In 2004, the Theory of Constraints celebrated its Silver Anniversary. In twenty-five years, what started out as a scheduling software has evolved into a management philosophy with practices and principles spanning a multitude of operations management subdisciplines. As the Theory of Constraints has grown, so has its acceptance by both practitioners and academicians. At this point in its development, as it transitions from niche to mainstream, it is important to review what has been accomplished and what deficiencies remain so that both the promise and problems impeding greater acceptance can be examined. To that end, we review the evolution of principal TOC concepts and practices in an objective fashion. #
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address a deficiency in the literature by exploring the impact of negative workplace safety announcements on firm performance. The authors analyze the issue from a corporate social responsibility perspective and explore ways supply chain managers can contribute to improve firm performance through the development of safe working environments.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing a sample of 227 negative workplace safety announcements, this paper explores the implications of negative workplace safety announcements on the stock price of a firm using event study methodology.
Findings
The authors find that negative workplace announcements are associated with an abnormal decrease in shareholder value. Furthermore, the authors find evidence that negative workplace safety announcements have a more pronounced negative effect on firm value in the present environment than in any previous time period.
Practical implications
Operations managers need to play leading roles in ensuring safe working environments. The results provide the support needed to acquire the financial resources necessary to mitigate exposure to unsafe working conditions.
Originality/value
This study explores the impact of negative workplace safety announcements on a firm’s stock performance. It is the first large-scale study to look at public announcements of workplace incidents and to explore the impact of such announcements in the context of time.
PurposeWhile advances in big data analytics (BDA) provide valuable business insights and immense business value, many firms find it difficult to gain advantage from their BDA initiatives. Noting the strategic role of firm-specific knowledge, we develop a framework examining the relation between firm specificity of BDA knowledge and competitive advantage. We also examine the dynamic evolution of BDA capabilities and the associated knowledge management strategies.Design/methodology/approachWe review the resource-based view (RBV), capabilities life cycles and absorptive capacity perspectives along with the literature on BDA competitive advantage. Identifying two key BDA factors, application customization and data proprietorship, we develop a BDA competitive advantage framework. We also investigate the absorptive capacities employed by firms to advance their BDA capabilities. We use anecdotal cases to support our theoretical arguments.FindingsWe propose that BDA solutions with vendor-based applications (noncustomized) and public data will not generate firm-specific knowledge and therefore not provide competitive advantage. In contrast, BDA solutions with custom applications and proprietary data will provide high-level firm-specific knowledge and potentially result in sustained competitive advantage. We further suggest the relevant absorptive capacities and the knowledge management strategies for BDA capability development.Practical implicationsOur framework provides managers with insights into how to develop and enhance firm-specific knowledge from their BDA solutions to gain competitive advantage.Originality/valueOur study offers a new BDA firm-specific knowledge framework for competitive advantage.
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