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- Öberg, Christina, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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The fair trade of environmental effects and regional disparities
- 2022
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - : Elsevier. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 105, s. 311-321
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Regional economic disparity and environmental sustainability are two prioritized areas of societal concern. By focusing on how societal support and company ambitions influence firms’ decisions, this paper reveals the tension between environmental sustainability and attempts to create a balance between regions. The paper describes the consequences of allocation of environmental effects for and of regional economic disparity and thereby highlights a dualistic causality. A case study illustrates the point by focusing on transportation and location decisions. The paper concludes that the delicate dilemma of allocating environmental effects is a matter of balancing various interests, hence indicating a paradox. The paradox extends between regional economic disparity and environmental sustainability but also between societal concerns and firms’ decisions. The paper contributes to the debate on sustainability by indicating that allocation of environmental effects is not as straightforward as corporate social responsibility suggests. The paper also contributes to research on regional economic disparities by indicating that focusing attention on environmental effects may have regional consequences and thereby potentially threaten other goals set by society.
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| 4. |
- Carlsson, Inga-Lill, et al.
(författare)
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Investing in Lean to Improve Basic Capabilities : A strategy for System Supply?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management. - : Omnia Publisher SL. - 2013-8423 .- 2013-0953. ; 10:1, s. 28-48
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: This paper describes the perceived effects of implementing lean production in aSwedish SME contract manufacturer. Especially focused are the effects on, and possible tradeoffsbetween, cost-efficiency and flexibility.Design/methodology/approach: SME suppliers need basic capabilities of qualitativeproduction performance as stepping-stones to develop more system supplier capabilities foradded customer value. Development of stable production processes is seen as a way to reachstable basic performance, efficient and with higher resource utilization. Quality is a precursor todelivery performance as well as to cost reduction and flexibility. This is a longitudinal single casestudy of a SME supplier striving to become a system supplier. Two main sources of datacollection are used: interviews and the main author’s presence as employee and businessdeveloper, participating in and following up the ongoing change process.Findings: Analyzing the development over time illustrated the importance of context andcontent for the change process. Two specific findings appeared: (1) An initial effect was animportant “eye-opener” for the balance between cost efficiency and flexibility in the organization.(2) Process orientation, as the basis of both lean and agile approaches, allows many improvementswithout any conflicts or trade-offs between these two goals. Stability in the production leads to increased controllability, initially resulting in both higher cost-efficiency and higher flexibility. Asthe organization develops however, strategic considerations relating to the chosen market strategymight occur: cost leadership or differentiation.Research limitations/implications: These results reflect the experiences of one SME supplierand further studies are needed for generalizability.Originality/value: The study increases the understanding of how a SME may develop stableprocesses in its different supplier-customer contexts. The study points at some necessary basiccomponents of this process approach as a first step for the transition to system supplier.
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| 5. |
- Carlsson, Inga-Lill, 1955-
(författare)
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Towards System Supply : Development of Small and Medium-Sized Contract Manufacturers
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- One way for a small subcontractor to meet increasing global competition is to develop a system supplying ability, implying a transition in the supply chain toward a larger overall responsibility. As large corporations outsource parts of their manufacturing and services, many small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers are expected to deepen their capabilities and take on the role of system suppliers. The overall purpose of this thesis is to advance the understanding of how SME contract manufacturers can develop such capabilities, identifying demands and abilities in various steps of this process. The research approach is based on the resource-based view.This longitudinal case study of an SME supplier striving to become a system supplier covers the period from 2006 to 2014. The researcher’s role as business developer and member of the management made it possible to follow the company's development continuously and closely, providing access to relevant internal data complemented with internal and external semi structured interviews and focus discussions. The longitudinal aspect is evident in the overall description of the development of the focal supplier. More specific issues are covered in the separate studies, described in the appended articles.SME suppliers need basic capabilities of qualitative production performance as stepping-stones to develop more system supplier capabilities for added customer value. Development of stable production processes through lean implementation was by the focal supplier seen as a way to reach stable basic performance and to enable continuous development. The study further shows that knowledge integration with customers is an effective means to build system capability and indicates a stepwise and sequential process of developing specific supplier capabilities.The longitudinal case study deepens the knowledge of development of SME system suppliers and specifically point out three prerequisites that need to be in place for the supplier transition: (1) a capability of the supplier to manage internal processes of standardisation and continuous improvements for stable performance without disruptions, (2) a capability to collaborate in development projects with a limited number of customers, and (3) customer commitment to a long-term relationship. A customer demanding improvements is constantly driving its suppliers to better performance and proven supplier capabilities in turn promotes long-term customer commitment. The most essential component in supplier development is a competent and strategically oriented management, capable of identifying the specific system supplier offerings appropriate for the particular company in order to create customer value.This study contributes to better understanding of the conditions of medium-sized contract manufacturing SMEs, from a supplier perspective, and contributes to SCM research in illustrating how shifting responsibilities and subsequent activities in the supply chain may pave new competitive paths for SMEs. One issue here is the importance of knowledge integration for the development of supply chains. This has not often been discussed within SCM and thus provides a contribution to this theory.
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| 6. |
- Olsson, Olle Viktor, et al.
(författare)
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Middle management involvement in handling variable patient flows
- 2017
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Ingår i: Management Research Review. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2040-8269 .- 2040-8277. ; 40:9, s. 1007-1024
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – This study aims to explore the involvement of middle management in forming strategies tomanage variable acute patient flows at a hospital.Design/methodology/approach – Empirical evidence from a university hospital was gathered viainterviews, internal documents, observation and participation in meetings. The role of middle management inthe development of strategies was analyzed using literature on middle management involvement.Findings – In managing variable acute patient flows, middle management adopts a number of roles andbehavioral characteristics that have been previously described in research. The role of facilitator is the mostprominent, with middle managers prioritizing individual goals and strategies for the clinical departments thatthey manage before their collective responsibility for hospital performance. Unclear responsibilities andmandates within the organization, together with a lack of hospital-wide strategies concerning how the acutepatient flow should bemanaged, are contributing factors to this behavior.Research limitations/implications – The research is based on an explorative, single case studymethodology. Future research assessing the extent of different middle management roles in health care, inwhich more empirical data and quantitative analysis is conducted, is encouraged.Practical implications – There is a need for top management to establish long-term goals to enhancemiddle management roles when developing strategies for managing variable patient flows.Originality/value – Middle management involvement in developing strategies for managing variablepatient flows is a novel topic for research. The interface and division of tasks between top and middlemanagement is crucial for successful strategies in managing variable patient flows.
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| 7. |
- Olsson, Olle, et al.
(författare)
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Managing a variable acute patient flow : categorising the strategies
- 2015
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Ingår i: Supply chain management. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1359-8546 .- 1758-6852. ; 20:2, s. 113-127
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aims filling some of that gap by applying the concepts of lean and agile in a study in a health care setting, something that has been sparsely explored, even though there are examples (e.g. Aronsson et al., 2011; Rahimnia and Moghadasian, 2010). Although lean has been applied successfully in the private sector, limited research has evaluated whether the lean approach transfers successfully to the public sector and what impact the approach has on for example costs, productivity and quality of service (Radnor et al., 2006). With a lean approach the focus is on continually eliminating waste and thereby reducing the resources used to produce a given set of goods, with the ambition being to achieve a streamlined flow of production (Womack et al., 1990).
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| 8. |
- Olsson, Olle
(författare)
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Managing Variable Patient Flows at Hospitals
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Healthcare is a large industry faced with major challenges, such as decreasing inpatient bed numbers and increases in the share of elderly people, which require improved efficiency and effectiveness. The organisation of hospitals normally comprises highly specialised clinical departments, through which patient flows are managed. Since patient flows often involve several clinical departments, this requires much coordination both in space and time. With every individual patient having different diseases, severity levels and responses to therapy, the variability in patient flows has an impact on the inflow, internal flow and outflow at clinical departments and hospitals. Historically, healthcare resources have not been adapted to these variations. The purpose of this licentiate thesis is therefore to explore how variable patient flows are managed in hospitals. This comprises how variable patient flows affect hospitals as well as how variable patient flows are handled. It also includes the organisational configuration, and the influence it has on the actions used to handle variable patient flows in hospitals.Both the hierarchical levels, roles and teams that make decisions and manage the flow of patients as well as the actions used to handle variable patient flows at hospitals are included in the research. Hence, an approach where the hospital is regarded as a system is used, an approach often described as a system perspective. Three research methods have been used in this licentiate thesis. The first research method used was simulation modelling, to study how changes in an acute patient flow affected an emergency department and inpatient ward at a small hospital. A case study at a university hospital was performed to study both the actions used to handle variable patient flows as well as the influence of the organisational configuration. Several literature reviews, both structured and unstructured, has also been made to compare and evaluate the results from the empirical data.There are several effects of variable patient flows. The case study indicates that increased patient flow variability leads to increases in bed utilization variability and thereby problems with bed shortages. Mismatches between patient inflow and outflow, in terms of number of patients, also lead to bed shortages. Literature reviews also show that bed shortages in inpatient wards are a major cause of overcrowding in emergency departments. The results from the simulation model point toward emergency departments being more adapted to variable patient inflow than inpatient wards. To handle these issues there is a need for flexibility when providing healthcare services, something suggested in the literature.50 actions used at the university hospital to handle variable acute patient flows were identified in the research. A majority of these are used to handle the effects of the variation, not the variation itself. Nor is it effects of individual variations, such as patient inflow, that are handled but the combined effect of the variations in several variables. For example, much time and effort are spent handling bed shortages. One third of the actions are used at a hospital level, with the aim to have positive effects for the hospital as a whole. Two thirds are used and developed at a departmental level, with the aim to improve the situation at the clinical department by using the action. By having most of the actions used at individual clinical departments, without considering the impact on whole hospital, there is an obvious risk of sub-optimization.One explanation for many actions being used at a departmental level could be that there is lack of strategic direction and decision-making ability at top management level due to the use of unanimous decision-making in the hospital management group. This hinders the control and coordination of the actions used at different clinical departments, rendering them more similar to separate organisations. Departmental collaboration is also impeded as well as organisational learning at the hospital, both bottom-up and sideways in the hierarchies, encumbering the development and sharing of successful actions for handling variable patient flows.
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| 10. |
- Oskarsson, Björn, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Modern logistik : för ökad lönsamhet
- 2013. - 4
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Modern logistik har blivit mycket uppskattad för att den är skriven med ett enkelt språk och har många illustrerande figurer och exempel. Den pedagogiska tanken utgår från att logistiken ska förbättras, genom att förbättra leveransservicen till kunderna och minska kostnaderna för logistikaktiviteterna.Till denna upplaga har del 3 omarbetats helt, och de två första delarna har justerats för att ytterligare öka tydligheten och läsbarheten.Del 1 Logistiksystemet ger en övergripande förståelse för hur flödena i företagets olika delar samverkar.Del 2 Logistikens verktyg presenterar olika verktyg och metoder för att analysera och förbättra logistiken.Del 3 Logistik i ett vidare perspektiv beskriver Supply Chain Management, det vill säga hur företag kan skapa gemensamma logistiklösningar, samt logistikens koppling till ett hållbart samhälle, inköps betydelse för logistiken och hur logistik kan användas i nya sammanhang, till exempel inom sjukvården.
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