Shared service center research: A review of the past,present, and future

More than 75% of Fortune 500 companies have established models of shared services with the aim of gaining superior performance by cost savings and service enhancements. Despite scholars' complaints about scant shared service center (SSC) research, this study shows that the actual shortcoming in this stream concerns a high fragmentation of the academic literature (e.g., we found 137 works in the initial search and 83 works in a refined screen). In this first comprehensive literature review, we synthesize peer-reviewed articles and classify them into 4 perspectives according to their research questions (i.e., determinant, process, control, and outcome). We identify 17 major research areas across these perspectives. Additionally, we provide information on methodologies and theories. On the basis of the literature synthesis, we discuss opportunities and gaps and propose an agenda for future research. Specifically, we suggest 3 potential research directions (i.e., direct relationships, mediating, and outcome effects) regarding SSCs during their operational maturity phase.     

Interactive profit-planning systems and market turbulence: A dynamic capabilities perspective

This article describes, theorizes and empirically investigates the concept of interactive profit-planning systems (PPS) through the lens of the dynamic capabilities logic. With this conceptualization: interactive PPS capabilities comprise budgeting, forecasting and results-reporting routines, in which top and middle managers interact to create knowledge for sensing, seizing, and business model reconfiguring (to manage strategic business change). Survey data from 331 Australian firms is analyzed employing partial least squares structural equation modeling. The data provides support for two hypotheses: (1) greater market turbulence strengthens the positive effect of interactive PPS capabilities on business unit performance; and (2) greater market turbulence strengthens the positive effect of flexibility values (of organizational culture) on interactive PPS capabilities. Our findings show that interactive PPS capabilities function according to the salient tenets of the dynamic capabilities logic, and clarify the beneficial roles of formal cybernetic control systems and the intertwined involvement of top and middle managers in using dynamic capabilities.     

我国商业银行客户忠诚度研究

随着银行业竞争的日益激烈,提高客户忠诚度已经成为决定银行盈利能力的关键。本文通过分析影响我国银行客户忠诚度的因素,建立了客户忠诚度及其影响因素之间的结构方程模型,并采用PLS方法对模型的参数进行估计。在此基础上,基于某商业银行的实际调查数据给出了一个算例,对计算的结果进行了分析,并提出了相应的对策建议。     

The roles of vertical and shared leadership in the enactment of executive corruption: Implications for research and practice

Recent scandals involving executive leadership have vaulted the topic of executive corruption to a central concern in the organizational literature. History suggests that power can corrupt and that absolute power can be an especially toxic influence. In this paper we propose that the propensity for corruption (as measured by CEO responsibility disposition) of leaders and the degree to which leadership is shared are key factors in understanding the potential for executive corruption. More specifically, shared leadership is proposed as a moderator that can deter corruptive tendencies by providing checks and balances capable of reducing the potential for corrupt behavior. A conceptual model is offered along with propositions to help guide future research and practice.     

Engineering network operations for international manufacturing: strategic orientations,influencing factors and improvement paths

Abstract

Engineering operations contribute to international manufacturing networks (IMN) capabilities and thus improving their performance in an international context. The literature has recognized engineering networks (EN) with different strategic orientations (e.g. efficiency, innovation and flexibility); explored IMN capabilities in four key areas (i.e. accessibility, thriftiness ability, manufacturing mobility and learning ability); but provided diverse views on their possible connections. Especially, the received wisdom offers less guidance on how EN may enhance IMN capabilities. At the same time, the challenges of making effective decisions at the EN-IMN interface are compounded by a large number of influencing factors that are interrelated in a very complex manner. To cope with these challenges, the article reveals four ways that EN may contribute to IMN capabilities, identifies 15?key influencing factors and suggests optimal paths to enhance IMN capabilities based on the interpretive structure model (ISM) method.     

The quality of service: An overall performance assessment for water utilities

Over the last decades, the delivery of water supply services has changed among regions and actors, in order to meet the changing needs. Those services can be balanced based on the relation between the obligations they must fulfill, the quality offered, and the associated price/value for money. Furthermore, due to the water services inherent characteristics, they are prone to poor quality of service (in general terms). Thus, global performance assessments are of paramount relevance under those constraints. In Portugal, the water regulator has developed a system of performance indicators (partial measures of performance) and, therefore, it is not possible to achieve the desired holistic performance evaluation (global measure). To enable such assessment, we propose an application based on the ELECTRE TRI-nC method to define quality of service categories and aggregate performance indicators. To obtain a coherent family of criteria (i.e., exhaustive, cohesive, and non-redundant) we apply an iso-preference logic. The results obtained are presented through a geographical information system allowing for a clearer visualization of the overall performance of water utilities. The method proposed can be considered a suitable decision support system and useful regulatory tool able to provide policy relevant outputs.     

Enterprise systems and performance of future city logistics

Abstract

Future cities are driven by the developments in Information and Communication Technology to support the triple bottom line requirements of sustainability. Logistics will play a critical role in future cities due to the increasingly micro-dynamic nature of socio-economics of these cities and globalised production and consumption patterns. Enterprise systems (ES), the founding applications to automate and integrate different business processes, will be the key enablers for providing the necessary support required by the future city logistics. However, the implementation of ES and realisation of proposed benefits within the estimated time frame is challenging due to the huge resource requirements in terms of manpower, budget and time. This study takes the antecedent (critical success factors) approach for the implementation process to establish a success predictive model for the realisation of ES benefits. The partial least square regression has been used to test the model. Moreover, this study explores the impact of ES benefits on the logistics performance indicators to explore the synergies between them. This is fundamentally important because future city logistics will rely heavily on appropriately designed and implemented (enterprise) information systems.     

Antecedents of Innovativeness in Technology‐Based Services (TBS): Peering into the Black Box of Entrepreneurial Orientation

Innovativeness is the organization's capability for developing and introducing innovations. We argue that new combinations and recombinations of prior and new knowledge (by way of creating, assembling, and transforming knowledge) result in innovativeness in an organization. We further assert that a knowledge‐based focus on innovativeness is particularly important for firms that are technology‐based. The majority of studies focusing on innovativeness are in the entrepreneurship arena, and a large number of studies consider innovativeness as one of three dimensions of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) construct, the other two dimensions being proactiveness and risk‐taking. However, recent research has suggested peering into the black box of EO by disaggregating the EO construct and examining the interrelationships among its three components. Hence, using the knowledge‐based view and drawing from multiple disciplines, our study conceptualizes innovativeness as a criterion variable and investigates the antecedent role of proactiveness and risk‐taking propensity on innovativeness in the context of technology‐based services (TBS). We hypothesize that both proactiveness and risk‐taking propensity exhibit a curvilinear relationship with innovativeness and introduce organizational structure formality as a moderator to further explicate these relationships. Our results show that proactiveness has a curvilinear (inverted U relationship) with innovativeness, and that this relationship is attenuated by organizational structure formality. Additional analysis indicates that in TBS firms, risk‐taking propensity has a positive linear relationship with innovativeness, and this relationship is accentuated by organizational structure formality. Finally, we discuss important conceptual and practical implications of our study and provide suggestions for future research.     

Critical success factors of green supply chain management for achieving sustainability in Indian automobile industry

The aim of this study was to identify and analyse the key success factors behind successful achievement of environment sustainability in Indian automobile industry supply chains. Here, critical success factors (CSFs) and performance measures of green supply chain management (GSCM) have been identified through extensive literature review and discussions with experts from Indian automobile industry. Based on the literature review, a questionnaire was designed and 123 final responses were considered. Six CSFs to implement GSCM for achieving sustainability and four expected performance measures of GSCM practices implementation were extracted using factor analysis. interpretive ranking process (IRP) modelling approach is employed to examine the contextual relationships among CSFs and to rank them with respect to performance measures. The developed IRP model shows that the CSF ‘Competitiveness’ is the most important CSF for achieving sustainability in Indian automobile industry through GSCM practices. This study is one of the few that have considered the environmental sustainability practices in the automobile industry in India and their implications on sectoral economy. The results of this study may help the mangers/SC practitioners/Governments/Customers in making strategic and tactical decisions regarding successful implementation of GSCM practices in Indian automobile industry with a sustainability focus. The developed framework provides a comprehensive perspective for assessing the synergistic impact of CSFs on GSCM performances and can act as ready reckoner for the practitioners. As there is very limited work presented in literature using IRP, this piece of work would provide a better understanding of this relatively new ranking methodology.     

Identifying success factors for female entrepreneurs using the AMO framework: Empirical evidence from Japan

This study applies deep insights from the ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO) framework as an overarching theoretical perspective to identify critical success factors for female entrepreneurs. In doing so, it investigates how entrepreneurial persistence (i.e., motivation or “M”), together with prior venture experience (i.e., ability or “A”) and competitive intensity (i.e., opportunity or “O”) influence the success of women's entrepreneurial activities. Using data from 308 Japanese female entrepreneurs, we show a positive association between entrepreneurial persistence and female entrepreneurs' venture growth, which becomes stronger when prior venture experience and competitive intensity are considered. Most importantly, the three-way interaction between these factors maximizes the business performance of female entrepreneurs. Thus, venture growth is the highest in the presence of high levels of entrepreneurial persistence, prior venture experience, and competitive intensity. Our findings suggest that policy makers should improve the competitiveness of women-led ventures and create supportive business environments for female entrepreneurs.     

DEA as a tool for predicting corporate failure and success: A case of bankruptcy assessment

Using an additive super-efficiency data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, this paper develops a new assessment index based on two frontiers for predicting corporate failure and success. The proposed approach is applied to a random sample of 1001 firms, which is composed of 50 large US bankrupt firms randomly selected from Altman's bankruptcy database and 901 healthy matching firms. This sample represents the largest firms that went bankrupt over the period 1991–2004 and represents a full spectrum of industries. Our findings demonstrate that the DEA model is relatively weak in predicting corporate failures compared to healthy firm predictions, and the assessment index improves this weakness by giving the decision maker various options to achieve different precision levels of bankrupt, non-bankrupt, and total predictions.     

Quantitative Risk Assessment for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in Low- or Zero-Prevalence Countries: The Example of Norway

A predictive case-cohort model is applied to Norwegian data to analyze the interaction between challenge and stability factors for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) during the period 1980-2010. For each year, the BSE risk in cattle is estimated as the expected number of cases. The age distribution of expected cases as well as the relative impact of different challenges is estimated. The model consists of a simple, transparent, and practical deterministic spreadsheet calculation model, in which the following country-specific inputs are entered: (i) annual imports of live cattle and meat and bone meal, (ii) age distribution of native cattle, and (iii) estimated annual basic reproduction ratio (R(0)) for BSE. Results for Norway indicate that the highest risk of BSE cases was in 1989, when a total BSE risk of 0.13 cases per year was expected. After that date, the year-to-year decrease in risk ranged between 3% and 47%, except for a secondary peak in 1994 at 0.06 cases per year. The primary peak was almost entirely (99%) attributable to the importation of 11 cattle from the United Kingdom between 1982 and 1986. The secondary peak, in 1994, originated mainly from the recycling of the U.K. imported cattle (92%). In 2006, the remaining risk was 0.0003 cases per year, or 0.001 per million cows per year, with a maximal age-specific incidence of 0.03 cases per million per year in 10-year-old cattle. Only 15% of the cases were expected in imported cattle. The probability of having zero cases in Norway in 2006 was estimated to be 99.97%. The model and results are compared to previous risk assessments of Norway by the EU.     

A Discourse on the Incorporation of Organizational Factors into Probabilistic Risk Assessment: Key Questions and Categorical Review

This article presents a discourse on the incorporation of organizational factors into probabilistic risk assessment (PRA)/probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), a topic of debate since the 1980s that has spurred discussions among industry, regulatory agencies, and the research community. The main contributions of this article include (1) identifying the four key open questions associated with this topic; (2) framing ongoing debates by considering differing perspectives around each question; (3) offering a categorical review of existing studies on this topic to justify the selection of each question and to analyze the challenges related to each perspective; and (4) highlighting the directions of research required to reach a final resolution for each question. The four key questions are: (I) How significant is the contribution of organizational factors to accidents and incidents? (II) How critical, with respect to improving risk assessment, is the explicit incorporation of organizational factors into PRA? (III) What theoretical bases are needed for explicit incorporation of organizational factors into PRA? (IV) What methodological bases are needed for the explicit incorporation of organizational factors into PRA? Questions I and II mainly analyze PRA literature from the nuclear domain. For Questions III and IV, a broader review and categorization is conducted of those existing cross-disciplinary studies that have evaluated the effects of organizational factors on safety (not solely PRA-based) to shed more light on future research needs.     

流动性过剩与全球失衡的单变量冲击分析

基于货币稀释理论建立流动性过剩与全球失衡的一般均衡模型,分析流动性过剩、储蓄、消费、金融发展、经济增长等因素对世界经济的冲击影响,证明了十个重要命题.通过这些命题的组合和演绎,能够从理论上全面、科学和合理地解释世界经济中出现的经济现象.文章的结论不仅能够覆盖相关文献的主要观点,而且将文章提出的理论渗透到社会再生产的四个环节,揭示了当今世界经济的发展逻辑.美国利用美元的国际储备货币地位,在分配中无偿获得了世界经济的发展成果.美国依靠比较优势发展的虚拟经济,在与别国实体经济的交换中获利,支持了美国的过度消费,导致美国经常账户赤字,造成全球失衡,对金融危机负有主要责任.     

Groundwater to Surface Water Conversion in the Houston-Galveston Region: Impact of Mandates on Water Quality, Subsidence, and Water Rates

Legislative mandates have resulted in large-scale conversion from groundwater to surface water sources of supply for Public Water Supply Systems in Harris and Galveston Counties, Texas. Geographically-defined Regulatory Areas in the region are governed by the Harris Galveston Coastal Subsidence District. The district's mission, to end subsidence or loss of land elevation by allocating water usage by Area, has focused attention on potential health hazards and monetary issues related to substandard water quality and increased consumer utility rates. Study variables of: (1) Total Hardness (TH); (2) Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) concentrations; and (3) Water Utility Rates ($), were compared for each water source because of their suggested impacts on human health (TH:CVD; TTHMs:Cancer) and relative economic welfare (Utility Rates: $) as byproducts of current mandate requirements. Strong evidence of statistically significant differences in water quality parameters, and utility rates of groundwater and surface water source data, suggest that regulations dictating conversion need review and possible amending. This presentation describes the results of a 2-year study of the issues regarding conversion of Public Water supplies from groundwater to surface water.     

HR policies and practices in vocational education and training institutions: understanding the implementation gap through the lens of discourses

Vocational education and training (VET) institutions face serious challenges, like educational innovations and upcoming teacher shortages, which require them to invest in their human capital. However, the implementation of human resources (HR) policies and practices often stagnates. Using the Dutch VET sector as an exemplary case, we show that the implementation gap can be understood by employing a discourse perspective. The distinction between a control vs. a commitment approach to HR served as a lens through which we analysed how actors at state and school level perceived the goals, necessity and features of HR policy. The results reveal no contradictions between actors concerning the goal of HR. Contradictions are, however, found related to the way in which HR should be shaped and implemented. Teachers and managers think governments’ view about HR is too much control oriented and that commitment strategies have to be added for HR to be effective.     

中国设计产业与工业的互动关系研究——基于独立设计机构专利数据的相关前沿理论验证

以中国独立设计机构的授权专利为研究对象,通过中国专利数据检索,对中国设计机构专利授权数量时间序列进行统计和预测,结合工业增加值数据,运用相关分析、协整检验和格兰杰因果检验等计量方法,初步验证Porter钻石模型的服务需求理论和Grossman的设计驱动的内生增长理论在中国的适用性.研究结果表明,1985年至2009年中国独立设计机构专利迅速增长,Porter钻石模型的服务需求理论在中国得到部分支持,但Grossman的设计驱动的内生增长理论在中国没有得到证实,设计产业还不是驱动工业增长的力量.     

Environmental Tobacco Smoke Revisited: The Reliability of the Data Used for Risk Assessment

Several epidemiological studies have found a weak, but consistent association between lung cancer in nonsmokers and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). In addition, a purported link between such exposure and coronary heart disease (CHD) has been of major concern. Although it is biologically plausible that ETS has a contributory role in the induction of lung cancer in nonsmoking individuals, dose-response extrapolation-supported by the more solid database for active smokers-gives an additional risk for lung cancer risk that is more than one order of magnitude lower than that indicated by major positive epidemiological studies. The discrepancy between available epidemiological data and dosimetric estimates seems, to a major part, to reflect certain systematic biases in the former that are difficult to control by statistical analysis when dealing with risks of such low magnitudes. These include, most importantly, misclassification of smoking status, followed by inappropriate selection of controls, as well as certain confounding factors mainly related to lifestyle, and possibly also hereditary disposition. A significant part of an association between lung cancer and exposure to ETS would disappear, if, on the average, 1 patient out of 20 nonsmoking cases had failed to tell the interviewer that he had, in fact, recently stopped smoking. In the large International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) multicenter study even lower misclassification rates would abolish the weak, statistically nonsignificant associations that were found. In the former study an apparent significant protective effect from exposure to ETS in childhood with respect to lung cancer later in life was reported, a most surprising finding. The fact that the mutation spectrum of the p53 tumor suppressor gene in lung tumors of ETS-exposed nonsmokers generally differs from that found in tumors of active smokers lends additional support to the notion that the majority of tumors found in ETS-exposed nonsmokers have nothing to do with tobacco smoke. The one-sided preoccupation with ETS as a causative factor of lung cancer in nonsmokers may seriously hinder the elucidation of the multifactorial etiology of these tumors. Due to the high prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the population, even a modest causal association with ETS would, if valid, constitute a serious public health problem. By pooling data from 20 published studies on ETS and heart disease, some of which reported higher risks than is known to be caused by active smoking, a statistically significant association with spousal smoking is obtained. However, in most of these studies, many of the most common confounding risk factors were ignored and there appears to be insufficient evidence to support an association between exposure to ETS and CHD. Further, it seems highly improbable that exposure to a concentration of tobacco smoke at a level that is generally much less than 1% of that inhaled by a smoker could result in an excess risk for CHD that-as has been claimed-is some 30% to 50% of that found in active smokers. There are certainly valid reasons to limit exposure to ETS as well as to other air pollutants in places such as offices and homes in order to improve indoor air quality. This goal can be achieved, however, without the introduction of an extremist legislation based on a negligible risk of lung cancer as well as an unsupported and highly hypothetical risk for CHD.