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Purpose: There is consensus that the theoretical underpinning associated with the performance of supply chain quality management practices remain evolutionary to current thinking. This study explores how absorptive capacity (AC) supports supply chain quality integration (SCQI) by designing the quality of their products and processes within a supply chain (SC). Design: A comparative case study of seven global pharmaceutical manufacturers in a developing market was undertaken. Qualitative research methods were used in the data collection, which involved semi-structured interviews with 54 participants through two rounds of interviews who were positioned at different managerial levels. Findings: The results demonstrate that AC is an essential part of SCQI due to its ability to utilise valuable strategic and operational knowledge, which are important when building consistent internal products/ processes quality, along with the robust design of the SC network. We found that AC helps companies design their quality and continuously improve their products / processes among their SC members. Research limitations: This study has some limitations in terms of the findings generalisation. However, the findings could be extrapolated to other companies. Practical implications: The study develops a framework to support practitioners and decision makers in order to leverage their AC while facilitating their SCQI practices. Originality: This study explains the role of the AC process in SCQI practices, in the context of the pharmaceutical SC. The study profiles the characteristics of dynamic capabilities to increase the companies’ competencies, processes and resources.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Quality Function Deployment (QFD) can enhance a healthcare organisation’s strategic operational alignment, by synchronising the infrastructure design with the service intention. In this empirical paper, a case study of a £15 million infrastructure development has been used as the unique context to assess and test the experimental findings. QFD was utilised in order to capture and transform the requirements of decision-makers, providers, patients and local communities’ into both service and building design for Project K, a healthcare infrastructure, in the UK. QFD was implemented after the public consultation. The large amount of qualitative data collected from the public consultation was analysed using thematic analysis, which was used as the main QFD inputs. A series of eight facilitated workshops enabled a cross-functional team of 10 high-ranking managers to optimise the future infrastructure features. Two full iterations of the QFD results are presented. Using QFD generated effectiveness and efficiency by creating an information exchange platform and providing the stakeholders with a framework to optimise the decision-making. This paper makes a practical contribution by empirically testing the QFD modelling and providing evidence of its implementation within the complex, dynamic and evolving nature of the healthcare built environment sector. Moreover, from an academic perspective, this study makes a contribution by responding to the call inviting scholars to grow and advance the embryonic and undeveloped research of QFD application in the construction industry (Cudney and Gillis, 2016; Dikmen et al., 2005 and John et al., 2014).

© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. When planning a new development, location decisions have always been a major issue. This paper examines and compares two modelling methods used to inform a healthcare infrastructure location decision. Two Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) models were developed to support the optimisation of this decision-making process, within a National Health Service (NHS) organisation, in the UK. The proposed model structure is based on seven criteria (environment and safety, size, total cost, accessibility, design, risks and population profile) and 28 sub-criteria. First, Evidential Reasoning (ER) was used to solve the model, then, the processes and results were compared with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). It was established that using ER or AHP led to the same solutions. However, the scores between the alternatives were significantly different; which impacted the stakeholders' decision-making. As the processes differ according to the model selected, ER or AHP, it is relevant to establish the practical and managerial implications for selecting one model or the other and providing evidence of which models best fit this specific environment. To achieve an optimum operational decision it is argued, in this study, that the most transparent and robust framework is achieved by merging ER process with the pair-wise comparison, an element of AHP. This paper makes a defined contribution by developing and examining the use of MCDA models, to rationalise new healthcare infrastructure location, with the proposed model to be used for future decision. Moreover, very few studies comparing different MCDA techniques were found, this study results enable practitioners to consider even further the modelling characteristics to ensure the development of a reliable framework, even if this means applying a hybrid approach.

This book was written and compiled by the University of Huddersfield to share the learnings and experiences of seven years of Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) and Economic and Social\ud Research Council (ESRC) funded projects with the\ud National Health Service (NHS). The focus of these\ud projects was the implementation of Lean thinking and optimising strategic decision making processes. Each of these projects led to major local improvements and this book explains how they were achieved and compiles the lessons learnt. The book is split into three chapters; Lean Thinking Theory, Lean Thinking Applied and Lean Thinking Dissemination.

Professional sport is in many ways a type of business. From an operations management perspective it is worthy of note that professional sport exhibits several specific features that require a customised set of practices to ensure effective operations (Smith and Stewart, 2010). In this paper we focus on developing four key constructs that exemplify the special characteristics of the sport industry: i) limited control of the sports product, ii) uncertainty of on-field outcome, iii) spectator co-creation and iv) enforced collaboration. We outline the development of a survey on stadium operations and share the next steps in the research.

There is limited evidence regarding the use of social media in Operations Management research and how it could be used to support engagement and dissemination of outcomes (Rowlands et al., 2011). The literature shows that many academics rarely use these tools for research purposes even though they are recognised as powerful tools to develop and sustain their networks (RIN, 2010). In this paper the authors focus on exploring some of the benefits of using social media in OM research. The paper describes how social media supported and improved the engagement and dissemination of a Lean healthcare research project.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a strategic approach for UK Business Schools to build\ud relationships with their alumni by using the current development of the University of\ud Huddersfield’s Business School as a case study. Finding itself at a point where alumni engagement\ud was low, the Business School has initiated a number of projects in order to overcome the situation.\ud These research projects will aim to determine how a successful relationship between a Business\ud School and its graduates should unfold and what methods can be deployed to maintain students\ud engaged after graduation.

The aim of this paper is to report on the development of a Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) Model that was implemented to optimize the location selection for a new healthcare centre. The paper demonstrates how MCDA was used within healthcare to enhance the robustness and transparency of the decision making process.\ud Literature on MCDA was reviewed to contribute to the model development. It was developed in collaboration with a local Trust as part of a new health centre (£15 million project). A substantial set of data gathered from the public consultation and four specific workshops, allowed to assess the two alternatives using the Evidential Reasoning (ER) approach.\ud The final model has seven criteria and 28 sub-criteria. This technique was useful to reach a consensus and influenced the Board of Directors to justify the final decision thanks to the robustness and transparency of the process. The paper makes a contribution by implementing a MCDA model in the healthcare sector and by providing a model for future application.

April 2009 was an important period for all National Health Service (NHS) Community Health Services (CHS) organisations as they were formally separated from the commissioning service in the Primary Care Trust (PCT). This had many implications, including the need to establish individual board, develop independent strategy, and set-up autonomous governance. The host organisation was keen to investigate the effectiveness of the current strategy deployment process and subsequently identify areas for improvement.\ud Our investigation looked into adapting strategy deployment systems such as the Closed-Loop Management Systems (Kaplan and Norton 2008) at NHS CHS organisations which can facilitate organisational needs in the area of strategy deployment. As human capital with the suitable skills is required for any successful implementation of a management system, the researchers expanded the scope by including an assessment of the organisation’s readiness for adapting formal strategy deployment systems in terms of management skills levels.

This study delves into the implementation of Lean techniques (5S, SMED, JiT and TPM) within a micro-manufacturing in the UK. Using an action research methodology, we assessed the different techniques’ effect on variation, cycle times and productivity. This study contributes directly to the lack of quality management research in micro-organizations.

A professional Rugby League club, well established in the UK Championship, sought to\ud place the fans at the centre of the club’s on-going operational and business strategy. The\ud club directors wanted to increase the home game attendance to sustain the club in the\ud longer run. They needed to understand the club fan base and to use this evidence to\ud improve the home game attendance figures. A survey was designed for the fans\ud (N=511) to express their expectations in order to improve the service quality. This\ud research has contributed to informing and shaping the future operations strategy of the\ud club.

The aim of this study is to investigate the differences between Polish migrant workers and British labour in relation to their orientation to work. Using a sample of 128 employees in the industrial sector in the UK, we examined the orientation to work among the workforce. The results show a difference in orientation towards employment between the employees in the industrial sector, in the UK. Polish workers reveal characteristics of intrinsic orientation to work, while British employees reveal characteristics of instrumental orientation to work. Unexpectedly, the results suggest that individuals with intrinsic orientation to work expose higher need for recuperation.

The rapid grow of technology, its perceived ease of use and a demanding working environment, has led to the increasing use of social software by businesses. Reported evidence reveals that companies have enhanced their performance through developing social networks; being transparent by sharing information through collaborative communities appears to improve organisational productivity. Limited emphasis has been placed on the use of social media in Operations Management (OM) research and its impact on generating research outcomes. This paper, therefore, aims to explore the factors that inspire or prevent scholars from using social media as a key element within their research projects.

The aim of this research is to present and discuss the development and deployment of Lean thinking models and techniques applied to improve the decision-making within the planning and design processes of new infrastructures, within a healthcare organisation. \ud \ud In the UK, healthcare organisations are responsible for planning, designing, building and managing their own infrastructures, through which their services are delivered to the local population (Kagioglou & Tzortzopoulos, 2010). These processes are long and complex, involving a large range of stakeholders who are implicated within the strategic decision-making. It is understood that the NHS lacks models and frameworks to support the decision-making associated with their new infrastructure development and that ad-hoc methods, used at local level, lead to inefficiencies and weak performances, despite the contractual efforts made throughout the PPP and PFI schemes (Baker & Mahmood, 2012; Barlow & Koberle-Gaiser, 2008). This is illustrated by the long development cycle time – it can take up to 15 years from conception to completion of new infrastructure. \ud \ud Hence, in collaboration with an NHS organisation, an empirical action research embedded within a mixed-methodology approach, has been designed to analyse the root-cause problems and assess to what extent Lean thinking can be applied to the built environment, to improve the speed and fitness for purpose of new infrastructures. Firstly, this multiphase research establishes the main issues responsible for the weak process performances, via an inductive-deductive cycle, and then demonstrates how Lean thinking inspired techniques: Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) using ER and AHP, Benchmarking and Quality Function Deployment (QFD), have been implemented to optimise the decision-making in order to speed up the planning and design decision-making processes and to enhance the fitness for purpose of new infrastructures. \ud \ud Academic literatures on Lean thinking, decision theories and built environment have been reviewed, in order to establish a reliable knowledge base of the context and to develop relevant solutions. The bespoke models developed have been tested and implemented in collaboration with a local healthcare organisation in UK, as part of the construction of a £15 million health centre project. A substantial set of qualitative and quantitative data has been collected during the 450 days, which the researcher was granted full access, plus a total of 25 sets of interviews, a survey (N=85) and 25 experimental workshops. This mixed-methodology research is composed of an exploratory sequential design and an embedded-experiment variant, enabling the triangulation of different data, methods and findings to be used to develop an innovative solution, thus improving the new infrastructure development process. \ud \ud The emerging developed conceptual model represents a non-prescriptive approach to planning and designing new healthcare infrastructures, using Lean thinking principles to optimise the decision-making and reduce the complexity. This Partial & Bespoke Lean Construction Framework (PBLCF) has been implemented as good practice by the healthcare organisation, to speed up the planning phases and to enhance the quality of the design and reduce the development cost, in order to generate a competitive edge. It is estimated that a reduction of 22% of the cycle time and 7% of the cost is achievable. This research makes a contribution by empirically developing and deploying a partial Lean implementation into the healthcare‟s built environment, and by providing non-prescriptive models to optimise the decision-making underpinning the planning and design of complex healthcare infrastructure. This has the potential to be replicated in other healthcare organisations and can also be adapted to other construction projects.

This paper reports on research that compared two multiple criteria decision analysis\ud (MCDA) models: Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Evidential Reasoning (ER).\ud It discusses the development of a hybrid version, specifically designed to select and\ud justify the location for a future urban healthcare infrastructure within a UK based\ud National Health Service (NHS) Trust. We recommend the use of a hybrid model using\ud aspects of AHP at the criteria level and aspects of ER at the sub-criteria level. We\ud suggest using ER with pair-wise comparison elements as the most effective solution.

The need for technology transfer from universities to industry is a theme that resonates throughout many advanced countries of the world. This paper explores the effectiveness and efficiency of Business and Management schools in transferring technology through formal Knowledge Transfer schemes; it examines the value and impact of these activities by reporting on the outputs from thirteen major case studies across two sectors, manufacturing and healthcare. The paper assesses the impact of knowledge transfer, in relation to the development of a competitive edge and proposes some initial frameworks for potential application and use.

Healthcare organisations have important roles in society in terms of safeguarding and promoting public health. Considering the healthcare organisations’ crucial role and the fact that they face the challenge of minimising the cost of healthcare services while enhancing service quality, healthcare organisations tend to adopt various improvement approaches and innovative interventions to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. This research evaluates the implementation of innovative programmes within Pharmaceutical Supply Chains (PSC). It aims to assess the current medicine delivery process and identify the factors that affect the perceived innovation level within the PSC in two diverse European contexts.

Lean production and ERP systems are two of the most desirable manufacturing best practices (Bamford et al., 2015); the link between them has been widely studied and discussed within the academic literature. However, the focus to-date has mainly been on low and medium variety production. In Engineering-to-Order (ETO), the high variety nature of the business and the use of ERP systems impact the ability to implement pull, a term widely misinterpreted. Using the case of a British Engineering-to-Order company, this paper analyses and determines the extent to which an ERP can support an ETO to tend towards a “pure” pull system.

To date there has been little evidence captured about athlete’s satisfaction at the\ud Paralympics Games, specifically about their perceptions of the service quality provided.\ud Such research has the potential to evidence base and support future decision makers\ud whilst planning and designing this complex sporting event. This survey captures this\ud knowledge and highlights, in the athletes opinion, how well designed, organised and\ud managed the London 2012 Paralympic Games were. Athletes rated 64 of 73 items with\ud a score in the ‘very satisfied’ category. However, in any system there are areas for\ud improvement (AFIs), these are highlighted for further investigation.