Bertram Tan

The critical factors for technology absorptive capacity

There are numerous studies concerning the key success factors for technology transfer performance, but little empirical research has been conducted on technology absorptive capacity. In the real world, firms cannot successfully assimilate and apply external knowledge without greater absorptive capacity. It is worthwhile exploring the critical factors of absorptive capacity through its impact on transfer performance. Results reveal significant associations between technology absorptive capacity and the critical factors – technology diffusion channels, interaction mechanisms, and R&D resources. Organizational cultures impact on interaction mechanisms, R&D resources, absorptive capacity and transfer performance. Different organizations will experience different technology transfer performance. Focuses explicitly on technology absorptive capacity within the field of empirical technology transfer research. The findings are important for management practice, especially for firms carrying out technology transfer in developing countries.

An EOQ model for deteriorating items with time-varying demand and shortages

The study explores the inventory replenishment policies for the cases with time-varying demand, linearly increasing deterioration rate, partial back-ordering, constant service level and equal replenishment intervals over a fixed planning horizon. Since it is difficult to solve the problem directly, we derive the upper bound of replenishment number for a specific planning horizon and find the solution of service level under a given number of replenishment. The optimal solutions of replenishment number and service level are then determined. Numerical examples and sensitivity analyses are also provided to illustrate the solution procedure.

An exploratory model of knowledge flow barriers within healthcare organizations

Healthcare today is mainly knowledge-based and the diffusion of medical knowledge is imperative for proper treatment of patients. Our study of the industry explored barriers to knowledge flow using a Cultural Historical Activity Theory framework. Our work was exploratory and qualitative in nature, and consisted of three phases: in-depth interviews to explore medical knowledge flow barriers resulting in a model; a case study using a survey approach to test and modify the model; and a Delphi study to validate the generalizability of the model. We concluded that knowledge flow experienced five barriers: knowledge source, knowledge receiver, knowledge transfer, knowledge flow context, and the organizational context. Furthermore, these were correlated.

Application of the Fuzzy Weighted Average in Strategic Portfolio Management

We propose a systematic approach that incorporates fuzzy set theory in conjunction with portfolio matrices to assist managers in reaching a better understanding of the overall competitiveness of their business portfolios. Integer linear programming is also accommodated in the proposed integrated approach to help select strategic plans by using the results derived from the previous portfolio analysis and other financial data. The proposed integrated approach is designed from a strategy-oriented perspective for portfolio management at the corporate level. It has the advantage of dealing with the uncertainty problem of decision makers in doing evaluation, providing a technique that presents the diversity of confidence and optimism levels of decision makers. Furthermore, integer linear programming is used because it offers an effective quantitative method for managers to allocate constrained resources optimally among proposed strategies. An illustration from a real-world situation demonstrates the integrated approach. Although a particular portfolio matrix model has been adopted in our research, the procedure proposed here can be modified to incorporate other portfolio matrices.

A neural networks-based approach for strategic planning

We establish a systematic approach that incorporates neural networks in conjunction with portfolio matrices to assist managers in evaluating and forming strategic plans. Based on the principle of dispersing risks, we also provide a linear integer programming model, which helps in allocating the annual budget optimally among proposed strategies. The approach has been successfully implemented for a major food industry leader in Taiwan for its annual strategic planning. Although a particular portfolio matrix model was adopted in our approach, the framework proposed here can be modified to incorporate other strategy-evaluation measures.

An ISO 9001:2000 quality information system in e‐commerce environment

The 1994 versions of the ISO 9000 family were revised by ISO’s technical committee TC 176 in the end of year 2000. This new ISO 9001:2000 repositions the 20 elements of the old ISO 9001:1994 into four main chapters. Meanwhile, electronic commerce (e‐commerce) has been recognized as a source of fundamental change to the conduct of business. Innovative applications of information and communication technologies are constantly reshaping the organizational landscape. Examines the quality information needed under the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, proposes a quality information system structure within WWW‐based intranet infrastructure and discusses the role of quality information system (QIS) in the e‐commerce integrated environment. Four main functions are constructed via six basic modules. Each function is described with IDEF0 diagrams. Under this QIS, organizations will be better able to manage their quality related knowledge.

An EOQ inventory model with time-varying demand and Weibull deterioration with shortages

An inventory model is considered in which inventory is depleted not only by demand, but also by deterioration. Hence, in this paper, we derive the EOQ model for inventory of items that deteriorate at a Weibull-distributed rate, assuming the demand rate with a continuous function of time. Moreover, the proposed model cannot be solved directly in a closed form, thus we used the computer software IMSL MATH/LIBRARY (1989) to find the optimal reorder time. Further, we also find that the optimal procedure is independent from the form of the demand rate. Finally, we also assume that the holding cost is a continuous, non-negative and non-decreasing function of time in order to generalize the EOQ model. Moreover, four numerical examples and sensitivity analyses are provided to assess the solution procedure.

Relationships among industry environment, diversification motivations and corporate performance

Purpose – This paper aims to examine empirically the relationships among industry environment, diversification motivations and corporate performance for a sample of Taiwanese automobile enterprises.Design/methodology/approach – A 55‐item survey questionnaire was developed to obtain the responses from companies in the automobile industry in Taiwan. Independent sample t‐test and χ2 tests were employed to confirm the homogeneity between the respondents and non‐respondents by firms characteristics, including by industry, number of employees, and capital.Findings – The results suggest that industry environment has positive and significant impact on diversification motivations, and has positive but not significant impact on corporate performance. Diversification motivations has positive and significant impact on corporate performance. The results also indicate that firms of higher capital amounts have greater influence on diversification motivations and corporate performance, firms of publicly listed have grea...

Applications of quality function deployment to apparel design in Taiwan

Purpose – The objective of the research is to characterize various key factors affecting apparel design and product quality.Design/methodology/approach – In the fulfillment of the objective, the Delphi method and a survey questionnaire were used to collect related materials. This was followed by descriptive statistics, reliability, and factor analysis in order to set up the “house of quality” using the method of quality function deployment.Findings – The factors that were found to affect the quality of apparel design were fashion sensitivity, ability of material application, colour sensitivity, fashion trend, fashion market positioning, and management. Fashion style, cloth quality, cutting quality, discount, and personal favourites were the key factors affecting consumers when choosing apparel. Keen observation ability, marketing analysis, and market development were very important for designing and producing high value‐added products.Research limitations/implications – The survey was conducted in Taiwan,...

Hospital electronic commerce applications in Taiwan: a value chain analysis

The emergence of EC (Electronic Commerce) has brought the world a new economic paradigm. The application of EC in Taiwan has grown rapidly in recent years, while the formation of the electronic commerce environment is still in an embryonic stage. The purpose of this study is to introduce the current development of hospital electronic commerce as well as analyse its impact on hospitals in Taiwan. Based on the structure of value chain analysis, a framework of EC applications in hospitals is developed which may provide an analytic basis for hospitals to find the significant role of EC in determining relative cost position or differentiation and seek their sources of competitive advantages. The research results may provide some guidance for hospitals to develop their EC strategy in order to seize new opportunities or react to the changes in the healthcare environment.