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Over the past few decades, Quality Management System (QMS) and High Performance Work System (HPWS) have emerged as key concepts to enhance organizational effectiveness. All over the globe, majority of contemporary manufacturing and services organizations have applied at least one of these development strategies or even both. This study proposes an integrated framework of QMS and HPWS and empirically investigates the relationship between QMS and HPWS practices and their direct and indirect effects on organizational effectiveness using structural equation modelling (SEM). This research makes a number of significant contributions: (1) The black box of the conjoint implementation is opened up for better appreciation of the interplay of QMS and HPWS practices and their influence on organizational effectiveness (2) The key QMS practices recognized as contributing factor of performance have been classified and examined at two distinct levels i.e. QMS Top Level practices and QMS Core practices (3) The mediating and interaction effects of QMS Core practices and HPWS practices on the relationship of QMS-Top Level practices and organizational effectiveness have been thoroughly investigated. The proposed framework is tested through cross-sectional data from 90 Technical Services Organizations (TSO) operating in Pakistan. The research hypotheses are supported by the test results of the SEM. The findings and implications are discussed along with limitations and future research guidelines.

This research endeavour aimed to explore the potential of a native, nonedible and low market value plant feedstock, i.e., Saccharum munja for green synthesis of woodware materials and improve its features by incorporating an economical blending material. A significant amount of furfural, i.e., 58%, was extracted from Saccharum munja through the modified acid digestion method. Extracted furfural was reacted with phenol to prepare phenol-furfural resin, an alternative to phenol-formaldehyde resin but with no harmful effects for humans. The synthesized resin was also blended with montmorillonite clay after modification via Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) treatment for improved thermo-mechanical properties. These resins and composites were characterized by XRD, SEM, and FTIR spectroscopy. Resultant resins and composites were further employed as a binding agent to make high-pressure composite from leftover plant residue by hot-press method. The resultant product was subjected to TGA analysis and furnished high value of degradation temperature (Tdeg), i.e., 607 °C. Prepared high-pressure composite samples were mechanically tested through compression tests by Tinius Olsen Testing Machine and hardness tests by Rockwell Hardness Tester. Its tensile strength value was 58.3 MPa while hardness value was found to be 64 RHB which was greater than mild copper with hardness value 48.9 RHB. Thus, green high-pressure composite material was successfully developed by employing Saccharum munja and montmorillonite clay while no toxic resin was used, nor was any residue left over.

Inherent uncertainties in demand and supply make it problematic for supply chains to accomplish optimum inventory replenishment, resulting in loss of sales or keeping excessive inventories. To cope with erratic demands, organizations have to maintain excessive inventory levels, sometimes taking up to one-third of an organization’s annual budget. The two most pressing concerns to handle in inventory management are: how much to order and when to order. Therefore, an organization ought to make the correct and timely decisions based on precise demand information to avoid excessive inventory accumulation resulting in enhanced competitive advantage. Owing to the significance of inventory control and analysis, this paper reports on developing and successfully implementing a hybrid framework for optimum level inventory forecasting in Technical Services Organizations. The proposed framework is based on a case study of one of Pakistan’s leading Technical Services Organization. The paper presents a statistical analysis of historical data and a comprehensive fault trend analysis. Both these analyses set a solid foundation for the formulation of a comparative analysis matrix based upon price and quantity based analysis of inventory. Finally, a decision criterion (Forecasting Model) is proposed using three primary forecasting techniques with minimum error calculations. The study’s finding shows a forecast error of 142.5 million rupees in the last five years, resulting in the accumulation of more than 25 thousand excessive inventory stock. Application of price and quantity based analysis identifies that 65% of the annual budget is significantly dependent upon only 9% (in terms of quantity) of \"High Price and Small Quantity\" Items (HS). These HS items are forecasted through three different forecasting methods, i.e., Weighted Moving Average, Exponential Smoothing, and Trend Projection, with Minimum Absolute Deviation to significantly reduce the forecasting error while predicting the future required quantity. The research work aims to contribute to the inventory management literature in three ways. First, a new comparative analysis matrix concept for identifying the most critical items is introduced. Second, a Multi-Criteria Forecasting Model is developed to capture a wide range of operations. Third, the paper suggests how these forecasting criteria can be integrated into a single interactive DSS to maintain optimum inventory level stock. Even though the DSS framework is based on data from a single organization, the application is expected to manage inventory stock in a wide range of manufacturing and services industries. This study’s proposed hybrid framework is the first of its kind that encapsulates all four dimensions of inventory classification criteria, forming a multi-criteria hybrid model within a DSS framework.

Organizations rely heavily on audits and compliance related activities to prove their competency, credibility, and firm performance. Sustainability audits encompass entire supply chains and are very complex due to, firstly, the global nature of supply chains and, secondly, the expansive scope of sustainability, which may include financial, manufacturing, social, and environmental audits. Adding to this dilemma is the absence of a consensus on standards related to sustainability, resulting in differences, variations, and multiple interpretations. While the frequency, complexity, and scope of audits has increased, unfortunately so has the incident of audit fraud, which has seen increasing media coverage in recent times, often implicating major multinationals and their supply chains. We posit that this trend of increasing audit activity is causing “audit fatigue”, which, in turn, may influence the audit outcome, i.e., either audit fraud or a clean audit. This study proposes that audit fatigue is a genuine issue faced by organizations and needs to be conceptualized.

Disruptive innovation (DI) poses a significant challenge for firms due to their uncertain nature and unique diffusion patterns before entering the market. A proactive strategy to address the issue of DI can turn a potential disruption into a business opportunity. To implement such an aggressive approach, firms should enhance their intrapreneurship capabilities through middle managers’ disruptive innovation activities (DIA). However, research on managing and promoting DI by middle managers is still at a nascent stage. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap in the literature by examining the influence of a firm’s customer orientation (i.e., mainstream and emerging) and middle managers’ mastery achievement goals on their DIA. It analyses the direct and interaction effects of firms’ customer orientation and middle managers’ achievement goals on their DIA. The data from 337 middle managers are analyzed in structural equation modelling. The results indicate that managers’ perception regarding their firm as ‘emerging customer orientated’ positively influences their DIA. Perception regarding the firm as ‘mainstream customer orientated’ negatively influences. Mastery achievement goals of middle managers positively impact their DIA. The interaction of emerging customer orientation and mastery achievement goals significantly influence middle managers’ DIA. Later, interviews were conducted to elaborate on the survey data results, which complemented the findings and provided further insight into the identified effects. These results provide a comprehensive understanding of middle managers' strategic role in nurturing DI in an organizational setting and contributing to the theory and practice.

The 'system perspective' concept has intensely been supported by strategic human resource management researchers , who have so far been fairly successful in producing substantial evidence to prove that synergistic and mutually reinforcing human resource (HR) practices bonded together in 'bundles' , can significantly affect the performance of organizations at multiple-levels . To understand how HR activities interrelate to generate positive (negative) synergistic effects and affect performance across multiple levels, it is necessary to comprehend the pattern of relationships within HR activities.  However, limited efforts have been made to explore the nature of the 'Internal-Fit'of HR elements within the construct of HPWS. This research study aims (1) to develop a multi-leveltheoretical framework of HPWS to illustrate how aligned and interrelated HR activities can generate synergistic effects that may affect performance at multiple levels and (2) to clarify the nature of 'Internal-Fit' of HR elements in both horizontal and vertical dimensions within HPWS.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present results of a study that operationalizes the construct of disruptive innovation activities (DIA) at managerial level and to examine its validity.Design/methodology/approachA sequential mixed method approach is adopted in this study where a Likert-type scale to measure DIA is developed basing on the interviews of thirteen managers and conceptualization of disruptive innovation at manager level. Later, the scale validity and reliability are examined through quantitative data from 390 managers. The data are analyzed using IBM SPSS 23 and AMOS 21.FindingsThe findings of the study indicate that managers' DIA are spread across four phases of the disruptive innovation process, i.e. initiation, introduction, evolution and convergence. Furthermore, the reliability measures, exploratory factor analyses, confirmatory factor analysis and subsequent convergent and discriminant validity tests support the DIA scale. Nomological validity of DIA is also presented which demonstrates its predictive validity.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include research methods used in this study, such as cross-sectional design and nonprobabilistic sampling technique. Implications for future research are also provided.Originality/valueDespite highlighting the importance of managers regarding disruptive innovation outcomes, prior research lacked to provide empirical foundations to understand the phenomenon from managerial perspective. This study fills this gap in the literature by providing a measure of DIA at manager level and distinguishing it from similar constructs. The construct validity of DIA can help measure an organization's disruptive potential in terms of its key human resource. Moreover, the DIA scale can be used to substantiate the alignment of the managerial activities with the innovation roles in organizational settings and to develop more relevant incentive plans.

This paper presents a conceptual framework of managerial activities to foster disruptive innovations. Despite wide recognition of managerial role at middle and lower tiers of organization towards shaping its long-term strategy, the existing research, so far, has lacked in explicitly explaining the managerial activities directed towards the development of disruptive innovations. Authors explored the extant literature on disruptive innovation theory and identified three phases of the disruption process where managers at the middle and lower tiers can play an active role. The authors named this role of managers as their disruptive innovation activities (DIA). Furthermore, manager's DIA is explored in the context of existing antecedents of manager's strategic activities and a conceptual framework is proposed along with a resource map for future research, in this direction.

This paper presents a conceptual framework of managerial activities to foster disruptive innovations. Despite wide recognition of managerial role at middle and lower tiers of organization towards shaping its long-term strategy, the existing research, so far, has lacked in explicitly explaining the managerial activities directed towards the development of disruptive innovations. Authors explored the extant literature on disruptive innovation theory and identified three phases of the disruption process where managers at the middle and lower tiers can play an active role. The authors named this role of managers as their disruptive innovation activities (DIA). Furthermore, manager's DIA is explored in the context of existing antecedents of manager's strategic activities and a conceptual framework is proposed along with a resource map for future research, in this direction.

A comprehensive review of the extant literature on ISO Management System (IMS) standards certified companies conceded into major business performance improvement factors and elements. The worldwide activities of ISO Development of International Standards Total as of the end of December 2023 are 25111 International Standards and standards-type documents. ISO population data files for the years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021) show the standards used for certification in Pakistan besides world ISO population data. In 2023, a total of 1,465 International Standards and standards-type documents were published. Due to space limitations in the research paper, only one data file is attached to this paper. The most popular and populous standard among all is the ISO 9000 Quality Management System (QMS) standards adopted in Pakistan. The identified factors and elements /items were reviewed and converted into criteria set and framework. The analysis of this secondary experiential data shows that IMS standards certification improves the businesses’ performance. A survey questionnaire was designed on these business performance improvement factors and elements and pilot-tested to establish its ‘Reliability and Validity’. This questionnaire was used to collect national primary empirical data from both IMS standards-certified and non-certified businesses in all chambers of commerce and industry in Pakistan, including women’s chambers. The analysis of this national primary empirical data also shows an impact of IMS standards certification on businesses’ performance. Hence, it supports the results of secondary ISO experiential data analysis. Also, in comparative performance analysis, the IMS standards certified businesses outperformed the non-certified businesses. The IMS standards certification contributes to the prosperity, sustainability, technical, managerial, financial, Operational, communication, social, and environmental improvement, etc. of the businesses, thus increasing the national GDP. This improvement trend ultimately helps in attaining SDG goals set by the UN for all nations.