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This paper first briefly reviews the worldwide development of the size of the university sector, its research merits and authorities' use of incentive systems for its academic staff. Then, the paper develops a static model of a researcher's behaviour, aiming to discuss how different salary reward schemes and teaching obligations influence his or her research merits. Moreover, special focus is placed on discussing the importance of the researcher's skills and of working in solid academic environments for quality research. The main findings are as follows: First, research achievements will improve irrespective of the relative impact quantity and quality of research have on researchers' salaries. Second, small changes in fixed salary and teaching duties will not influence the amount of time academics spend on research and, as such, their research merits. Third, because research productivity, i.e. the number of pages written and research quality increase with the researcher's skills and effort, both these figures signal a researcher's potential when adjusting for his or her age and the kind of research carried out. Finally, because researchers' utility depends on factors beyond salary and leisure time, employers have a number of instruments to use in order to attract skilled researchers in a globalised market. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the influence of higher education institution (HEI) facilities on overall student satisfaction, and to identify the distinct facilities that most strongly influence student overall satisfaction with HEI facilities. Design/methodology/approach – A tailor-made questionnaire is developed to measure student perception about student life, including their perceptions about the facilities at the HEI they attend. Two econometric models are estimated using OLS regression analysis. Findings – The factor that most strongly influences student satisfaction with university facilities is the quality of its social areas, auditoriums and libraries. Conversely, it is determined that computer access on campus does not influence student satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The sample includes data only from a single university. Moreover, only Norwegian students at the university participated in the survey. Practical implications – Based on our findings, the most effective strategy to improve student overall satisfaction with the facilities at an HEI is to improve the quality of social areas, auditoriums and libraries. Such a strategy will result in students who are more satisfied with the HEI they are attending and, thereby, increase the HEI’s chances of long-term success. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify the facilities that most strongly influence the overall satisfaction of students with the facilities at HEIs.

Purpose - Logistics scholars, as well as strategic management scholars, have in recent years shown that capabilities in logistics and supply chain management may be the foundation for a company's sustainable competitive advantage. It can be argued that beside product-, production-, or market-oriented companies, there are also flow-oriented companies, in which the business models are based on superior logistics performance. The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics of logistics-based competition, i.e. how a logistics-based business model is designed.Design methodology approach - The research is based on a case study at a German do-it-yourself retailer. The case company can be considered as a best practice company when it comes to logistics-based competition, where a committed top management team guarantees the importance of logistics in the strategic development of the company.Findings - Logistics-related characteristics of the three business model components - external environment, internal factors and offering - are elaborated.Originality value - This research adds to existing theory by developing the meaning of logistics-based competition. The strategic role of logistics is described through a business model approach.

Despite the time‐dependent behavior of carbon stored in plastic materials, literature assessing carbon flows into and from plastic typically applies a static approach. To better understand the climate impacts of such storage, this study explores how carbon stored in plastics can contribute over time to the national climate inventory with various emphasis on recycling. This is accomplished by implementing material stock change estimations for carbon in plastic materials that follow first‐order decay and include impacts from recycling rates in the Integrated MARKAL‐EFOM System model generator for Sweden (TIMES‐Sweden). Thereafter, three approaches to how carbon released from the plastic material stock is accounted for in the national climate inventory were applied to determine how each approach affects resulting emission and net‐zero pathways in different recycling rate scenarios. An accounting approach that follows the first‐order decay pattern of material stocks was found to be important for capturing the impacts of recycling and for neither over‐ nor underestimating the emission impact from carbon stored in plastics. Accounting for carbon stored in plastics may provide important incentives for producing renewable plastics and reducing dependence on carbon removal technologies. Because of its synergies with recycling, the carbon storage potential of plastic products is well worth recognizing and promoting in a policy setting that aims for circularity. For Sweden, this reduces the need for bioenergy carbon capture and storage and makes more biomass‐based carbon and electricity available for use elsewhere in the energy system. Using renewable resources to produce plastic creates the temporary storage of carbon that potentially could contribute with negative emissions to national climate inventories. This study presents a method and approach that accounts for this temporary storage, which is implemented into energy system models, to better understand how this temporary storage can contribute to our climate targets. The result of this study implies that accounting for the negative emissions effect of renewable carbon stored in plastic reduces the need for other carbon removal measures.

The paper develops a model to examine how different factors influence ferry users’ waiting time at the terminals. The estimations are based on interviews of 10,952 Norwegian ferry travellers just after they boarded the ferries. The interviews were conducted in 2013 at 16 of the most important ferry connections in Norway. The average headway and waiting time at the terminals were 52 and 15 min, respectively. By comparison, average sailing time at the services in question was 38 min, indicating that waiting-time costs at the terminals make up a large proportion of ferry users’ time costs. The model’s results show that the users’ waiting time at the terminals increases concavely with the ferries’ headway and distance travelled to the terminals, that is, the marginal effects of these factors diminish when their values increase. The first result indicates that the proportion of ferry users arriving randomly at the terminals decreases with the ferries’ headway. The model also reveals that a large proportion (20%) of the waiting times at the terminals is due to the travellers being unable to board their desired departure because of the ferries’ capacity restrictions. Other variables, like the mode of transport travellers’ used to get to the terminals, their income, and how often they used the service, influence waiting time significantly in the hypothesised directions, even though some (e.g. income and trip frequency) have very moderate influences on waiting time.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to develop a conceptual framework in which dynamic capabilities (DCs) for the creation of logistics flexibility are outlined, and elaborate it further based on empirical data from a case study at a Swedish fast fashion retailer.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual framework that aims to delineate the relationship between generic classes of DCs and logistics flexibility is proposed. Thereafter, based on a theory elaboration approach, empirical data from a case study at a Swedish fast fashion retailer is used to identify more specific DCs and further outline the characteristics of the DCs classes.FindingsThe proposed framework draws on the three DC classes of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring, and how they underscore logistics range and logistics response flexibility. The framework also distinguishes between DC classes and logistics flexibility that occur at operational, structural and strategic levels. DCs for the creation of logistics flexibility at a Swedish fast fashion retailer have also been identified and described as a means to further elaborate the characteristics of the DC classes.Research limitations/implicationsCurrent empirical data is limited to one specific company context.Practical implicationsThe research presents a systematic and comprehensive map of different DCs that underscore logistics flexibility, a useful tool supporting logistics development efforts regarding flexibility.Originality/valueThe establishment of a more detailed DC lens, in which different classes of DCs are included, means that an improved understanding for how flexibility is created can be achieved. It helps the research to move beyond the “here and now” existence of logistics flexibility to instead focus on how logistics flexibility can be created.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the antecedents of uncaptured sustainable value and strategies to generate opportunities to capture it in the circular supply chain of post-consumer used clothing.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on an inductive analysis of 21 semi-structured interviews conducted with various stakeholders in the circular clothing supply chain (for-profit and not-for-profit) using the value mapping approach, as previously applied in the literature on sustainable business models.FindingsFifteen antecedents of uncaptured sustainable value, and thirteen value opportunity strategies were revealed that hinder or generate multi-dimensional value types. Economic value is impacted the most, while there is lack of explicit understanding of the impact of these antecedents and strategies on environmental and social value capture. From a multi-stakeholder perspective, the ecosystem is emerging as new for-profit actors are developing novel process technologies, while not-for-profit actors are consolidating their positions by offering new service options. There is also an emerging “coopetition” between the different stakeholders.Research limitations/implicationsMore granularity in the different types of uncaptured value could be considered, and external supply chain stakeholders, such as the government, could be included, leading to more detailed value mapping.Practical implicationsThis research provides practitioners with a value-mapping tool in circular clothing supply chains, thus providing a structured approach to explore, analyse and understand uncaptured value and value opportunities.Originality/valueThis extended value perspective draws upon the value-mapping approach from the sustainable business model literature and applies it in the context of the circular clothing supply chain. In doing so, this research illustrates circular clothing supply chains in a new way that facilitates an improved understanding of multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder value for embedded actors.

The value of travel time savings (VTTS) is used as input in traffic forecasting models and cost-benefit analyses, and it is typically estimated in stated choice studies in which preferences are derived. However, preferences are affected by the recollection of prior experience, and evidence suggests that the recollection of an event is different than the actual experience. Although the choice of interview location is likely to affect how long it has been since the respondents travelled, evidence is somewhat limited on the influence of interview location on VTTS. This paper investigates the role that interview location plays in the VTTS of ferry travellers. We find that the mean value of headway time savings is significantly higher among respondents interviewed onboard ferries than among those interviewed at home. The mean value of onboard time savings is significantly lower among those interviewed onboard the ferries than among those interviewed at home. Failure to take into account the influence of interview location might lead to biased estimates. To the extent that such biased estimates are used in cost-benefit analyses, this bias will affect the calculated welfare effects of changes in frequency and speed on scheduled passenger transport, resulting in suboptimal allocation of public resources.

PurposeThe purpose is to explore how the configurations resulting from the interplay of last mile logistics practices and firm characteristics are associated with firm performance in an omni-channel context.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on configuration theory (CT), the authors use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze data on 72 Swedish omni-channel retailers.FindingsFour configurations are identified—store-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's), online-oriented SME's, large store-oriented retailers and large online-oriented retailers. The results show that while offering a wide range of delivery options is necessary to achieve high performance, it is not sufficient, and that returns and fulfilment should be simultaneously considered. For instance, large high-performers leverage their stores and warehouses for fulfilment and returns in an integrated way irrespective of sales channel-mix. However, SME's appear to focus on fulfilment simplicity with less-costly delivery alternatives, where store-oriented SME's leverage stores and the online-oriented counterparts leverage warehouses. Consequently, the authors develop a configurational taxonomy and discuss a set of recipes which provide insights for researchers and practitioners.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the pathways to success, and potential pitfalls, in the last mile logistics context.Originality/valueThis study applies a novel methodology in the field, namely fsQCA, to explore the paths to competitive advantage. It covers a wide range of stages in the LM including back-end fulfilment, delivery and returns. It also provides insight into the logistics practices of both SME's and large omni-channel retailers.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review existing research on retail supply chain responsiveness, develop categories to be included in a retail-specific responsiveness framework, and identify future research areas within the scope of retail supply chain responsiveness. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents an inductive systematic literature review of 46 academic, peer-reviewed articles. Based around the two major review questions on retailers’ role in the creation of supply chain responsiveness and future research areas, an inductive, qualitative, content analysis was conducted. Further analysis was conducted by using the software NVivo 11. Findings Existing research are grouped into a framework of four categories that together span the existing research. The categories are labelled supply chain orchestration, market orientation, supply chain operations and supply management. Two to three subthemes in each category are presented. Thereafter, promising future research areas are outlined, covering methodological issues, theoretical underpinnings, inclusion of context variables and outcomes of retail supply chain responsiveness. Research limitations/implications The conducted systematic literature review has been limited to academic, peer-reviewed articles. Practical implications The findings of the paper constitute a promising initial step towards a retail-specific framework on retail supply chain responsiveness. Originality/value The paper questions the comprehensiveness of established models in responsiveness, and argues that existing “general” literature on supply chain responsiveness gives little guidance and structure to retailers’ specific role and involvement in supply chain responsiveness. In particular, the paper focusses on the retailers’ role for creation of supply chain responsiveness, which has not previously been addressed in research.