Lenny Koh

Evaluating ecological sustainable performance measures for supply chain management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a methodology to help evaluate, select, and monitor sustainable supply chain performance measurement that can be integrated into a performance management system (PMS).Design/methodology/approach – Grey‐based neighborhood rough set theory is used to help arrive at a core set of important business and environmental performance measures for sustainable supply chains. The supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model is used to develop both business and environmental measures for supply chain sourcing.Findings – A case illustration shows the applicability of the methodology. A sensitivity analysis shows that variations in outcome considerations may greatly influence the set of key performance measures for a sustainable supply chain PMS.Research limitations/implications – The methodology and presentation is conceptual, yet the tool can provide very useful interpretations for both researchers and practitioners.Practical implications – The tool can be valuable...

Using FAHP to determine the criteria for partner's selection within a green supply chain

Purpose – The criteria selection of green suppliers is an interesting and practical research topic. With the development and consciousness of environmental management, this issue has received a significant consideration from academics, researchers and businessmen. The purpose of this paper is to study what factors are considered to be the most important when choosing partners/suppliers in a green supply chain, with reference to the Taiwanese hand tool industry, as this industry plays a major role in the Taiwanese economy.Design/methodology/approach – Inheriting from previous researches, the literature about green supplier selection that appeared in international journals from 1997 to 2009 was reviewed. Then, the integrating fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) approach is proposed to select the most important criteria for green supplier selection in the Taiwanese hand tool industry.Findings – Ultimately, a list of criteria, along with their priority levels, is presented, not only to support Taiwanese...

Environmental life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of triboelectric nanogenerators

As the world economy grows and industrialization of the developing countries increases, the demand for energy continues to rise. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been touted as having great potential for low-carbon, non-fossil fuel energy generation. Mechanical energies from, amongst others, body motion, vibration, wind and waves are captured and converted by TENGs to harvest electricity, thereby minimizing global fossil fuel consumption. However, only by ascertaining performance efficiency along with low material and manufacturing costs as well as a favorable environmental profile in comparison with other energy harvesting technologies, can the true potential of TENGs be established. This paper presents a detailed techno-economic lifecycle assessment of two representative examples of TENG modules, one with a high performance efficiency (Module A) and the other with a lower efficiency (Module B) both fabricated using low-cost materials. The results are discussed across a number of sustainability metrics in the context of other energy harvesting technologies, notably photovoltaics. Module A possesses a better environmental profile, lower cost of production, lower CO2 emissions and shorter energy payback period (EPBP) compared to Module B. However, the environmental profile of Module B is slightly degraded due to the higher content of acrylic in its architecture and higher electrical energy consumption during fabrication. The end of life scenario of acrylic is environmentally viable given its recyclability and reuse potential and it does not generate toxic gases that are harmful to humans and the environment during combustion processes due to its stability during exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Despite the adoption of a less optimum laboratory manufacturing route, TENG modules generally have a better environmental profile than commercialized Si based and organic solar cells, but Module B has a slightly higher energy payback period than PV technology based on perovskite-structured methyl ammonium lead iodide. Overall, we recommend that future research into TENGs should focus on improving system performance, material optimization and more importantly improving their lifespan to realize their full potential.

Research priorities for managing the impacts and dependencies of business upon food, energy, water and the environment

Delivering access to sufficient food, energy and water resources to ensure human wellbeing is a major concern for governments worldwide. However, it is crucial to account for the ‘nexus’ of interactions between these natural resources and the consequent implications for human wellbeing. The private sector has a critical role in driving positive change towards more sustainable nexus management and could reap considerable benefits from collaboration with researchers to devise solutions to some of the foremost sustainability challenges of today. Yet opportunities are missed because the private sector is rarely involved in the formulation of deliverable research priorities. We convened senior research scientists and influential business leaders to collaboratively identify the top forty questions that, if answered, would best help companies understand and manage their food-energy-water-environment nexus dependencies and impacts. Codification of the top order nexus themes highlighted research priorities around development of pragmatic yet credible tools that allow businesses to incorporate nexus interactions into their decision-making; demonstration of the business case for more sustainable nexus management; identification of the most effective levers for behaviour change; and understanding incentives or circumstances that allow individuals and businesses to take a leadership stance. Greater investment in the complex but productive relations between the private sector and research community will create deeper and more meaningful collaboration and cooperation.

SMEs e-strategies within the logistics and tourism industries

The main focus of this paper is identifying e-strategies within SMEs in the logistics and tourism industries to provide competitive advantage via an insight into the current strategies employed by the SMEs. This paper uses triangulation research method to obtain data from 56 SMEs to explore some of the strategic issues in the Internet Cultural Era (ICE). An analysis of the data and the literature provides new evidence of emerging e-strategies. Also the data analysis and results in this research reveals significant gaps between theory and practice and leads to the development of a new understanding of business e-strategies.

Synchronicity and alignment of productivity: the real value from Service Science?

The ability of services to pervade all aspects of productivity creates the need for an interdisciplinary framework of service to be developed. It is, however, critical that any proposed service framework is jointly developed between the service purveyor and the stakeholders involved. An expected outcome from a focus on productivity in the Service Science arena is that a much closer relationship between the purveyor of a service and the customer is initiated and fostered. This requires a clear focus on the requirements of the customer and the various ways in which the service can be conveyed. This is not too far removed from what is required in other areas such as product specification that should also be carefully crafted from the needs of the customer. The research utilises two case studies to highlight the impact of Service Science as a co-producer of service productivity. We find from the case studies that human factors play an extremely important role in improving service productivity.

Softer perspectives on enhancing the patient experience using IS/IT

PURPOSE This paper aims to argue that the implementation of the Choose and Book system has failed due to the inability of project sponsors to appreciate the complex and far-reaching softer implications of the implementation, especially in a complex organisation such as the NHS, which has multifarious stakeholders. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH The authors use practice-oriented research to try and isolate key parameters. These parameters are compared with existing conventional thinking in a number of focused areas. FINDINGS Like many previous NHS initiatives, the focus of this system is in its obvious link to patients. However we find that although this project has cultural, social and organisational implications, programme managers and champions of the Connecting for Health programme emphasised the technical domains to IS/IT adoption. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS This paper has been written in advance of a fully implemented Choose and Book system. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The paper requests that more attention be paid to the softer side of IS/IT delivery, implementation, introduction and adoption. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The paper shows that patient experience within the U.K. healthcare sector is still well below what is desired.

Supply chain learning of sustainability in multi-tier supply chains: A resource orchestration perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how multinational corporations (MNCs) orchestrate internal and external resources to help their multi-tier supply chains learn sustainability-related knowledge. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory multiple case study approach was adopted and three MNCs’ sustainable initiatives in China were examined. The data were primarily collected through 43 semi-structured interviews with managers of focal companies and their multi-tier suppliers. Findings The authors found that in order to facilitate their supply chains to learn sustainability, MNCs tend to orchestrate in breadth by internally setting up new functional departments and externally working with third parties, and orchestrate in depth working directly with their extreme upstream suppliers adopting varied governance mechanisms on lower-tier suppliers along the project lifecycle. The resource orchestration in breadth and depth and along the project lifecycle results in changes of supply chain structure. Practical implications The proposed conceptual model provides an overall framework for companies to design and implement their multi-tier sustainable initiatives. Companies could learn from the suggested learning stages and the best practices of case companies. Originality/value The authors extend and enrich resource orchestration perspective (ROP), which is internally focused, to a supply chain level, and answer a theoretical question of how MNCs orchestrate their internal and external resources to help their supply chains to learn sustainability. The extension of ROP refutes the resource dependence theory, which adopts a passive approach of relying on external suppliers and proposes that MNCs should proactively work with internal and external stakeholders to learn sustainability.

A Robust Model to Enhance Organisation Boardrooms’ Decision-Making Process Towards a Low Carbon Economy

The role of organisations in efforts to address negative externalities on the natural environment has become urgent. As such, an organisation-focused perspective would be a limited view point of addressing global environmental impacts on the natural environment. We argue that by drawing on resource-based view theory, development of decision support systems (DSS) is an example of how organisational competences which are rooted in technology can be directed and used to not just create value but also enhance environmental sustainability. To this end, we present a decision support model which seeks to provide stakeholders with a better understanding of how to effectively conduct energy savings investment to promote energy conservation and sustainability within organisation. Bridging knowledge domains, the model presented integrates the key variables of economic and net environmental benefits to produce optimal decisions. These variables are used within an optimisation scheme that consists of integrated modules for data input, sensitivity analysis and takes into account the use of a set of energy saving options that satisfies a range of criteria (environmental, demand, cost and resource constraints); hierarchical course of action; and the evaluations of ‘best’ case scenario based on marginal abatement cost methods and Pareto optimisation. The steps involved in the system development are presented and its usefulness is evaluated using a case study application. The results of the application are analysed and presented, verifying the feasibility of the model whilst encouraging further improvements and extensions. The methodology developed provides stakeholders with an efficient and reliable decision process that is informed by both environmental and financial considerations.

Area Based Targeting: Providing Evidence to Support Public-Private Partnership in Energy Efficiency Projects

Policy context in the UK is focused increasingly on achieving ambitious carbon dioxide emission reductions, highlighted by the commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 80 % relative to 1990 levels by 2050. The domestic sector contributes to approximately 30 % of the UK’s carbon emissions, and there is increasing focus on the role of Local Authorities as key actors, expected to develop partnerships with businesses and community organisations to facilitate delivery and promote domestic energy efficiency strategies. To date there has been a lack of studies into the role that Local Authorities can and should play, as well as the capabilities for them to perform this role. Through evaluating existing academic and policy literature and conducting interviews with 13 Local Authorities and 2 Energy Efficiency service firms across England between March 2011 and January 2014, we consider how data provisions and guidance provided to Local Authorities aid Local Authorities in implementing energy efficiency schemes and measuring outcomes is assessed, and the extent to which Local Authorities are able to satisfy the diverse range of stakeholders in energy efficiency policies. This role of Local Authorities as management organisations in energy efficiency policies is historically under researched, but has the potential to integrate social and economic development criteria into projects. We conclude that the high value of the energy efficiency retrofitting service offers Local Authorities opportunities to deliver benefits to the local economy, as well as improving the condition of their housing and ultimately reducing residential energy consumption and associated carbon emissions.