Fabrication laboratories

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1332-1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilberto Santos ◽  
Federica Murmura ◽  
Laura Bravi
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Case Studies ◽  
Current State ◽  
Total Response Rate ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
E Mail

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current state of fabrication laboratories (Fab Lab), an international network of digital laboratories, which provides new technological tools for digital manufacturing that can be used from individual users, to small businesses and schools. The aim is to understand similarities and differences of skills, technologies used and customers served among the main European laboratories (Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain) and the American ones. Design/methodology/approach Data from European and American Fab Labs were collected using a questionnaire survey performed on a total sample of n=493 Fab Labs. The administration of the survey took place through e-mail; 73 Fab Labs participated to the survey, reaching a total response rate of 14.81 percent. Findings The results show that Italian laboratories are characterized by ample space available, but limited capacity for investment in machinery and technology. European Fab Labs are similar to the Italian Fab Labs, while the American ones are more heterogeneous in size. However, a fact that emerges clearly from the results is how American Fab Labs are more important realities than European ones in terms of turnover and investments. They are more similar to businesses with an independent financial support. Originality/value The novelty of the study resides in the issue considered and the experimental techniques used. Some qualitative case studies have been developed in the field, but no previous quantitative analyses have been developed on a large sample of Fab Labs, developing comparisons between European and American realities of these digital laboratories.

They did not start the fire: reviewing and resolving the issue of physician stress and burnout

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Christine Babyar
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organizational Strategies ◽  
Physician Burnout ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Research Accountability ◽  
Physician Stress

Purpose Physician stress and burnout is a serious and common concern in healthcare, with over half of physicians in the USA meeting at least one criterion for burnout. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A review on current state of physician stress and burnout research, from 2008 to 2016, was undertaken. A subsequent perspective paper was shaped around these reviews. Findings Findings reveal research strength in prevalence and incidence with opportunities for stronger intervention studies. While descriptive studies on causes and consequences of physician burnout are available, studies on interventions and prevention of physician burnout are lacking. Future research on physician stress and burnout should incorporate intervention studies and take care to avoid limitations found in current research. Accountability and prevention of physician burnout is the responsibility of the healthcare industry as a whole, and organizational strategies must be emphasized in future research. Originality/value The value of this research comes in the original comprehensive review, international inclusion and succinct summary of physician burnout research and strategies.

Administrative and legal mechanisms for combating corruption

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataliia A. Lytvyn ◽  
Olena V. Artemenko ◽  
Svitlana S. Kovalova ◽  
Maryna P. Kobets ◽  
Elena V. Kashtan (Grygorieva)
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
International Experience ◽  
Legal Regulations ◽  
Positive Experience ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the administrative and legal mechanisms of combating corruption, namely, to determine the means by which it is possible to develop a positive experience in the fight against corruption. Design/methodology/approach Among the methods used to study the problems of the stated subject, the dialectical, comparative-legal, systems, historical and legal, formal and legal, analysis and synthesis can be distinguished. Findings The authors investigated the experience of foreign countries in combating corruption and suggested implementing international experience in national legislation for the successful fight against corruption. In the course of the study, the current state of legal regulations governing anti-corruption activities was characterised, corruption and the main reasons for committing corruption acts were investigated, the problems that arise in the fight against corruption were identified, the main administrative and legal mechanisms for combating corruption were established and the effectiveness of applying these mechanisms in practice was studied. Practical implications The provisions that are enshrined in this paper are of practical value for individuals whose activities are aimed at fighting corruption, as Ukraine is one of the states where corruption flourishes and where the fight against corruption has not been directly implemented in practice for many years. Originality/value Based on the example of international experience in the fight against corruption, proposals and recommendations for improving administrative and legal mechanisms for combating corruption have been developed.

China in Africa: a critical literature review

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdoulkadre Ado ◽  
Zhan Su
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Current State ◽  
Comprehensive Literature Review ◽  
Critical Literature

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically assesses the major contributions to the academic literature on China’s increased focus on Africa, from 2001 to 2011. It discusses the key trends concerning China’s presence in Africa and draws conclusions on the significance of the studies by emphasizing and contrasting the prevailing positions. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a qualitative approach using an integrative and comprehensive literature review, the authors performed a content analysis of high-impact, peer-reviewed papers. Findings – The paper questions and repositions some of the existing controversies. The results from existing studies remain questionable, requiring further clarification and more theoretical backing. It, moreover, highlights the notion that behind the explicit neutrality views of China’s presence in Africa, implicit assumptions may exist. These are often the differences in narratives conveyed by Western and Southern stakeholders. Research limitations/implications – Most of the conclusions drawn from this paper need to be re-explored and supported by additional research. This could be done by widening the scope of the analysis. Studies need to provide more empirical support for their assertions through quantitative data and evidence-based qualitative analyses – all within a framework that considers more cultural, social and historical dimensions. The paper also suggests that an institutionally based view appears most relevant in better explaining China in Africa. Originality/value – This paper reviews a decade of research on China in Africa and presents a snapshot of the current state of knowledge. It also raises concerns to be analyzed by future research and proposes new avenues for better understanding China’s presence in Africa.

Food behaviours of Italian consumers at risk of poverty

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (11) ◽  
pp. 2831-2848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arianna Ruggeri ◽  
Anne Arvola ◽  
Antonella Samoggia ◽  
Vaiva Hendrixson
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Inverse Document Frequency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
Female Consumers ◽  
Document Frequency ◽  
Consumer Segment ◽  
Quantitative Analyses

Purpose – At a European level, Italy experiences one of the highest percentages of population at risk of poverty (AROP). However, studies on this consumer segment are scarce. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the food behaviours of Italian female consumers, distinguishing similarities and differences due to age and level of income. Design/methodology/approach – The investigation adopted an inductive approach in order to analyse and confirm the determinants of food behaviours. Data were collected through four focus groups. Data elaboration included content analyses with term frequency – inverse document frequency index and multidimensional scaling technique. Findings – The food behaviours of Italian female consumers are based on a common set of semantic categories and theoretical dimensions that are coherent with those applied by previous studies. The age of consumers impacts the relevance attributed to the categories and income contributes to the explanation of the conceptual relations among the categories that determine food behaviours. The approach to food of younger and mature consumers AROP is strongly driven by constraints such as price and time. The study did not confirm a link between a poor health attitude and low socio-economic status. Research limitations/implications – The outcomes achieved can be strengthened by quantitative analyses to characterise the relations occurring among the factors and dimensions that influence the food behaviours of consumers AROP. Originality/value – The study increases knowledge about Italian female consumers and provides an initial contribution to the analysis of the food behaviour of the population AROP.

Sport in business studies: a state-of-the-art literature review

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 529-546
Author(s):  
Christofer Laurell ◽  
Sten Soderman
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Marketing Strategy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Studies ◽  
Current State ◽  
State Of Research

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of articles on sport published in leading business studies journals within marketing, organisational studies and strategy.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of 38 identified articles within the subfields of marketing, strategy and organisation studies published between 2000 and 2015, the articles’ topical, theoretical and methodological orientation within the studied subfields were analysed followed by a cross-subfield analysis.FindingsThe authors identify considerable differences in topical, theoretical and methodological orientation among the studied subfields’ associated articles. Overall, the authors also find that articles across all subfields tend to be focussed on contributing to mature theory, even though the subfield of marketing in particular exhibits contributions to nascent theory in contrast to organisation studies and strategy.Originality/valueThis paper contributes by illustrating the current state of research that is devoted or related to the phenomenon of sport within three subfields in business studies. Furthermore, the authors discuss the role played by leading business studies journalsvis-à-vissport sector-specific journals and offer avenues for future research.

Your winning business model agenda: four questions to shape growth

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladyslav Biloshapka ◽  
Oleksiy Osiyevskyy
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
The Other ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
Growth Planning ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Defines clear steps for growth planning that support answers to the crucial question: How and where are you planning to scale up the business and what talent do you need to implement this? Design/methodology/approach As the “Business model value matrix” shows, having ‘happy customers’ is only one determinant of a business model’s success. The other essential block of diagnostic questions deals with the current state and prospects of the firm’s growth. Findings We found that companies that have found ways to keep their business models in a winner’s state can provide clear, evidence-based answers to questions about growth opportunities and risks, while their less successful peers have difficulty addressing the issues. Continuous collecting and analyzing of this information allows successful companies to embrace the strategy-as-learning model of development, built around active learning and proactive adjustment to evolving environment. Practical implications To develop a strategy for moving to and sustaining the Winner state, managers must clearly articulate and test a set of hypotheses about the mechanisms of their company’s growth. The first step on this path is related to obtaining a clear view on the factors that underpin the current financial performance. Originality/value High-performance cultures make sure that each manager has the clear answers to the questions of value, growth and digitization in order to learn, experiment and implement the company business model agenda. The unproductive cultures, on the other hand, are sustained by managerial teams that usually do not have the answers to these crucial questions, but are very good at political games.

Knowledge management within a strategic alliances context: past, present and future

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisha Bamel ◽  
Vijay Pereira ◽  
Umesh Bamel ◽  
Giuseppe Cappiello
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Strategic Alliances ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Strategic Alliance ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
Literature Reviews

Purpose This paper aims at reviewing the extant knowledge management (KM) research field within a strategic alliance context to understand the historical roots, its temporal progression, current state and potential future in a meaningful way. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study was retrieved from the Scopus database using a systematic literature search process. The bibliometric characteristics of 393 research documents were analyzed using bibliometric and structured network analysis. Findings The findings of the study suggest that the publication in the field have been growing with an average rate of 8.48%. This analysis also lists the most productive and impactful authors, main outlets, and the most impactful secondary and primary publication in the field. In addition, the conceptual and intellectual structure of the research field was constructed and discussed. Originality/value This paper uses an objective and quantitative approach by reviewing the related publications and virtually included all the relevant publications in the analysis, which was seen to be uneconomical when doing traditional literature reviews.

A literature review exploring the role of technology in business survival during the Covid-19 lockdowns

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salma S. Abed
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Business Survival ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Business Sectors

Purpose The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of human life. Even though the pandemic length was not too long, a huge volume of research relating to Covid-19 has been published in different contexts. This paper aims to review the literature investigating the impact of Covid −19 on businesses generally and explore studies examining the technology role of business survival during the Covid-19 lockdowns specifically. Design/methodology/approach This study implemented the concept of a systematic review approach to review the literature that has been conducted in the business field during the Covid-19 crisis in general. Additionally, it looks into the research examining the role of technology in business survival in the Covid-19 crisis specifically. All studies were conducted in 2020. A total of 53 studies were identified and categorised into different themes. The research methods, theories and locations have also been analysed. Findings It was found that Covid-19 pandemic has affected all business sectors in several ways. Technology adoption has a critical role for business survival during the Covid-19 crises especially with small businesses. Very limited research has been conducted on the adoption of different technologies during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Originality/value This study presents the most frequent themes and topics that have been explored in the literature during the Covid-19 crisis in the business field. It highlights the methods used in addition to the theories and research locations present in this literature. Finally, it proposes the possible implications of this literature review.

Confronting the unprecedented: micro and small businesses in the age of coronavirus disease 2019

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Bressan ◽  
Abel Duarte Alonso ◽  
Seng Kiat Kok
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Theory Of Planned Behaviour ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Wine Industry ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Stakeholders

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand how micro and small firms are navigating through the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat, and the alternatives they are implementing to coexist with the ongoing crisis. To this end, Italy's socioeconomically and traditionally significant wine industry is examined. The study considers insights of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and develops a theoretical framework, which proposes various emerging theoretical dimensions, including proactiveness, support-reliance and resourcefulness.Design/methodology/approachWinery owners–managers were contacted and invited to partake in the study completing an online questionnaire. Overall, 167 useable responses were collected.FindingsWhile facing the loss of vital income through decreasing demand and exports, participants resort to exploiting various initiatives, including “reinventing” their firms. Their observations also recognise the vital supporting role of various key stakeholders, first and foremost family members, as well as clients and staff. Concerning how owners-managers envision managing their firm post-COVID-19, two predominant groups are identified, one strongly favouring modern-day alternatives, and the second committing to the firm's traditional business model. Overall, the different predictors of the TPB, namely attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control emerged.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first that empirically analyses micro and small firms in a socioeconomically and traditionally significant industry during an unprecedented event. In addition, the proposed theoretical framework provides a roadmap and guide to examine, understand and assimilate the entrepreneurial journey through a devastating event.

SMEs and adoption of innovative technologies

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 25-28
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Risk Management Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Exploiting new technological innovations can help increase the competitiveness of small businesses. But considerable risks are often involved in adopting such technologies. Knowledge risks are especially significant and it is imperative that firms become cognizant of such risks so that appropriate countermeasures can be devised and implemented as part of an effective risk management strategy. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. 

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document