No abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on Lean Six Sigma (LSS) for services, construct a morphological analysis (MA) framework and identify research gaps to point to future research possibilities and priorities. Design/methodology/approach The MA framework is based on literature review of 175 papers published from 2003 to 2015, across 67 journals recognised by Scopus or ABS Academic Journal Quality Guide 2015. A three-phased methodology is used by the authors, with Phase1 featuring a five-stage systematic review protocol to identify relevant journal papers for review; Phase2 presenting a framework for classifying the reviewed papers in terms of their fundamental, methodological, chronological and sector-wise orientations; and Phase3 constructing an MA framework on the classified papers and identifying the research gaps. Findings The MA framework constructed based on six dimensions, namely, organizational context of applications, desired outcomes, implementation systems, LSS tools and techniques, integration with other management philosophies and evaluation methods, involving 40 focused themes, has revealed 355 distinct research gaps as opportunities for future research. Practical implications This paper confirms the existence of substantial scope and points to specific topics for further research in the area of LSS for services. The findings demonstrate the gaps in academic research on the subject. In addition, the study also helps organisational leaders and practitioners to look at LSS from a holistic perspective in the services context. Originality/value The MA framework of the existing literature on LSS for services presents a unique, systematic effort to identify research opportunities. In addition, a five-stage systematic review protocol is proposed in this paper. This could be valuable to researchers and practitioners in enabling them to systematically review the literature on research subjects of interest to them.

Over the years, many private sector participation (PSP) models have been evolved for infrastructure procurement and the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model is one of the most common approaches used for the same. Private infrastructure projects under BOT arrangement have a complex risk profile and to a considerable extent, the success of any BOT project is influenced by the degree to which various project risks are managed. The major steps involved in risk management of a project are risk identification, risk assessment and the processes of prioritization and response to the risks. The conventional risk assessment approaches may not be effective in privatized infrastructure projects because of the fact that, they have very long project lifecycle with many country and sector specific risk factors. The assessment of complex risks is often a difficult task when past data on similar risks are not available. In this research, a risk probability and impact assessment framework based on fuzzy-fault tree and the Delphi method is proposed. The framework includes extensive scenario modelling of critical risks in projects and systematic processing of professional judgement (subjective knowledge) of experts and is developed and demonstrated in the context of critical risks in Indian BOT road projects. Detailed scenario modelling of most critical risks such as traffic revenue risk, delay in land acquisition, demand risk and delay in financial closure are also presented. The proposed risk assessment framework is generic and can be applied with appropriate modifications to suit any complex developmental project where past data is inadequate for risk assessment.BOT projects, risk modelling, risk assessment, fuzzy sets, possibility distribution,

No abstract

No abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical factors (CFs) of ISO 14000; to determine if ISO 14000 certification results in improved organizational performance; and to analyze the levels of and changes in these CFs and levels of and changes in the indicators of organizational performance (IOPs) in relation to firm attributes considered in the present study. Design/methodology/approach -The study employs questionnaire-survey approach to obtain the practitioners' perceptions of ISO 14000 certification, levels of presence of CFs and changes in CFs due to certification, levels of presence of IOPs and changes in IOPs due to certification. The data collected have been analyzed by using statistical techniques. Findings -The firms regard the preparation for emergencies as an integral part of environmental management system (EMS), and they seem to initially struggle to identify environmental issues that are to be given higher importance. Further, the certified firms find it difficult to continuously improve their environmental management processes. There are significant changes in all the CFs and IOPs due to ISO 14000 certification. Furthermore, more-experienced firms have higher mean values of levels of all CFs, in comparison with less-experienced firms. In the course of time, these firms appear to understand the EMS and effectively implement it in order to realize long-term benefits. Research limitations/implications -Results of the study are dependent on the nature and number of respondents, i.e. on the perceptions of the top management responsible for quality certification, and the sample size (number of respondents in the current study is 36 due to limited response rate and other operational constraints). Practical implications -The present study would enable the practitioners to benchmark their organizations (in respect of levels of presence of CFs and levels of presence of IOPs) with those of their competitors, with the best-in-class, and also with the industry's mean level. The study also enables one to compare different categories of firms (e.g. firms with low, medium and high levels of turnover; national and international firms; etc.). Since, there is a significant improvement in the organizational performance due to certification, the study provides a strong empirical justification for non-certified firms to go in for ISO 14000 certification. Originality/value -The study conceptualizes ISO 14000 as a seven dimensional framework. Further, it has also identified several IOP related to ISO 14000 certified firms. A questionnaire has been developed to obtain the perceptions of top management about the ISO 14000 certification and related factors and indicators; the proposed instrument can be used for several purposes such as functional benchmarking.

No abstract

No abstract