E-rickshaws on urban streets: sustainability issues and policies

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eijaz Ahmed Khan ◽  
Mohammed Quaddus

PurposeIn urban streets of developing countries, informal e-rickshaw operation can contribute to the development of economically viable, citizen-oriented and environmentally friendly transport systems. Even though informal e-rickshaw operation is important, significant gaps are apparent in the literature in relation to e-rickshaw sustainability issues and policies, and the development of a methodology grounded in a robust theoretical base. The current paper aims to address these gaps by integrating stakeholder theory (ST) and resource dependency theory (RDT) as we consider the linkage between e-rickshaw operation and the sustainability concept.Design/methodology/approachWe apply fuzzy quality function deployment (QFD), integrated with the 0–1 non-linear optimisation technique, to identify optimal policies for the e-rickshaw informal sector on Khulna city's urban streets in Bangladesh.FindingsThe results suggest that optimal policies should be formalised to regularise e-rickshaw operation. Appropriate supervision and monitoring; infrastructural support for battery charging, parking, battery recycling and solar panel installation; and training and development should all be provided.Research limitations/implicationsThe theoretical and managerial implications of our results are discussed, with future research suggestions presented.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, no previous study has used ST and RDT in e-rickshaw sector research. We recognised that the stakeholder settings for sustainability policies can well influence the behaviour of informal e-rickshaw operators while allotting the necessary resources to this sector. This move assists researchers and policymakers to understand the stakeholders and resource dependency sustainability requirements of this sector and the implementation of the required policies.

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 616-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Mohanraj ◽  
M. Sakthivel ◽  
S Vinodh ◽  
K.E.K. Vimal

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply a framework for value stream mapping (VSM) integrated with fuzzy quality function deployment (QFD) for enabling scientific prioritization of improvement proposals to improve leanness. Design/methodology/approach – The literature was reviewed from the perspectives of VSM, QFD and fuzzy logic applications. The current state map was developed for the case component; fuzzy QFD was used for prioritizing improvement proposals and prioritized proposals were incorporated in the future state map. Findings – The approach enabled the scientific mapping of wastes with improvement proposals and thereby enabling systematic implementation of improvement proposals. The conducted pilot study resulted in 4 percent reduction in cycle time. As the lean implementation is a continuous process, furthermore improvements are expected in near future. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted in an Indian camshaft manufacturing organization. The improvements in terms of leanness parameters were quantified. Practical implications – The findings determined from the study has practical relevance. Besides, managerial implications were also discussed. Originality/value – The study presented in this paper was conducted in a real time manufacturing environment. Hence the contributions of study are found to be valuable among academic and practicing communities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeetha Lakshman ◽  
C. Lakshman ◽  
Christophe Estay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of business strategies with executive staffing of multinational companies (MNCs). Design/methodology/approach Based on in-depth interviews conducted with top executives of 22 MNCs’, the authors identify important connections between international business strategies and staffing orientation. The authors used the qualitative research approach of building theory from interviews; thus, creating theoretical propositions from empirical evidence. Findings The authors find that when the pressure for global integration is high, MNCs use more parent-country national (PCNs) (ethnocentric staffing) as against the use of host-country managers (HCNs) (polycentric staffing) when this pressure is low. Additionally, MNCs using a global strategy are more likely to use an ethnocentric staffing approach, those using a multi-domestic strategy use a polycentric approach and firms using transnational strategy adopt a mix of ethnocentric and polycentric approaches. Research limitations/implications Although the authors derive theoretical patterns based on rich qualitative data, their sample is relatively small and comprises mostly of French MNCs. Generalizability to a broader context is limited. However, the authors’ findings have critical implications for future research. Practical implications The authors’ findings provide critical managerial implications for MNCs in matching their HR strategies with business strategies. These are important for effective strategy implementation. Originality/value Although MNC staffing orientations have been studied for a long time, their relationship to international business strategies is still not clearly understood. The authors contribute to the literature by investigating the relationship between MNCs’ business strategy types with staffing orientations.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohit Kumar ◽  
Justin Paul ◽  
Madhvendra Misra ◽  
Rubina Romanello

Purpose In this paper, using the antecedents, decisions and outcomes (ADO) framework, the factors/key performance indicators (KPIs) most relevant for creating or building a learning organization (LO) are identified. This study aims to contribute to the field of knowledge management (KM) in terms of introducing KPIs to foster a business organization with a continuous learning process, mechanisms of knowledge creation and memorization. Design/methodology/approach In total, 57 papers were selected for this systematic literature review (SLR) from Web of Science and Scopus covering the period 1985–2019. Findings The 12 most relevant KPIs are identified based on the literature survey conducted in the field of LO. Research limitations/implications The managerial implications of this review paper will be an added advantage to the modern business organization worldwide that have adopted KM practices to foster knowledge management with information technology (IT) infrastructure. As IT infrastructure focuses on knowledge acquisition, dissemination and storage but the KPIs revealed through this review will help in transforming stored information as learning for the organization to improve its overall performance. Originality/value This review synthesizes prior studies and provides directions for future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Kapsali ◽  
Jens K. Roehrich ◽  
Pervaiz Akhtar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine combinations of contract clauses in order to ascertain which combinations correlate to high operational performance (OP). Design/methodology/approach Two hypotheses were formulated from contracting theory and tested on data collected from 45 projects. Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis was used and validated with multiple regression and simulation. Findings The hypotheses were tested to determine whether combinations of classical, relational, and/or associational contract clauses correlate to high OP. The results show that whereas high OP correlates to combinations of relational and associational contract clauses, classical and relational clauses should not be combined. Research limitations/implications Directions are proposed to guide future research in order to produce a more nuanced testing of contractual complementarity. Practical implications The managerial implications of the findings include a more thorough understanding of the use of contract clauses and of which clauses managers should combine to achieve high OP. Originality/value This study contributes to the theory of contractual incompleteness and complementarity, specifically in the context of project contracting. The analysis produced two theoretical implications: first, that better performing contracts are created when combining relational and associational contract clauses; and second, that in projects, relational and classical contract clauses are not complementary with regards to realizing high OP.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (50) ◽  
pp. 425-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lalita A. Manrai ◽  
Ajay K. Manrai ◽  
Stefanie Friedeborn

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the literature and develop a model of the determinants, indicators and effects of destination competitiveness (DC), as well as several propositions. Design/methodology/approach This study thoroughly reviewed extant literature to develop a conceptual model and propositions. Findings Two key findings are listed below. First, 12 different environmental factors are identified and 12 propositions are developed linking these environmental factors to DC. Second, a new indicator of DC is developed, namely, Tourism Attractions-Basics-Context (TABC) model. The TABC model is simple and directly taps into the benefits tourists seek in a destination. Research limitations/implications Directions for future research are discussed in detail in the paper. Practical implications Managerial implications are discussed in detail in the paper. Originality/value The extant research on the topic of DC has been rather fragmented and incomplete in scope. The research presented in this paper addresses these limitations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Jean Harrison-Walker

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of emotions that consumers experience following service failures and to assess the effects of each of these emotions on important behavioral outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This paper extends the work of Wetzer et al. (2007) and draws upon the existing literature to test a series of research hypotheses tying emotions to four important behavioral outcomes primarily using stepwise regression. Findings When a service failure occurs, customers experience any of a variety of negative emotions. The effect on behavioral outcomes depends on the specific emotion experienced by the consumer. The current research, which benefits by using retrospective experience sampling, finds that frustration is the predominant emotion experienced by customers following service failure, but that anger, regret and frustration affect behavioral outcomes. Uncertainty also plays a role. Research limitations/implications Future research should investigate the antecedents of propensity for emotions and predisposition toward industries, as well as the consequences of word-of-mouth (WOM) praise and WOM activity. Additionally, emotions could be examined by service stage. Several other moderators could be investigated, including severity, complaining behavior, repeat occurrence, service importance, remedies and forgiveness, product vs process failures, tenure, gender and age. Practical implications The current research emphasizes the importance of understanding which emotion is being experienced by a customer following service failure to identify the behavioral outcomes that will be most impacted. The specific managerial implications depend upon the specific emotional response experienced by the customer and are discussed separately for anger, regret and frustration. Service personnel must be trained to recognize and address specific customer emotions rather than to provide a canned or generalized response. Originality/value To date, there has been little, if any, systematic research into the effects of multiple discrete negative emotions on multiple desirable behavioral outcomes. The current study examines six discrete emotions. Predominant emotions are differentiated from emotional intensity. The behavioral outcomes of reconciliation and reduced share-of-wallet are added to the traditional outcomes of repatronage intentions and negative WOM. While existing research tends to rely on a scenario approach, this study uses the retrospective experience sampling method. The authors distinguish between mixed emotions and multiple emotions. The relative effects of disappointment and regret are examined for each of the four outcomes. Finally, importance-performance map analysis was applied to the findings to prioritize managerial attention. Numerous managerial and research implications are identified.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximiliane Wilkesmann ◽  
Uwe Wilkesmann

Purpose The rise of new information and communication technologies forms the cornerstone for the future development of work. The term Industry 4.0 refers to the vision of a fourth industrial revolution that is based on a network of autonomous, self-controlling, self-configuring, knowledge-based, sensor-based and spatially distributed production resources. All in all, different forms of the application of the Industry 4.0 concept can be observed, ranging from autonomous logistic transport systems drawn upon the idea of swarm intelligence to smart knowledge management systems. This paper aims to develop a theoretical framework to analyze different applications of Industry 4.0 on an organizing continuum. The general research questions are: What forms of organizing digitalized work lead to the reproduction of routines, and what forms foster innovation within Industry 4.0? The authors thus analyze the consequences of different forms of organizing work on workers’ perceptions and the results of the working process. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides case studies for different stages of the organizing continuum in the context of Industry 4.0. The cases and a further analysis of all 295 funded projects are based on the Platform Industry 4.0 Map, which is part of the Industry 4.0 initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The consequences for people acting in such organizational and digitally supported structures are discussed. Findings A variety of applications of Industry 4.0 can be found. These applications mainly vary in the dimensions of the degree of formalization, the location of control authority, the location of knowledge and the degree of professionalization. At the right side of the organizing continuum, the digitalization organizes a work environment that supports highly qualified humans. They have broad leeway and a high degree of autonomy to design and create innovative forms of digitalization for tomorrow. At the left side of the organizing continuum, Industry 4.0 structures a work environment with narrow leeway, a low degree of autonomy and a top-down structure of control authority predetermined by digital applications. In this case, employees fill the gaps the machines cannot handle. Research limitations/implications As the paper focuses on Industry 4.0 developments in Germany, the comparability with regard to other countries is limited. Moreover, the methodological approach is explorative, and broader quantitative verification is required. Specifically, future research could include quantitative methods to investigate the employees’ perspective on Industry 4.0. A comparison of Industry 4.0 applications in different countries would be another interesting option for further research. Practical implications This paper shows that applications of Industry 4.0 are currently at a very early stage of development and momentarily organize more routines than innovations. From a practical point of view, professional vocational and academic training will be a key factor for the successful implementation of digitalization in future. A joint venture of industry and educational institutions could be a suitable way to meet the growing demand for qualified employees from the middle to the right-hand of the organizing continuum in the context of Industry 4.0. Social implications Industry 4.0 is designed by men, and therefore, humans are responsible for whether the future work situation will be perceived as supportive or as an alienated routine. Therefore, designers of Industry 4.0, as well as politicians and scientists, absolutely must take the underlying outcomes of digitalized work into account and must jointly find socially acceptable solutions. Originality/value This paper provides a promising avenue for future research on Industry 4.0 by analyzing the underlying organizational structures of digital systems and their consequences for employees. Moreover, the paper shows how Industry 4.0 should be organized to simply reproduce routines or to support innovation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Agrawal ◽  
Ritika Mahajan

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide an integrative review of work–family enrichment literature.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based upon 206 peer-reviewed papers derived from systematic search in the Scopus database. The review ascertains its relevance by analyzing the publication trends, research designs, data analysis techniques, sample characteristics, measures and findings of selected articles.FindingsThe study notes a rising trend of publication activity in the Asian region on this topic. Empirical research using regression is the most popular research design in this field. Most of the research studies have targeted samples based on family type and/or gender. The majority of the studies include directionality to measure work–family enrichment. Notably, work-related antecedents and consequences have received the most attention from the research community. Crossover models have concentrated on spousal dyad samples.Originality/valueAs per the authors' knowledge, the study is a primary attempt to integrate the extant literature on this subject. Additionally, the study presents the gender role ideology as a potential moderator and provides future research directions along with managerial implications.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 474-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilio Martín ◽  
Alfredo Bachiller ◽  
Patricia Bachiller

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the performance of Spanish banking entities between 2009 and 2013, a period marked by the reform of the banking system with a large number of mergers and integrations. Design/methodology/approach First, efficiency is measured applying the data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology and, then, the Malmquist index is calculated to assess its evolution. Findings The results show that most of the entities have improved their performance from the production approach. However, from the intermediation approach, the efficiency of the sample has deteriorated, which raises questions about the sustainability of the traditional banking business when the current credit restriction strategy is long lasting. Practical implications The comparative analysis demonstrates that, after the deep reforms carried out in Spain, the banking entities maintain similar efficiency rankings to those they had at the beginning of the period analysed. This shows that the reform has created new groups that operate adequately, avoiding the closing of institutions. Despite the better rationalisation of the available resources, the outlook for Spanish banks remains unclear in the current macroeconomic context, which does not favour the banking business. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature on the Spanish banking system because it adds new empirical evidence about its restructuring and it applies a DEA model to a sample before and after mergers. The authors discuss theoretical and managerial implications and offer suggestions for future research on this field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 434-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ata Allah Taleizadeh ◽  
Moeen Sammak Jalali ◽  
Shib Sankar Sana

Purpose This paper aims to embark a mathematical model based on investigation and comparison of airport pricing policies under various types of competition, considering both per-passenger and per-flight charges at congested airports. Design/methodology/approach In this model, four-game theoretic strategies are assessed and closed-form formulas have been proved for each of the mentioned strategies. Numerical examples and graphical representations of the optimal solutions are provided to illustrate the models. Findings The rectitude of the presented formulas is evaluated with sensitivity analysis and numerical examples have been put forward. Finally, managerial implications are suggested by means of the proposed analysis. Research limitations/implications The represented model is inherently limited to investigate all the available and influential factors in the field of congestion pricing. With this regard, several studies can be implemented as the future research of this study. The applications of other game theoretic approaches such as Cartel games and its combination with the four mentioned games seem to be worthwhile. Moreover, it is recommended to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed model and formulations with a large-scale database. Originality/value The authors formulate a novel strategy that put forwards a four-game theoretic strategy, which helps managers to select the best suitable ones for their specific airline and/or air traveling companies. The authors find that by means of the proposed model, the application of Stackelberg–Bertrand behavior in the field of airport congestion pricing will rebound to a more profitable strategy in contrast with the other three represented methods.


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