It is important to develop understanding of what underpins the engagement of students in online learning environments. This article reports on a multiple case study that explored student engagement in a set of postgraduate degrees offered on a fully online basis. The study was based on a theorization of student engagement as the exercise of intentional human action, .or agency. It identified ways in which tasks and social relations in the online learning environments triggered reflexivity on the part of students, with 'reflexivity' understood to mean the ordinary mental capacity to consider oneself in relation to one's social setting. A different relationship between reflexivity and student engagement was in view than that identified by Margaret Archer with regard to reflexivity and social mobility. Rather than displaying one dominant mode of reflexivity, the students considered in the study were seen to draw on a range of modes. The engagement of these students in their learning was also seen to depend on the manner in which they engaged in reflexivity centred on the pursuit of shared goals, that is in collective reflexivity. Specific practices were seen to trigger constructive forms of collective reflexivity, while fractured and restricted forms of collective reflexivity were linked to student disengagement in relation to joint tasks. As well as adverting to the importance of collective reflexivity to learning, the study highlights scope for dissonance between the modes of reflexivity and practices favoured by an online learning environment and the reflexive profile of the student.

PurposeThe two main constituting elements of the supply chains are “product” and “supply chain operations”, which are highly inter‐related across more than one dimension. Many of the drawbacks in the success and sustainability of supply chains often relate to the segregation of these dimensions. This paper seeks to examine the ideas and to propose an integrated approach to facilitate the dynamic and simultaneous design and development of products and supply chains, thus contributing to the notion of agile supply chains.Design/methodology/approachTwo critical areas of product design and development, and supply chain design and management have been studied, leading to the conceptual development of practical models for approaching the subject. The proposed framework then is examined in a field case study in which a number of issues raised in this paper are validated through observing these supply chains.FindingsA detailed view of the model of simultaneous approach to “design of” and “design for” supply chain is developed and proposed.Practical implicationsThe proposition made by this research work can lead to reconsideration of existing practices in design of products as well as management of supply chain where the decisions at each dimension could be impacted by the circumstances in the other and continued in a dynamic way.Originality/valueIt is expected that the research results will contribute to existing practices and approaches in product development as well as in supply chain development and management.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -To examine the application of the principles of "agile manufacturing" to marketing strategy, planning and management, in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach -Uses the case-study method to test the development and deployment of "agile marketing" by applying the marketing techniques normally practised only by larger companies, within the "hard" and "soft" constraints imposed by one small company's managerial attitudes, corporate resources and time horizons. The host company was a UK supplier of technological products to other manufacturers; it had no history of marketing. The focus of the study was on the third stage of the agility framework: how a proactive marketing approach can be used to generate new custom. Findings -"Agile marketing" innovations released latent capacity, and a strategic marketing plan was devised to win new custom. After follow-up, four new customers had been recruited, and the potential for developing long-term relations with them was good. This proactive approach was recognised by the company to be a cost-effective route to business growth, as was the ease with which the plan could be reconfigured when new market niches were to be targeted.Research limitations/implications -The case study provides one "snapshot" of the outcome of transferring agility principles from manufacturing to marketing. The findings are nonetheless indicative and thought-provoking. Practical implications -Such marketing as small companies practise is more likely to be reactive than proactive. They rarely have the resources to take advantage of marketing ideas transferred from the big-business setting. There are thus many constraints on their ability to respond cost-effectively and swiftly to changes in their operating environment. The more flexible and reconfigurable the manufacturing and marketing systems, the more likely that growth will be achieved. Any spare capacity can then be channelled into recruiting new customers. Originality/value -Transfers a planning framework and set of procedures from manufacturing management to marketing strategy and planning in the challenging environment of SMEs.

Purpose There is a consensus suggesting that the theoretical underpinning associated with supply chain quality management practices remain evolutionary to current thinking. Therefore, this study aims to explore how absorptive capacity (AC) supports supply chain quality integration (SCQI) by building product and process quality within a supply chain (SC). Design/methodology/approach A comparative case study of global pharmaceutical manufacturers in a developing market was undertaken. A two-round qualitative research method was designed to collect data through 54 semi-structured interviews with pharmaceutical managers and senior managers. Findings The results demonstrate that AC is essential to the development of SCQI because of its ability to use valuable strategic and operational knowledge, which is important when improving consistent internal product and process quality, along with establishing a robust SC design. The authors found that AC enables companies to design their quality and continuously improve their products and processes among their SC members. Research limitations/implications The authors acknowledge that these sets of findings are difficult to generalise to other sectors, however, the authors are confident that they can be extrapolated to other companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Practical implications The study develops a framework to support practitioners and decision makers to leverage their AC towards facilitating their SCQI practices. Originality/value This study explains the role of the AC process in relation to SCQI practices, in the context of the pharmaceutical SC. The study profiles the characteristics of dynamic capabilities to increase the companies’ competencies, processes and resources.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the structural changes needed for project-based organisations (PBOs) to synthesise their project operations and services following the servitisation strategy. It addresses the question of how PBOs should change their organisational structure fitting with service provision strategy.Design/methodology/approachThis study followed an exploratory research method using a single in-depth case with evidence collected from 51 project managers from five different industry sectors: construction, oil and gas, IT, logistics and health careFindingsCapitalising on organisational design theory, it has been found that successfully extending PBOs' outcomes into a system of both project output and extra services requires an adjustment of organisational structure that creates greater value for both companies and customers. This required adjustment has been divided into five main categories: (1) collaboration cross-project and customers; (2) flexible workflow, (3) decentralised decision-making, (4) wide span of control and (5) project governance. However, the findings indicate that success can only be ensured by particular mutually coordinated organisational designs with a suitable balance of products and servicesPractical implicationsThis study presents vital indicators to PBOs practitioners when deploying servitisation within their operational strategy by adjusting the organisation's design.Social implicationsServitisation could add both economic and social values for a diverse set of project stakeholders. However, the sustainability performance of servitisation in servitised project-based organisations is an outcome of reducing the discrepancy between project operation and service provision activities.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the body of knowledge and proposes a structural alteration process in PBOs to help align project operations and service provision activities. It explains how project-based organisations reconfigure their resources to provide services.