bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Productivity improvement in solid waste recycling centres through lean implementation aided by multi-criteria decision analysis
Authors: Tortorella Guilherme , Silva Glauco , Campos Lucila M.S. , Pizzeta Cassiano , Latosinski Amanda , Soares Alessandro 
Published: May 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate, through a comparative analysis, the applicability of lean manufacturing practices, such as value stream mapping (VSM), for productivity improvement in recycling centres (RCs) aided by multi-criteria decision analysis.

Design/methodology/approach
The study is carried out in five RCs that sort the municipal solid waste of Porto Alegre, one of the main cities in Brazil. Since all of the centres present their labour composed by poor communities’ members, cultural and social characteristics may represent an incremental challenge for lean implementation. Further, these centres are organised in cooperatives, in which decisions are taken through a participatory way and all their members are entitled to vote, undermining and retarding the decision-making process.

Findings
The integration of a multi-criteria decision-making tool to the lean practices enables the prioritisation of improvements, complementing the final stage of VSM. In particular, this contribution becomes especially important in cooperatives managed by community, where decisions are often complex and time-consuming. Finally, despite the increasing pressure for better performance of RCs, the existent mindset is still far from the private sector, where lean practices were conceived. Further, the findings suggest that, despite processes similarities, it is not feasible to declare the existence of a one-best practice to such scenario.

Originality/value
In theoretical terms, the authors demonstrate through a multi-case study the adequacy of analytic hierarchy process as a decision analysis tool complementary to the VSM, enabling a broader perspective about this subject. Concerning the practical contribution, the comprehension of the adaptation needs for lean practices implementation within the production context of solid waste RCs provides a framework with guidelines for this sector, when incorporating lean activities. Lean practitioners and eventual municipal authorities involved in improving productivity of community-managed RCs might benefit from this framework, since they will be able to emphasise the development of recommended and already tested lean practices that tend to improve their operational performance.
Technological change, information processing and supply chain integration
Authors: Bartnik Roman , Park Youngwon 
Published: May 2018

PurposeTechnologies change quickly in the automotive industry. This can provide opportunities to firms from emerging economies who try to enter the world stage of automotive production, provided they can react to this more nimbly than established competitors. How technological change affects the supply chain coordination of incumbents from developed economies and new entrants from emerging economies should strongly determine the speed of competitive reaction. By using the example of automotive transmission development, the purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual model for the analysis and offer research propositions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors build a conceptual model based on information processing theory and offer research propositions based on case study evidence of four automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and five suppliers.FindingsThe authors find symptoms of two larger trends: increasing specialization and technological linkages and a need to increase external supply chain integration beyond traditional structures. Comparing the effects on Japanese and German incumbents, the authors find that increasing external supply chain linkages proves to be harder for Japanese OEMs. Tight links and routines in the Japanese supply chain networks may harm OEM efficiency under the new technological conditions, e.g. the lack of complete part specifications and high demands for customization. Looking at effects on emerging market firms, Chinese OEMs use quasi-open modular production settings in transmission development and lean strongly on inputs from specialized foreign tier-one suppliers. Speed advantages must be weighed against long-term disadvantages of dependence and insufficient R&D investments.Research limitations/implicationsThe study explores how technological change affects inter-firm development processes. The authors propose a framework and hypotheses based on information processing theory and link the findings to the discussion on the impact of national institutional context on supply chain coordination.Practical implicationsOEMs wanting to adapt complex existing internal structures to the changing demands for information processing should focus first on improving internal capacities by improving the amount and richness of information flow. Implementing new standards for simultaneous and standardized software development across the supply chain is a key point for this. A second step should be to boost the internal capacity to process higher richness of information, i.e. to understand the meta-knowledge necessary to integrate across technological areas in the development of electronic control units (ECUs).Originality/valueThe authors draw on original interview data in developed and emerging markets and information processing theory to explore the complexity of inter-firm coordination in automotive supply chains.
Modelling cause and effect relationship among enablers of innovation in SMEs
Authors: Gupta Himanshu , Barua Mukesh Kumar 
Published: May 2018

PurposeInnovation is a prerequisite for economic and technological growth of any organization. Identifying enablers of innovation can help managers accelerate the process of economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to identify the prominent enablers of innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that can help overhauling organizations and benefit them economically.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive literature review and expert’s opinions have been applied to identify enablers of innovation. A case of automotive component supplier is considered for conducting the research. A coalescence of Grey and DEMATEL methodologies has been incorporated to first rank the enablers of innovation based on their importance and then identify the causal relationship among these enablers by characterizing enablers into causal and effect groups.FindingsA few important enablers, namely, entrepreneur traits, knowledge management, resources for innovation, and linkage capabilities, have been identified as prominent enablers for successful innovation in SMEs.Practical implicationsThis paper identifies enablers of innovation in SMEs and the causal relationship between these enablers. The identified enablers and the causal relationship between these enablers will help managers of small organizations in selecting the enablers that need to be focused on, which, in turn, can drive other enablers of innovation, thus saving time and resources of the organizations.Originality/valueThis paper uses a novel Grey–DEMATEL methodology to identify the causal relationship among enablers and also contributes to the literature on innovation by identifying enablers of innovation in SMEs.
A critical discourse on tacit knowledge management and the performative agenda
Authors: Garrick John 
Published: May 2018

Purpose
This paper examines the relationship between the tacit knowledge held by learning and development professionals and performance measurement regimes of post-modern organisations.

Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on Polanyi’s (1958; 1968) influential ideas about tacit knowledge and Lyotard’s (1984) theory of performativity with regard to criteria such as profit-performance, it assesses the applicability and relevance of tacit, working knowledge in the internet age to the daily working lives of industry training and development personnel. A central question for the study is whether such professionals can still tap into and use their tacit know-how without having it reduced by contemporary performance-oriented regimes of “knowledge”.

Findings
It is argued that there is a powerful interaction between tacit knowledge and narratively produced performance regimes – which are now supported by digital-age technologies including developments in artificial intelligence (AI). It has also been argued that fostering organisational environments that encourage open communication and allow a role for critique remains vital.

Research limitations/implications
With systems of knowledge production including AI at the point of potentially overriding human decision-making processes, more research is required into possible implications of uploading workers’ tacit, working knowledge in different contexts and ways to foster open communication and critique in organisations.

Originality/value
The overt linking of classic theories – Polanyi and Lyotard – and applying these to contemporary (digital-age) training and development contexts is original.
Industrial relations in Spain – strong conflicts, weak actors and fragmented institutions
Authors: Köhler Holm-Detlev 
Published: May 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the development of industrial relations (IR) in Spain since the democratic transition and analyses the current dilemmas of its social and political actors in the context of the long-lasting economic downturn.

Design/methodology/approach
Combining a political economy, identifying Spain as a particular variety of modern capitalism, and actor-centred historical institutionalism approach, outlining the formation and strategies of the main social actors, the paper draws on the broad range of research on IR in Spain and its theoretical debates, including proper research in the field.

Findings
The legacies of the latecomer industrialisation and the semi-peripheral development model still shape the Spanish economy and IR. The impact of the current economic and political-institutional crisis affects the entire institutional IR system and its actors shifting power towards the individual employer thus weakening trade unions, labour rights and collective bargaining. Regarding the theoretical debate on corporatism, the Spanish case provides ambiguous results. The lack of a coherent institutional system and efficient political administration limits the effectiveness of corporatist arrangements and reduces them to contingent concertation strategies. Spain confirms that IR still largely depend on the specific national variety of capitalism that condition economic development and resources for political exchange.

Originality/value
The paper presents an original, theoretical-informed reconstruction of the Spanish IR and allows an understanding of the current institutional transformations and strategic dilemmas in the light of historical legacies. Additionally, the theoretical debates on neo-corporatism and semi-peripheral development are enriched through its application to the Spanish case.
Impact of the EIT in the creation of an open educational ecosystem: UPM experience
Authors: León Gonzalo , Leceta José Manuel , Tejero Alberto 
Published: May 2018

PurposeThis paper aims to present an impact analysis in the educational dimension of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and specifically on its “knowledge and innovation community” (KIC), focused on the information and communications technology sector named “EIT Digital” in the university field.Design/methodology/approachAfter reviewing the current situation on education in ICT-related engineering and the need to address new professional profiles and/or complement the current ones to increase the value of the new professionals in a globalised society, the principles behind the EIT model are analysed, taking the experience accumulated in EIT Digital as a basis for discussion at master level.FindingsThe conceptual framework on “what” and “how” of the EIT described from the educational perspective constituted sound bases for ensuring the value of the EIT KICs as drivers for institutional innovation and structural reform. As the practical experience of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) shows, the policy experimentation space provided by EIT Digital has acted as an internal transformation driver for European universities. It has played a key role to accelerate structural reforms once partner universities assumed the need of modifying or reinterpreting “any internal regulation to participate better in the EIT”.Originality/valueThis analysis is used as a basis for the design of an institutional agenda of education transformation in the rest of the UPM where the innovation and entrepreneurship vision is inserted into the technical education to give future professionals the tools and capacities to serve as catalyser agents of the innovation system.
Recognizing the practitioner-self: lessons from studying rock bands at-home
Authors: Malm Tobias 
Published: May 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss some of the possibilities and risks that one can encounter in the process of doing ethnographic organization research with an at-home approach.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on self-reflexive analyses of a four-year research process, where the author – a rock musician – investigated how rock bands within the author’s social networks organize their activities. The materials used for analysis were notes and diaries, as well as reflections on memories.FindingsThe findings illustrate aspects of the researcher’s “breaking out” process, which involved the researcher’s initial impulse to leave his practitioner-self, a subsequent lack of interest and eventually a return to what felt genuinely intriguing for him to study. The paper argues that one important aspect of the at-home researcher’s breaking out process may involve an active recognition of his/her practitioner-self as a resource – not least to avoid losing interest or getting lost in abstractions.Originality/valueThis paper conceptualizes and builds further upon previous discussions on at-home research, adding insights into the “breaking out” process and the curious paradox of the proposed necessity for the researcher to leave and utilize his/her at-home experience and familiarity.
Critical thoughts on advanced manufacturing: the experiences of Germany and USA
Authors: Daudt Gabriel , Willcox Luiz Daniel 
Published: May 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the conventional approach to advanced manufacturing initiatives. Buzzwords like smart manufacturing or industrie 4.0 are directly linked to the discussions about the future of industrial activity. Little is said, however, about developed countries actively reinforcing their bets on the relevance of manufacturing.Design/methodology/approachThis study opted for analyzing academic papers and governmental white papers. Somehow similar to those studies on compared experiences, here the US and German initiatives are put into perspective.FindingsThe critical interpretation of several works allows us to state that advanced manufacturing experiences consist in a set of policies aiming at industrial and technological leadership in a scenario of fierce competition. The initiatives seek to strengthen manufacturing activities by means of a mission-oriented approach, fostering enabling key technologies.Originality/valueThis paper fulfills an identified need to critically study the advanced manufacturing initiatives. Away from conventional approaches, the paper puts into perspectives the main ongoing initiatives on advanced manufacturing and interprets them as deliberated national efforts to strengthen manufacturing activities by means of enabling technologies. The paper also points out preliminary recommendations for Brazil.
Critical factors affecting leadership: a higher education context
Authors: Hassan Ahlam , Gallear David , Sivarajah Uthayasankar 
Published: May 2018

PurposeWhile the importance of leadership in various domains has been highlighted in the extant literature, effective leadership in the context of higher education sector has not been well addressed in the leadership scholarship. There is a need to address the challenge of leadership effectiveness in the education sector, including business schools, given the failures noticed in the sector attributed to poor-quality leadership. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the factors that affected leadership in the context of higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approachThe research is exploratory in nature as the study critically reviewed extant literature surrounding leadership practices specifically from a public-sector context to identify factors affecting leadership effectiveness.FindingsThe findings of the study pointed out that, regardless of the nation or organisation, leadership effectiveness is a factor that is dependent on how well the followers have accepted the leader. This indicates that, amongst the different challenges explored in this study, leadership effectiveness is not only a challenge by itself but is also affected by other challenges, including leadership practice and style.Research limitations/implicationsThis research provides a better understanding of the critical factors affecting leadership practice of deans of business schools and how the styles’ influence on leadership practice, the relationship between leadership practice and leadership effectiveness and how leadership style translates into leadership effectiveness.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the growing body of knowledge surrounding leadership scholarship from a public-sector context about the challenges that affect leadership effectiveness in the context of HEIs and stimulates further investigation into those challenges.
Plant nitrogen and phosphorus utilization under invasive pressure in a montane ecosystem of tropical China
Authors: Hu Chao‐Chen , Lei Yan‐Bao , Tan Yun‐Hong , Sun Xin‐Chao , Xu Hao , Liu Cong‐Qiang , Liu Xue‐Yan 
Published: May 2018

Abstract

Exotic plant invasion has been changing the vegetation composition and function of terrestrial ecosystems. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are often the limiting nutrients for terrestrial plants. However, under invasive pressure, in situ plant N and P usage mechanisms remain poorly understood but are pivotal for a better understanding of plant invasion and coexistence in invaded ecosystems.

Nitrogen and P concentrations, natural 15N abundance (δ15N values) were investigated in leaves and soils under different invasive pressures (here expressed as the biomass percentages of invasive plants in each plot) for two invasive species (Chromolaena odorata and Ageratina adenophora) in Xishuangbanna in tropical China.

Soil N and P concentrations revealed the relatively N‐rich but P‐poor status of our study site. Under invasion, soil inorganic N (dominated by ammonium) and available P did not increase significantly. The leaf N and P of invasive plants increased, while leaf N increased but P decreased for native species. Natural δ15N mass balance between leaves and soil inorganic N sources revealed that ammonium dominated N utilization in both natives and invaders. Invasive plants showed ammonium utilization with increasing leaf N levels, while native plants under no invasion showed nitrate utilization with increasing leaf N levels.

Synthesis. Increased soil ammonium availability contributed to preferential ammonium utilization by invasive plants and elevated ammonium utilization in natives, but the P competition of natives decreased in invaded ecosystems. These novel insights into nutrient dynamics in invaded ecosystems enhance our understanding of plant invasion and coexistence mechanisms.
n‐Ethyl Pentylone‐Related Deaths in Alabama
Authors: Atherton Daniel , Dye Daniel , Robinson C. Andrew , Beck Rachel 
Published: May 2018

Abstractn‐Ethyl pentylone (NEP) is a chemical substance derived from cathinone. Synthetic cathinones are an evolving group of drugs with stimulating, mind‐altering effects sometimes referred to as novel or new psychoactive substances (NPS). There is scarce information in the medical literature regarding forensic cases in which NEP is detected in toxicological testing. We present four fatalities involving NEP from Alabama in 2017. Deaths were attributed to NEP toxicity in two cases (peripheral blood concentrations of 0.121 and 0.953 mg/L) and injuries caused by gunshot wounds in two cases (peripheral blood concentrations of 0.045 and 0.031 mg/L). One case involving NEP described an individual who exhibited classic CNS‐stimulant induced erratic behavior before being found dead. These cases enhance the forensic literature regarding specific NPS like NEP and provide contextual reference for professionals considering the significance of NEP in toxicological interpretation.
Lysyl oxidase: A colorectal cancer biomarker of lung and hepatic metastasis
Authors: Liu Yun , Wang Guanghui , Liang Zhonglin , Mei Zubing , Wu Tingyu , Cui Ang , Liu Chenying , Cui Long 
Published: May 2018

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and lethal disease in which distant metastasis remains the primary cause of death. Paradoxical roles of LOX have been reported in CRC, and the intracellular function of LOX has also recently been determined. Correlations of LOX expression and its intracellular localization with clinicopathological features in CRC patients remain largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to explore the potential roles of LOX in CRC.MethodsLOX messenger RNA expression was assayed by quantitative PCR in eight paired normal mucosa and tumor tissues. Immunohistochemistry was conducted using tissue arrays to investigate LOX expression in 201 CRC patients. Regulation of LOX by YAP and TEAD4 was explored by YAP or TEAD4 short hairpin RNA interference in a LoVo cell line.ResultsLOX messenger RNA expression was elevated in some CRC specimens, and LOX nuclear localization was detected in CRC tumor tissues. LOX nuclear localization was found to correlate with lung/hepatic metastasis, elevated serum carcinoembryonic antigen concentration, and mucinous tumor type (P < 0.05). Nuclear LOX expression was found to be associated with poor overall and disease‐free survival (P < 0.05), and postoperative lung/hepatic metastasis (P < 0.05). Knockdown of YAP or TEAD4 induced downregulation of LOX expression.ConclusionsLOX nuclear localization was significantly associated with poor survival in patients with CRC. Nuclear LOX expression was correlated with synchronous or postoperative lung/hepatic metastasis. LOX may prove to be a potential target gene of YAP and TEAD4.