Suchergebnisse

PurposeLittle empirical work has been done on the effects of inclusive environmental disclosure and green supply chain management (GSCM) on firm outcomes. The literature on environmental disclosure suggests that it is a useful practice to improve a firm's reputation and its financial performance and also to establish a dialogue with stakeholders improving environmental performance. Recent conceptual contributions in the supply chain management literature state that stakeholder expectations and informational needs increasingly concern firm supply chains. Thus, the authors propose that positive effects of inclusive environmental disclosure practices are enhanced in presence of GSCM practices. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachTo test these relationships a combination of primary data on environmental disclosure practices, GSCM practices and environmental performance, and secondary data on financial performance was used. A series of hierarchical regression models were performed to test the disclosure-outcome relationships and the moderation of GSCM practices.FindingsResults provide empirical support for the impact of inclusive environmental disclosure practices on financial performance but no support for the impact on environmental performance. Specifically, the more inclusive the environmental disclosure practices the greater and positive is the impact on financial performance in presence of GSCM practices.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence of the joint effects of inclusive environmental disclosure and GSCM practices on environmental and financial performance. Doing so, it reinforces the recent conceptual foundation that firms should align and leverage on supply chain management for disclosure practice effectiveness.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of uncertainty on workplace accidents at the plant level. Furthermore, this study explores such relation in complex settings (i.e. manufacturing networks) and assesses whether or not information sharing in such environments can reduce the potentially negative impact of uncertainty on accidents.Design/methodology/approachTo assess the relationships between uncertainty, accidents and information sharing the authors utilise cross-country survey data collected through the sixth iteration of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey. The authors conceptualise workplace accidents through production time lost due to accidents. Furthermore, the authors conduct multiple regression analyses to test the hypotheses.FindingsResults suggest that procurement, production, and demand uncertainties do indeed lead to an increase in workplace accidents at the plant level. Furthermore, the negative impact of uncertainty can be significantly reduced through information sharing.Originality/valueThis study represents a comprehensive attempt to simultaneously assess the impact of uncertainty on workplace accidents at the plant level and the possible moderating impact of information sharing.

PurposeSustainable operations are increasingly part of firms' competitive strategies. Research widely investigates the relationship between sustainable operations and competitive advantage, considering financial performance as a dependent variable, and shows controversial results. The purpose of this paper is to operationalize competitive advantage as internal and external intangible benefits, such as human resource (HR) and customer benefits. HR benefits concern the deployment of a workforce pursuing a firm's goals and strategy; customer benefits concern the improvement of a firm's relationship with its customers.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical results are provided in an analysis of data from a survey conducted on a sample of 107 Italian firms in the food industry. A single industry and country are selected to avoid possible differences in regulations and in operations processes. Structural equation modelling is used to test hypotheses relating sustainable operations to HR and customer benefits.FindingsThe authors distinguish between green and social operations practices. Green operations practices directly impact customer benefits but not HR benefits. Social sustainable operations practices do not directly impact customer benefits but instead have a direct impact on HR benefits. Hence, through HR benefits, they have an indirect impact on customer benefits.Practical implicationsThe authors provide results showing to operations managers that both green operations and social operations are crucial to obtaining customer benefits. Social operations do this by enhancing HR benefits. Green operations instead are not positively related to HR benefits.Originality/valueThis research serves as an original contribution to the sustainable operations literature in two ways. First, from a resource-based perspective, the relationship between sustainable operations, HR benefits, and customer benefits is proposed and tested. Such benefits are also shown to be interrelated based on the service profit chain model. Second, green and social operations practices are analysed separately providing a nuanced view of benefits related to sustainable operations.

Purpose– Environmental and social sustainability are becoming key competitive priorities for companies, but the way in which they are integrated in operations strategies remains an open issue. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether established operations strategy configuration models (i.e. price-oriented, market-oriented and capability-oriented models) are modified to include environmental and social priorities and whether different operations strategy configuration models are equally successful in the short and long term.Design/methodology/approach– Analyses were performed using data from the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (2009), including companies in the assembly industry in 21 different countries. According to previous studies, cluster analysis of competitive priorities and ANOVA analysis of the business strategy and short- and long-term performance were performed.Findings– The results show that traditional operations strategy configuration models are slightly modified. Market-oriented and capability-oriented operations strategies are complemented by environmental and social sustainability priorities. These operations strategies are adopted by companies with a differentiation and innovation business strategy. Moreover, capability-oriented companies, which are the most committed to environmental and social sustainability, perform better in both the short and long term.Practical implications– This research shows to companies that traditional operations strategies focusing on specific competitive priorities (e.g. low price) are being replaced by more holistic strategies that include sustainability priorities. However, environmental and social priorities contribute to competitive advantage when complementing capability-oriented operations strategies.Originality/value– This paper extends operations strategy configuration models highlighting how environmental and social sustainability priorities can be deployed together with traditional competitive operations priorities.

Resumo Busca-se compreender como a relação entre indivíduo e contexto social-histórico fazia-se presente nas teorias e especulações filosóficas de Hume, Smith e Bentham - enfocando o papel concedido à natureza individual, suas supostas tendências ou predisposições inatas, sejam elas racionais ou passionais. Principalmente em Hume e Smith, observa-se que a capacidade natural de nos importarmos com o outro, sympathy, não diz muito em si mesma, mas ganha concretude com o hábito. Já em Bentham, a sympathy, que faz o indivíduo sair de si e se reconhecer no outro, dará lugar ao indivíduo isolado, o que impossibilita a superação de uma "natureza natural" por uma natureza histórico-social do homem.