Planning Technological Businesses: A Study of Market Positioning and the Value Chain

2023

TQM

Self Cite

PurposeThis research aims to evaluate the impact of barriers experienced by Brazilian companies in adopting Industry 4.0 (I4.0).Design/methodology/approachAs a methodological approach, the survey method was used, adopting the use of the questionnaire for data collection. From the feedback of 99 companies (with an index of 80%), quantitative analyzes of the data were carried out with the aid of factor analysis and linear regression to validate the proposed structural model.FindingsThe barriers construct does not impact the I4.0 adoption construct. Directly evaluating the effect of the variables that make up the barriers construct in the I4.0 adoption construct, it was observed that three barriers affect effectively the adoption of I4.0: technological infrastructure; financial constraint and lack of understanding of the benefits of I4.0.Research limitations/implicationsAs a limitation, the research was conducted only in the Brazilian context, requiring the development of future studies in other countries that can strengthen the findings of this research.Practical implicationsIn addition, the results achieved provide relevant insights into public policymakers and business managers, helping them to deeply understand the barriers that impact the adoption of I4.0. This facilitates the propagation of I4.0 concepts in the context of Brazilian companies and in the formulation of public policies adapted to each sector, allowing a more assertive action in the face of the types of barriers experienced by organizations during the adoption of I4.0.Social implicationsThe findings can help practitioners and policymakers to understand in detail this new industrial model and the difficulties that prevent its implementation.Originality/valueFrom an extensive literature review, no studies were identified that statistically validate which barriers effectively affect the adoption of I4.0. This research is a pioneer in proposing a structural model to analyze the barriers experienced by workers during the adoption of I4.0, exploring Brazilian companies, from different economic sectors and sizes. It is noteworthy that the literature still focuses efforts on manufacturing companies.

Section: Industry 40 Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study on the barriers that impact the adoption of Industry 4.0 in the context of Brazilian companies

CORDEIRO

2023

TQM

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“…During the implementation kaizen, the integration of processes, practices and people was sought (Reis et al, 2021a). The main improvement was based on the decentralization of the register in the ERP system, supported by the empowerment of workers that allowed more autonomy to be delegated to frontline workers, decentralizing decision-making (Magnani et al, 2019;Reis et al, 2018;Fernandes et al, 2017). The consequence was job enrichment (Wilkinson, 2001), greater worker satisfaction and motivation (Bellisario and Pavlov, 2018;Helmold, 2020), greater agility in decision-making (Hadid et al, 2016), becoming the hospital organizational structure more flat and flexible (Worley and Doolen, 2015).…”

Section: Capacitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing inpatient bed setup: an action-research approach using lean technical practices and lean social practices

Silva

et al. 2023

JHOM

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PurposeThis article aims to introduce a guide to improving hospital bed setup by combining lean technical practices (LTPs), such as kaizen and value stream mapping (VSM) and lean social practices (LSPs), such as employee empowerment.Design/methodology/approachAction research approach was employed to analyze the process of reconfiguration of bed setup management in a Brazilian public hospital.FindingsThe study introduces three contributions: (1) presents the use of VSM focused specifically on bed setup, while the current literature presents studies mainly focused on patient flow management, (2) combines the use of LSPs and LTPs in the context of bed management, expanding current studies that are focused either on mathematical models or on social and human aspects of work, (3) introduces a practical guide based on six steps that combine LSPs and LSPs to improve bed setup management.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focused on the analysis of patient beds. Surgical beds, delivery, emergency care and intensive care unit (ICU) were not considered in this study. In addition, the process indicators analyzed after the implementation of the improvements did not contemplate the moment of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, this research focused on the implementation of the improvement in the context of only one Brazilian public hospital.Practical implicationsThe combined use of LSPs and LTPs can generate considerable gains in bed setup efficiency and consequently increase the capacity of a hospital to admit new patients, without the ampliation of the physical space and workforce.Social implicationsThe improvement of bed setup has an important social character, whereas it can generate important social benefits such as the improvement of the admission service to patients, reducing the waiting time, reducing hospitalization costs and improving the hospital capacity without additional physical resources. All these results are crucial for populations, their countries and regions.Originality/valueWhile the current literature on bed management is more focused on formal models or pure human and social perspectives, this article brings these two perspectives together in a single, holistic framework. As a result, this article points out that the complex bed management problem can be efficiently solved by combining LSPs and LTPs to present theoretical and practical contributions to the important social problem of hospital bed management.

“…Collaborative practice is among the most frequently mentioned practices in the literature on increasing purchasing resilience. Collaborative models are identified as the formation of knowledge and a key mechanism for resilience in the public sector SC (Scala and Lindsay, 2021; Fernandes et al , 2017). It is the synergy created between the buyer and supplier in a partnership to maintain supply flow.…”

Section: Analysis Of Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Purchasing challenges in times of COVID-19: resilience practices to mitigate disruptions in the health-care supply chain

ARAUJO

et al. 2022

JGOSS

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Purpose This study aims to identify supply chain (SC) management practices applied to purchasing capable of improving the resilience of the health-care SC and mitigating the effects of material and service disruption during pandemics. Design/methodology/approach The approach adopted is qualitative and is based on a systematic literature review from the ScienceDirect, Emerald, Wiley and Web of Science databases. After selecting 705 documents, filters are applied, and 52 articles present problems faced by purchasing the health-care SC during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Findings This article suggests five propositions of resilient practices that can increase purchasing resilience in the face of pandemics such as COVID-19. The proposed practices are collaboration, flexibility, visibility, agility and information sharing, which suggest a sequence for the adoption of management practices based on the number of occurrences and importance found in the analysed studies. Research limitations/implications This study does not find robust empirical evidence that could categorically state that the results can be replicated in organisations in general. Thus, as a continuation of research, more studies should use an empirical methodology and case analysis to organise different branches. As the human factor was decisive for the results observed in the literature, future research should dedicate part of the studies to the psychological area of professionals. Actions to combat the pandemic were implemented, impacting positively and negatively on the results obtained. Future research on combat actions could indicate which ones should be avoided. Practical implications As a result, disruptions are expected to be reduced, and consequently, the resilience of the SC will increase. Accordingly, purchasing processes and procedures can be redefined to positively influence the resilience of the health-care SC. Resilience is related to maintaining the flow of supply, as well as systems and actions aimed at mitigating the effects of disruptions in the hospital’s core business. Social implications Health systems need to respond to society’s needs even in the face of global crises, such as the one faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The overload in hospitals and the exponential demand for specific medicines and services in the fight against the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic require enormous coordination in procurement by the purchasing sector. This planning aims to ensure that the care provided by health services maintains the flow of value that serves hospitalised patients. Originality/value This study introduces a new approach to the recurrent problem of disruption of the health-care SC during a pandemic using a combination of five important management practices. This proves useful for mitigating disruptions and their effects on the health-care SC.