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"Bendul, Julia"
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Does Frugal Innovation Enable Sustainable Development? A Systematic Literature Review
The Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations recognize and promote inter- and intra-dependencies between the economic, social and ecological dimensions, emphasize the inclusion of local communities in the development processes and the need for sustainable consumption and production. To achieve these goals, interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts are needed. Frugal innovation emerges as a paradigm challenging traditional innovation pathways which may have the potential to bring together different stakeholders’ efforts to achieve sustainable development goals. This systematic literature review analyzes current research linking the concepts of frugal innovation and sustainable development. The aim is to highlight approaches and conditions in which frugal innovations can drive sustainable development, especially in relation to different types of private sector actors. Based on the content analysis of current studies, we formulate shortcomings of existing research and develop a research agenda with the aim to bring the two research streams closer.
Journal Article
The balance of autonomous and centralized control in scheduling problems
The scheduling of processes in a network is a core logistic challenge with a multitude of applications in our complex industrialized world. Often, scheduling decisions are based on incomplete and unreliable information. Here, a simple rule of ’more information, better decisions’ may no longer hold and heuristics balancing global and local information, or centralized and autonomous control, may yield better performance. So far, only anecdotal evidence for the potential benefit of autonomous control in scheduling exists. Here, we explore this hypothesis within a minimal model derived from scheduling principles and the phenomenology of dynamical processes on graphs. In this model, centralized and autonomous control can be represented and quantitatively assessed, performance is well defined and problem complexity can be varied.
Our model shows that a balance of centralized and autonomous control can enhance the performance in networks of decision-making entities. The mechanistic insight gained from the model also reveals the limitations of hybrid control setups: We find that communication at a high hierarchy level can give an advantage to centralized control. Counter-intuitively, it arises not from a higher degree of coordination and quicker convergence towards a common solution, but rather from an accelerated sampling of candidate choices leading to a measurable increase in information flow from higher to lower hierarchical levels. Our study allows us to formulate a new view of autonomous control in industrial production and derive a set of suggestions with the potential to enhance performance under realistic conditions of scheduling heuristics of jobs in a production process.
Journal Article
TRANSPORTATION TIME AND RELIABILITY IN INTERMODAL TRANSPORT CHAINS
In recent years the role of sustainable and alternative transportation concepts has significantly grown in importance due to increasing freight transport volumes, congested roads and intensifying environmental problems. Various industries understand intermodal transportation as a solution and feasible alternative to unimodal road transportation, as it combines the strengths of different transportation modes. Long-haul transportation that usually is carried out by rail or waterborne transportation represents a key feature of intermodal transport chains distinguishing them from unimodal transport chains. However, so far there has been no systematic analysis of the effect of long-haul transportation on the performance of an intermodal transport chain in terms of transportation time and transport time reliability. The aim of this paper is therefore to analyze and evaluate the effect of long-haul transportation on performance by proposing an analytical and a simulation model. The analysis contributes to a better understanding of impacts resulting from different modal shares as well as influencing variables and enables to derive recommendations for future transport planning.
Journal Article
Supply chain inclusion in base of the pyramid markets
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore mechanisms of supply chain inclusion in Base of the Pyramid (BOP) settings. It distinguishes micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSME)-led local supply chains on the one hand and multinational enterprises (MNEs)-led global supply chains on the other hand. This paper aims to answer the following research question: Which mechanisms of supply chain inclusion are employed empirically by MSMEs and how can these mechanisms influence social impact creation in MNE-led global supply chains?Design/methodology/approachA large-scale empirical study of MSMEs operating in BOP markets is performed and a cluster analysis conducted to systematically categorize supply chain inclusion. The cluster analysis and current literature yield theory-based implications for MNE-led global supply chains.FindingsThe cluster analysis reveals three meaningful clusters of supply chain inclusion in BOP markets and highlights two main aspects. They include direct vs indirect mechanisms of inclusion and diversity in supplier relationships with local organizations aimed at either “sourcing” local capabilities needed for inclusion or “outsourcing” the inclusion. Based on these aspects, two scenarios are proposed and evaluated for local-global supply chain symbiosis.Research limitations/implicationsThis study aims to contribute to the existing literature with a more fine-grained understanding of the inclusion of BOP actors in local supply chains and by proposing alternative trajectories for global supply chain inclusion.Practical implicationsThe findings outline several important decisions that managers need to make to include BOP actors in supply chain activities.Originality/valueThis paper contributes a novel, combined perspective of local supply chains (MSMEs) and global supply chains (MNEs).
Journal Article
Supply chain inclusion in base of the pyramid markets
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore mechanisms of supply chain inclusion in Base of the Pyramid (BOP) settings. It distinguishes micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSME)-led local supply chains on the one hand and multinational enterprises (MNEs)-led global supply chains on the other hand. This paper aims to answer the following research question: Which mechanisms of supply chain inclusion are employed empirically by MSMEs and how can these mechanisms influence social impact creation in MNE-led global supply chains?
Design/methodology/approach
A large-scale empirical study of MSMEs operating in BOP markets is performed and a cluster analysis conducted to systematically categorize supply chain inclusion. The cluster analysis and current literature yield theory-based implications for MNE-led global supply chains.
Findings
The cluster analysis reveals three meaningful clusters of supply chain inclusion in BOP markets and highlights two main aspects. They include direct vs indirect mechanisms of inclusion and diversity in supplier relationships with local organizations aimed at either “sourcing” local capabilities needed for inclusion or “outsourcing” the inclusion. Based on these aspects, two scenarios are proposed and evaluated for local-global supply chain symbiosis.
Research limitations/implications
This study aims to contribute to the existing literature with a more fine-grained understanding of the inclusion of BOP actors in local supply chains and by proposing alternative trajectories for global supply chain inclusion.
Practical implications
The findings outline several important decisions that managers need to make to include BOP actors in supply chain activities.
Originality/value
This paper contributes a novel, combined perspective of local supply chains (MSMEs) and global supply chains (MNEs).
Journal Article
Sustainable Business Models for Base of the Pyramid: The Role of Customer Participation and Cross-Sector Collaboration
Business models represent the main innovation focus for companies that aim to expand their markets at the Base of the Pyramid. So far, one of the most critical challenges Base of the Pyramid business models face is sustainability. Different literature streams advocate that in order to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability while contributing to local development, collaborative and participatory approaches known as value co-creation are needed. Additionally, two groups of stakeholders, namely customers and non-business actors, are the most relevant for the sustainable value co-creation mechanisms in Base of the Pyramid markets. In this sense, the overarching aim of this doctoral thesis is to investigate how co-creation mechanisms with customers and cross-sector actors affect the sustainability of business models at the Base of the Pyramid. The research process is guided by the theory of co-creation and borrows insights from several research streams, namely development cooperation and policy, sustainable business model and BOP innovation. The research design follows a deductive approach where hypotheses are formulated based on the review of the literature, case studies and expert interviews and tested through a large scale empirical study. This paper brings together insights from the aforementioned research streams and presents preliminary findings in the form of a conceptual framework based on literature review, expert interviews and case studies. Additionally, the design for the empirical testing of the framework through a large scale survey is described as research outlook.
Conference Proceeding
Fit Between Research Questions, Paradigms and Methodologies in Strategic Management Research?
Strategic Management (SM) is at a critical stage in its development. Numerous scholars suggest that the field is fragmented and lacks coherence, thus the knowledge accumulation and relevance to practice is endangered. Some scholars criticize the methodologies used in the field and highlight their severe limitations. Others suggest that SM scholars should be more concerned with matching research questions with the appropriate research methodologies. This paper performs a systematic investigation of the SM development trajectory aiming to examine the fit between the research questions, paradigms and methodologies. Following a time-axis model, the investigation for each stage of development is carried out based on a mixed research approach. The fundamental assumptions, content of studies and models of reality reflected in the major research questions are examined using content analysis of the most influential SM articles. While, the research methodologies are identified based on systematic investigation of SM journal articles and analysed using descriptive statistics. The major paradigms or \"modus operandi\" are identified using Burrell and Morgan (1979)'s framework for organisational analysis. The paradigm coherence is used as a proxy for the fit or misfit between research questions and methodologies. The findings support the explanation that SM field is fragmented and that there is a misfit between the underlying assumptions and nature of arguments reflected in the major research questions, the major paradigms, and the predominantly used methodologies. The used approach and the findings are relevant to other management disciplines as well, because introspection and critique are needed to ensure any field's relevance, knowledge accumulation and progress. Implications for theory and practice of the lack of coherence in theory development are discussed for SM and other disciplines. Recommendations for further research are outlined based on the findings.
Conference Proceeding