bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Distribution network design: a literature review and a research agenda
Authors: Mangiaracina Riccardo , Song Guang , Perego Alessandro 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it classifies research on distribution network design (DND) according to the methodologies adopted and themes tackled. Second, it discusses the main implications for practitioners. Finally, it proposes a few promising directions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach
– The review is based on 126 papers published from 1972 to 2013 in international peer-reviewed journals in the Business, Management and Economics field. The academic papers have been analyzed and classified based on the main research methods used and the themes tackled.

Findings
– It was found that most of the earlier research adopted quantitative models to deal with different decisions on DND, whereas the number of conceptual papers, proposing frameworks and classifications, is still limited. In all, 42 factors that affect DND have been identified and classified into five groups, and the relationships between factor groups and strategic decisions have been investigated. This study revealed that some important areas have not received much attention in the literature and, therefore, three potential directions for further research have been identified.

Research limitations/implications
– Due to the extremely large number of papers on DND, it is possible that a few papers may have inadvertently been missed. Despite the possibility of not being all-inclusive, the authors firmly believe that the general picture presented in this paper is precise and trustworthy.

Originality/value
– This review offers valuable insights for practitioners: a clear understanding of the main decisions related to DND; a comprehensive analysis of the main factors that affect the distribution network structure; a clear understanding of the relationships between factor groups and key decisions; and a guide to the models that can be used to support the different phases of DND.
Logistics service providers and corporate social responsibility: sustainability reporting in the logistics industry
Authors: Piecyk Maja Izabela , Björklund Maria 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to present a content analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports published by logistics service providers (LSPs), and to analyse factors influencing the level and scope of reporting. In order to address this objective, the authors show to what extent various social and environmental categories are covered in the CSR reports. The authors also investigate whether any differences in the use of CSR indicators can be found with regard to the use of a formal reporting framework, the size of a company, location of its headquarter, and ownership structure.Design/methodology/approach– The study begins with a comprehensive literature review on the CSR policies and practices in relation to the field of logistics. A database of 350 international LSPs is compiled based on independent rankings of top logistics companies. Applying a content analysis approach, corporate web sites and CSR reports are examined in order to investigate how sustainability is reported and what CSR-related indicators are published. Statistical analysis is carried out to provide insight into whether any differences in the use of CSR indicators can be found with regard to four key factors identified in the literature review.Findings– Although aspects of sustainability are mentioned on corporate web sites of most LSPs in the database (53 per cent), only 13 per cent publish formal CSR reports. This research identifies a variety of indicators used by LSPs and shows that the use of a formal reporting framework and the size of a company are the two main factors influencing the levels of CSR reporting in the sector.Practical implications– This paper provides an insight into how transparently LSPs report on the sustainability of their performance. LSPs can compare their own CSR reporting approaches to the body of scientific literature and the findings presented in this paper, in order to adapt more general concepts and best practice evidence to their needs.Social implications– By focusing on best practice in reporting of the environmental and social performance, this research can potentially improve the long-term sustainability of the logistics sector.Originality/value– This is the first study providing a comprehensive review of the CSR reporting practice in the third party logistics sector. As such, this paper provides an important basis for CSR-related research in the field of logistics and supply chain management. Several areas for future research are also identified.
Improving access to health services – challenges in Lean application
Authors: Cheng Siu Yee , Bamford David , Papalexi Marina , Dehe Benjamin 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– Healthcare organisations face significant productivity pressures and are undergoing major service transformation. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate findings from a Lean healthcare project using a National Health Service Single Point of Access environment as the case study. It demonstrates the relevance and extent that Lean can be applied to this type of healthcare service setting.Design/methodology/approach– Action research was applied and Lean tools used to establish current state processes, identify wastes and develop service improvement opportunities based upon defined customer values.Findings– The quality of referral information was found to be the root cause of a number of process wastes and causes of failure for the service. Recognising the relationship and the nature of interaction with the service’s customer/supplier lead to more effective and sustainable service improvement opportunities and the co-creation of value. It was also recognised that not all the Lean principles could be applied to this type of healthcare setting.Practical implications– The study is useful to organisations using Lean to undertake service improvement activities. The paper outlines how extending the value stream beyond the organisation to include suppliers can lead to improved co-production and generation of service value.Originality/value– The study contributes to service productivity research by demonstrating the relevance and limitations of Lean application in a new healthcare service setting. The case study demonstrates the practical challenges of implementing Lean in reciprocal service design models and adds validity to existing contextual models.
Hybrid controls and accountabilities in public sector management
Authors: Nyland Kari , Pettersen Inger Johanne 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to discuss why public sector reforms hybridize during implementation processes, consequences on accountability relations and practitioners’ and policymakers’ reactions to these changes.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper considers experiences from three initiatives related to the governance reform in the Norwegian hospital sector. Data were collected via interviews and document studies, and all three cases were longitudinal studies.

Findings
– Unexpected consequences of reform initiatives and contextual changes are causing controls to hybridize and having profound effects on accountability relations. However, the gradually alignment of controls in a dynamic pattern of hybridization enables the balancing of conflicts in the chain of accountabilities. Hybrid controls are observed to emerge as stronger than the initial ideal control models. The longitudinal studies of control hybridization illuminate the sector’s survival in the long run, as they allow for adaptation to changes in contexts.

Practical implications
– This work augments leaders’ understanding of how governmental strategies may follow diverse paths and yield results that diverge from intentions. Narrow accountability bases inhibit the government from implementing political decisions through agencies. Conversely, agents must relate to direct control from authorities. The predictability of agents’ decision space is reduced, and the control process becomes more ambiguous.

Originality/value
– Through connecting what happens in agencies with accountabilities in the political level, it is possible to study the flexible nature of accountability relations and why controls hybridize. The paper underlines the need for longitudinal studies to describe complex patterns of reform initiatives.
Performance improvement, culture, and regimes
Authors: Charbonneau Étienne , Bromberg Daniel E. , Henderson Alexander C. 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to better understand the performance improvement outcomes that result from the interaction of a performance regime and its context over more than a decade.

Design/methodology/approach
– A series of partial free disposable hull analyses are performed to graph variations in performance for 13 services in 444 municipalities in one province for over a decade.

Findings
– There are few examples of mass service improvements over time. This holds even for relative bottom performers, as they do not catch up to average municipalities over time. However, there is also little proof of service deterioration during the same period.

Research limitations/implications
– A limitation results from the high churning rate of the indicators. The relevance of refining indicators based on feedback from practitioners should not be dismissed, even if it makes the task of proving performance improvement more difficult. It is possible that the overall quality of services on the ground improved, or stayed stable despite diminishing costs, without stable indicators to capture that reality.

Practical implications
– Not all arrangements incentives and structures of – performance regimes – are equally fruitful for one level of government to steer a multitude of other governments on the generalized path to improved performance.

Social implications
– With the insight that was not available to public managers putting together these performance regimes in the beginning of the 2000s, the authors offer a proposition: mass performance improvement is not to be expected out of intelligence regime. It neither levels nor improves performance for all (Knutsson et al., 2012). Though there are benefits to such a regime, a general rise in performance across all participants is not one of them.

Originality/value
– Performance improvements are assessed under difficult, yet common characteristics in the public sector: budgetary realities where there are trade-offs between many services, locally set priorities, no clear definition of what constitutes a good level of performance, and changes in the indicators over time.
Are post-Soviet republics ready for the new public management? The case of educational modernization in Kazakhstan
Authors: Monobayeva Agipa , Howard Cosmo 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– Since the collapse of the USSR, former Soviet republics have embarked on public service modernization, in most instances drawing on internationally dominant new public management (NPM) principles. Are post-Soviet republics ready for these administrative prescriptions? The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– This paper discusses Kazakhstan’s experience with the implementation of NPM through a qualitative case study of the country’s adoption of the European Bologna higher education reforms.Findings– While implementation of the NPM-inspired Bologna program has produced significant achievements, there are also gaps and shortcomings. These are due to a remnant Soviet administrative practices including strong control by educational ministries, as well as incompatible organizational cultures and a tendency toward superficial formalism in the implementation process.Research limitations/implications– NPM tends to be introduced in a top-down fashion as a taken-for-granted component of state transformation, without sufficient attention to the capacities, cultures and systems required for effective and accountable performance-driven administrative reform.Originality/value– Kazakhstan’s experience provides crucial insights into the governance structures, professional cultures and managerial capacities required for successful implementation of NPM in post-Soviet states.
Nordic local government: a success story, but will it last?
Authors: Haveri Arto 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The Nordic narrative on local government highlights municipalities’ role in social consumption, a model, which is often considered a success story. The purpose of this paper is to apply Gerry Stoker’s (2011) theory on local government roles in society to critically analyse the sustainability of the Nordic model.Design/methodology/approach– Drawing on literature review, documents and statistics of Nordic public authorities’, the author formulates exploratory theoretical propositions on the sustainability of the Nordic model of local government.Findings– The emphasis placed on welfare task has made Nordic local government overloaded and vulnerable to central government intervention and reforms, resulting in a cumulative process towards an ever narrowing conception of local government.Research limitations/implications– The research results are exploratory. Comparative empirical research is needed to verify the idea.Social implications– The legitimacy of Nordic local government may be challenged because of municipalities’ weakening possibilities to discharge their welfare role in a manner that would satisfy citizens’ growing needs.Originality/value– The paper is a critical analyses of the sustainability of local government system in Nordic countries. It discusses the possible negative consequences of the overemphasis of the welfare role of local government.
Intertwined
Authors: Avis Mark , Aitken Robert 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is an examination of the role of brand personification in the development of the concepts of brand personality and brand relationships.Design/methodology/approach– The paper is a critical evaluation of literature from the 1950s and onwards, examining the evolution and development of brand personality and brand relationship theory and the role of brand personification.Findings– The major finding is that brand personification was developed as a research “gimmick” and that this “gimmick” provided the foundations for the development of the brand personality and brand relationship concepts. Further, the paper traces the evolution of the brand personality concept and identifies the ways in which it has been adapted from its original meaning.Originality/value– The paper contributes to the branding literature by providing a critical evaluation of the history of marketing concepts and by providing insights into the role that motivation research played in the development of modern brand theory.
Managerial training and development in telecommunication organizations in Palestine
Authors: Sabella Anton Robert , Analoui Farhad 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and extent of management development and training in Palestinian telecommunication organizations using a basic trichotomous (three-stage) model: needs assessment, training development, and evaluation.

Design/methodology/approach
– A survey questionnaires supported by semi-structured interviews was conducted to capture and corroborate the issues raised by middle and senior managers. Subsequently, the valid data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and was tabulated for the purpose of interpretation and comparison with the findings available from literature.

Findings
– Despite the systematic approach to training and development, the findings revealed inadequacy deriving from heavy emphasis on conventional methods throughout the three stages particularly the formal in-house training; the current system does not offer a holistic approach to meet the challenging needs for management development.

Research limitations/implications
– The study adopts an exploratory in depth empirical investigation in Palestinian telecommunication organizations, it provides insight into management training and development in the private sector in Palestine. It has profound theoretical and practical implications for the increased effectiveness of management in the region and beyond.

Practical implications
– The use of trichotomous approach explores the entire process, rather than implementation alone, thus the findings will have practical implications for the researcher and practitioners to design, implement, and systematically appraise the effectiveness of training development initiatives.

Originality/value
– This paper offers both professionals and academics a fresh perspective on training and development in Palestinian telecommunication organizations; it highlights the importance of such activity, and stresses on the need for the design of programmes that can adequately incorporate the individual and corporate needs for development.
Time-based competence and performance: an empirical analysis
Authors: Al Serhan Yahya N. , Julian Craig C. , Ahmed Zafar 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between time-based manufacturing competence (TBMC), time-based competitiveness, time-based manufacturing capability, and the performance of SMEs engaged in the steel minimill industry in the USA.Design/methodology/approach– This study was based on an empirical investigation of manufacturing firms in the steel minimill industry in the USA. The sample of firms was provided by the US Association of Iron and Steel Engineers. In order to obtain valid and reliable measures of the variables, previously validated scales were used to measure all variables. The primary data for the study were collected from a self-administered mail survey of 137 SMEs with the sample consisting of 71 SMEs indicating a response rate of 52 percent.Findings– Statistically significant positive relationships were found between all independent variables and performance. The results also indicate that the high performers have a higher TBMC than the low performers. The findings further confirm the assertion in the manufacturing strategy literature which states that time, as a strategic factor, is a source of competitive advantage.Research limitations/implications– From a methodological perspective, a potential concern may be that the measures are all self-reported. Consequently, the relationships tested may be susceptible to the influence of common method variance.Practical implications– TBMC enables SMEs to offer high-quality products at low cost and in a timely manner. This reflects the value of the positive relationship between TBMC and business performance.Originality/value– This study’s finding identifies the need for time-based competition. The literature suggests that the strategic focus on time enables firms to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage. Nevertheless, this suggestion has been based on conceptual rather than empirical research. The results of this study provide empirical support for that suggestion with respect to SMEs.
What motivates small businesses for collective action in smart living industry?
Authors: Nikayin Fatemeh , De Reuver Mark 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to study what motivates small businesses to engage in collective action, especially in high-tech industry.Design/methodology/approach– Application domain is smart living industry, in which installation companies offer ICT-enabled solutions for smart home services. A survey was conducted among 140 small/medium installation companies in smart living industry which are members of a major Dutch branch organization. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to model and analyse data from the survey.Findings– The paper found that different types of motivations do not significantly increase the collective orientation of small businesses. Moreover, the current involvement of small companies in smart living projects is not directly related to their collective orientation.Research limitations/implications– The lack of collaboration is resulting in market fragmentation and lack of technological interoperability. The paper advise policy makers to provide selective incentives to stimulate collaboration and to facilitate knowledge sharing on best practices and collective business cases.Originality/value– The motivational factors for collective action between small businesses in high-tech sectors have rarely been studied. Although many studies addresses collective action issues on an individual level, the literature lacks an integration of existing theories into a set of testable hypotheses that aim at motivators and inhibitors of inter-organizational collective action.
The adoption of renewable energy (RE) enterprises in the UK
Authors: Mbzibain Aurelian , Tate Graham , Shaukat Ali 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine how national institutional structures affect farmers’ intentions to invest in renewable energy enterprises in the UK agricultural sector.Design/methodology/approach– The authors draw on the construct of national institutional profile to identify the regulatory, cognitive and normative institutions affecting entrepreneurial intentions. A postal questionnaire survey of 2,000 farmers was carried out in the West Midlands Region of the UK and 393 usable responses were obtained. Principal component analysis and multivariate data analysis techniques are employed.Findings– Cognitive institutions were positively related to intentions. Contrary to expectations, the regulatory institutions were not associated with entrepreneurial intentions. Normative institutions were significantly related to intentions and interestingly, moderated the efficacy of regulatory institutions on entrepreneurial intentions.Practical implications– Cognitive and normative institutions may play a far more important role in determining farm entrepreneurship in the renewable energy sector than has been previously considered. Given that much of policy research is often biased towards regulatory institutions, this research shows that the construct of institutional profile offers a useful framework to investigate the effect of national level institutions on entrepreneurship.Originality/value– This study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship in the UK farm sector. It is the first study that demonstrates the role of the country’s institutional profile on farmers’ intentions to invest in RE. The existence of moderation effects between national institutions suggests that research focusing on single dimensions is likely to provide biased results.