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PurposeThe emergence of distributed manufacturing (DM) is examined as a new form of localised production, distinct from previous manifestations of multi-domestic and indigenous production.Design/methodology/approachSupply network (SN) configuration and infrastructural provisioning perspectives were used to examine the literature on established localised production models as well as DM. A multiple case study was then undertaken to describe and explore the DM model further. A maximum variation sampling procedure was used to select five exemplar cases.FindingsThree main contributions emerge from this study. First, the research uniquely brings together two bodies of literature, namely SN configuration and infrastructure provisioning to explore the DM context. Second, the research applies these theoretical lenses to establish the distinctive nature of DM across seven dimensions of analysis. Third, emerging DM design rules are identified and compared with the more established models of localised production, drawing on both literature and DM case evidence.Practical implicationsThis study provides a rich SN configuration and infrastructural provisioning view on DM leading to a set of design rules for DM adoption, thus supporting practitioners in their efforts to develop viable DM implementation plans.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the intra- and inter-organisational requirements for the emerging DM context by providing new perspectives through the combined lenses of SN configuration and infrastructural provisioning approaches.

Purpose To achieve project success, an effective project risk management procedure is inevitable. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of risk factors on project success in the Chinese construction industry context. Design/methodology/approach This study by way of utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods has examined risk factors that are closely linked to project success in the Chinese construction industry. Findings After a thorough survey and analysis, risk factors related to designer, contractor, subcontractor, client and government are shown to affect project success to some extent. Originality/value It is suggested that the present research may be made more generalizable by a larger, more representative samples across various industries and regions of China.

Our study of UK higher education institutions (HEIs) offers insights into the role of institutional logics in the adoption of organisational practices - specifically outsourcing. We identify two logics prevalent within HEIs: a public service 'state logic' and a 'market logic'. While adherence to the market logic supports commercial-based practices such as outsourcing, organisations enact competing logics in complex ways. Outsourcing is mainly limited to peripheral activities segmented from the core while a nascent cooperative solution is emerging as HEIs co-opt practices and discourse of outsourcing to justify hybrid relationships that marry competing logics in a process of selective coupling.

1.1 Aims of this special issue (SI) While scholars have identified the coordination mechanisms needed to provide a synchronised response to emergency situations such as natural disasters (Holguín-Veras et al., 2012; Oloruntoba and Gray, 2006; van Wassenhove, 2006), the processes required to deploy emerging technologies during such situations had received limited attention (Dubey et al., 2020; Queiroz et al., 2020; Remko, 2020). [...]while recent scholarly work has considered the importance of organisational and dynamic capabilities in developing Industry 4.0 technologies (Roscoe et al., 2019; Xu et al., 2018), the significance of fostering capabilities for the deployment of emerging technologies in emergency situations is under-researched (de Giovanni, 2019; Koh et al., 2019; Sarkis, 2012). [...]emerging technologies can also be untested and have unintended consequences in certain circumstances. [...]their application should be carefully assessed with a system's perspective to understand better operational dependencies and how such technologies will change stakeholder behaviours. [...]six high-quality papers were selected for the SI. By employing partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), the paper offers empirical evidence that organisational mindfulness plays an essential role in enabling resilient humanitarian relief supply chains as opposed to simply facilitating big data analytics in a humanitarian context.

This research explores the acquisition of ‘customer solutions’ in complex systems support environments, through insights drawn from current literature and an empirical study of the UK defence industry. Few studies have examined how large industrial and institutional customers, such as the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) are seeking to acquire solutions rather than traditional products and services. Organisations such as the MoD are responsible for combining different technical systems (e.g. warships, aircraft and communications networks) with other assets and resources (e.g. armed forces personnel, logistics and infrastructure) to produce large scale services. Faced with pressures such as increasing operational costs, customers such as the MoD are now signing solutions agreements with their external suppliers of technical systems. The purpose of this research is to identify and improve current understanding of the types of solutions being acquired by large industrial and institutional customers. This is achieved through an examination of the concept of customer support, and the changing dimensions of support offerings and business relationships between customer and supplier. Capitalising on sponsorship and access to UK defence industry organisations, an exploration of 17 defence acquisition projects was conducted to investigate current practice. The findings offer richer distinctions between different models of operational system support. These include: (1) Product System Support, (2) Life Cycle Product System Support, (3) Functional System Support, and (4) Enterprise System Support. In collaboration with the MoD, a new systems support research tool was developed to assist researchers and practitioners to objectively position solutions agreements against the four models. The tool specifies the types of solutions that customers are acquiring. Most importantly, it assists in pointing out the significant difference between solutions that are bounded around products, and solutions that are bounded around the customer’s core business.