A new perspective on the regional and global strategies of multinational services firms

Abstract and Key Results

Service multinationals: Their past,present, and future

Abstract and Key Results

Digital enterprise management in China: current status and future development

Digital management plays an important role in modern enterprise management. Supported by the Chinese National High-Tech R&D Program on CIMS, the techniques and software of enterprise information systems and digital management systems have been studied and applied in China for more than 20 years. The paper provides a comprehensive review on the development, current status, and future development of enterprise information systems and digital management systems in China, as well as the software products and the market for digital management.     

Thirty years of safety climate research: Reflections and future directions

Looking back over 30 years of my own and other safety-climate scholars’ research, my primary reflection is that we have achieved an enormous task of validating safety climate as a robust leading indicator or predictor of safety outcomes across industries and countries. The time has therefore come for moving to the next phase of scientific inquiry in which constructs are being augmented by testing its relationships with antecedents, moderators and mediators, as well as relationships with other established constructs. Whereas there has been some significant progress in this direction over the last 30 years (e.g. leadership as a climate antecedent), much more work is required for augmenting safety climate theory. I hope this article will stimulate further work along these lines.     

Issues and future directions in subsecond thermophysics research

The key issues and anticipated future directions in subsecond thermophysics research are presented and discussed. The main emphasis is placed on experimental techniques for measurements of selected thermophysical properties utilizing rapid volume heating (resistive self-heating) and rapid surface heating (laser pulse-heating) methods. The time regime covered is from 1 to 10^–12s. Specific research topics and key research areas are identified and discussed.Paper based on the Panel Discussion at the First Workshop on Subsecond Thermophysics, June 20–21, 1988, Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.A.Formerly National Bureau of Standards     

Using multi-hub structures for international R&;D: Organisational inertia and the challenges of implementation

Abstract and Key Results

Data supply chain (DSC): research synthesis and future directions

In the digital economy, the volume, variety and availability of data produced in myriad forms from a diversity of sources has become an important resource for competitive advantage, innovation opportunity as well as source of new management challenges. Building on the theoretical and empirical foundations of the traditional manufacturing Supply Chain (SC), which describes the flow of physical artefacts as raw materials through to consumption, we propose the Data Supply Chain (DSC) along which data are the primary artefact flowing. The purpose of this paper is to outline the characteristics and bring conceptual distinctiveness to the context around DSC as well as to explore the associated and emergent management challenges and innovation opportunities. To achieve this, we adopt the systematic review methodology drawing on the operations management and supply chain literature and, in particular, taking a framework synthetic approach which allows us to build the DSC concept from the pre-existing SC template. We conclude the paper by developing a set of propositions and outlining an agenda for future research that the DSC concept implies.     

Frontiers of research and future directions in information and communication technology

Information and communication technology (ICT), characterized by continual innovation and rapid technological change, is having a tremendous impact on society. Research and development in ICT are being conducted throughout the technology sector, and fundamental research is being carried out in many university departments of electronics, computer science, and engineering. This paper deals with frontiers of research and trends in selected areas of ICT, including computer hardware, microelectronics, and semiconductor devices and materials—areas that are leading the innovations in ICT. It briefly describes emerging technological developments, and concludes with advances in software engineering.     

The development and sharing of knowledge by Centres of Excellence and transnational teams: A conceptual framework

Abstract and Key Results

Manufacturing perspective of enterprise application integration: the state of the art review

Manufacturing enterprise today has become a matter of effective and efficient application of information technology and knowledge-based engineering. Several new manufacturing paradigms such as virtual enterprise (or extended enterprise) and mass customization have resulted in a highly distributed and autonomous manufacturing system. On the one hand, this will increase the competitiveness of a firm in terms of quickly meeting dynamic changes in the market; on the other hand, this will also increase the difficulty of integrating different information and knowledge systems residing in each member firm. This integration is also called enterprise application integration (EAI) (here the term application means information systems or software systems for supporting manufacturing or service activities). The methodology for EAI has been studied for at least a decade; but no satisfactory solution has been found from a practical viewpoint. EAI is becoming even more difficult due to the boom in various enterprise information and knowledge systems (and also to ever increasing competition in the technical software market). The study presented in this paper conducted a critical analysis of existing solutions to EAI. We consider EAI as having two generic issues: semantic integration and syntactic integration. The main problem of semantic integration reduces to the general problem of enterprise or business modelling. The main problem of syntactic integration reduces to the general problem of software architecture of enterprise applications which enables interoperability between any two EAs. While the first issue is studied in the manufacturing field, the second issue is studied in the computing engineering field. In this paper, both issues are put together under the context of EAI and studied. The result of the study, together with our experience with one Canadian manufacturing firm, has led to the identification of several issues to be addressed in the future. We also outline possible ways to approach these issues.     

Correction to: Innovativeness: a bibliometric vision of the conceptual and intellectual structures and the past and future research directions

Scientometrics - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-03994-z     

Roles of subsidiary managers in multinational corporations: The effect of dual organizational identification

Abstract and Key Results

State of the art of macro-engineering : Collaborative developments and future directions

This paper evaluates the state of macro-engineering in the United States by reviewing three key areas that affect the progress of the field: strategic implications of the changing economy; large-scale technology venturing and its emerging institutional responses; and the next steps in collaborative technology venturing. The hypercompetitive international environment in which companies must compete has imposed new pressures on business, government, and academia. It has forced a reassessment of the process of taking and sharing risk, which, in turn, is having a direct impact on the development of macro-engineering and the nature of collaboration. Macro-engineering is still a pioneering task. It requires a transformational management to be successful. To compete effectively in the global economic arena, it is necessary to find creative and innovative ways to link public sector initiatives with private sector resources for large-scale projects.     

Recent research directions: missing pieces of the puzzle

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy -     

Evolution of collaboration and optimization of impact: self-organization in multinational research

Scientometrics - The expanding presence of multinational research teams highlights the importance of characterizing the outcomes of international collaboration. Herein, we characterize the...     

Mechanical sub-cooling vapor compression systems: Current status and future directions

Using mechanical sub-cooling systems to increase COP of vapor compression cycles is a known method in literature to save energy and increase efficiency. Recently, much progress has been made with respect to investigation into its different aspects that can help to put it into practice. Numerical and experimental works are considered for the purpose of highlighting this progress. These can be categorized as: a) simulation of performance characteristics resulting from different refrigerant combinations in dedicated mechanical sub-cooling systems, b) variation in performance characteristics for a vapor compression cycle using integrated mechanical sub-cooling because of fouling, c) experimental study about consequences of employing a dedicated mechanical subcooling cycle with a simple vapor compression system, and d) experimental investigation about consequences of employing a subcooler in a two-stage refrigeration cycle. Some important results are discussed. Finally, some suggestions are made to provide direction into future research in this area to help put it into practice.     

Mass customization of medical devices and implants: state of the art and future directions

The medical field is one in which the need for customization can be clear cut, as providing tailored devices and implants for unique physiologies can provide for a better overall treatment than the use of ‘off the shelf’ devices and implants. Customization in the production of medical products can be roughly divided into consideration of medical devices, and of implantable parts or systems. The present paper outlines the current state of the art in both of these areas, presents details of projects that are ongoing at the University of Leeds and outlines future research directions.