scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on logistics firms and their resilience: case studies in Thailand

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-98
Author(s):  
Sun Ketudat ◽  
Chawalit Jeenanunta

Abstract The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that is currently causing challenges and opportunities in all sectors worldwide. The logistic industry plays an enormous role in keeping the countries functional, and it accounts for 13.4 % of the total GDP in Thailand. This article aims to identify and justify critical success factors for the Logistic Industries experiencing success and failure during the pandemic. The research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with top managers of three companies from March to September 2021, which is phase 4 of the pandemic. The findings we analysed using thematic analysis to understand the critical factors within the industry. Logistics companies of different sizes were selected for this purpose as case studies aimed to identify the resemblance of the effects and find the relationship with company resilience. Five key supporting factors were identified for the logistics firms to be resilient during the pandemic, including flexibility, Business Continuity Plan, market diversification, IT systems, and leadership.

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (10/11) ◽  
pp. 940-966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Maria Castelli ◽  
Andrea Sianesi

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how it is possible to take into account the objectives that fashion-luxury companies pursue on the final market (i.e. critical success factors (CSF) – of luxury) and propagate them in the upstream steps of the supply chain (SC) in order to understand how the latter can be aligned to the market. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive literature review allowed the identification of SC objectives. Case studies were used in order to asses choices and practices applied along the SC of luxury companies were assessed through in depth case studies; hence, the relationship between choices/practices, SC objectives and luxury CSF was explored. Findings – The paper documents that success in the luxury market not only depends on branding and marketing but also on the choices made along the SC, to the point that it is possible to identify some SC choices and practices that support the achievement of luxury CSF. Research limitations/implications – The results presented represent a useful guideline and offer some methodological suggestions; however, the precise set of SC objectives have to be tailored on each specific brand, according to the uniqueness that characterizes luxury companies. Practical implications – The paper suggests which areas of the SC should be mostly targeted in order to achieve success in the luxury market, also indicating some possible concrete choices. Originality/value – The main value of this paper consists in shaping a first explicit connection among the world of luxury as it is perceived by the consumers and the world of the SC.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilberto Santos ◽  
José Afonseca ◽  
Nuno Lopes ◽  
Maria João Félix ◽  
Federica Murmura

Purpose This research aims to focus on the idea management system (IMS) with the main purpose of identifying and describing the factors that promote success in managing ideas, grounded on the analysis of case studies. Design/methodology/approach The method used consists of a case study and semi-structured interviews with those directly responsible for the management of ideas from four companies, which are presented in this paper. Findings The main findings, critical for the success of an IMS, are as follow: the involvement of top management, evidence of results, establishment of goals and objectives, dissemination of good results, willingness to share and develop ideas, complete transparency in the management of ideas, maintenance of dynamic and proactive attitudes and mainly recognition. All have been described. Research limitations/implications This work presents a preliminary framework for further research toward the study of CSFs inherent to IMSs that is still bound by the limited number of case studies presented. Further research should be undertaken to broaden and consolidate the presented CFSs and their pertinence. Originality/value This study, although limited to four case studies, presents conclusive results that support managers of suggestion systems/IMSs in improving or deploying such systems. The main factors were identified and described. They can contribute to the effectiveness of employee suggestion system. It can be reasoned from this investigation that the contributions from employees toward the success of a company leads to excellence in business.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Wykowska ◽  
Jairo Pérez-Osorio ◽  
Stefan Kopp

This booklet is a collection of the position statements accepted for the HRI’20 conference workshop “Social Cognition for HRI: Exploring the relationship between mindreading and social attunement in human-robot interaction” (Wykowska, Perez-Osorio & Kopp, 2020). Unfortunately, due to the rapid unfolding of the novel coronavirus at the beginning of the present year, the conference and consequently our workshop, were canceled. On the light of these events, we decided to put together the positions statements accepted for the workshop. The contributions collected in these pages highlight the role of attribution of mental states to artificial agents in human-robot interaction, and precisely the quality and presence of social attunement mechanisms that are known to make human interaction smooth, efficient, and robust. These papers also accentuate the importance of the multidisciplinary approach to advance the understanding of the factors and the consequences of social interactions with artificial agents.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Moura e Sá ◽  
Catarina Frade ◽  
Fernanda Jesus ◽  
Mónica Lopes ◽  
Teresa Maneca Lima ◽  
...  

PurposeWicked problems require collaborative innovation approaches. Understanding the problem from the users' perspective is essential. Based on a complex and ill-defined case, the purpose of the current paper is to identify some critical success factors in defining the “right problem” to be addressed.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical research study was carried out in a low-density municipality (case study). Extensive data were collected from official databases, individual semi-structured interviews and a focus group involving citizens, local authorities, civil servants and other relevant stakeholders.FindingsAs defined by the central government, the problem to be addressed by the research team was to identify which justice services should be made available locally to a small- and low-density community. The problem was initially formulated using top-down reasoning. In-depth contact with citizens and key local players revealed that the lack of justice services was not “the issue” for that community. Mobility constraints and the shortage of economic opportunities had a considerable impact on the lack of demand for justice services. By using a bottom-up perspective, it was possible to reframe the problem to be addressed and suggest a new concept to be tested at later stages.Social implicationsThe approach followed called attention to the importance of listening to citizens and local organisations with a profound knowledge of the territory to effectively identify and circumscribe a local problem in the justice field.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the limitations of traditional rational problem-solving approaches and contributes to expanding the voice-of-the-customer principle showing how it can lead to a substantially new definition of the problem to be addressed.


1995 ◽  
pp. 27-39
Author(s):  
Margalit Berlin ◽  

The article analyzes the relationship between the corporate culture of a multinational company headquartered in the United States, which enjoys great prestige worldwide, and the business environment and practices in Venezuela, where it has an operation. The prevailing culture in the corporation is North American and the top managers come from their country of origin. In Venezuela, on the other hand, most of the companies are family-owned, and personal contacts and influences prevail. The research is oriented to the elaboration of a qualitative diagnosis, through rigorous observation and semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that there is resistance on the part of Venezuelan managers to follow the culture of a strict company governed by rules set in a very different economic and political context. The ambiguity between acceptance and low identification with the values of the parent company leads to think of corporate culture as fragmented.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Jaafer Y. Altarawneh ◽  
Vinesh Thiruchelvam ◽  
Behrang Samadi

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the critical success factors and the critical delays in the context of water infrastructure construction projects (WICPs) in the Abu Dhabi Emirate. In addition, the purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model to investigate the potential relationship. The literature concerning the critical success and delay factors and the related models that are available provide a starting point for developing the conceptual model. Based on the comprehensive and thorough literature review, all the dimensions of the variables are identified and discussed in detail.This study attempts to reduce the existing gap in the literature regarding the relationship between the critical success factors and critical delay. It forms a foundation upon which further local research can be conducted. In addition, it attempts to identify and point out the most critical success factors that will minimize the delay claims in water infrastructure construction projects (WICPs), as such delays would lead to some of the most difficult and controversial disputes to resolve.  Internationally, it is expected that the findings of this research may help as an evidentiary reference data on which other and further similar comparative researches could be initiated and developed in different environments in terms of cultural, social, contractual, political, and environmental mediums.Finally, the conceptual framework was developed by identifying six (6) variables for project critical success namely Project Management Process (PMP), Project Manager Competency (PMC), Project Team Members’ Competency (PTC), Project Organizational Planning (POP), Project Resources’ Utilization (PRU) and Project Organizational Commitment (POC).


Author(s):  
Viviana Durão ◽  
António Carrizo Moreira

This chapter, based on a single case study, has as its main objective to analyze a real example of creating an inter-organizational network and to perceive what was done for the selection and creation of the strategic partnerships and inter-organizational network and what factors or conditions can inhibit these partnerships from having long-term success and throughout its life cycle. For this, a qualitative study based on action research and semi-structured interviews was conducted. Results show although many companies settle in inter-organizational networks to gain competitive advantage, cases of failure are still quite high. In this case, upstream partnerships have not been based on long-term trust and commitment, which has jeopardized the continuity of the network, although there is an express desire to re-establish contacts. The partnership established downstream did not show the same commitment to continue the partnership with a total termination of the relationship.


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