Brewing collaboration

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 Horizontal collaboration is key to the success of micro and small breweries in Wales, and may demonstrate how similar enterprises can outcompete larger rivals by coming together. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists 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.

Toward collaborative networking among innovation laboratories: a conceptual framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to suggest a conceptual framework of collaborative networking among structurally and functionally varying types of Innovation Laboratories, which will enable them to leverage upon diverse competencies of each other and thereby facilitate their clients (business organizations) throughout the innovation process. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual framework proposed herein is oriented around design science research, whereby the important constructs underpinning the development of framework are identified from existing literature. The framework is based upon two constructs, service-based categorization of extant Innovation Laboratories, and concepts of horizontal and vertical modes of inter-InnoLab collaboration (collaboration among Innovation Laboratories). The framework is subsequently developed in iterations based on experts’ views and discussions. Findings The conceptual framework presents eight different opportunities of interconnection among Innovation Laboratories including the four horizontal collaboration possibilities as network of mentors, network of process intermediaries, network of resource providers and network of network coordinators which are followed by four subsequent vertical collaboration possibilities among these horizontal collaboration networks. The proposed collaborative network of Innovation Laboratories enables undertaking of complete innovation process with four possible entry and four possible exit points for business organizations. Originality/value The conceptual framework proposed herein is first of its kind to suggest a worldwide collaborative networking among Innovation Laboratories. The applicability and usefulness of the framework is supported by the existing ad hoc type individual collaborative activities being exercised by different kinds of Innovation Laboratories as reported by Innovation Laboratory facilitators and observed in practical field.

A relational view of horizontal collaboration among micro and small enterprises: a study of the brewery sector in Wales

PurposeThis study aims to explore how horizontal collaboration can help small and micro enterprises within the drink sector through the relational theory lens.Design/methodology/approachThe use of qualitative research methods, including focus groups and interviews, facilitated understanding the horizontal collaboration in micro and small companies within the Welsh brewery industry. Data collection involved conducting three focus groups and 13 interviews within the Welsh brewery sector in the UK. The collaboration phenomena were explained using the three elements of relational theory: relational rents, relational capitals and relational governance.FindingsMicro and small enterprises in the drink sector use collaborative initiatives in building new capabilities to generate relational rents. In addition, relational capitals and relational governance mechanisms were identified to support the horizontal collaboration among these enterprises.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus is on only one part of the drinks industry, i.e. the brewery industry; therefore, this study could be extended to other industries within the drink sector or across manufacturing industries.Practical implicationsThe micro and small enterprises can collaborate to achieve relational rent, but this collaboration requires strong relational capitals, such as trust. These partners need to change informal governance mechanisms that already exist towards more contractual formal mechanisms.Originality/valuePrior research has largely focused on vertical collaboration, with limited studies using the relational theory lens to explicate horizontal collaboration phenomena and no previous research in the context of micro and small companies. Relational rents, relational capitals and relational governance mechanisms are studied to provide insights into an effective collaboration in this context.

Supply chain resilience in the face of uncertainty: how horizontal and vertical collaboration can help?

PurposeThe COVID-19 outbreak highlights that many supply chains are exposed to unforeseen disruptions, that risks are unavoidable, and that the international nature of supply chains can seriously disrupt normal operations. Therefore, the need for Supply Chain Resilience (SCRES) is more imperative than ever. Furthermore, collaboration in supply chains may have benefitted the response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The aim of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of how collaboration with both types of horizontal and vertical collaboration in the supply chain affects its resilience.Design/methodology/approachA thematic analysis of the literature is used to investigate the concepts of both vertical and horizontal collaboration and supply chain resilience separately, then integrating identified themes to understand the relationship between them through a thematic map.FindingsThe thematic analysis indicates that the more firms collaborate in the supply chain, the more resilient they will be. Furthermore, both horizontal and vertical collaboration between supply chain partners will enhance resilience. This relationship is positively moderated by governance in the partnership and negatively moderated by competition in the partnership.Originality/valueThis is one of the first papers to provide in-depth insights into how collaboration, with both types of horizontal and vertical collaboration, affects supply chain resilience. Neither of previous articles provide an understanding of how both types of collaboration enables supply chain resilience.

Le langage des murs qui enferment dans L'Étranger de Camus et Hiroshima mon amour de Duras

Meursault from L’Étranger, and “Elle” from Hiroshima mon amour are tragic characters who, as if driven by an ancient fatum, have committed a crime, blood crime or crime of love, for which they must pay. While the first is accused of insensitivity and sentenced to death because justice sees him as a “moral monster”, the second is found guilty of “horizontal collaboration” and punished by “popular justice”. From then on, locked up in a cell for Meursault, or alternately in a room and a cellar for “Elle”, these two characters seek the faces and voices of past loves. The quest for these faces and voices from a bygone world which make the protagonists suffer by their absence will give way for Meursault and “Elle” to a state of peace that will allow them to come to terms with their past. While the first character, who has changed in prison, is going to rediscover his mother and finally understand her desire to reembrace life in the home for the elderly, the second character, “healed” by the Japanese, will finally find a sentimental balance.