Purpose Nowadays, to develop innovative activities in research and development units, it is desirable to rely on the concept of open innovation to take actions towards the identification of external capabilities of an organization and external knowledge acquisition. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impact of external technology acquisition (ETA), external technology exploitation (ETE) and culture of innovation (IC) on open innovation (OI) using SEM approach and then examine the amount of the impact of open innovation on organizational performance (OP) and value creation (VC). Design/methodology/approach This study was an applied survey in terms of research purpose and data collection method. The statistical population included all companies in Yazd Science and Technology Park (STP). To collect the data, 109 questionnaires were distributed. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts’ comments, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated equal to 0.873 for reliability. Findings The results indicated, ETA, ETE and IC had significant and positive effects on OI, and OI by itself had a significant and positive impact on OP and VC. However, the hypothesis of the significant and positive effect of VC on OP was rejected. Originality/value Considering the importance of innovative activities of companies in STPs and the role of OI in achieving the goals of idea-driven companies, the present study evaluated the effects of factors affecting the fulfillment of OI in companies based in STPs in the Yazd province of Iran.

The development of a scientific discipline is partly determined by the growth of its literature. Bibliometrics constitute a set of mathematical and statistical techniques employed to explore, organize, and quantitatively analyze large pools of scientific literature. In this study, 11,433 papers published between 1974 and 2015 are collected and analyzed by applying life-cycle analysis, bibliometrics and text mining in order to provide a full thematic overview of the application of fuzzy theory in operations management. Top countries (i.e. the most productive, influential and collaborative countries), most frequently cited journals, and key research topics are identified by employing bibliometric techniques. Finally, the articles' common research themes and methodologies are determined by combining text mining with experts' input. Results show that the application of fuzzy theory in operations management is still in its infancy, and hence suitable for future research. This study serves as a guide for researchers to identify the hidden patterns, key actors, topics, and methods in this area.

PurposeThe present study seeks to design an index model of satisfaction among Iranian students who are studying at public universities in this country.Design/methodology/approachIn this research, data were collected in two stages: in the first stage, the data related to satisfaction indices were collected from 62 experts on pedagogical science and marketing management. In the second step, the data were collected from 1,404 students and were analysed by fuzzy analytic hierarchical process method, interpretive structural modelling and structural equation modelling.FindingsThe results of this study showed that three variables “perceived quality”, “organization image” and “Student relationship management” are reliable as indicators of student satisfaction. Also, contrary to the results of previous studies, the variable of expectations cannot predict the satisfaction of the students.Originality/valueModels of satisfaction have been designed in different fields. Also, in the measurement of satisfaction, attention to the field and customization is approved by researchers. Accordingly, the present study tries to design indices of satisfaction among students of state universities in Iran. It also pointed out the effect of customization on the formation of satisfaction at the Iranian and other universities.

Purpose The purpose of this paper seeks to provide a hybrid framework of sustainable supply chain fuzzy rotation matrix regarding the challenges in today’s business environment and the goals pursued by sustainable supply chain, to prioritize effective infrastructure to manage the challenges in ceramic tile industry in Yazd. Design/methodology/approach The research offers a hybrid framework of analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and quality function deployment (QFD) model to determine, which one of the goals of a sustainable supply chain can have a greater share in the management of business challenges. Findings The results indicated government regulations that encourage the implementation of sustainable supply chain and management of the consumption of non-renewable resources are among the most important infrastructures that can be effective to manage the challenges of today’s business. Practical implications Given the importance of managing the challenges in today’s business environment and sustainable supply chain management capabilities to enable managers to deal with these challenges, the present research makes effort to offer a hybrid framework of AHP and QFD model, to determine, which one of the goals of a sustainable supply chain can have a greater share in the management of business challenges. Originality/value By reviewing the existing research studies in the sustainable supply chain area, it can be found that despite of vast studies, there is no focus on establishing a comprehensive interaction between business challenges management and the fulfillment of sustainable supply chain management goals. So according to this research gap, a new framework was presented in this study to enable tile and ceramic industry managers, to focus on mentioned interaction and manage the businesses challenges in the desired way to achieve sustainable supply chain goals.

Purpose According to the definitions presented for agility drivers, it can be mentioned that supply chain risk factors in terms of feature have very close roles to agility drivers and both of these factors impact the uncertainty in the environment. However, the risk factors with a wider domain are more comprehensive. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of risk as a driver on the organizational agility. Design/methodology/approach To conduct the research, after identification of influential risk factors of supply chain and indicators of organizational agility, questionnaires needed for the research were designed and after confirming their validity and reliability were distributed among the member of the sample. To assess the relationship between supply chain risk and the amount of organizational agility, data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed using structural equation modeling technique. Findings The results of data analysis showed that supply chain risk factors could be considered as a driver affecting the organizational agility. In addition, in this study, supply chain risk factors were ranked using interpretive structural modeling. The presented comprehensive model indicated that based on causal relationships between risk factors, sovereign risk as the basis for model (three levels) and product and customer satisfaction risks as the output of the model (Level 1) were considered. Originality/value This paper fulfills an identified need to study how the risk factors as drivers of supply chain agility can have effect on agility.