This paper stages an encounter between Foucault and Althusser on the question of strategy. By contrasting a few passages in La Volonté de savoir with some of Althusser's writings on Machiavelli and Lenin, I propose an alternative between the two thinkers according to a schema of strategic thought (Foucault) and a philosophy for strategy (Althusser). This narrow focus enables me to generate a working definition of strategy as the anticipation of an encounter which modifies, abolishes, or otherwise alters the relations constituting its conjuncture. By staging the encounter between the Foucault and Althusser, I propose this definition as a reflection on the phrase "intervention into conjuncture," and conclude by sketching implications concerning theory, practice, and the discipline of the conjuncture.
This article reconstructs Badiou's oeuvre from the vantage point of the last volume of his Being and Event trilogy. It determines the perspective and task of The Immanence of Truths and demonstrates in what way an "absolute ontology" is the result of an act of forcing that serves as the measure for a truth's truthness. This allows to argue that Badiou's is and always was a philosophy of freedom.
PurposeThe research is based on a critically analyzed literature review focused on the unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions of sustainable operations and supply chain management (OSCM), including the articles selected for this special issue.Design/methodology/approachThe authors introduce the key concepts, issues and theoretical foundations of this special issue on "The hidden side of sustainable operations and supply chain management (OSCM): Unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions". The authors explore these issues within this context, and how they may hinder the authors' transition to more sustainable practices.FindingsThe authors present an overview of unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs, tensions and influencing factors from the literature, and identify how such problems may emerge. The model addresses these problems by highlighting the crucial effect of the underlying state of knowledge on sustainable OSCM decision-making.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors limited the literature review to journals that ranked 2 and above as defined by the Chartered Association of Business Schools Academic Journal Guide. The main implication for research is a call to focus attention on unanticipated outcomes as a starting point rather than only an afterthought. For practitioners, good intentions such as sustainability initiatives need careful consideration for potential unanticipated outcomes.Originality/valueThe study provides the first critical review of unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions in the sustainable OSCM discourse. While the literature review (including papers in this special issue) significantly contributes toward describing these issues, it is still unclear how such problems emerge. The model developed in this paper addresses this gap by highlighting the crucial effect of the underlying state of knowledge concerned with sustainable OSCM decision-making.
PurposeThis paper, a pathway, aims to provide research guidance for investigating sustainability in supply chains in a post-COVID-19 environment.Design/methodology/approachPublished literature, personal research experience, insights from virtual open forums and practitioner interviews inform this study.FindingsCOVID-19 pandemic events and responses are unprecedented to modern operations and supply chains. Scholars and practitioners seek to make sense of how this event will make us revisit basic scholarly notions and ontology. Sustainability implications exist. Short-term environmental sustainability gains occur, while long-term effects are still uncertain and require research. Sustainability and resilience are complements and jointly require investigation.Research limitations/implicationsThe COVID-19 crisis is emerging and evolving. It is not clear whether short-term changes and responses will result in a new "normal." Adjustment to current theories or new theoretical developments may be necessary. This pathway article only starts the conservation – many additional sustainability issues do arise and cannot be covered in one essay.Practical implicationsOrganizations have faced a major shock during this crisis. Environmental sustainability practices can help organizations manage in this and future competitive contexts.Social implicationsBroad economic, operational, social and ecological-environmental sustainability implications are included – although the focus is on environmental sustainability. Emergent organizational, consumer, policy and supply chain behaviors are identified.Originality/valueThe authors take an operations and supply chain environmental sustainability perspective to COVID-19 pandemic implications; with sustainable representing the triple bottom-line dimensions of environmental, social and economic sustainability; with a special focus on environmental sustainability. Substantial open questions for investigation are identified. This paper sets the stage for research requiring rethinking of some previous tenets and ontologies.
PurposeThe purpose of this article is to discuss the role of operations management in society. The article detects trends, raises critical questions to operations management research and articulates a research agenda to increase the value of such research in addressing societal problems.Design/methodology/approachThis paper evaluates the papers presented at the EurOMA 2019 conference to detect trends and discuss the contributions of operations management research to society. It further goes to identify gaps in the research agenda.FindingsThe article finds several important streams of research in operations management: sustainable operations and supply chains, health care and humanitarian operations, innovation, digitalisation and 4.0, risk and resilience. It highlights new trends such as circular economy research and problematises when to stop implementing innovation and how to address and report their potential failure. Importantly, it shows how it is not just a question of offshoring vs reshoring but of constant change in manufacturing that operations management addresses.Originality/valueThe article highlights not just novel research areas but also gaps in the research agenda where operations management seeks to add value to society.
Abstract This article examines the requirements of the right to a fair trial in the context of the use of machine-learning algorithms (MLAs) in judicial proceedings, with a focus on a core component of this right, the right to be heard. Though NGOs and scholars have begun to note that the right to a fair trial may be the best framework to address the challenges raised by MLAs, the actual requirements of the right in this novel context are underdeveloped. This article evaluates two normative approaches to filling this gap. The first approach, the argument from fairness, produces three broad categories of measures for ensuring fairness: measures for increasing the transparency and accountability of MLAs, measures for ensuring the participation of litigants, and measures for securing the impartiality of the human judge. However, this article argues that the argument from fairness cannot provide the necessary normative grounding for the right to a fair trial in the context of MLAs, as it collapses into the concept of 'algorithmic fairness'. The second approach is based on the concept of human dignity as a status. The primary argument of this article is that the concept of human dignity as a status can provide better normative grounding for the right to a fair trial because it offers an account of human personhood that resists the de-humanization of data subjectification. That richer account of human personhood allows us to think of the trial not only as a vehicle for accurate outcomes, but also as a forum for the expression of human dignity.
PurposeIn this paper, the authors empirically investigate under which conditions production network management is effective to improve manufacturers' financial performance. For this, the authors explore contingencies between production networks and the three key dimensions of organizational environment.Design/methodology/approachA survey with senior managers was conducted for this research. The authors used a hierarchical regression analysis to test interaction effects and draw on follow-up interviews with chief operating officers (COOs) and senior managers to elaborate and explain the found associations.FindingsResults indicate that manufacturers' financial performance is only associated with their network capability level if they operate in hostile competitive environments. In moderate competitive environments, improvements in the network capability level are not associated with greater financial performance. In particularly munificent environments, such production network upgrades are even associated with the opposite effect.Practical implicationsResults highlight in which organizational contexts upgrading production networks has positive performance implications and under which circumstances it is ineffective or even counterproductive.Originality/valueThe authors draw on unique survey data to add quantitative evidence to the predominantly conceptual and qualitative literature on global production networks. This is also one of the first studies to connect the topics of production networks and organizational environment.
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to (1) analyse the effect of customised on-demand 3DP on surgical flow time, its variability and clinical outcomes (2) provide a framework for hospitals to decide whether to invest in 3DP or to outsource.Design/methodology/approachThe research design included interviews, workshops and field visits. Design science approach was used to analyse the impact of the 3D printing (3DP) interventions on specific outcomes and to develop frameworks for hospitals to invest in 3DP, which were validated through further interviews with stakeholders.FindingsEvidence from this research shows that deploying customised on-demand 3DP can reduce surgical flow time and its variability while improving clinical outcomes. Such outcomes are obtained due to rapid development of the anatomical model and surgical guides along with precise cutting during surgery.Research limitations/implicationsWe outline multiple opportunities for research on supply chain design and performance assessment for surgical 3DP. Further empirical research is needed to validate the results.Practical implicationsThe decision to implement 3DP in hospitals or to engage service providers will require careful analysis of complexity, demand, lead-time criticality and a hospital's own objectives. Hospitals can follow different paths in adopting 3DP for surgeries depending on their context.Originality/valueThe operations and supply chain management community has researched on-demand distributed manufacturing for multiple industries. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper on customised on-demand 3DP for surgeries.
PurposeLiterature review articles have become a frequently applied research approach in operations and supply chain management (SCM). The purpose of this paper aims to elaborate on four approaches for developing or employing theory in systematic literature reviews (SLRs).Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses conceptual arguments and illustrates them by pointing to recent examples. In SLRs, the material collection is usually based on keywords and searching databases, which is comparatively well documented. Data analysis, however, often falls short in documentation and, consequently, is neither well explained nor replicable. Therefore, the focus of this paper is the elaboration of the data analysis and sense-making stage in the research process of SLRs.FindingsThe paper presents four different approaches, which are characterized as theory (1) building, (2) modification, (3) refinement and (4) extension, based on whether new concepts are formed or extant concepts within SCM or other fields of management theory are adopted.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of this research is that literature reviews could be conducted and presented in many ways. Since the focus of this research is on systematic literature reviews, only a limited number of approaches can be discussed and presented here.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to explaining the process and expected outcomes of a literature review and, therefore, aids in further developing the related methodological approaches. This is relevant as literature review publications now often replace conceptual or theoretical pieces but still have to deliver concerning demands of theory building.
PurposeThis research aims at investigating the common practical problem of how procurement can be transformed from tactical and administrative to becoming an organizational strategic partner and indeed a competitive weapon, using modern technologies in particular. We investigated how procurement can be reinvented, from being digitized to digitalized to digitally integrated, ultimately contributing in business terms beyond supply chain effectiveness but also to profit generation.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach was designed to investigate three firms, each at very different stages of digital maturity in procurement. Interviews with managers, investigation of processes and documentary materials and in-depth follow-up discussions were conducted.FindingsThe iterative digitalization transformation discovered encompasses complexities rooted in organizational structure, supply chain design and the management of the technology for employees' uptake. There are both operations and strategy implications as a result. This initial research phase led to mapping a model of digital maturity as well as identifying its underlying constructs.Originality/valueThis research discovered that the implementation of digital technologies can lead the procurement function of the supply chain to completely grow out of its administrative and clerical shell into a strategic, consultative, value-adding and potentially revenue-generating function, thereby contributing to the well-being of not only the supply chain but also the entire organization.
PurposePast research has shown that culture has significant effects on people's evaluation of and responses to risk. Despite this important role, the supply chain risk literature has been silent on this matter. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of cultural value orientations on managerial perception of and responses to a supply disruption risk.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a scenario-based experiment to investigate the effect of cultural value orientations – i.e. individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance – on individuals' perception of risk and supplier switching intention in the face of a supply disruption.FindingsThe findings highlight the negative effect of individualism-collectivism on disruption risk perception and switching intention in high uncertain circumstances. However, these relationships are non-significant in relatively less uncertain situations. Moreover, the findings show that the impact of uncertainty avoidance on risk perception and supplier switching is positive and significant in both low and high uncertain circumstances.Originality/valueExtant research has traditionally assumed that when confronted with disruption risks, managers make decisions using an economic utility model, to best serve the long-term objectives of the firm. This paper draws from advances of behavioural research to show that cultural value orientations influence such decisions through a mediating mechanism of subjective risk perception.
PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between buyer-supplier top management team (TMT) demographic misalignment (defined as differences in TMT composition based on background, age and gender) and environmental performance (EVP).Design/methodology/approachThe empirical setting is publicly held US manufacturing firms that are present in both the Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini's (KLD's) annual EVP ratings and Bloomberg's supply chain database. The study employs panel data regression methods on an unbalanced panel dataset of 7,493 dyad-year observations comprising 427 unique firms.FindingsThe research shows that misalignment in functional background and gender composition between TMTs have a negative outcome on both the buyer's and the suppliers' EVP. However, increasing presence of females across TMTs has a positive influence on EVP. Further, the research shows that misalignment based on age between the TMTs does not impact EVP in any significant way. On the contrary, increasing age across TMTs is a significant predictor of EVP.Originality/valueThis study builds on existing works in TMT heterogeneity and adds context to the heightening belief in the positive linkage between heterogeneity and performance through extension to a boundary spanning interfirm context.
PurposeThe operational capability of mass customization (MC) allows consumers to obtain products tailored to their idiosyncratic needs. This study aims to provide insights into the potential of this capability for countering a product's liability of foreignness – the negative effect of the out-group status of a product's country of origin (COO) on consumers' evaluations of the product.Design/methodology/approachBased on the social identity approach, it is hypothesized that this liability is reduced when a consumer product is mass-customized rather than standardized as per a mass-production strategy. This hypothesis is tested using a mixed between- and within-subject experiment.FindingsWhen evaluating mass-produced sneakers, native German-speaking (Italian-speaking) South Tyrolean consumers rated the quality of Italian (German) sneakers significantly lower than that of German (Italian) sneakers. However, when the sneakers were mass-customized, this difference in perceived product quality was non-significant for both groups of consumers, supporting the research hypothesis.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research could replicate this study in other samples, with other product types, COOs and countries of destination, as well as at different degrees of product customization.Practical implicationsBusiness-to-consumer firms contemplating the development of their MC capability are made aware that the benefits of this operational capability might go beyond the typical advantages highlighted by the existing literature.Originality/valueThis paper joins the discussion on MC value by offering a theoretical explanation and empirical support for another mechanism through which the operational capability of MC can create value, at least in business-to-consumer industries: by countering a product's possible liability of foreignness and thus increasing perceived product quality in export markets.
