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This study investigates the impact of Large Language Model (LLM) parameters, specifically
temperature and top P, on Supply Chain Risk Detection (SCRD). With a heightened focus
on Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) using AI, the research employs a Design of
Experiments (DoE) approach. The results reveal optimal temperature values for valid
assessments in SCRD applications. The study emphasizes the importance of tailored LLM
parameter settings, contributing insights for future research and practical applications in
enhancing supply chain resilience. Suggestions for incorporating Response Surface
Methodology (RSM) and refining the process are proposed for further investigation.
AI-based chatbots as enabler for efficient external knowledge management in public administration
(2024)
This study addresses the pressing issue of staff shortages in German public administrations through the lens of digitalization, focusing on the potential of AI-based chatbots to solve this problem by replacing human labour. Employing a Design Science Research Process (DSRP) methodology, the research synthesizes theoretical foundations and regulatory frameworks to develop a robust chatbot concept. The artifact presented is a comprehensive architectural framework integrating user-centric design, linguistic processing, and regulatory compliance. The proposed artifact navigates complex federal structures and diverse IT infrastructures, promoting accessibility and inclusivity. Implications suggest enhanced efficiency and accessibility in public service delivery for potentially increasing citizen satisfaction and decreasing employee workload. The study underscores the importance of legal compliance and the evolving regulatory landscape in AI deployment. Future research will involve prototyping and evaluating the artifact's performance and applicability throughout the course of the DSRP, thus contributing to the advancement of digital transformation in public administrations.
In-depth analysis of customer journeys to broaden the understanding of customer behaviors and expectations in order to improve the customer experience is considered highly relevant in modern business practices. Recent studies predominantly focus on retrospective analysis of customer data, whereas more forward-directed concepts, namely predictions, are rarely addressed. Additionally, the integration of robotic process automation (RPA) to potentially increase the efficiency of customer journey analysis is not discussed in the current field of research. To fill this research gap, this paper introduces “customer journey mining”. Process mining techniques are applied to leverage digital customer data for accurate prediction of customer movements through individual journeys, creating valuable insights for improving the customer experience. Striving for improved efficiency, the potential interplay of RPA and customer journey mining is examined accordingly. The research methodology followed is based on a design science research process. An initially defined customer journey mining artifact is operationalized through an illustrative case study. This operationalization is achieved by analyzing a log file of an online travel agency functioning as an orientation for researchers and practitioners while also evaluating the initially defined framework. The data is used to train seven distinct prediction models to forecast the touchpoint a customer is most likely to visit next. Gradient-boosted trees yield the highest prediction accuracy with 43.1%. The findings further indicate technical suitability for RPA implementation, while financial viability is unlikely.
Against the setting of an increasing need for innovation and low margins, companies in the logistics
sector are facing highly competitive pressure. One field with high potential for optimization lies within
damage quotas. The use of big data analytics or data mining represents a promising approach to face
this challenge. However, within supply chain management, data mining is hardly being researched on
regarding damage quotas and thus not being utilized to its full possible extend. At the current time it
seems to predominantly be used for route and utilization optimization while the analysis of delivery
damages is hardly considered.
The aim of this research is therefore to showcase an initial approach for data mining in logistics to predict
delivery damage probabilities and to validate this by means of a multiple case study research. To create
a sound basis for evaluation, the groundwork is laid out based on CRISP-DM by the analysis of reference
data (German road-cargo market).
As a central result it is noted that data mining can systematically be used to help reducing the damages
by forecasting the probabilities of damages occurring during transport in dependence of different factors.
The approach can be utilized across different markets as long as sufficient data tracking delivery
damages is being collected within a company. Challenges arise in the field of air- and sea-freight.
Automated regression tests are a key enabler for applying popular continuous software engineering techniques. This paper focuses on testing BPMN-based Process-Driven Applications (PDA). When evolving PDAs, the affected test cases must be identified and co-evolved as well. In this process, affected test cases can be overlooked, misunderstandings may occur during communication between different roles involved, and implementation errors can arise. Regardless of possible error sources, the entire test migration process is time-consuming. This paper presents a new semi-automated test migration process for PDAs. The concept builds on previous work on creating regression tests using a no-code approach. Our approach identifies the modifications of the PDA and classifies their impact on previously defined tests. The classification indicates whether existing test code can be migrated automatically or whether a manual revision becomes necessary. During an AB/BA experiment, the concept and the developed prototype proved a more efficient test migration process and a higher test quality.
Ecosystem Emergence and Founding Conditions - Lessions Learned from an Imprinting Perspective
(2022)
The rise of ecosystem prominence has provided several definitions of how we understand ecosystems nowadays. In this context, several scholars have considered influencing factors for ecosystem emergence. This paper addresses this consideration and analyzes the salient characteristics of different ecosystem types and their potential persistence since ecosystem founding to improve the understanding of emergence. We applied a three-step approach (1) identifying ecosystem types based on bibliometric analysis, (2) exploring salient characteristics per ecosystem type using qualitative content analysis and (3) deriving founding conditions from the salient characteristics following a conceptual approach. Based on a bibliometric analysis, we identified business/innovation, entrepreneurial and service ecosystems. In a second step, we developed salient characteristics within the themes of structure, power constellation/interdependencies and governance by inductive coding. As we identified a significant difference in alignment structure, we analyzed if alignment structure persists since ecosystem origin and explains why ecosystems differ. We analyzed potential pairings between alignment structure and their respective founding condition for every ecosystem type. With the alignment structures’ persistence, we can better understand why ecosystem types differ.
Assessing serious games within purchasing and supply management education: an in-class experiment
(2021)
Process-Driven Applications flourish through the interaction between an executable BPMN process model, human tasks, and external software services. All these components operate on shared process data, so it is even more important to check the correct data flow. However, data flow is in most cases not explicitly defined but hidden in model elements, form declarations, and program code. This paper elaborates on data-flow anomalies acting as indicators for potential errors and how such anomalies can be uncovered despite implicit and hidden data-flow definitions. By considering an integrated view, it goes beyond other approaches which are restricted to separate data-flow analysis of either process model or source code. The main idea is to merge call graphs representing programmed services into a control-flow representation of the process model, to label the resulting graph with associated data operations, and to detect anomalies in that labeled graph using a dedicated data-flow analysis. The applicability of the solution is demonstrated by a prototype designed for the Camunda BPM platform.
Specifying roles in purchasing and supply management in the era of Industry 4.0: A Delphi study
(2021)
New technologies and systems within the field of purchasing and supply management (PSM) call forth responsibilities and require expertise. Moving towards Industry 4.0 in purchasing, increasing attention on specialization within talent and skills, where human capital is needed to exploit the full potential of technologies. Based on an internet-based real-time Delhi study with 47 experts within the PSM field, six future purchasing roles have been defined and elaborated. These future roles connect to the maturing and emerging technologies within the purchasing field and provide a guideline to further develop towards Industry 4.0 in purchasing based on a human-centered evolutionary approach.
To increase maturity within purchasing and supply management (PSM), future purchasing skills are needed based on the technological development towards Industry 4.0. Past research, eg, the work of Bals, Schulze, Kelly, and Stek (2019), started to address this issue based on literature review and interview studies. However, a detailed description of these skills is missing. Utilizing a real-time Delhi study with 45 experts within the PSM field, nine future purchasing skills have been elaborated. Identified skills connect to the maturing and emerging technologies within purchasing and provide a guideline towards Industry 4.0 in purchasing based on a human-centric perspective.
Professional roles, including specific skills for each role, are a step towards higher professionalism and maturity within purchasing and supply management (PSM). The global development towards increasing digitalization, Industry 4.0, globalization, and increasing attention for corporate social responsibility force change within the purchasing organizations. Here, PSM's professional roles and skills are a good starting point to manage these changes by redefining professional roles organized by specific skills and responsibilities. For this reason, based on a systematic literature review and three World Cafés with 29 purchasing professionals, this study compiles a list of Industry 4.0 professional roles and skills in PSM.
This paper uses the findings from a literature review and series of expert interviews to develop a richer and Purchasing and Supply Management (PSM) context-specific perspective of the different key techniques, tools and principles that can be used to develop gamified learning to enhance the skills required by PSM professionals in dealing with current and future challenges, such as the transformation to Industry 4.0. It also provides further details of the different stages of implementing gamified learning, which can enhance the success of any such provision.
In the so-called ecosystem economy, new platform-based business models evolve rap-idly based on the prospects of digital technology. In the B2B context especially, data-driven platforms are highly relevant. Thus far, little research has been conducted on service providers, the so-called complementors of data-driven platforms. Therefore, this paper represents just a starting point for gaining deeper insights into the different facets of complementor management. For empirical evidence, we draw on semi-structured expert interviews with platform managers. The findings outline the distinct characteristics of open and closed platforms which need to be taken into account for complementor management. Moreover, the paper reveals a number of differences in managing suppliers compared to managing complementors. In addition, our study shows that the key factors influencing complementor management include platform openness, partnership intensity, strategic fit, and market structure respectively poten-tial.
Complementor relationship management for Data-driven B2B platforms: Towards a Holistic approach
(2021)
In the so-called ecosystem economy, new platform-based business models evolve rapidly based on the prospects of digital technology. Especially in the B2B context, data-driven platforms are highly relevant. Thus far, little research has been conducted on the supply side of data-driven platforms and especially on service providers, the so-called complementors. Therefore, this paper offers insights into the various facets of complementor relationship management (CoRM). The paper aims to develop a framework for the management of complementors of data-driven B2B platforms. For empirical evidence, we draw on 14 semi-structured expert interviews with platform managers and complementors. The findings outline two big areas of CoRM and discuss distinct characteristics of partner management and technology management. For partner management the differentiation into open and closed platform needs to be taken into account for complementor relationship management. Moreover, our study reveals the key factors of technology management which lead from platform infrastructure to digital applications like digital twins or predictive maintenance.
Innovative business models for data-driven B2B platforms evolve rapidly based on the prospects of digital technology. In addition to the platform provider, service providers on the supply side of the digital platform - the so-called complementors - play an important role in the process of value creation. This paper highlights the complementors’ perspective on the different facets of complementor relationship management (CoRM) and answers the following research questions: From the perspective of a complementor, what are the main fields of CoRM for data-driven B2B platforms? What factors of influence comprise the reason complementors join a platform?
BPMN-based Process-Driven Applications (PDA) require less coding since they are not only based on source code, but also on executable process models. Automated testing of such model-driven applications gains growing relevance, and it becomes a key enabler if we want to found their development on continuous integration (CI) techniques.While process analysts are typically responsible for test case specifications from a business perspective, technically skilled process engineers take the responsibility for implementing the required test code. This is time-consuming and, due to their often different skills and backgrounds, might result in communication problems such as information losses and misunderstandings. This paper presents a new approach which enables an analyst to generate executable tests for PDAs without the need for manual coding. It consists of a sophisticated model analysis, a wizard-based specification of test cases, and a subsequent code generation. The resulting tests can easily be integrated into CI pipelines.The concept is underpinned by a user-friendly tool which has been evaluated in case studies and in real-world implementation projects from different industry sectors. During the evaluation, the prototype proved a more efficient test creation process and a higher test quality.
While the service sector is growing rapidly, the purchasing of services has not yet received significant attention in theory or practice. Service purchasers face serious challenges, and existing purchasing practices for services are often non-strategic. We choose an exploratory–qualitative research approach to investigate the purchasing of IT, logistics and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services. In particular, we focus on the role of visibility and analyze how service purchasers can benefit from extensive knowledge about their service networks. We determine that visibility indeed adds significant value to service purchasing and can help service purchasers to decrease costs, mitigate risks and maintain competitiveness.
The use of augmented reality (AR) in outbound logistics is associated with potentially strong stimuli for cost savings and throughput time. Nevertheless, the benefits of AR compared to conventional methods require a holistic analysis for investment decision making. Until now, research has only assessed case-study-related potentials and selected aspects of the technology. This paper answers the following research questions: How can the economic efficiency of AR in the packing process be quantified by utilizing a holistic model of value drivers? How can AR be technically implemented for packing processes in outbound logistics? What economic profit results from the use of AR technology in a case company’s packing process?
The presented model enables the investment decision to be supported based on economic value added (EVA), thereby providing an assessment of value drivers in packing systems. Cost drivers are identified on the basis of the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) process model. The technical and economic validation of the model was carried out by means of an empirical study: Expert interviews were conducted for validating the model elements. Data collection by a prototype at a mechanical-engineering company was used to calculate the value contribution. The mapping of cause-effect relationships within the framework of EVA driver trees has proven itself in both the expert interviews and the prototype validation. The field experiment at the case company demonstrated a positive value contribution of AR, in particular regarding employee productivity, length and variance of throughput time, quality aspects, volume utilization, and quantity of packing material used.
Mediale Lernangebote können dazu beitragen, Bildungsprozesse anzuregen (Kerres, 2018, S. 139). Sie tun es aber nicht per se. Es gibt demnach nicht eine beste Lehrmethode (Kerres, 2018, S. 139).
Der Aufwand für das Erstellen von Videos lohnt sich insbesondere dann, wenn keine Präsenzveranstaltungen – aus welchem Grund auch immer – angeboten werden können.
Heutzutage ist es leider immer noch wichtig, dass das Erledigen der Aufgaben für die Studierenden lohnend ist. Dies kann umgesetzt werden, indem die Studierenden entweder Klausurpunkte für das korrekte Erledigen der Aufgaben erhalten oder indem das erfolgreiche Absolvieren z.B. der Online-Tests als Leistungsnachweis anerkannt wird.
Die wöchentlichen Aufgaben stellen sicher, dass sich die Studierenden regelmäßig, in Etappen und selbständig mit den Inhalten auseinandersetzen und so das Erlernte langfristiger im Gedächtnis bleibt. Zudem erhalten sie, bedingt durch die automatische Korrektur, sofort eine Rückmeldung, was sicherlich motivationsfördernd ist.
Die Lehrenden haben mit Hilfe der digitalen Instrumente den Vorteil, dass sie diese lernfördernden Instrumente auch in sehr großen Lerngruppen ohne großen zusätzlichen Aufwand einsetzen können.
Gamification has been used in a wide variety of subject-specific education contexts. Examples of such usage in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) context include the oft-played beer distribution game, developed by MIT Sloan School of Management (Forrester, 1961), which simulates the coordination of typical problems in supply chain processes, promoting information sharing and collaboration throughout a supply chain (Sterman, 1984). Purchasing and Supply Management (PSM), a subset of this wider SCM area, focuses on the direct relationships between organisational buyers and suppliers, covering aspects such as establishing trust, identifying and selecting suitable suppliers, managing supplier performance and the overall relationship. A systematic review of the PSM gamified learning literature establishes that there has been limited research to date and that which there is tends to focus on quantitative representations of managing overall supply and demand, using wider SCM elements. This suggests that there are opportunities to gamify PSM learning, in particular focusing on the human element in PSM and developing soft skills, as strong buyer-supplier relationships can generate significant benefits to both parties. To provide a more focused PSM contribution, a second systematic literature review distils the relevant principles, techniques and processes to inform the development of two gamified PSM learning activities. Negotiation and supplier relationship management rely heavily on personal interactions and are both seen as key activities at different stages of the PSM process. The development of the two gamified learning activities is strengthened by being underpinned by a synthesis of the literature review’s key findings, ensuring they are domain-meaningful abstractions of reality, contain rewards and rankings based on clear objectives and have appealing gameplay. It is hoped that this paper provides a platform for future domain specific PSM research and will be of use to educators in this field in developing their own gamified learning.
The global development towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the so-called Industry 4.0, is steaming forwards. Where cyber-physical systems connect the physical and digital world, allowing for demand identification, without the need for direct human intervention. Further, Artificial Intelligence supports various parts of operative and strategic purchasing. The new purchasing environment forces purchasing professionals to develop new skills. Research is needed to identify appropriate skill sets. Based on a World-Café method with 82 purchasing professionals, a list of 32 essential future skills in purchasing is composed. Further, the identified skills are ranked and assigned to the roles of the direct and indirect material purchasers.
Nowadays, the human-centric discipline of purchasing and supply management (PSM) is of strategic importance for firms’ success. Within the discipline, scholars address PSM professionals’ skills and provide practitioners with academic insights. Due to changes in the industry environment, changes in the working environment and the task of purchasing professionals are assumed. This paper aims to contribute to the PSM professional skills literature by defining current PSM professionals’ skill gaps as the difference between the acquired skill level and perceived skill importance. Findings show that current PSM professionals feel to be underqualified to abstract the full potential of professional relationships, as buyer-supplier relationships, due to current PSM professionals’ skill gaps.
Study programme development is one of the most challenging processes
at universities since all faculty is involved. And in our experience, the redesign of already existing programmes seems to be even more difficult: Whereas innovative forces want to pick up new trends (e.g. digitalisation or other new teaching concepts) more conservative forces emphasises on values and refer to existing experience. Both positions are important and contextually right. Thus, the presented format provides a gradual framework to bridge the gap between both sides in an interactive and creative process.
Both sides are invited to negotiate the best possible result by using an unusual approach for university discussions, the benefit analysis method known e.g. from economics. After the negotiating activity, it should be obvious that a change of perspective is also helpful, if not necessary, to create a new or updated study programme. The practiced approach helps as well to recognise which limits for study programme development remain when visionary ideas are measured against reality.
Performing in Community-Academic Health Partnerships: Interplay of Clear, Difficult and Valued Goals
(2020)
In the context of Continuous Software Engineering, it is acknowledged as best practice to develop new features on the mainline rather than on separate feature branches. Unfinished work is then usually prevented from going live by some kind of feature toggle. However, there is no concept of feature toggles for Process-Driven Applications (PDA) so far. PDAs are hybrid systems consisting not only of classical source code but also of a machine-interpretable business process model. This paper elaborates on a feature development approach that covers both the business process model and the accompanying source code artifacts of a PDA. The proposed solution, Toggles for Process-Driven Applications (T4PDA), equipped with an easy to use modeling tool extension, enables the developer to safely commit unfinished work on model and source code to the project’s mainline. It will be kept inactive during productive deployments unless the feature is finally released. During an AB/BA crossover design experiment, the T4PDA approach, including the provided tool support, showed higher software quality, a faster development process, and contented developers.
Strategically Aligning Additive Manufacturing Supply Chains for Sustainability and Effectiveness
(2019)
This paper builds on a previously developed framework that integrated additive manufacturing, life-cycle analysis, and value creation (Feldmann & Kirsch, 2019) by exploring conditions related to the life-cycle approach that would require alignment among suppliers, additive manufacturing firms, and customers. This extension creates a bridge to aid implementation of taking a sustainability approach to additive manufacturing. In order to develop this extension, we distinguish between direct/indirect customers and internal/external customers and then create a matrix of incentives and cognitive frames that we believe will help companies interested in large-scale AM improve both the speed and the effectiveness of AM adoption. We provide an organizing framework that managers can use to create a supply chain that is aligned around closed-loop principles that will help speed adoption and move closer to sustainable goals that exist for AM technologies. These include reduced raw material use, reduced scrap and material overage, and reduced rework, and lower transportation costs. The goal is to attain often-conflicting goals of lower long-term costs and decreased environmental footprint. Using our extension, we believe we can provide a useful framework to help managers implementing advanced manufacturing technologies to achieve lower costs and greater environmental sustainability by creating a common supply chain framework around customized, on-demand products.
„Innovation für Society“
(2019)
For a long time, a large number of top managers in listed companies have regarded communication with their shareholders as a necessary evil and now, in times of activist investors, are faced not only with the great challenges of opening up to shareholders and revealing their own corporate strategy, but also at the same time have to withstand the massive external pressure from activist investors, who are rarely majority shareholders. To achieve this, it is essential that a complete rethink-ing of the communication strategy of those responsible for the company takes place.
Process-Driven Applications (PDA) require less coding, for their business logic is defined by a business process model which can be executed by a process engine. However, inconsistencies between process model and dependent source code artifacts cause runtime errors and reduce development productivity. This paper targets at making the development of PDAs more efficient: It proposes a broader approach to statical analysis which also covers consistency constraints between model and code. When integrated into common analysis tools or a continuous integration pipeline, defects like broken code references or data-flow anomalies can be detected at an early stage without launching the entire application and its process interpretation engine. The approach is demonstrated by a prototype called viadee Process Application Validator (vPAV), which was developed for BPMN-based process models. The prototype has already been used in various BPM projects, attesting high benefit and potential.
Buying firms lack transparency about the supplier relationships in their networks. The applica-tion of dedicated tools such as Supply Network Mapping (SNM) can help to visualize and analyze these relationships. However, the impact of such tools on the purchasing performance has not been explored yet. Moreover, companies with different competitive strategies might have different motivations to use these tools. Therefore, this paper tests the impact of supplier relationship information and SNM on the purchasing performance on a large sample of 624 purchasers. A multi-group analysis in structural equation modeling estimates the impact of a cost leadership versus a differentiation strategy on cost saving and innovation performance. We show that information quality and SNM indeed improve the purchasing performance. Moreover, cost leaders use SNM if they know their supplier relationships with sub-suppliers, while innovation leaders use it if they know their supplier relationships with other customers. Hence, our results prove the usefulness of the SNM tool and give recommendations for its use depending on a company’s competitive strategy.
Most companies have realized the high importance of becoming the preferred customers of their suppliers to obtain preferential resource allocation. However, they cannot evaluate their own customer attractiveness properly. In order to make the assessment of the own customer status possible, this paper analyzes the impact of several information sources on the preferred customer status knowledge, supplier satisfaction knowledge and knowledge of alternative supplier relationships with other customers. Testing these hypotheses on a sample of 624 pur-chasers, we show that people provide more relevant information on the company’s strategic positioning than media. In particular, the suppliers, competitors and other actors are very im-portant information sources. Following our findings, purchasers should adopt their activities in order to better anticipate their suppliers’ intention and the customer treatment that they can expect from their suppliers.
One way or another – The relationship between trust and transparency in buyer-supplier relationships
(2019)
Based on a variety of environmental, technological, and product-orientated changes, there has been a shift towards increased collaboration between buyers and suppliers. This paper examines the mutual influence of trust and transparency at different developmental stages of these collaborative relations. In particular, the research investigates the existence of a direct correlation between trust and transparency, as well as indirect dependencies to each other through environmental factors. An extensive literature review combined with an exploratory-qualitative World Café method was conducted in an attempt to fill the research gap regarding the correlation of trust and transparency in buyer-supplier relationships.
Particularly in times of disruptive changes, companies need an early warning system for risks in their supply chains to gain relevant information in a timely manner. Furthermore, they require suitable action plans and strategies to help react when a risk occurs. Based on an in-depth case study at an automotive parts supplier producing electronic systems and lighting components, this paper develops a holistic supply chain risk management framework. After investigating the specific supply chain risks to support critical parts management, standardised processes and procedures are developed to improve the preventive supply chain risk strategy cycle, as well as the reactive critical parts management cycle.
Digitalization and sustainable development are goals of the global community, but can they also be achieved simultaneously? This article investigates the impacts of additive manufacturing (AM) on sustainable production and consumption. The use of AM technology as a means of digitalizing manufacturing processes is assessed through a qualitative life cycle analysis.
The model developed for this purpose provides a structure for an analysis of the general ecological effects of AM. The systematics of the life cycle model also supports a company-specific assessment.
AM can have a positive impact on achieving sustainable development with regards to ecological effects, particularly by reducing the consumption of resources in production and distribution. However, there are also negative ecological impacts of this technology, such as rebound effects and high energy consumption, which vary depending on the application and the printing process. It appears necessary for regulatory policy to intervene to maximize the opportunities for the positive effects of this technology. However, it is important to reduce the risks that contradict the objectives of the 12th Sustainable Development Goal of the UN: sustainability of consumption and production.
A major requirement for Credit Scoring models is of course to provide a risk prediction that is as accurate as possible. In addition, regulators demand these models to be transparent and auditable. Thus, in Credit Scoring very simple Predictive Models such as Logistic Regression or Decision Trees are still widely used and the superior predictive power of modern Machine Learning algorithms cannot be fully leveraged. A lot of potential is therefore missed, leading to higher reserves or more credit defaults. This talk presents an overview of techniques that are able to make “black box” machine learning models transparent and demonstrate how they can be applied in Credit Scoring. We use the DALEX set of tools to compare a traditional scoring approach with state of the art Machine Learning models and asses both approaches in terms of interpretability and predictive power. Results show that a comparable degree of interpretability can be achieved while machine learning techniques keep their ability to improve predictive power.
Experimental learning & reflection: how it promotes competence development in business education
(2019)
This paper focusses on effective teaching and learning methods in the context of a larger project that aims to align objectives in higher education with employer requirements in the field of purchasing and supply management (PSM). The reason is that little is known about which specific skills and competencies of PSM professionals are needed outside academia and which learning objective higher education should incorporate to meet the practical PSM requirements of firms and organisations. Practice as well as literature share the understanding that PSM professionals need a well-balanced mixture of knowledge and soft-skills: the merely explicit know-what (codified knowledge), know-why (theory), know-how (method) and inter- & intrapersonal soft skills.
How do they do it? Understanding business model innovation in the context of disruptive innovation
(2018)
Virtual reality (VR) is starting to realize some of its promise as a tool to improve training effectiveness. However, research on VR for training and development is limited. Existing theories and models relating to organizational training and learning are infrequently used in the VR literature. A greater understanding of why VR works in the training context would help training designers create effective programs that leverage this continuously developing technology. This paper provides a typology of VR technologies specifically relevant to HR and integrates HR training frameworks and theory into findings on VR training from these other literatures. We specifically focus on immersive VR technology and seek to better understand reasons for the effectiveness of VR technologies for both training and assessment. We review findings, integrate related streams of research, and offer guideposts for those contemplating VR implementation in four important areas: training reactions in a VR context, VR-specific learning outcomes, opportunities for assessment using VR, and the effect of VR on training transfer. We conclude the paper by identifying a VR-training agenda for HR researchers.
Disruption, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Augmented Reality, Industry 4.0 and Rapid Prototyping are just a selection of the buzzwords that come up in connection with the rapid changes in the professional world and society brought about by digitalisation. As frequently occurs when buzzwords are used, their exact meaning is unknown, or remains unquestioned, but the use of them is nevertheless excessive. In this way, the buzzword ‘digital native’ assumes that an entire generation has a command of digital skills simply because they were born into this world and use digital media naturally. Which skills profiles this generation, and therefore a majority of today’s students, actually command, remains vague however, and is rarely explored systematically. The same is true of the specific formulation of necessary skills profiles in the digital world for higher education graduates. In the debate around higher education institutions, the description of the swift digital transition (with or without buzzwords) is not usually followed by a revision of existing curricula. This article describes strategic considerations for a better fit between the skills demanded of students and the challenges of the digital world.
Focal companies are embedded in complex supply networks consisting of various suppliers, customers, competitors and complementors. The activities of these actors influence the com-petitive position of the focal companies. Some customers achieve preferred customer status and gain preferential treatment, others have to restrain to being standard customers getting less privileged services. Consequently, buying companies in such markets have to achieve transparency about the relationships of their suppliers towards their competitors and comple-mentors in order to map them and to analyse their impact. Current literature lacks a holistic approach to capture these relationships. In which sources can the focal companies find the desired information? Which kind of information do they really need? And in which situations is the need for transparency high and when is it low? The aim of this research is to examine these relationships using a World Café method with purchasers for data gathering followed by a Gioia method to structure the qualitative data. The result is a list of desired knowledge cov-ering business, supplier and collaboration details; a set of information sources clustered in pub-lished and unpublished sources as well as contingency factors regarding general conditions, changes and particular occasions that require a high supplier relationship knowledge. All an-swers have been rated by their importance during the World Café. The answers can help to operationalise the mapping of supplier relationships towards competitors and complementors in order to assess the own customer status compared to other customers.
Globalization, digitalization and increasingly shortened lifecycles of consumer and business goods require companies to be continuously innovative. Under these domains of innovation, disruptive innovation has developed as a popular term amongst scholars and practitioners alike (Christensen, Raynor, & McDonald, 2015). In fact, the concept of disruptive technolo-gies was introduced to explain the failure of incumbent businesses in times of change (Bower & Christensen, 1995). Later, research broadened the concept towards disruptive innovations thereby going beyond technologies alone (Yu & Hang, 2010). Indeed, recent literature stresses the embracing business model that needs to be designed appropriately to make use of the technology and push it forward in the process of disruption. Subse-quently, current research concludes that disruption in its core is a “business model problem, not a technology problem” (Christensen, 2006).
Despite the recognition of the relevance of a firm’s business model for disruption, a clarifi-cation of the business model concept in the disruptive innovation process appears to be necessary in two dimensions. First, there is only limited knowledge regarding the actual design of (potential) disruptive business models. Second, from a dynamic perspective, less is known about how organizations manage the process of disruptive innovation until their business model yields a disruptive effect in the market.
The PhD research project aims at shedding light on the role of the firm’s business model in regard to the concept of disruptive innovation. Insights from this research project will not only add to a deeper understanding of disruptive innovation from a theoretical perspective but also deliver guidance for managers facing an increasingly changing environment.
External sources of knowledge have become a necessary extension to internal innovation activities (Monteiro, Mol and Birkinshaw, 2017; Rosenkopf and Nerkar, 2001). Collaborations with customers, suppliers, universities or even competitors are a promising way to extend the own knowledge base in order to increase the firm´s innovativeness (Felin and Zenger, 2014; Laursen and Salter, 2006). onsidering this potential set of external partners, suppliers seem to have the largest impact on product innovation (Un, Cuervo-Cazurra and Asakawa, 2010). Yet, suppliers’ innovative potential is limited as described in a case study by Gassmann, Zeschky, Wolff, and Stahl (2010), which further shows how a new venture supplier, commonly referred to as “startup”, has succeed at providing a truly innovative idea (a haptic feedback control device for automobiles). Therefore, startups as a specific knowledge provider have received growing attention (Weiblen and Chesbrough, 2015; Zaremba, Bode and Wagner, 2016). By collaborating with startups, corporations hope to benefit from the startups´ entrepreneurial characteristics, such as alertness, creativity, flexibility and willingness to take risks (Audretsch, Segarra and Teruel, 2014; Criscuolo, Nicolaou and Salter, 2012; Marion, Friar and Simpson, 2012).
Startups have the potential to transform industries as they follow partly divergent business strategies and have the ability to develop new innovative products. The evolving fields of digitalization, sustainability and urbanization highlight the direction of change. Due to enormous time pressure and lack of knowledge, corporations rely heavily on external sources of knowledge to increase innovativeness. Therein, startups take a special role. Joint R&D projects, investments or strategic buyer-supplier agreements with startups grant corporations access to their innovative technologies. This paper gives insights into the organization of search processes to identify innovative startups and highlights approaches to initiate collaborations. Therefore, a multiple-case study among automotive OEMs and suppliers was conducted. The research ends with organizational structures, an identification process, and various instruments developed for the identification of startup innovations. Furthermore, propositions are made for a successful collaboration between startups and established corporations, displaying the role of purchasing in startup management, the need to take fast decisions, secure technical support by experts within their organization and build strong relationships with partners within their supply chain and new partners, as for example venture capitalists.
This paper evaluates based on current literature, whether the versioning strategies “branch by feature” and “develop on mainline” can be used for developing new software features in connection with Continuous Delivery. The strategies will be introduced and possible applications for Continuous Delivery will be demonstrated and rated. A solution recommendation is finally given. It becomes evident that develop on mainline is the more recommendable method in form of “features toggles” or in case of bigger changes in form of “branch by abstraction” within the context of Continuous Delivery.
A COMPREHENSIVE ACTIVE-BASED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR MANAGEMENT EDUCATION: AN EVALUATIVE STUDY
(2017)
There seems to be a strong distinction between what most business schools prepare their students for and what practicing managers actually do in their professional life [1]. Business education, in general, sees management as analytical and scientific, when empirical evidences indicate that the practicing manager repertoire is comprised not only of analysis but mainly of the development of solutions to illdefined problems [2].
Moreover, the globalization of the economy and the shift from a manufacturing to an informationbased society have led to significant changes in the conditions of work; with post-industrial economies
living an era of continuous market change and creative destruction [3], [4]. This scenario increases the array of responsibilities of higher education institutions which, in addition to providing disciplinary knowledge, should develop in students non-disciplinary competences such as decision-making, problem-solving, interpersonal communication, etc. As argued by Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, et al. [5],
the development of such competences - sometimes referred as transversal or generic - are increasingly relevant in a society facing constant changes, since they are adaptable to various contexts enhancing the relevancy and the employability of students.
Under this perspective, a change in management education is needed. It should be oriented less on the training of business analysts and more on preparing future managers for solving the ill-designed
problems of real business practice. It is suggested that the focus of business education should move from ‘simply’ providing a body of domain-specific knowledge to give students the opportunity to apply
that knowledge under realistic contexts which better resembling management practice and foster the development of generic competences. In that respect, literature suggested that active-based learning
methods are best fitted for the ‘task’ [6]. More specifically, it points out to a series of ‘desirable’ elements that should be present if one wants to accurately replicate a management learning
environment. This author condensed those elements to form a theoretical proposition: that to build powerful management learning environments one needs to offer students the opportunity to
collectively engage in a series of continuous real-world experiences in a process permeated by careful reflection in and on the action.