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Many attempts have been made to study factors influencing the performance of supply chains. These studies are generally quantitative and involve rigorous statistical analyses. This paper describes an application of a systems approach known as the thinking process of the theory of constraints not only to identify critical success factors in supply chain management, but also to understand causal relationships between these factors. The study was conducted in a group‐based model building environment with a group of students who specialised either in logistics management or e‐commerce. The results suggest that understanding the dynamic nature of supply chains through cause and effect relationships is critical to the formulation of supply chain growth strategies.

This article undertakes an empirical analysis of the determinants of defense spending in post-liberation Bangladesh. Based on a reduced form approach, a time series regression analysis was conducted encompassing data for 1972-1998. The statistical results reveal some important observations, which merit further research and active policy response. The country's growing defense is found to have strong causal linkages with its socio-economic and institutional fundamentals. (DSE/DÜI)

A new approach to the management of production and operations was developed by Goldratt in the late 1970s. Now known as the theory of constraints (TOC), it provides a coherent management theory for running an organisation. It has two major components: a philosophy which underpins the working principle of on‐going improvement, and a generic approach for investigating, analysing and creating solutions to problems called the "thinking process" (TP). During the last decade several books and many articles have been published, and a journal has been established which deals solely with the TOC. This paper contains an analysis of a comprehensive list of publications on the TOC. Identified themes are classified as conceptual explanation and enhancement of the approach, comparison with other techniques based on its philosophy, and applications in areas such as production, purchasing, accounting, administration, education and quality management.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritise social responsible mechanisms in apparel supply chains to extend social responsibility from large retailers in developed countries to producers in developing nations.


Design/methodology/approach
A framework that consists of supplier qualification and supplier relational mechanisms as two socially responsible mechanisms, with five factors and 18 dimensions is proposed. To prioritise the dimensions, analytic hierarchy process is employed by using a case study methodology of a major Australian retailer sourcing from Bangladesh manufacturers.


Findings
Results indicate that at the mechanism level, both retailer and manufacturers perceive qualification of manufacturer as by far the most critical element compared to the relational mechanism. However, substantial differences exist at the factor level; namely, that the social factor is critical for the retailer, whereas the economic factor is critical for the manufacturer. Within the relational mechanism, evaluation helps retailers to enforce social responsibility, while manufacturers believe collaboration helps.


Research limitations/implications
The major limitation of this study is the generalisation of the findings. The results obtained by focusing on a particular context in the Australian retail sector importing from Bangladesh, may not be applicable to other nations.


Practical implications
By highlighting the difference of opinion, this study assists managers in developing guidelines to better understand the socially responsible mechanisms in the retailer-manufacturer dyadic relationship and to propose strategies to address the differences.


Originality/value
This study advances the literature on inter-organisational relationship to retailer-manufacturer dyad for the implementation of social responsibility by including supplier qualification along with supplier relational mechanism.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the supply chain leagility proposing all supply chains are leagile with different magnitudes of leanness and agility. A new index, "Deviation from Leagility" (DFL), is introduced, aiming to optimise supply chain design and investigate the relationship between supply chain leagility and firm performance.


Design/methodology/approach
The partial least squares (PLS) method was employed to analyse data collected from 299 Australian firms by administering a structured questionnaire.


Findings
The results indicate that most companies adopt the leagile supply chain rather than the lean or pure agile design. Furthermore, better business performance is achievable when deviation from a balanced supply chain in which both aspects of leanness and agility are equally embedded is minimised.


Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to a number of constraints that measure leagility; further research is needed to incorporate different aspects of agility.


Practical implications
The findings of this study could provide a guideline for supply chain executives to improve their company's performance by designing a more balanced leagile supply chain.


Originality/value
This study is unique in its in-depth empirical investigation of modelling of leagile supply chain using a new index, and also addressing: first, the current mismatch between the well-known mutually exclusive strategies (lean/agile); and second, what has later been found when the proposed models were quantitatively tested.

The performance of Ardalan′s heuristic is compared with that of
Teitz and Bart for the location of service facilities, where performance
is assessed in terms of the accuracy of solutions. The comparison is
made considering two kinds of location problem: p‐median and
p‐median with maximum distance constraints. The results indicate
that the Teitz and Bart method generally produces a better solution than
the Ardalan method for both problems.

Malnutrition remains a major development problem in the world today. It causes retardation in weight and height, poor performance in intelligence test, as well as learning and adaptive behaviour. Using a linear progamming model, the authors explore the malnutrition problem in Bangladesh and consider the possibility of achieving self-sufficiency in food, where self-sufficiency is defined in terms of nutritional requirements. (DÜI-Sen)

Current study investigates the effect of working capital management on firm performance with the moderating role of ownership structure. A random sample of 77 firms for the period 2011-2015 was selected. By using fixed effect model the study demonstrated statistically significant negative relationship of leverage, average collection period and quick ratio on firm performance, while current ratio, account payable and inventory turnover found with positive significant effect on Firm Performance. Further, the effect of working capital on firm performance was positively affected by Institutional ownership and negatively affected by Managerial ownership. Thus, the results suggest that the owner/manager needs to manage their limited resources efficiently for the improvement of profitability. It is also advised that investor and shareholder pay attention to the level of institutional and managerial ownership at the time of investment..

Purpose
Stakeholders such as customers, governments and environmental organisations are more concerned than ever about the impact of supply chain practices on the environment, leading firms to introduce environmental requirements into their supply contracts. While the extant literature on supply chains acknowledges this trend, it fails to inform comprehensively on the concept of "stringent environmental requirement" and its consequences. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this concept and explore how such requirements may translate into supplier environmental performance.


Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative methodology was adopted by the study and data were collected through conducting eight case studies in the Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) industry.


Findings
A number of factors were found to be influencing suppliers' perception of stringency, such as uncertainty relating to the newness and deadline of buyers' environmental requirements, the complexity of implementing the requirements, and the use of buyer-specific frameworks. The research also shows that suppliers' efforts in building environmental capability play a vital role in dealing with stringent environmental requirements.


Research limitations/implications
The case studies are limited to the Bangladesh RMG industry. Given that environmental regulations vary across different countries and industries, the data may not reflect all the possible variations in stringent environmental requirements.


Practical implications
The new insight proposed by this research can guide firms to further understand how supplier environmental performance and the sustainability of their supply chain can be achieved. The research provides broad insight into how suppliers can address stringent environmental requirements and improve their environmental performance.


Originality/value
This research establishes evidence for the relatively new phenomenon of "stringent environmental requirements", and develops a theoretical framework to demonstrate the relationships among the critical determinants relevant to this phenomenon.

Purpose
– In spite of regular occurrence of product returns, research into determinants of returns services in retail businesses is still limited. To fill the gap, the purpose of this paper is to investigate critical determinants of customer to business type product returns services in the retail industry.


Design/methodology/approach
– The authors develop a framework of product returns services that consists of three major service categories and 16 returns service determinants. The criticality of the determinants of product returns management are assessed employing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based multi-criteria decision-making approach. Under AHP set up the authors interview retail operations managers of major retail firms in Australia to identify critical determinants of product returns services.


Findings
– Results indicate that the most important returns services dimensions are the way in which returns services are handled through interaction, and the outcome of service delivery. The top five critical service determinants of product returns are related to: communication support service for customer, money back for any type of returns, customer support access, user-friendly interaction, and product replacement.


Originality/value
– The findings of the study can be considered by senior managers of retail firms as a reference guide for designing efficient and effective returns service systems and developing strategies for competitive advantage through product returns, namely, customer retention.