Sustainable procurement in Malaysian organizations: Practices,barriers and opportunities

The purpose of this study is to uncover the extent of sustainable procurement practices amongst procurement directors/managers employed in public and private sector organizations in Malaysia, a developing country where socialization is underpinned by religious beliefs. The results showed there is a significant variation in the adoption of sustainable procurement across the sectors with the private sector registering significantly higher levels of SP practices than their public counterparts. Lack of awareness posed the most significant barrier to sustainable procurement implementation regardless of organizations or sectors whilst improved working conditions, an organization׳s/council׳s/public image, and organizational efficiency and transparency provided optimal opportunities for implementing sustainable procurement practices. Finally this study identified the two new factors of religion and sense of humanity as influencing an employee׳s engagement in sustainable procurement practices.     

Implementing sustainable purchasing and supply management (SPSM): A Delphi study on competences needed by purchasing and supply management (PSM) professionals

This research is about a Delphi study that was conducted in the context of the development of a competence model for sustainable purchasing and supply management (SPSM). Based on the findings of a systematic literature review (SLR), it addresses the research gap in this area with the aim to foster the integration of sustainability in purchasing and supply management (PSM) in higher education and in professional training approaches for PSM professionals. The qualitative study was conducted with 16 Delphi experts in the field of PSM and sustainability, applying the critical incident technique (CIT). Together with the findings of the SLR, it led to a specific set of SPSM competences. The theoretical background is based on PSM research, educational sciences and organizational psychology.     

Gaining from disorder: Making the case for antifragility in purchasing and supply chain management

The purchasing and supply chain management (P&SCM) discipline assumes that supply chains are fragile systems, hence taking a “negative” approach toward disorder. Building on Taleb’s concept of antifragility—the ability to gain from disorder rather than avoiding it—, we challenge this traditional assumption. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that some companies were indeed able to gain from disorder, whereas some of those that focused too much on robustness and resilience lost ground. Building robust and resilient supply chains may no longer be enough to thrive in today’s highly volatile business world. This article sparks a new debate by introducing antifragility to the P&SCM literature and provides new directions for future research.     

Managerial perspectives on drivers for and barriers to sustainable supply chain management implementation: Evidence from New Zealand

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that drive or prevent companies' implementation of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. To this end, we interviewed 29 senior managers from 23 New Zealand‐based companies. The key reported drivers were customer expectation, top management commitment, moral and ethical values of managers, reputation management, and economic and operational benefits. Conversely, cost concerns, strategic and structural restraints, supplier and customer issues, and a lack of effective regulations were cited as critical obstacles to SSCM implementation. Thus, the evidence from our findings provides support for both instrumental and normative logics for SSCM implementation. The findings further indicate that, in general, instrumental and normative logics are congruent; however, varied tensions arise when managers seek to simultaneously address competing yet desirable SSCM aspects. Accordingly, we argue that it is imperative to understand, work through, and manage such tensions as balancing divergent sustainability aspects holds considerable potential for successful SSCM implementation.     

Operational excellence in a green supply chain for environmental management: A case study

Nowadays, organizations have started to become more conscious about the environment in their supply chain operations. The greening process has guided supply chain practices into new ways of thinking according to green standards. The assessment of the performance of green supply chain management (GSCM) requires a holistic view for the whole supply chain. In this context, given that becoming green in the operational side of activities is essential, the performance assessment of operational activities also requires a holistic view to be taken. In this paper, an attempt has been made to improve the performance of GSCM by examining and evaluating the green operational excellence of a hot dip galvanizing company. The framework includes several green operational excellence key criteria, namely, quality management, efficiency management, green production/manufacturing, eco‐packaging, and green design. First, the weights of the criteria and the respective measurements were found by fuzzy analytic network process. Then, the overall operational performance score was found by a weighted scoring method. Finally, both managerial and theoretical implications were suggested according to the outcomes and findings of the case study.     

Stakeholder management in sustainable supply chains: A case study of the bioenergy industry

Engaging with stakeholders and managing their issues when striving for a sustainable supply chain (SC) is a significant challenge. Although most studies on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) consider stakeholder management necessary, little is known about related stakeholder management practices in SSCM. Thus, this paper seeks to enrich the theoretical debate on stakeholder management practices in SSCM through a case study approach to bioenergy SCs in Chile. Based on 28 interviews with SC actors and representatives from the surrounding stakeholder environment, the deductive–inductive analysis reveals that stakeholder management combines different practices to discuss stakeholder concerns, address them, and evaluate the process at the SC's external and internal levels. We propose structuring these practices based on two dimensions: “practices to address stakeholder requirements” and “practices whereby stakeholders are integrated.” The analysis' results indicate that although two-way communication with stakeholders can be seen as the core of stakeholder management, a certain willingness to learn and transform SC design is a prerequisite for true orientation toward stakeholder management in SSCM. Additionally, linkage development and local anchoring are practices used to obtain further legitimacy at the external level. Building on these findings, this study can guide practitioners in engaging with stakeholders and managing their issues across the SC.     

Interpreting IS alignment: A multiple case study in professional organizations

This paper centers on the interpretation attributed by organizational members to the information systems (IS) alignment concept. Its objective is to study IS alignment in professional organizations. Specifically, it reports on an interpretive study conducted in five Chilean organizations; four professional and one entrepreneurial, of which two are private and three are public. The theoretical background of our study is derived from three IS strategic alignment conceptualizations: managerial, emergent and critical. These concepts formed our theoretical framework that guided data collection and analysis. The study centers on the meanings organizational members assigned to IS strategic alignment, as well as their views on the barriers that hinder achieving this level of organizational integration. The analysis results are summarized in seven hermeneutic themes that point out the different connotations the organizations assigned to IS alignment. The significance of the findings are summarized in four insights that formulate theoretical and practical implications. These insights refer to: (1) the difficulties of achieving alignment for professional organizations, particularly public ones, (2) the limitations these organizations have in being agile, (3) the rationale for acquiring technology and determining IT skills, and (4) the imperative meaning that CIOs attribute to IS alignment. The paper concludes with a reflection on the limitations and relevance of the research.     

信息化成功之源：信息系统的构建与应用能力——上海三菱电梯有限公司信息化实施案例研究

提出信息系统的构建与应用能力是信息化成功的最终原因,并以上海三菱电梯有限公司为例,具体分析了构建与应用能力的组成因素,说明了该能力在信息化建设中的重要性。     

Influence of freight transport purchasing processes on logistical variables related to CO2 emissions: a case study in Sweden

Emissions from freight transport stem from logistical variables such as vehicle utilisation, fuel efficiency, and distance. The purpose is to determine how shippers’ freight transport purchasing processes influence logistical variables. A multiple case study of freight transport purchasing processes was conducted, based on interviews with transport purchasers and providers. Three causes of influence of shippers’ purchasing processes on logistical variables were found: specific requirements, network structure of transport providers, and scope of contract. Specifications by purchasers, especially time requirements, influence several logistical variables (‘mode used’, ‘length of haul’, ‘load factor’, ‘empty running’, and ‘fuel efficiency’). This paper clarifies the implications of transport purchasing on CO₂ emissions in terms of logistical variables, which are understood in transportation research and practice. It describes the effects of shippers’ requirements on transport providers’ execution of transport. The results provide a foundation for shippers to discuss their influence on logistical variables with transport providers.     

Business process re-engineering in the logistics industry: a study of implementation,success factors,and performance

As business process re-engineering (BPR) is an important foundation to ensure the success of enterprise systems, this study would like to investigate the relationships among BPR implementation, BPR success factors, and business performance for logistics companies. Our empirical findings show that BPR companies outperformed non-BPR companies, not only on information processing, technology applications, organisational structure, and co-ordination, but also on all of the major logistics operations. Comparing the different perceptions of the success factors for BPR, non-BPR companies place greater emphasis on the importance of employee involvement while BPR companies are more concerned about the influence of risk management. Our findings also suggest that management attitude towards BPR success factors could affect performance with regard to technology applications and logistics operations. Logistics companies which have not yet implemented the BPR approach could refer to our findings to evaluate the advantages of such an undertaking and to take care of those BPR success factors affecting performance before conducting BPR projects.     

Multinationals,labour management and the process of reverse diffusion: A case study

This paper investigates a form of diffusion largely overlooked in the literature, namely reverse diffusion, in which practices flow from the overseas to the domestic plants. It examines the process of this type of diffusion, focussing on the role of the HQ and the way in which plant managers are influenced by management at this level. Evidence is presented from a case study of a British MNC.     

Disentangling satisfaction of tenants on science parks: A multiple case study in Belgium

While science parks represent one of the most important policy initiatives to stimulate firm development and growth, their contributions are still highly debated. This paper takes a novel customer-oriented approach to disentangle the contributions science parks provide to their tenants. Particularly, we qualitatively explore when and how science park tenants reach customer satisfaction and how tenants cope with low levels of satisfaction. Our study finds that reaching customer satisfaction is contingent on tenants’ expectations, perceived service quality, and pre-entry achievements. We further disentangle coping strategies used by tenants when they are confronted with low levels of satisfaction. Our study provides important theoretical contributions to the organizational sponsorship literature by adding new insights from social psychology and holds valuable practical and policy implications.     

Leading and lagging indicators in fundraising management: A Canadian case study

Fundraisers, managers, and boards in the charitable sector are faced with an ongoing concern: how do they produce sustainable, predictable financial returns for their causes while minimizing the cost of fundraising? One way to address this is to improve the measurement of fundraising activities and this study asks how fundraising results should be communicated within organizations to support sustainability. This case study focuses on the fundraising program from one Canadian charity with a large, diversified fundraising program to examine how fundraisers can move beyond simple end-of-year financial ratios and implement one managerial technique, leading and lagging indicators, to improve long-term financial performance. A literature review, internal interviews, and internal document review are used to identify 81 potential leading and lagging indicators that fundraisers can use to develop a suite of indicators that fit their context, activities, and goals and to identify potential challenges with implementing indicators. The role of organizational context and characteristics in selecting an appropriate suite of indicators is also discussed.     

Cross-functional alignment in supply chain planning: A case study of sales and operations planning

In most organizations, supply chain planning is a cross-functional effort. However, functional areas such as sales, marketing, finance, and operations traditionally specialize in portions of the planning activities, which results in conflicts over expectations, preferences, and priorities. We report findings from a detailed case analysis of a supply chain planning process that seemingly weathers these cross-functional conflicts. In contrast to traditional research on this area, which focuses on incentives, responsibilities, and structures, we adopt a process perspective and find that integration was achieved despite formal functional incentives that did not support it. By drawing a distinction between the incentive landscape and the planning process, we identify process as a mediator that can affect organizational outcomes. Thus, organizations may be capable of integration while functions retain different incentives and orientations to maintain focus on their stakeholders’ needs. Through iterative coding, we identify the attributes of the planning process that can drive planning performance—information, procedural, and alignment quality—but also find evidence that achieving alignment in the execution of plans can be more important than informational and procedural quality. In addition to process attributes, we also identify social elements that influenced the performance of the planning process and place the information processing attributes within a broader social and organizational context.     

Application of an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in the GIS interface for suitable fire site selection: A case study from Kathmandu Metropolitan City,Nepal

Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the capital city of Nepal, is prone to different types of disasters. Fire disaster is one of the most recurring in the city. Due to haphazard urbanization, poor fire services, few and old fire engines, insufficient skilled human resources combined with narrow road lanes, clustered households increase the fire vulnerability in Kathmandu Metropolitan City. This paper documents the fire station suitability zonation mapping in Kathmandu Metropolitan City using Group Decision Making Process (GDMP) in the GIS interface. Four different selection criteria factors such as distance from roads, land cover, distance from rivers and population density are considered for analysis and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used for Group Decision Making Process (GDMP). The results reveal that only 13.46% of the study area is highly suitable for fire station location. Hence, the fire station suitability zonation map is trustworthy and can be used for the construction of new fire stations in Kathmandu Metropolitan City.     

日本城市管理中的地方自治及对中国的启示--以东京为例

以东京为例,首先简要回溯东京都市制度的演变历程,随后进一步探讨日本城市管理体制的核心内容:中央政府与地方城市的关系及权限分配,指明当代日本城市政府在中央集权下“有限自治”、“多种自治模式混和”的特征,并在详细分析了东京城市自治体制的设置与职能基础上,讨论对我国城市管理的若干启示。     

Multi-criteria evaluation of medical waste management process under intuitionistic fuzzy environment: A case study on hospitals in Turkey

Waste management has come to the fore in the whole world with the increasing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic along with concerns about human health, environmental threats, and socio-economic factors, etc. Medical waste is one of the waste types that need special management processes including particularly collection, storage, separation, and disposal. Healthcare activities create a great amount of medical waste deriving from the hospitals. This study aims to determine the hospital that carries out medical waste management in the most effective way in Erzurum, Turkey. To handle intense uncertainty in the evaluation process, the case is analyzed by Intuitionistic Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (IFMCDM) methods. The present study contributes to the literature by focusing on a real case problem under IF environment in a Group Decision-Making (GDM) framework. Additionally, based on the literature review and expert judgments, the evaluation criteria relevant to the case are defined in this paper. To this end, a four-phased integrated methodology that involves Intuitionistic Fuzzy Weighted Averaging (IFWA), IF Analytical Hierarchy Process (IFAHP), IF Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (IFTOPSIS) and One-Dimensional Sensitivity Analysis, is conducted. Firstly, IFWA is aimed to express the significance levels of decision makers (DMs) based on their knowledge, qualifications and experiences. Secondly, IFAHP is used to calculate the importance weights of the decision criteria and IFTOPSIS is preferred to rank the available hospitals. Then, sensitivity analysis is employed to display robustness. According to the results, the most important criteria are Qualified personnel, Health institution infrastructure, and Control of waste, respectively and the most efficient hospital is determined.     

Epidemics,labour markets and unemployment: the impact of SARS on human resource management in the Hong Kong service sector

This article examines the links between epidemics and their economic consequences, specifically in terms of their impacts on labour markets and jobs. To exemplify the above, we examine the effects of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) on the Hong Kong economy, its labour market and its level of employment and unemployment. The article hypothesizes that the greatest impact would be on human resource management (HRM) in the service industries and on particular sub-sectors, such as the hotel sector. It concludes that the dramatic demand and supply ‘shocks’ significantly affected both the demand for and the supply of labour in the sector, with discernible HRM consequences.     

城市产业战略的若干理论及应用--以上海市嘉定区产业定位为例

城市产业的战略定位关系着城市发展的成败,现有产业定位在理论上主要依据比较优势理论(绝对优势论、比较优势论、机会成本说)或比较优势理论的延伸(区域分工理论).事实上,随着全球化进程的推进,跨国公司可以在全球范围内组织资源,原有的基于特殊生产要素的比较优势逐渐衰退,而内涵更广的竞争优势越来越成为决定一个城市发展成功与否的关键.而且现有产业定位研究在对象层面上以区域为主,随着全球化城市网络体系的形成,区域之间的竞争越来越体现为城市之间的竞争,因此对城市产业定位的研究更显重要.文章将对产业定位的已有若干理论进行回顾总结,并引入竞争优势理论、新贸易理论和城市化阶段理论,提出城市产业定位的区域视角、竞争视角、城市化视角等的一般方法.并以上海嘉定的产业定位为例,阐述上述理论的具体实践.     

Assessment of the sustainable development of rural minority settlements based on multidimensional data and geographical detector method: A case study in Dehong,China

In a developing country, paying attention to the sustainable development of rural areas is conducive to the development of the entire country. Ethnic minority areas are an important part of China's economic and social development. Owing to a lack of relevant statistical data, most previous studies in this area have focused on the sustainable development of rural areas or the development of ethnic minorities, but have not studied the sustainable development of rural ethnic minorities. The development of rural ethnic minorities is worthy of attention. In this study, we took Dehong as the study area. First used toponyms to accurately identify the rural minority areas and then calculated a grid of settlement density. Second, we considered the digital number (DN) value of the visible infrared imaging radiometer suite (VIIRS) as a measure of the development of the region and digital elevation model (DEM), net primary productivity (NPP), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and gross domestic product (GDP) data as the indicators of terrain, climate, ecological, and economic factors, respectively. Finally, linear regression and the geographical detector method were used to determine the weight of the factors for constructing a sustainable development index (SDI) to quantitatively analyze the sustainable development and influencing factors of each minority nationality. The factors evaluated using linear regression and the geographical detector method were ranked as follows: NDVI > elevation > GDP > slope > NPP > settlement density. The results demonstrate that of the five main ethnic minorities in Dehong, Dai and Jingpo have higher SDI, followed by Achang, Lisu and De'ang. In addition, we provide some suggestions for ethnic minorities in Dehong.