WPOM-Working Papers on Operations Management

Protocol paper: From Chaos to Order. Augmenting Manual Article Screening with Sentence Transformers in Management Systematic Reviews

Juan A. Marin-Garcia — 2024-12-11

A spanish version of the article is provided (see section before Acknowledgements)

As scientific output grows, systematic reviews have become essential yet increasingly challenging. Our approach to this protocol aims to make this process more effective, efficient and accessible to researchers worldwide, including those in developing countries.

We developed a tool to complement human judgment in the screening phase using pre-trained language models and natural language processing techniques. This tool generates text embeddings and calculates semantic similarities, prioritizing potentially relevant articles. The goal is to utilise the similarity ranking instead of reviewing articles randomly or following the relevance sort option of search engines like WOS or Scopus. Coders can start with those closest to the category/categories of interest and progressively move towards the more distant ones. This approach would save time and effort while reducing the fatigue and biases of the coders.

The models we have tested in this research are all-MiniLM-L6-v2, all-distilroberta-v1, all-mpnet-base-v2, paraphrase-multilingual-mpnet-base-v2, distiluse-base-multilingual-cased-v1, all-MiniLM-L12-v2, allenai-specter, allenai/scibert_scivocab_uncased, distilbert-base-nli-mean-tokens, roberta-base-nli-stsb-mean-tokens, distiluse-base-multilingual-cased-v2, paraphrase-multilingual-MiniLM-L12-v2, stsb-roberta-large, bert-base-nli-mean-tokens.

The method was implemented using limited computational resources and open-source software, ensuring accessibility for research teams with restricted economic resources.

Results indicate a possible reduction in screening time and improved consistency in article selection. The tool demonstrated utility in classifying relevant studies and would facilitate more comprehensive reviews.

By providing a low-cost solution, we aim to level the playing field in global research, enabling researchers from diverse economic backgrounds to participate more fully in producing scientific knowledge.

Integrating the SDG into university teaching: an application in human resources subjects

Eva-María Mora-Valentín — 2023-10-04

The aim of this paper is to propose different initiatives to integrate the SDG into university education. To do so, firstly, some theoretical questions about the SDG and education are addressed. In addition, a review is made of previous research that has incorporated the SDG into university teaching. Finally, four activities are proposed that combine various teaching methodologies, as well as digital resources to facilitate the integration of the SDG in Human Resources subjects. Our proposal constitutes a guide to help teachers who want to incorpo-rate the SDG in subjects related to the management and administration of people.

Lean Management a Co-occurrence Analysis

Vanessa Rodríguez Cornejo — 2023-12-15

The objective of this work is to identify and visualize the intellectual structure of the Lean Manufacturing research field. To achieve this, a bibliometric analysis will be carried out that combines a performance and co-occurrence analysis, to identify and analyze the relationships between the topics that have had the greatest impact on the construction of the knowledge base of this discipline. To achieve this objective, a bibliometric analysis was carried out that began with a search on the Web of Science (WOS) platform with the Lean Manufacturing theme. From this database, the references were exported and subsequently processed using the Bibliometrix software, which allows for both an analysis of indexes and the number of articles, which showed us that it was not until 2012 that a progressive publication of works on the subject begins, of productivity by country, with the USA appearing as the country with the greatest number of publications and the greatest number of citations on the topic analyzed, and of authors and journals with the greatest publications, as well as a co-occurrence analysis, which shows us the keywords most used by the authors and the thematic areas where they are most published, the results of which yielded five clusters or groups of keywords led by the terms Lean Management, Lean, Industry 4.0, Value Stream Map and Six Sigma.

Inventory Optimization of Deteriorating Items: A Comprehensive Review of Carbon-Control Policies and Their Impact on Shelf Life, Greening Effects, and Rework Policies

Poonam Verma — 2024-02-09

This study examines the deteriorating inventory management problem for items with short shelf life, considering alternative carbon control strategies from 2018 to 2023. These policies include carbon cap and trade, trade and credit policy, carbon-emission control, and others. The study takes into account critical elements such as shelf life, optimal policies, modelling approaches, greening effects, subsidies, and rework policies. The analysis started with a search for 'EOQ Model' in the Science Direct database, which generated 788 items. For a comprehensive evaluation, were restricted our resources to 329 scientific publications, including deterioration. Following that, it was limited to carbon emissions, obtaining 123 results. The papers referenced above cover a wide range of issues, including remanufacturing and rework, as well as carbon caps and trade-credit systems for data collection, yielding 45 and 32 research articles, respectively. The review prioritizes respected publications of peer-reviewed journals papers for reliable results were examined. A review of the literature suggested that future research should concentrate on stochastic modelling. The emphasis has been placed on identifying future study gaps that will aid in the development of most relevant models. The current work will serve as a guideline for selecting the suitable mathematical technique(s) and methodology(s) in various situations involving deteriorating items. The current analysis examined 42 research papers on deteriorating inventory modelling accessible in the literature to characterize its current state and indicate probable future directions. Future research needs have also been identified. This comprehensive study is firmly believed to fill a knowledge gap on deteriorating inventory and support in the formulation of appropriate methods for the creation of a successful and effective inventory control system for deteriorating products.

Factors influencing nurse satisfaction with Automated Medication Dispensing Cabinets

Víctor G. Aguilar-Escobar — 2024-04-16

To improve efficiency, quality and safety of medication administration systems, hospitals have been implementing automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) in healthcare units. The purpose of this study was to evaluate nursing staff’s level of satisfaction with ADCs by analyzing several aspects and differences in perceptions between groups of users. It being a fact that nurses are the end users of the ADC system, their perceptions and opinions are crucial to the success of this technological implementation. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in units with ADCs from a Spanish hospital (n = 97, 32.12%. response rate). Data were analyzed using comparisons between groups and principal component analysis (PCA). The results show that, in general terms, nursing staff have a high degree of satisfaction with ADCs, with order and organization being the most valued aspect. The type of clinical unit and personnel seniority explain some of the differences in valuation. PCA revealed the existence of two general dimensions of nurse satisfaction: efficiency and safety. From this study, conclusions can be drawn to help hospital managers achieve success in implementing ADCs in their centers.

Protocol: Systematic literature review on innovation competence in the service innovation process focused on patient experience

Rosa Milena Gómez-Caballero — 2024-04-19

Innovation in services is a necessary requirement to improve the competitiveness of organizations, espe-cially in a globally growing sector like healthcare. However, it is a complex process since services are intangible and co-created with users and other actors who interact through different roles, interests, and capabilities. Additionally, the outcome of the innovation process is expected to be a new or improved ex-perience for the patient and their family, as it is a key indicator in healthcare systems that determines user satisfaction and service quality.

Many studies suggest the application of approaches and tools to innovate in services, but the literature is scarce in linking the innovation process with patient experience and individuals' skills to achieve successful innovation outcomes. This literature review aims to identify the relationship between three theoretical con-structs: the service innovation process, innovation competence, and patient experience, which will establish a theoretical framework for understanding the innovation competence of those involved in the healthcare service innovation process to contribute to collaborative work among ecosystem actors.

This article presents the protocol for the systematic literature review considering previous works related to process improvement in the healthcare sector, attempting to address questions related to research topics and considering future lines outlined in previous reviews. The methodological design of this systematic review is based on recommendations made by authors in the healthcare field, and the recommendations of the PRISMA 2020 statement were also followed.

Towards sustainable business: Leading change from the bottom-up

Rosa Esteban-Amaro — 2024-06-13

The principles of sustainability and circularity are gaining ground in business, driven by market uncertainty and instability. Although many policies and strategies promote the circular economy from the top-down, there are few tools to help businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, overcome the challenges that hinder its implementation from the bottom-up. This article provides a structured bottom-up framework to accelerate the adoption of initiatives to achieve sustainable goals while transitioning to circularity. It adopts a conceptual framework development using a representation of the circular economy - the funnel metaphor - as a 'method' for exploring sustainability and circularity initiatives. The article categorises specific patterns in which initiatives can support the transition from traditional linear approaches to production and consumption to a more circular approach. By adopting a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach, this framework introduces a novel way of characterising sustainable and circular initiatives that allows for minimising rebound effects and balancing trade-offs. As a result, companies can better articulate their actions to future-proof their operations and mitigate unsustainable impacts in a context of resource constraints.

Can sustainable supply chain strategies of company enhance for mitigation of risk damages and long-term resilience? An empirical analysis for the context of COVID-19 pandemic

Thi Ngoc Hoa Nguyen — 2024-07-22

This study aims to investigate the effects of sustainable supply chain management strategies of the companies on mitigation of risk damages and long-term resilience through the evaluation of stock abnormal returns of companies listed on the stock markets based on the evidence from the context of COVID-19 pandemic. The empirical analysis was conducted for 63 companies listed on Vietnamese stock market, where plays as an example for emerging stock markets. The data were collected from the quarterly official financial statements of 63 companies between January 2020 and March 2023. Various regression models, including Ordinary Least Squares, Fixed Effects Model, Random Effects Model, and Generalized Least Squares were explored. Found results indicated that the implementing sustainable supply chain management strategies might help to mitigate the negative impact on stock price volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has not been the critical tool to improve the companies’ resilience ability in post pandemic yet.

JEL Codes: F65, F63, G11, G34, G38
Codes of Sustainable Development Goals: SDG17, SDG12, SDG02

Psychosocial factors related to the increasing automation of work processes: A systematic review

Raul Martinez-Balderrama — 2024-10-08

Purpose: To identify which psychosocial factors can be related to the increasing automation of work processes, determining practical implications relevant to the evaluation of psychosocial risk factors at work within organizations before the imminent transition towards industry 4.0

Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review of the literature was carried out. The review structure was based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach for the studies selection and the Noblit and Hare's meta-ethnographic approach for data analysis and synthesis.

Findings: Thirty-five studies were selected which passed all the selection stages. Six psychosocial risk factors were detected whose behaviors may be influenced by the increasing automation of work. Evidence suggests that the factors of development possibility, change management, mental load, routine content, and job insecurity may increase their exposure due to job modifications owing to new automation technologies. On the other hand, social relationships at work have the ability to positively influence the successful implementation of new automated processes.

Originality/value: The results obtained represent excellent indications of an overview of psychosocial risk factors that may increase their danger due to the increasing automation of work processes and Industry 4.0.

Analysis of institutional factors in the implementation of the action research methodology: lessons learned in a case study

María Eugenia Clouet — 2024-11-13

The growing need for academic research to generate a tangible social impact has increased the relevance of collaborative methodologies. Among them, the "Action Research" method stands out for its application in the field of business organization. This is especially relevant in the field of Operations Management as it involves close collaboration with organizations.
This study aims to examine the key institutional factors that influence the success of the implementation of the "Action Research" methodology in the business context. Through a case study, two main contributions are made to the "Action Research" literature. First, six key institutional factors are identified to consider in the implementation of an Action Research project: external and internal environment, leadership, strategy, communication, and organizational resources and capabilities. Second, the analysis provides a series of lessons learned that cover the influence of aspects related to company's environment; alignment of objectives; participation of employees; clear definition of roles; training; adaptation and support of work team member; an adequate technological infrastructure; how to promote the participation of external agents; and the influence of communication channels.
The identification and analysis of these factors and the lessons learned serve as a reference framework for researchers who are considering carrying out an "Action Research" project to transfer it to the company with which they are going to collaborate, and thus determine if the right conditions are in place to carry out the study.