International Journal of Production Economics最新文献

{"title":"Contracting for system availability with zero ownership cost via redundancy, maintenance and repairable inventory","authors":"Tongdan Jin","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109531","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109531","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Though various types of availability-based contract models have been developed, there is a lack of studies in which reliability-redundancy and maintenance service logistics are jointly considered. This paper proposes a principal-agent model to manage performance-based contract for zero ownership cost and no moral hazard. The equipment supplier plays as an agent who determines redundant units, maintenance time, spares inventory and repair capacity to maximize the service profit. The customer plays as a principal who stipulates system availability target and the payment scheme for attaining zero cost of asset ownership. The novelty of the model lies in two aspects: a) it represents a first-of-its-kind in designing system availability-based contract in an integrated redundancy-maintenance-inventory optimization framework; and b) the customer bears zero ownership cost while the supplier's profit margin is guaranteed. Three major findings are obtained. First, the supplier's actions are proved to be fully observable to the customer, hence a first-best contract solution is obtained. Second, if the customer imposes the cost limit on individual systems, the supplier opts to increase the system availability for reaping a larger profit. Third, one emergency repair server is generally sufficient to remedy the spares stockout situation regardless of the fleet size.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"281 ","pages":"Article 109531"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143194281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring resilience in the downstream supply chain of the semiconductor industry: The mediating roles of risk mitigation, process simplification, and flexibility","authors":"Zhenwei Liao ,&nbsp;Bingyan Tantai ,&nbsp;Asma-Qamaliah Abdul-Hamid ,&nbsp;Dzulkifli Mukhtar ,&nbsp;Mohd Helmi Ali","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109530","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109530","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study enhances knowledge of the indicators of supply chain resilience (SCR) within the downstream supply chain of the semiconductor industry. The focus is on risk mitigation, process simplification and flexibility. Despite the complexity of global supply chains, how these factors interact to enhance SCR in the semiconductor sector remains underexplored. SCR enables downstream parties in the semiconductor industry to recover and maintain operations after disruption. Previous studies have overlooked (1) the determinants of process simplification, risk mitigation competency, and supply chain flexibility within the semiconductor industry and (2) the mediating roles of those three factors in achieving SCR. This study surveys 226 managers in the downstream semiconductor industry in China and analyzes the data using SmartPLS 4.0, a tool for Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results underscore that efficient and flexible information systems significantly improve SCR through process simplification, while a risk management culture and an orientation to risk mitigation also significantly enhance SCR through risk mitigation competency. Process simplification and risk mitigation competency also significantly impact SCR within the sector through supply chain flexibility. These findings offer actionable insights, highlighting the need for targeted investments in information systems and risk management to strengthen supply chain resilience in China's semiconductor industry. Knowledge of the important mediating roles of risk mitigation, process simplification, and flexibility is essential for strategic investment in information systems, process optimization, and aligning technological infrastructure with strategic goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"281 ","pages":"Article 109530"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143194351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"We belong together - A system-level investigation regarding AGV-assisted order picking performance","authors":"Jonas Koreis ,&nbsp;Dominic Loske ,&nbsp;Matthias Klumpp ,&nbsp;Christoph H. Glock","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Automation technologies are currently being introduced in many warehouse intralogistics operations to support human workers in manual order picking. Robotic systems supporting manual order picking are therefore receiving increasing attention in the production economics literature. One related concept is human–robot collaboration, in which automated guided vehicles (AGV) and human pickers collaborate in the same work space. As these automation technologies still represent a minority in a larger manual order picking setting, we propose a role-model opportunity for analyzing the system level of joint operations from an economic perspective. We empirically investigate a pilot test of a new industrial truck deployed as an AGV that automatically follows order pickers in their travel direction within one specific warehouse of a brick-and-mortar grocery retailer. Our data set comprises 140,991 pick location visits performed in one dedicated warehouse aisle between 01 February 2023 and 30 June 2023, with an average of 31.89% of picks involving human–robot and 68.11% human–manual order pickers, with both groups sharing the identical aisle work space. We find that an increasing share of AGVs in the system has a U-shaped impact on order picking time. Therefore, the intuitive assumption of “the more, the better” for introducing AGVs and their impact on order picking performance is not confirmed for the context under investigation. Our findings can guide researchers and managers on how to analyze and economically design system-level order picking in scenarios in which the complete transition to automation remains a distant reality or requires long-term transition windows, a real-life operations management challenge for most order picking contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"282 ","pages":"Article 109527"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143266815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analyzing the impact of government R&D subsidy and digital transformation on supply chain risk dynamics management and firm performance in the China's chip industry","authors":"Hailan Guo ,&nbsp;Zhen Shen ,&nbsp;Yanting Chen ,&nbsp;Ming Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109524","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109524","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores the interactions among digital transformation, government R&amp;D subsidy, and supply chain risk dynamics management within the chips industry, spanning from 2013 to 2022. It scrutinizes data derived from annual reports and the China Stock Market &amp; Accounting Research database of 364 listed Chinese chips companies. By integrating natural language processing and machine learning techniques, the paper analyzes textual changes in risk disclosures, providing insights into how firms adapt their risk management strategies in response to evolving market conditions and emerging risks. The study introduces a conceptual model that merges the resource-based view, resource dependence theory and dynamic capabilities with framework of the dynamics of innovation which consists of product innovation and process innovation. The proposed model suggests that strategic use of both R&amp;D subsidies and digital transformation for product/process innovation, thereby enhancing Supply Chain Risk Dynamics Management (SCRDM). Empirical examination of this study reveals that while digital transformation positively influences SCRDM capabilities, enabling better management of supply chain risks, Government R&amp;D subsidy may inadvertently dampen the dynamism essential for effective risk management. Interestingly, the results indicate a negative correlation between SCRDM and firms’ return on assets, highlighting the complexities of aligning risk management with financial outcomes. Focusing on the Chinese chips market, the findings suggest a need for policy refinement to foster rather than hinder flexibility and innovation. This research contributes to scholarly discourse and offers practical guidance for industry leaders and policymakers aiming to strengthen supply chain resilience and boost organizational performance in the chips sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"281 ","pages":"Article 109524"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143194274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Examining the impact of trade tariffs on semiconductor firms' environmental performance","authors":"Minhao Zhang ,&nbsp;Di Liu ,&nbsp;Xiaolong Shui ,&nbsp;Wenjin Hu ,&nbsp;Yuanzhu Zhan","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109528","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109528","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates how US-China geopolitical tensions affect the environmental performance of semiconductor firms, highlighting the critical intersection between international relations and corporate sustainability. Drawing on a comprehensive dataset of semiconductor firms from 2015 to 2020, we find that heightened bilateral tensions significantly impair firms’ environmental performance through increased operational uncertainty and global supply chain disruptions. Our analysis reveals that firms with greater exposure to these tensions demonstrate reduced investment in environmental initiatives, decreased energy efficiency, and diminished commitment to emissions reduction targets. These findings underscore how geopolitical frictions can undermine global progress towards sustainable development goals and emphasise the importance of maintaining stable international relations for corporate environmental stewardship. We suggest that fostering international cooperation and reducing political tensions are crucial for enabling semiconductor firms to sustain and enhance their environmental commitments. The results demonstrate that sustainable development in the semiconductor industry benefits from stable international relations and collaborative global frameworks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"281 ","pages":"Article 109528"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143194352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Supply chain channel configuration with power imbalance and spillovers under platform retailing","authors":"Song Huang,&nbsp;Yuhui Peng,&nbsp;Jiawen Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109522","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109522","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines how channel selection power and brand spillovers affect firms’ channel configuration strategies in a platform retail market. We consider four modes based on the different selling choices of the strong-brand (the former) and weak-brand (the latter) manufacturers, namely, modes <span><math><mrow><mi>r</mi><mi>r</mi></mrow></math></span>, <span><math><mrow><mi>a</mi><mi>r</mi></mrow></math></span>, <span><math><mrow><mi>r</mi><mi>a</mi></mrow></math></span>, and <span><math><mrow><mi>a</mi><mi>a</mi></mrow></math></span>, in which <span><math><mi>r</mi></math></span> (<span><math><mi>a</mi></math></span>) stands for the reselling (agency) channel. Meanwhile, the strong-brand manufacturer has the channel selection power, while the platform will consider whether to implement a brand spillover strategy. Some intriguing findings are derived. First, the equilibrium channel structures primarily depend on the channel selection power, degree of complementarity, commission rate, and brand spillover effect. Second, to avoid horizontal externalities, manufacturers will only choose mode <span><math><mrow><mi>r</mi><mi>r</mi></mrow></math></span> when the degree of complementarity is high even if the commission rate is zero. Third, when both manufacturers have channel selection power, modes <span><math><mrow><mi>r</mi><mi>r</mi></mrow></math></span>, <span><math><mrow><mi>a</mi><mi>r</mi></mrow></math></span>, and <span><math><mrow><mi>a</mi><mi>a</mi></mrow></math></span> are the optimal channel configurations, while mode <span><math><mrow><mi>r</mi><mi>a</mi></mrow></math></span> will be excluded, and the brand spillover effect discourages manufacturers from choosing the agency channel. Finally, endowing manufacturers with channel selection power may result in a triple-win situation for the three firms, although this does not always benefit consumers. Moreover, endowing the weak-brand manufacturer with channel selection power always favors the strong-brand manufacturer in a complementary market, whereas the opposite is true in a substitute market.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"281 ","pages":"Article 109522"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143194278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing multi-criteria inventory classification: Resolving boundary issues with VIKOR-Fuzzy Sorting","authors":"Jehangir Khan ,&nbsp;Alessio Ishizaka ,&nbsp;M. Zied Babai","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study addresses the limitations of rigid classification boundaries in the VIKORSort method, a variant of the VIKOR multi criteria decision making approach, by incorporating fuzzy set theory to enhance classification flexibility and improve decision making effectiveness. The proposed method redefines the crisp boundaries of VIKORSort using fuzzy set theory with a trapezoidal fuzzy membership function, which gives the percentage of belonging to each class for each alternative. This enables smoother transitions between predefined classes and offering a more nuanced representation of alternatives’ characteristics. An empirical investigation evaluates the inventory performance of the fuzzy and non-fuzzy variants of VIKORSort, using data from a central warehouse managing 4799 spare parts in the textile industry. Inventory performance is analyzed under a reorder point inventory control policy and a target Cycle Service Level (CSL) constraint. Three CSL scenarios are considered to calculate the costs associated with the classification approaches. The results reveal that the proposed VIKOR-Fuzzy Sorting method outperforms the conventional approach in both cost efficiency and flexibility. In addition to providing a more precise depiction of alternatives near classification boundaries, the fuzzy method enables more effective assignment of target service levels in inventory management. This study thus offers practitioners a robust solution for addressing complex sorting challenges, particularly in inventory systems, by resolving boundary issues inherent in traditional approaches. Additionally, this approach enables businesses to develop more effective service level policies, enhancing overall operational performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"281 ","pages":"Article 109526"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143194275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Matching supply and demand in a repositioning problem: A case study in the horticultural industry","authors":"Albina Galiullina,&nbsp;Nevin Mutlu,&nbsp;Tom Van Woensel","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109518","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109518","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates demand/supply management to mitigate imbalances in Reusable Transport Items (RTIs) pools – a problem observed, for example, within the horticultural industry. Traditionally, pool operators use transshipments to reposition RTI inventory between depots, while users are assigned to return or collect RTIs from their closest depots. To reduce the need for transshipments, we propose a novel approach that introduces flexibility via user-depot assignments, directing users to return or collect RTIs from optimal locations by compensating them for increased travel distances. We develop a mixed-integer programming model and a fractional relax-and-fix heuristic to solve problems involving up to 50 pool depots across six planning periods. Empirical analysis, based on data from a pool operator in the horticultural industry, demonstrates that the user-depot assignment flexibility can reduce operational costs incurred by the pool operator by 14.2% due to reduced imbalances between demand and supply at depots, with these savings depending on specific problem parameters.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"281 ","pages":"Article 109518"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143194280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing a triple capital-constrained supply chain performance: Alliance financing, profit distribution, and information structure","authors":"Xiaofeng Xie ,&nbsp;Xun Xu ,&nbsp;Chong Zhang ,&nbsp;Fengying Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2024.109515","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2024.109515","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a contemporary supply chain, the situations in which all upstream, midstream, and downstream participants face capital constraints commonly appear and call for participants to coordinate and form an alliance to adopt supply chain finance (SCF) to optimize their operations and improve performance. Applying a game-theoretic framework, we examine four SCF alliances associated with a capital-constrained supplier, manufacturer, and retailer, respectively, within a triple capital-constrained supply chain (TCSC), including partial and full alliance financing schemes, and compare the participants’ profit, propagation effect of insolvency risk, and supply chain performance with individual financing. Our findings suggest that full alliance financing, although generates more propagation effect of insolvency risk, brings additional profit to all participants in a TCSC than partial or individual financing through reduced double or triple marginalization, as reflected by lower wholesale price, higher order quantity, and lower financing amount. The initial capital level is important in affecting participants’ operational and financial decisions and profits. Regarding profit distribution plans, we find the Shapley value distribution approach is preferred by all parties more than expected profit or even distribution when the collaborative benefits from alliance financing are high. Asymmetric information affects participants’ operational and financial decisions, profits, and the propagation effect of insolvency risk. Our findings guide participants in forming an alliance to apply for financing and coordinate to use the funds to optimize operations, achieve higher profit, implement the Shapley value profit distribution approach, enhance information transparency, and strengthen the intensity of insolvency risk monitoring and control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"281 ","pages":"Article 109515"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143351182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From platformization to ecosystem: How do third-party supply chain finance platforms develop an ecosystem? An inter-organizational network perspective","authors":"Tianyu Zhang ,&nbsp;Fu Jia ,&nbsp;Lujie Chen ,&nbsp;Constantin Blome ,&nbsp;Peter Ball","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109521","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109521","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The significance of the supply chain finance (SCF) ecosystem has been acknowledged by both scholars and practitioners, with platforms playing a pivotal role in its development. However, the platform-centric SCF ecosystem formation process remains ambiguous. Adopting an inter-organizational network perspective, this study investigates how third-party SCF platforms leverage their capabilities to construct SCF networks, thereby nurturing the formation of the SCF ecosystem. To do this, we conduct an exploratory multiple case study of four SCF platforms, informed by 49 semi-structured interviews with key personnels in platforms and their partners, including banks and platform users. We identify four critical SCF platform capabilities: information processing, financial network structuring, stakeholder relationship management, and SCF process management, and SCF platforms deploy their capabilities to facilitate network development and eventually facilitate the SCF ecosystem formation. Specifically, we identify the tripartite evolutionary process of the platform-centric SCF ecosystem—supply chain (SC) service platformization, SCF platformization, and SCF platform ecosystem—in which the role of platforms evolves from basic SC service providers to resource integrators, eventually becoming resource orchestrators in SCF. During this process, each stage prioritizes a network characteristic for the SCF network to evolve (i.e., initial stage prioritizes reach, the intermediary emphasizes richness, and the final values receptivity). These findings have significant theoretical and practical relevance to SCF theory elaboration and practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Production Economics","volume":"281 ","pages":"Article 109521"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143194273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}