Search

PurposeThe paper presents a research methodology that could be used to carry out a systematic literature review on the current state of the art of the technological development in the field of the digitalization and unphysicalization of supply chains (SCs). A three-dimensional conceptual framework focusing on the relationship between Digital Technologies (DTs), business processes and SC performance is presented. The study identifies the emerging practices and areas of SC management that could be positively affected by the implementation of DTs. With this in mind, the emerging practices have a high probability to be considered future best practices.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted on DTs in SC management. The methodology used aims to algorithmically and objectively standardize the information incorporated into thousands of scientific documents. Selected papers were analyzed to investigate the recent literature on SC digitalization and unphysicalization. A total of 87 DTs were selected to be analyzed and subsequently grouped into 11 macro-categories. 17 business processes linked to SC management are taken into account and 17 different impacts on SC management are presented. From a set of 1,585 papers, 5,060 emerging practices were collected and singularly summarized combining DT, business process and impact on SC performance.FindingsA unique analytical perspective provided represents an important evolution when trying to organize the current literature on SC management. The widely used DTs in the practices and the most considered business processes and impacts are highlighted and described. The three-dimensional conceptual framework is graphically represented to allow for the emergence of the best combinations of DT, business process and impact on SC performance. These combinations suggest the most promising areas for the implementation of the emerging practices for SC digitalization and unphysicalization. Additional findings identify and define the most important contexts in which Big Data contributes to SC performance.Originality/valueThe research methodology used is offering progress through which to systemize the current practices as well as detect the potential of digitalization and unphysicalization under the three-dimensional conceptual framework. The paper provides a structured proposal for promising future research directions, assuming that the five research gaps as findings of this research could be the basis for prescriptions, as well as a future research agenda and theory development. Moreover, this research contributes to current managerial issues concerning SC management, referred to data and information management, efficiency and productivity of SC processes, market performance, SC relationship management and risk management in SC.

Blockchain has recently been associated to Supply Chain Management to solve several problems and change operations management processes. The study proposes to analyse three different scenarios of the Parmigiano Reggiano supply chain considering blockchain technology as an enabler for the use of other technologies such as RFID and the Internet of Things (IoT) and for the exploitation of the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) strategy. The study is based on the evaluation of three agent-based simulation scenarios, a traditional "as is" scenario, a second "to be" scenario implementing emerging technologies including blockchain, and a third “to be” scenario that combines the second one with the VMI optimization strategy. The results show how the combined adoption of these technologies improves the procurement process and customer satisfaction. Findings highlight the impacts that the different scenarios have on the supply chain operations in a quantitative way and allows to evaluate the changes in supply chain processes. By employing emerging technologies, order management activities are more automated and time to order and lead time order preparation are reduced. However, to achieve these performances, other data capture tools such as RFID and IoT are needed. Finally, the introduction of the VMI strategy, when enabled by blockchain technology, improves the procurement performances and significantly reduces unfilled orders.

Digital technologies could be key to solving several open issues in the context of supply chain management (SCM) and sustainable development. The purpose of this article is to investigate the linkage between digital technologies and sustainable practices in SCM. Through a systematic literature review, the article aims to identify which technologies favour sustainable emerging practices considering the triple bottom line (3BL) perspective. In particular, the following 11 technologies were considered: 3D printing, artificial intelligence, blockchain, computing, digital applications, geospatial technologies, Internet of Things, immersive environments, open and crowd-based platforms, proximity technologies and robotics. For the purpose of this research, 5011 peer-reviewed scientific articles were analysed and a comprehensive overview of the use of digital technologies in SCM to favour sustainable emerging practices was proposed. Therefore, four indices that measure the environmental, social, economic and total 3BL sustainability of each technology were used to assess sustainable emerging practices. This study could be useful for both academics and practitioners. For the former, it provides a comprehensive understanding of the application of digital technologies in sustainable emerging practices for SCM. It highlights potential research gaps by proposing scenarios of future research developments. For the latter, the article aims to identify opportunities for the implementation of digital technologies within own company to improve operations management and, at the same time, promote sustainable development.

The aim of the research was to present the state of the art on the use of open and crowd-based platforms and the advantages in terms of business performance that emerging practices employing such technologies are able to provide. The analysis was performed by extracting information on emerging practices from the repository Business Process Framework for Emerging Technologies developed by the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Salerno (Italy). Contingency tables allowed analysis of the association of such practices with industry, business function, business process, and impact on performance. From the analysis of the results, many implementation opportunities emerge, mainly in manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation industries, providing benefits not only in terms of efficiency and productivity, cost reduction, and information management but also in product/service differentiation. Therefore, the research provides an overview of opportunities for organizations employing open and crowd-based platforms in order to improve market and organizational performance. Moreover, the article highlights in what specific business contexts these technologies can be mainly useful.

The digital transformation of supply chains should revolutionize entire management processes and improve various aspects of sustainability. In particular, the plans of Industry 4.0 aim towards a digitization of several procedures by exploiting emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, RFID and blockchain. The purpose of this study is to highlight how order and disruption events processes can be improved with the adoption of emerging technologies and how this reflects on the improvement of sustainability aspects. The study is based on the comparison of two simulation scenarios between three actors in the cheese supply chain. In particular, a first traditional scenario “as is” is simulated without the use of new technologies and is compared to a second scenario “to be” that adopts IoT, RFID and blockchain. The results show an improvement in time performance for managing both perfect and non-compliant orders. The developed framework highlights the impact of new technologies on sustainability aspects, showing further managerial implications.

PurposeThe paper aims to present a systematic literature review (SLR) showing the benefits, challenges and future research of blockchain technology (BT) for the supply chain (SC), also suggesting how the features of BT can change the organizational aspects of the SC.Design/methodology/approachAn SLR has been conducted to detect papers that contained the word “Blockchain” in their titles, keywords or abstracts. Consequently, a second filter to analyze BT papers for the SC was applied.FindingsThis paper shows through 31 variables classified into positive, negative and future directions of technology for the SC. For instance, BT will reduce time consuming of operations management and payments using smart contracts. In addition, integrating BT with other technologies will allow product tracking and sustainable production management.Research limitations/implicationsThe selection of papers is limited to Scopus database and specifically to the Management Journal.Practical implicationsBT creates collaborative peer-to-peer and business-to-business markets. The technology automates several tasks such as order management, payment for goods, waste reduction and process control. Therefore, its use within the SCs will improve the productivity and profits of the participants.Originality/valueThis paper is focused on BT for the SC area with 60 articles analyzed. In addition, 13 variables on benefits, eight variables on challenges and 12 points on future research directions were analyzed. This work will help researchers and entrepreneurs to deepen about the changes that BT offers in SC.

The paper analyses the supplier-side of buyer-supplier relationships examining the linkage of innovation performance and strategies with suppliers' market performances. The research has been conducted on the smartphone industry. A patent-based framework allows the investigation at the product level using techniques deriving from content analysis. The methodology is tested on a sample of 100 couples' component supplier gathered from the Nomura report. Results confirm the positive relationship between suppliers’ market shares and innovation elements. First, the market performance of suppliers depends on the performance of R&D activities carried out to develop smartphone-related technologies. Second, when companies adopt specialization strategies, concentrating on the end product the development of component technologies, the market shares are higher. From the methodological point of view, the work suggests how to operationalize patent data to perform analyses at the product level. The suggested framework can be employed by companies as a managerial tool.

There is considerable evidence showing that people slow down after making an error. The post-error slowing is typically interpreted as the result of adaptation processes raising response criteria in order to avoid future errors. Here we analyze performance results of a previous study examining the relation between intelligence and electrocortical concomitants of mental rotation. Participants performed a hybrid Choice/Go-NoGo task presenting stimuli upright or rotated (60, 120, or 180 degrees) in normal or mirror image. The results showed that low-ability participants responded slower overall and committed more errors—in particular on NoGo trials with 180 degrees rotated stimuli. We selected the error trials and 7 correct Go trials preceding the error trial and 3 correct Go trials following the error trial. The results showed considerable post-error slowing and revealed that this slowing was related to intelligence—low-ability participants showed greater slowing than high-ability participants. This finding was interpreted within the context of diffusion-modeling studies of post-error slowing and may suggest that the rate of evidence accumulation and, possibly, the setting of response thresholds on trials following an error is more vulnerable in low- relative to high-ability individuals.

The growing attention to emerging technologies has raised several doubts regarding the sustainability aspects. Among the new technologies, blockchain has laid the foundations for a revolution in the financial field but also in the energy, tourism, medical, industrial and supply chains sectors. Through a systematic literature review, 37 documents were analyzed to describe the sustainable aspects generated using blockchain in supply chains. Therefore, the results achieved provide two levels of analysis. The former highlights the impact of the adoption of blockchain in supply chains based on the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. The latter shows the positive and negative impacts of each form of sustainability. The purpose of the work is to summarize the current state of the art in order to propose a future development agenda based on the need to simulate and define a measurability for each dimension of sustainability. Finally, the study provides a broad overview of practical and managerial implications for entrepreneurs and researchers. On the one hand, the work shows how the use of blockchain improves the profits and reputation of companies. On the other hand, it highlights several research gaps to be investigated and considered by researchers.

Skin affections after sulfur mustard (SM) exposure include erythema, blister formation and severe inflammation. An antidote or specific therapy does not exist. Anti-inflammatory compounds as well as substances counteracting SM-induced cell death are under investigation. In this study, we investigated the benzylisoquinoline alkaloide berberine (BER), a metabolite in plants like berberis vulgaris, which is used as herbal pharmaceutical in Asian countries, against SM toxicity using a well-established in vitro approach. Keratinocyte (HaCaT) mono-cultures (MoC) or HaCaT/THP-1 co-cultures (CoC) were challenged with 100, 200 or 300 mM SM for 1 h. Post-exposure, both MoC and CoC were treated with 10, 30 or 50 mu M BER for 24 h. At that time, supernatants were collected and analyzed both for interleukine (IL) 6 and 8 levels and for content of adenylate-kinase (AK) as surrogate marker for cell necrosis. Cells were lysed and nucleosome formation as marker for late apoptosis was assessed. In parallel, AK in cells was determined for normalization purposes. BER treatment did not influence necrosis, but significantly decreased apoptosis. Anti-inflammatory effects were moderate, but also significant, primarily in CoC. Overall, BER has protective effects against SM toxicity in vitro. Whether this holds true should be evaluated in future in vivo studies.

The current study examined the relation between mental rotation and fluid intelligence using performance measures augmented with brain potential indices. Participants took a Raven's Progressive Matrices Test and performed on a mental rotation task presenting upright and rotated letter stimuli (60°, 120° or 180°) in normal and mirror image requiring a response execution or inhibition depending on instructions. The performance results showed that the linear slope relating performance accuracy, but not speed, to the angular rotation of the stimuli was related to individual differences in fluid intelligence. For upright stimuli, P3 amplitude recorded at frontal and central areas was positively associated with fluid intelligence scores. The mental rotation process was related to a negative shift of the brain potential recorded over the parietal cortex. The linear function relating the amplitude of the rotation-related negativity to rotation angle was associated with fluid intelligence. The slope was more pronounced for high- relative to low-ability participants suggesting that the former flexibly adjust their expenditure of mental effort to the mental rotation demands while the latter ones are less proficient in doing so.

This study investigated the influence of individual differences in attentional impulsivity (Att-Imp), learning ability, and learning practice on oscillatory activity and phase synchrony responses to monetary gain and loss signals during an instrumental-learning task in healthy women. We used a trial-by-trial wavelet-based time-frequency analysis of the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal to provide amplitude and inter-site phase synchrony measures from 30 electrodes in theta (4-8 Hz, 350-500 ms), alpha (8-12 Hz, 100-200 ms), beta (13-25 Hz, 100-200 ms), and gamma (30-40 Hz, 350-450 ms) time-frequency ranges. Oscillatory amplitude and inter-site phase synchrony were both greater following loss signals as compared to gain signals in theta, beta, and gamma frequency bands. Low Att-Imp subjects had higher theta activity within a 350-500 ms time window over frontocentral, and centroparietal sites than high Att-Imp subjects. Monetary gain signals elicited higher theta and gamma activities in high Att-Imp individuals and loss signals elicited higher activities to loss signals in low Att-Imp individuals. Good learners showed enhanced intrahemispheric theta synchrony between frontoparietal, and fronto-occipital sites to monetary loss compared to gain signals. In good learners, monetary loss produced an increase of gamma synchrony that enhanced in the second stage of learning. In low Att-Imp individuals, there was a reduction of theta synchrony during the second stage, as compared with the first stage of learning, between temporal, parietal and fronto-parietal brain regions. These findings may offer valuable clues to understand outcome processing, attentional impulsivity, and learning ability. We propose that the punishment-related theta and gamma waves play a leading role in learning process.

The relationship between mental ability (MA, Raven Progressive Matrices) and speed of information processing was examined by recording mismatch negativity (MMN) parameters from 41 women during passive listening to auditory standard and deviant stimuli with backward masking. The intertone interval (ITI) between the offset of the standard or deviant tone and the onset of the masking tone was varied between conditions (25, 50, or 150 ms). Three versions of a trail-making test (Zahlen-Verbindungs-Test, ZVT) were also presented to obtain a behavioral index of information processing speed. Multiple regression analysis showed that the more difficult versions of the ZVT and midline frontal MMN latency at 25-ms ITI were both significant predictors of MA. Across all ITI conditions, the higher ability (HA) group exhibited a shorter MMN latency than the lower ability (LA) group. Finally, the HA group also had a larger MMN amplitude than the LA group for the 25-ms ITI condition. These results indicate that low-level auditory discrimination, indexed by MMN, contributes to individual differences in fluid intelligence. In this regard, MMN provides a valuable tool for examining individual differences in intelligence in individuals who are not able to comply with psychometric testing.

Objective The present study investigated the properties of feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P3 component of the event-related potentials (ERPs) and their neural sources localization as neurocognitive correlates of the behavioural inhibition and behavioural activation systems (BIS/BAS). The association between BIS/BAS function and anterior cortical asymmetry was tested. Methods Fifty right-handed women were investigated with 30-channel recordings during an instrumental Go/No-Go learning task. ERPs were elicited to feedback signals indicating monetary losses and monetary gains. Learning performance, FRN, and P3 amplitude and latency measures were calculated and related to BIS and BAS measures by means of ANOVA and correlation analysis. The neural sources of FRN and P3 components of the ERPs were estimated using LORETA software. A resting EEG-alpha-power (8–13 Hz) asymmetry measure was obtained. Results High levels of Reward Responsiveness (RR), a first order factor of the BAS, were associated with shorter RTs and enhanced positive feelings. The FRN was larger to signals indicating monetary Loss as compared to monetary Gain and enhanced with higher BIS and individual learning ability. Higher RR scores were related to greater left-sided resting frontal cortical asymmetry associated with approach orientation. High-RR subjects, as compared to Low-RR ones, had a smaller P3 amplitude for Go/Loss signals. The P3 latency to No-Go/Gain signals was the best positive predictor of RR. LORETA source localization for the FRN component displayed significantly higher brain electrical activity in left-fusiform gyrus and right superior temporal gyrus to monetary Loss in comparison to monetary Gain after incorrect No-Go responses. For the P3 wave, the monetary Loss produced significantly higher activations in the left superior parietal lobule, right postcentral gyrus, and in the ACC. Conclusion The FRN was sensitive to cues of punishment and higher BIS was uniquely related to a larger FRN amplitude on No-Go/Loss trials, linking BIS with conflict monitoring and sensitivity to No-Go cues. Furthermore, the significant interaction found between BIS and RR on FRN amplitude together with the findings linking High-RR levels with shorter RTs, smaller P3 amplitudes and enhanced positive feelings are in line with the hypothesis that both BIS and BAS have the potential to influence punishment-mediated and reward-mediated behaviour. Significance Results open up new perspectives for future investigations on the relationship between BIS/BAS measures and ERP components to monetary reward during learning.

The relationship between fluid intelligence (indexed by scores on Raven Progressive Matrices) and auditory discrimination ability was examined by recording event-related potentials from 48 women during the performance of an auditory oddball task with backward masking. High ability (HA) subjects exhibited shorter response times, greater response accuracy, larger P3b amplitude and shorter P3b latency to target stimuli than the lower ability (LA) subjects. There were no differences between high and low ability groups for the P3a component of the ERP. Correlation and multiple regression analyses indicated that frontal P3b latency and, to a smaller extent, P3b amplitude are the best predictors of mental ability. These results are consistent with previous studies reporting a relation between intelligence and ERPs and provide further evidence that individual differences in mental ability are reflected in the P3b component, an electrocortical index of the efficiency of stimulus evaluation processes.

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships among impulsivity, intelligence and P300, a well-known component of the event-related potential widely studied in personality and intelligence research. Eighty-two males completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and the two-subtest form of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. A subsample of 45 participants (mean age = 24.4, SD = 4.6) performed a visual oddball task, consisting of a two-letter recognition task, during which psychophysiological data were recorded. Although no significant relationships emerged for P300 latency, overall results suggest that the P300 amplitude was positively related to IQ and negatively related to impulsivity. Those who scored high on impulsivity (high impulsives) had lower P300 amplitudes than low impulsives, but this relationship was not significant when controlling for individual differences in mental ability. The results also showed an inverse relationship between mental ability and impulsivity. That is, high impulsives demonstrated reduced cognitive performance on intelligence testing and it is reflected in their reduced P300 amplitude. These findings are likely due to high impulsives' less efficient ability to inhibit task-irrelevant information or to ignore additional information intake. It was suggested that impulsivity exerts a disadvantageous influence on the performance of tasks (such as those used on intelligence tests) in which exclusive concentration and sustained attention are necessary.

In many platelet assays, as in measurement of platelet-adherent IgG (PAIgG), platelets are fixed in paraformaldehyde (PFA). To better clarify the effect of PFA on platelet size and on PAIgG measurement we compared PAIgG levels in a series of 40 samples, with or without PFA fixing. We used an ELISA which was set up on unfixed platelets and gave excellent results in terms of linearity (r = 0.923), precision (mean CV = 5%) and correlation with a platelet suspension immunofluorescence test. We found PAIgG values in unfixed platelets were about 10-fold higher than in PFA-fixed (0.411 +/- 0.172 fg/platelet vs. 0.035 +/- 0.019 fg/platelet). This discrepancy could be a consequence of the smaller mean platelet volume (MPV) of washed platelets when fixed in PFA (8.0 +/- 0.8 fl as compared to 10.1 +/- 1.07). This effect of PFA could decrease the amount of binding sites for IgG exposed on the platelet membrane and hence explain the significantly lower PAIgG values observed in fixed platelets. The PAIgG measurements on unfixed platelets from 200 healthy subjects displayed a Gaussian distribution with a mean +/- SD of 0.32 +/- 0.13 fg/platelet, i.e., 1200 +/- 500 molecules/platelet.