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Using two longitudinal panel datasets of Chinese manufacturing firms, we assess whether state ownership benefits or impedes firms' innovation. We show that state ownership in an emerging economy enables a firm to obtain crucial R& D resources but makes the firm less efficient in using those resources to generate innovation, and we find that a minority state ownership is an optimal structure for innovation development in this context. Moreover, the inefficiency of state ownership in transforming R& D input into innovation output decreases when industrial competition is high, as well as for start-up firms. Our findings integrate the efficiency logic (agency theory), which views state ownership as detrimental to innovation, and institutional logic, which notes that governments in emerging economies have critical influences on regulatory policies and control over scarce resources. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on state ownership and firm innovation in emerging economies.

In this framing paper for the special issue, we map significant research on global production networks during the past decade in economic geography and adjacent fields. In line with the core aim of the special issue to push for new conceptual advances, the paper focuses on the central elements of GPN theory to showcase recent rethinking related to the delimiting of global production networks, underlying political-economic drivers, actor-specific strategies and regional/national development outcomes. We suggest that the analytical purchase of this recent work is greater in research that has continued to keep a tight focus on the causal links between the organizational configurations of global production networks and uneven development. Concomitantly, considerable effort in the literature has gone into expanding the remit of GPN research in different directions, and we thus engage with five domains or ‘constituent outsides’ that relate to the state, finance, labour, environment and development. We believe such cross-domain fertilisation can help realize GPN 2.0’s potential for explaining uneven development in an interconnected world economy.

PurposeThe metaverse development is in the early stages in most organizations and supply chains. There has been exponential growth in metaverse investments by leading tech and other types of companies and governments worldwide. This article aims to shed light on the topic by providing detailed insights for the operations and supply chain management (O&SCM) community concerning the potential, opportunities and challenges associated with the metaverse.Design/methodology/approachThe authors mapped 15 benefits and 15 challenges regarding metaverse in O&SCM-related fields from the literature, which in turn were empirically tested by a panel with 150 experts from more than 12 countries, from operations and supply chains and with experience in metaverse technologies.FindingsThe authors found notable similarities and differences between metaverse adopters and non-adopters in the O&SCM. Accordingly, some benefits and challenges are expected before and after the implementation, but it's still relevant. In contrast, there are ones that change their importance after the implementation.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, this paper points out the need for an urgent call for action to develop high-quality research on the interplay between metaverse and O&SCM. Second, the metaverse will reshape several established business models by offering new products and services, consequently resulting in the remodeling of O&SCM. Third, our paper provides a call for action to engage the community of scholars and practitioners to consider the metaverse as one of the last frontiers of O&SCM in the digital age.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first that investigates the metaverse benefits, challenges and expectations in the O&SCM. Also, it provides robust directions by an empirical approach to the metaverse as a new and important research stream for O&SCM and related fields. The authors provide a prospective research agenda that scholars and practitioners could use as a roadmap to capture metaverse opportunities in O&SCM.

By examining the state of operations management (OM) research from 1980 to 2015 and by considering three new industry trends, we propose new OM research directions in socially and environmentally responsible value chains that fundamentally expand existing OM research in three dimensions: (a) contexts (emerging and developing economies); (b) objectives (economic, environmental, and social responsibility); and (c) stakeholders (producers, consumers, shareholders, for-profit/nonprofit/social enterprises, governments, and nongovernmental organizations). In this paper, we describe some examples of this new research direction that are intended to stimulate more exciting OM research, to contribute to the economic and social well-being of both developing and developed economies. This paper was accepted by Teck-Hua Ho, operations management.

Purpose: Lean Manufacturing is widely regarded as a potential methodology to improve productivity and decrease costs in manufacturing organisations. The success of lean manufacturing demands consistent and conscious efforts from the organisation, and has to overcome several hindrances. Industry 4.0 makes a factory smart by applying advanced information and communication systems and future-oriented technologies. This paper analyses the incompletely perceived link between Industry 4.0 and lean manufacturing, and investigates whether Industry 4.0 is capable of implementing lean. Executing Industry 4.0 is a cost-intensive operation, and is met with reluctance from several manufacturers. This research also provides an important insight into manufacturers’ dilemma as to whether they can commit into Industry 4.0, considering the investment required and unperceived benefits. Design/methodology/approach: Lean manufacturing is first defined and different dimensions of lean are presented. Then Industry 4.0 is defined followed by representing its current status in Germany. The barriers for implementation of lean are analysed from the perspective of integration of resources. Literatures associated with Industry 4.0 are studied and suitable solution principles are identified to solve the above mentioned barriers of implementing lean. Findings: It is identified that researches and publications in the field of Industry 4.0 held answers to overcome the barriers of implementation of lean manufacturing. These potential solution principles prove the hypothesis that Industry 4.0 is indeed capable of implementing lean. It uncovers the fact that committing into Industry 4.0 makes a factory lean besides being smart. Originality/value: Individual researches have been done in various technologies allied with Industry 4.0, but the potential to execute lean manufacturing was not completely perceived. This paper bridges the gap between these two realms, and identifies exactly which aspects of Industry 4.0 contribute towards respective dimensions of lean manufacturing.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the application and exploitation of Big Data (BD) to create competitive advantage. It presents a framework of application areas, and how they help the understanding of targeting and scoping specific areas for sustainable improvement. Empirical evidence demonstrates the application of BD in practice and tests the framework. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory approach is adopted to the secondary research which examines vendors’ offerings. The empirical research used the case study method. Findings The findings indicate that there is opportunity to create sustainable competitive advantage through the application of BD. However there are social, technological and human consequences that are only now beginning to emerge which need to be addressed if true long-term advantage is to be achieved. Research limitations/implications The research develops a framework and tests it only in two dimensions. This should be expanded. The vendor analysis limitations lie within the nature of the information available and the difficulties in mitigating against bias. Practical implications The suggested framework can help academics and managers to identify areas of opportunity to do so, setting new levels of performance and new agendas for business. Originality/value This work contributes to service operations management, building on Kranzberg (1986) and the impact of technology and on Fosso Wamba et al. (2015) by developing a systems application framework to further understanding of BD from a practical perspective to extend their research taxonomy insights. The case studies demonstrate how the use of BD enhances operational performance.

PurposeThis study is intended to motivate and guide future researchers to rethink and update their theories of operational capability development. By examining the extensive body of research on operational capabilities and working closely with an industry partner, the authors are iteratively developing new thinking about why our existing models seem to be failing and what aspects are likely to be useful in updating them.Design/methodology/approachThis pathway paper is based on observations gained through a structured literature review, close collaboration with an industry partner and discussions with other industry partners and executives.FindingsThe authors identify ways in which the operations management community could begin to challenge and expand existing models of operational capability development. They provide reflections on the network structure of operational capabilities, i.e. their interconnectedness and interactions, which are likely to evolve dynamically over time and have not yet been part of the authors’ thinking about operational capability development.Originality/valueThe authors hope to stimulate new research through this pathway paper. By synthesizing their existing knowledge of operational capabilities and collaborating with an industry partner, the authors have attempted to highlight their limited knowledge of capability development. In addition, the authors offer several opportunities to rethink their existing models.

Purpose Manufacturing firms face increasing pressure to be more “greener” or environmentally friendly. Drawing upon the sustainable development (SD) theory and resource-based view, this study aims to examine the role of total quality management (TQM) and its effect on corporate SD (CSD). Also, this study focused on the mediating role of green innovation (GI). Design/methodology/approach This study used data from a time-lagged design with two waves that strengthened the hypothesized framework and used structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. Findings The results showed a significant influence of TQM on CSD and GI. Also, GI positively affects CSD and fully mediates TQM and CSD relationships. Practical implications Important practical implications are integrating the quality indicators with sustainability and environmental dimensions. This study shall help the managers and policymakers in achieving their sustainability goals. Originality/value This study advances the prior literature and provides a noble approach of SD for TQM in manufacturing small and medium enterprises in an emerging country context.

Purpose – The adoption of lean operational practices and independently the uptake of business practices related to sustainability and corporate social responsibility continues to grow. Past research has hinted at relationships between these two areas – suggesting that “lean is green” (e.g. Florida, 1996). The lean mantra of waste reduction and “doing more with less” is immediately apparent as delivering environmental benefits and has formed the basis of past research (e.g. Hughes, 2012). Almost all research linking lean operations or lean supply chains to sustainability issues have focused exclusively on environmental impact. The purpose of this paper is to explore the broader sustainability benefits of lean operations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a longitudinal multi-year (up to four years observation), multi-case analysis (n=5). Findings – The paper reports that lean operations meet a wide range of sustainability outcomes beyond environmental benefits (including supply monitoring, transparency, workforce treatment, and community engagement). The paper specifies the internal and external policies, procedures, tools, and strategies for implementation of lean and sustainable operations management (OM). This is encapsulated in the development of a stage-based theoretical model of lean-sustainability. Further, it is proposed that lean implementation and sustainability performance are in fact interlinked. Originality/value – Past research on the role of lean operations in improving sustainably has focused almost exclusively on environmental benefits accruing from toolkit/workplace level waste reduction. This paper demonstrates that lean provides more than a toolkit (a philosophy and strategic direction) and that this meets a wide range of sustainable outcomes. This finding makes major contributions to conceptualising how lean operations influence sustainability outcomes. The paper develops the first integrative stage-based model of lean and sustainable OM.

Research summary: This paper studies the coordination burden for firms that pursue variety as their main product strategy. We propose that product variety magnifies the tension between scale economies in production and scope economies in distribution, giving rise to complex sourcing relationships. Sourcing complexity worsens performance and poses a dilemma for organization design: A hierarchical structure with intermediate coordinating units such as sourcing hubs reduces sourcing complexity for downstream distribution but creates bottlenecks at the hubs, hurting performance for both the hubs and downstream distribution. We empirically examine operations data for about 300 distribution centers within a major soft drink bottling company in 2010–2011. Results support our hypotheses, illuminating the source of complexity in multi-product firms and the challenge for organization design in managing complexity. Managerial summary: This paper uses data for about 300 distribution centers within a major soft drink bottling company to study how a large product variety creates complex sourcing networks. We find that, in addition to poor performance (e.g., increased stockouts), complex sourcing networks can cause challenges for organization design. In particular, the benefits of converting an existing distribution center into a sourcing hub (i.e., reduction in sourcing complexity for downstream distribution) and the costs of doing so (i.e., reduction in performance for both the hubs and downstream distribution) are both real and significant. The design of an efficient sourcing network despite its complexity involves important managerial decisions. Experiences in building and managing such networks can be the basis of a dynamic capability.