detect the content of lubricating oil.
Tribology assessment of surface-contact sliding pairs with streak defect under dynamic harmonic excitation loading
Authors: Yuan Wei , Dong Guangneng , Chin Kwai Sang , Hua Meng , Guo Qianjian 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
Streak defect and dynamic harmonic excitation (DHE) loading play important roles in machine operating conditions. The purpose of this paper was to assess the effects of streak defect and DHE loading on the tribological properties of surface-contact friction pairs, for example the differential gear end-face on the washer, via experimental investigation.

Design/methodology/approach
Streak defect was artificially introduced into the washer surface, which was loaded with DHE loads produced by a spring-connecting weight system. The wear scar of the washers and the monitored friction force signals were respectively scanned using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and analyzed using wavelet simulation.

Findings
The friction force curves, SEM images and discrete wavelet transform results indicate that DHE loading tends to increase friction force, to accelerate plowing damages and result in side-flow of material and plastic deformation on the surfaces of the washer. Whereas, streak oil-channel textures on washer specimen can be machined to modify the lubrication condition in the running-in stage so as to improve the tribological properties of the sliding pairs which were even subjected to DHE loading.

Originality/value
On the basis of this thesis research, the effect of streak defect and DHE loading on tribological performance of surface-contact sliding pairs is discussed. The results of wear form and friction state with the effect of streak defect and DHE loading facilitate to optimize the operating condition of mechanical parts.
What makes users willing or hesitant to use Fintech?: the moderating effect of user type
Authors: Ryu Hyun-Sun 
Published: February 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to better understand why people are willing or hesitant to use Financial technology (Fintech) as well as to determine whether the effect of perceived benefits and risks of continuance intention differs depending on user types.Design/methodology/approachOriginal data were collected via a survey of 243 participants with Fintech usage experience. The partial least squares method was used to test the proposed model.FindingsThe results reveal that legal risk had the most negative effect on the Fintech continuance intention, while convenience had the strongest positive effect. Differences in specific benefit and risk impacts are found between early and late adopters.Originality/valueThis empirical study contributes to the novel understanding of the benefit and risk factors affecting the Fintech continuance intention.
Market orientation and export performance: the moderation of channel and institutional distance
Authors: He Xinming , Brouthers Keith D. , Filatotchev Igor 
Published: February 2018

PurposeMarket orientation (MO) has been shown to provide a valuable resource-based advantage in domestic markets. How internationalizing firms from emerging markets can benefit from this capability is more complex while facing institutional distance. The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a theory to suggest that although MO capabilities can enhance export performance, the structure where they are deployed, namely the export channel a firm uses and the market in terms of institutional distance from home, can affect the benefits derived from MO.Design/methodology/approachWith a sample of Chinese exporters and data collected via questionnaire survey, this research uses a multiple regression model to test the hypotheses.FindingsIt finds that firms with stronger MO capabilities can improve export performance by using hierarchical channels and by exporting to more institutionally distant markets where MO provides greater value.Originality/valueThis research claims to make several important contributions to the literature by providing a better understanding of how firms can successfully deploy MO capabilities when exporting.
Corporate governance and management earnings forecast behaviour
Authors: Chapple Larelle , Dunstan Keitha , Truong Thu Phuong 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
The purpose of our study is to examine the influence of three external corporate governance mechanisms (continuous disclosure regulatory reform, analyst following and ownership concentration) and one internal corporate governance mechanism (board structure) on the likelihood, frequency, horizon, precision and accuracy of management earnings forecasts in the low private litigation environment of New Zealand.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a sample of 1,082 management earnings forecasts issued by 125 firms listed on the New Zealand Exchange during the 1998-2007 financial reporting periods. The authors effectively control the self-selection bias problem inherent in management earnings forecasts.

Findings
The findings provide strong evidence that corporate governance significantly influences management earnings forecast behaviour. Firms with effective corporate governance tend to forecast earnings and provide these earnings forecasts more frequently and precisely. Earnings forecasts issued by firms with more non-executive directors on the board are less optimistically biased. A possible interpretation of the findings is that effective corporate governance mechanisms are able to substitute for a private enforcement alternative.

Originality/value
The findings have value in informing governance choices in the absence of external disciplinary mechanisms such as private litigation.
Risks/rewards and an evolving business model
Authors: Crick Dave , Chaudhry Shiv , Crick James M. 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the need for an evolving business model that accounts for social, as well as business-related risks/rewards considerations, that is, for owner-managers with lifestyle as opposed to growth-oriented objectives.

Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach undertaken involved in-depth interviews with the firm’s owner-managers, supplemental interviews with members of staff, observation, plus examining documents from secondary sources. Data gathering involved a period of three years to account for an evolving business model over time.

Findings
The findings from an instrumental case study demonstrate the need to adapt a firm’s business model in the light of changing circumstances. Additionally, in the context of owner-managers with lifestyle as opposed to growth-oriented objectives, to account for social in addition to business-related considerations in planning activities.

Originality/value
The originality of the study is to incorporate a longitudinal case study in to the entrepreneurial marketing literature. Specifically, this offers implications for business support organisations that advise prospective owner-managers; that is, in respect of the need for effective planning in formulating an evolving and enduring business model. Implications also highlight in a business sense, that turnaround of a poorly performing firm may be possible, for example, to overcome initial inadequate marketing planning. However, for owner-managers with lifestyle as opposed to growth-oriented objectives, a combination of both business and social factors need consideration to maintain a work/life balance. A venture that relies on personal and business relationships may not be viable if the partners cannot work together, no matter if the venture is performing well.