Abstract

Abstract
Sustainable development is a widely spread concept nowadays, especially due to external pressure related to environmental and social issues, affecting all players of the supply chain. Sustainable policies must be adopted, such as improving process performance and reducing waste. With sustainability as a driver of operational excellence, this study is focused on the improvement of the production process of a company by reducing variability. A variability analysis was done to understand its root causes and act upon them, as well as a quantification of waste in the process. Finally, an improvement plan was delineated to mitigate the problems identified. Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Abstract
This paper aims to contribute to the lack of design knowledge on digital platforms (DPs), by studying the new and specific context of DPs managed by industrial business associations (IBAs) to improve the internationalisation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A specific objective is to elicit detailed digital platform's requirements and features for this particular organisational context. A design science research (DSR) approach is adopted to develop design propositions (the artifact), following the context-intervention-mechanism-outcome logic (CIMO-logic). The design propositions are derived for DPs that can support different types of generative mechanisms of social interaction: information sharing, collaboration, and collective action. The design propositions are obtained by balancing empirical knowledge based on interviews performed with IBAs and SMEs in Portugal and in the UK, with theoretical knowledge from the literature of information systems, DPs and collaborative networks (CNs). The utility of the design propositions is further evaluated by experts and IBAs. The findings are proved to be relevant for practice, mainly for IBAs, SMEs, and digital platform designers to develop more effective collaborative DPs and sociotechnical systems, supporting CNs and the internationalisation needs of SMEs. The knowledge generated in this study brings new design knowledge on DPs, contributing with design propositions translated into tangible and concrete requirements and capabilities, situated in a specific context and empirical setting. © 2020

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract
This study identified and characterized the factors influencing managers’ intentions to adopt collaborative robots (cobots) in manufacturing companies. Based on a conceptual framework that integrates three technology adoption theories (Diffusion of Innovation, Technology-organization-environment and Institutional theory) and following an exploratory qualitative research design, this paper identifies 39 factors influencing the intention to adopt cobots in three contexts (internal, external and technology). Twelve of these factors are new as contrasted with previous literature. The findings of this study can assist organizations in their process of adoption of cobots and in the development of managerial practices that consider the role of these factors. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.