Debora Sarno

Modelling Hospital Materials Management Processes

Materials management is an important issue for healthcare systems because it influences clinical and financial outcomes. Before selecting, adapting and implementing leading or optimized practices, a good understanding of processes and activities has to be developed. In real applications, the information flows and business strategies involved are different from hospital to hospital, depending on context, culture and available resources; it is therefore difficult to find a comprehensive and exhaustive description of processes, even more so a clear formalization of them. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, it proposes an integrated and detailed analysis and description model for hospital materials management data and tasks, which is able to tackle information from patient requirements to usage, from replenishment requests to supplying and handling activities. The model takes account of medical risk reduction, traceability and streamlined processes perspectives. Second, the paper translates this information into a business process model and mathematical formalization. The study provides a useful guide to the various relevant technology-related, management and business issues, laying the foundations of an efficient reengineering of the supply chain to reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of care.

From Mechanical to Cognitive View: The Changes of Decision Making in Business Environment

Management can be considered the science of decisions. Different researchers and practitioners have analysed the contents and boundaries of this vibrant domain, proposing multiple contributions and several perspectives.

A Model for Vendor Selection and Dynamic Evaluation

The present paper proposes an evaluation model able to integrate the selection phase with the monitoring and the continuous analysis of the vendor performances. The vendor evaluation process is realised through an opportune methodology which puts beside qualitative judgements (i.e. the adequacy of the organisation or the maintenance management policies) and performance data (i.e. delivery delays, number of non conformities, discrepancies in the delivered quantities, etc.) and builds the database which will support the daily decisions of the buyers. Thanks to its generality and customisability, together with the use of basic managerial tools, the system represents an appropriate trade-off between implementation costs and obtainable benefits.

The role of technology and institutions in tourism service ecosystems: Findings from a case study

Purpose Given the growing attention on service ecosystem and the role played by technology and institutions in shaping of actors’ relations and interactions, the purpose of this paper is to examine a tourism environment with the lens of service ecosystem in order to derive a deeper understanding on the underlying mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methodology was used. First, literature review based on service ecosystems framework was conducted to critically analyze the roles of technology and institutions to shape a tourism service ecosystem. Then a case study was conducted. Findings Two main findings are described: the role and the characteristics of physical and virtual engagement touchpoints in the emergence of a tourism service ecosystems; and the relationship between technology and institutions in the resource integration. In particular, the authors conclude that institutions can shape the usage of technology which, in turn, can enable and imply the emergence of new institutions, continually adjusting the system of the tourism service ecosystem. Practical implications The analysis contributes to deepening the knowledge about value co-creation processes and engagement expedients in tourism destination, explaining the role of institutions and technology in helping actors to integrate resources and exchange services. The study can also be useful for practitioners in search for powerful tool to increase the competitiveness of a tourism destination. Originality/value The study is one of the first attempts to conceptualize and operationalize a tourism destination in a service ecosystem framework. In this way it contribute to enhance scientific knowledge in a tourism management literature.

The role of loyalty programs in healthcare service ecosystems

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of patient loyalty programs in healthcare environment, generally considered as a way to engage patients and potentially increase the perception of service quality of healthcare systems, but not systematically analyzed at the state of the art. Design/methodology/approach The Service Dominant logic and, in particular, the service ecosystem construct are adopted and integrated with relevant literature references and empirical studies on a sample of patients. Loyalty programs are interpreted as institutions coordinating actors of the healthcare service ecosystem. Findings A conceptual model linking loyalty programs to patients and healthcare providers’ co-creation practices, engagement, satisfaction, trust, and perception of service quality is build and explained based on literature and a case study, finding that loyalty programs can strengthen the adaptability and the well-being of a healthcare service ecosystem. Practical implications This contribution can have a significant impact on the design of new and the evolution of current healthcare service ecosystem, providing interesting insights to practitioners on the topic of loyalty programs, both for their development and their benefits. Originality/value The paper revised previous healthcare service ecosystems and highlights the role of the loyalty program institution at each level and between levels of the ecosystem.

Proposal for a flexible discrete event simulation model for assessing the daily operation decisions in a Ro–Ro terminal

Abstract Roll-on/roll-off (Ro–Ro) terminals are important logistic hubs dedicated to vessels and transporters and their loading, unloading and temporary storage. This study aims at assessing the impact of managers’ decisions on planning and operational efficiency with a particular focus on vehicle handling. To this end, the terminal operations are described, the operation decisions are analyzed and the costs involved in terminal processes are formalized. The high complexity of the managerial problem, mostly caused by the stochastic nature of the related variables, is resolved with a discrete event simulation model (developed in Arena Rockwell). It supports day-by-day terminal managers’ decisions, enabling the evaluation of the economic impact of different operational alternatives on logistic costs and pollutant emissions. The verification and validation of the model were carried out in a real environment. Finally, an illustrative example of the tool usage is presented in a case study.

An overview of the contribution of Systems Thinking within Management and Marketing

In recent years, common interests have led the fields of marketing and management to differentiate themselves, even in similar research areas. This chapter provides an overview of systems thinking in these two disciplines, reading the main concepts in an integrated way according to relational and value perspectives. A systematic literature review is conducted using the Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases, focusing on applications of the Viable System Model and the viable Systems approach. Due to the adoption of systems thinking, the paper can serve to spur further studies to better define the boundaries and the eventual inclusion of marketing in management and vice-versa.

Evaluating festival attributes adopting S-D logic: the mediating role of visitor experience and visitor satisfaction

To symbolize the importance of contextual factors of provision in the contemporary service era, in festival research, the term festivalscape has been proposed. Despite the large number of works investigating the construct, extant research does not adequately assess the systemic and interactive nature of festivals, which can be viewed as a set of interconnected elements. To bridge this gap, this article evaluates four festival attributes (atmosphere, service quality, people interaction and collateral services) according to service-dominant logic and service-ecosystem view. Current work examines a light festival organized in Salerno during the Christmas holiday using a sequential regression analysis, revealing the mediating role of experience and satisfaction in influencing behavioural intention.

From B2B to A4A: An Integrated Framework for Viable Value Co-Creation

The work aims at introducing a new framework to analyse the dynamics among agents in marketing-oriented management (Gummesson and Polese, 2009) according to a system view on value co-creation (Vargo and Lusch, 2017). By overcoming the product-oriented distinction between producers and consumers in the B2B (Businessto- Business) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) classifications, the paper presents the shift to Service-Dominant logic (S-D logic - Vargo and Lusch, 2008; Lusch and Vargo, 2014), many-to-many marketing and the A2A (Actor-to-Actor, Vargo and Lusch, 2016) relationships. Then, the study proposes the broader and collaborative concept of A4A (Actor-for-Actor) and introduces an all-encompassing viewpoint by means of the Viable Systems Approach (VSA - Golinelli, 2000). The proposed A4A framework, which merges S-D logic and VSA, can allow at pinpointing the processes and drivers for successful value co-creation and for turning it into viable value co-creation. In this sense, A4A relationships can lead managers to identify strategies fostering innovation and collaboration for company survival in the long run.

Stabilization of business cycles of finance agents using nonlinear optimal control

Stabilization of the business cycles of interconnected finance agents is performed with the use of a new nonlinear optimal control method. First, the dynamics of the interacting finance agents and of the associated business cycles is described by a modeled of coupled nonlinear oscillators. Next, this dynamic model undergoes approximate linearization round a temporary operating point which is defined by the present value of the system’s state vector and the last value of the control inputs vector that was exerted on it. The linearization procedure is based on Taylor series expansion of the dynamic model and on the computation of Jacobian matrices. The modelling error, which is due to the truncation of higher-order terms in the Taylor series expansion is considered as a disturbance which is compensated by the robustness of the control loop. Next, for the linearized model of the interacting finance agents, an H-infinity feedback controller is designed. The computation of the feedback control gain requires th...