Engineering Management in Production and Services最新文献

{"title":"Measuring quality perception of public services: customer-oriented approach","authors":"Mindaugas Butkus, O. Rakauskienė, I. Bartuševičienė, Andrius Stasiukynas, Lina Volodzkiene, Laura Dargenytė-kacilevičienė","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0015","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The focus of this research is on assessing the perception of public service quality through a customer-centred approach. Public service quality comprises multiple factors that are prioritised differently by customers. Therefore, the study aims to conduct a literature review to identify the primary quality dimensions of public services and evaluate the heterogeneity of their perception within the context of Lithuania. The research measures the user perceptions of public service quality. The literature review allowed for identifying service quality indicators and grouping them into dimensions based on unifying characteristics. Such identification of service quality dimensions grounded the research methodology. An adapted SERVQUAL model was used to analyse data collected by a survey to interview customers of Lithuanian public service organisations. Logit and probit models were applied to examine the effect of socio-demographic characteristics and the type of service on customer perceptions of different quality aspects of the provided public services. Explored heterogeneity of attitudes and detailed analysis of socio-demographic factors revealed that women with higher education are the most satisfied users of public services, while less educated men usually have a negative attitude towards the quality of public services. The study confirmed that marital status and income level are not related to customer satisfaction with service quality. Although gender, age, family size, education level, and employment status explain heterogeneity in customer satisfaction, they still account for only a small amount of variance compared to the place of residence and type of service. The study is a significant contribution to the field of service engineering as it introduces a systematic approach to the development of service quality, incorporating models and methods that enable the assessment of service quality and efficiency. The literature review has identified several research gaps related to public service quality, including a lack of research on general public services and areas such as tourism, real estate management, fire protection and rescue.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"96 - 116"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45128578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Industry and innovation in the Alto Minho region: assessing regional performance","authors":"Mariana Abreu, H. Rodrigues, Ângela Silva, Jorge Esparteiro Garcia","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0013","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract As a tool, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) guide local and regional leaders in developing policy approaches for better social development. SDGs are 17 ambitious objectives towards a greener, healthier, more peaceful and equal planet, promoted by the United Nations to achieve by 2030. Having this performance in mind, countries and regions can measure their level of SDG implementation and rethink how they could promote prosperity, cooperation among regions and progress. This study focuses on SDG-9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure in ten municipalities of the Alto Minho region, Portugal. The main idea is to assess the level of each municipality in the achievement of the indicators related to this SDG. The similarities and differences between the municipalities can underline areas for joint efforts or investments in the development policy. This paper selected a performance analysis as a tool for informing on the amount of effort required to achieve SDG-9 at a local level, i.e., the Alto Minho region in the north of Portugal. If the trend of evolution is maintained, only Viana do Castelo will reach the full range of indicators for SDG-9, and Caminha will have 50 % of the indicators achieved. The remaining municipalities will reach at least half of the indicators, thus achieving a value lower than half of the target value. This approach could be replicated in other SDGs and other regions. This assessment allows the region’s stakeholders to indicate areas of required action to achieve the SDG.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"72 - 82"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41561905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lecturers’ attitude towards the use of e-learning tools in higher education: A case of Portugal","authors":"M. Fonseca, Jorge Esparteiro Garcia, Bruno Vieira, A. S. Teixeira","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0009","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study aims to assess the lecturers’ opinions about the use of e-learning tools to support distance and blended learning in higher education in Portugal, evidently reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research was based on a qualitative methodology, specifically, a focus group with professors from five higher education institutions from different geographical areas in Portugal. The obtained results were analysed along four main dimensions: (1) the level of knowledge of e-learning tools, (2) the reasons for using or (3) not using them, and, finally, (4) the opinion of lecturers on the student assessment process using these tools. The results showed that in addition to the concerns with smooth running classes and the appropriate delivery of the syllabus, the lecturers considered the transition to the e-learning context to have been easy. They noted a high level of literacy in the used tools, believed in the continued use of e-learning in the post-pandemic context, indicated several advantages for those involved in the e-learning context and a majority of limitations related to the time required for the adoption of more tools; and, finally, underlined the student assessment issue, which was pointed out as the most sensitive topic in the whole e-learning context. The study informed on the lecturers’ perspective on e-learning and the used tools and provided insight into their perceived usefulness and benefits for lecturers and students. An especially strong concern was verified on the part of lecturers to optimise e-learning tools to provide better knowledge delivery to students.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"23 - 34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42589233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors affecting mentoring services - cross-national perspective","authors":"Ewa Rollnik-Sadowska, U. Ryciuk, E. Glińska, V. Bartkute-Norkuniene, Rasa Jodiene, Sandra Sprudzāne, A. Zvaigzne, G. Marzano, Veselina G. Jecheva","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0008","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The research aims at the identification of factors influencing mentoring services with a particular emphasis on the country of origin of the mentor and the mentee. The quantitative research was conducted in four Central and Eastern European countries, i.e., Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania and one Southern European country, Italy. The implemented methodology covered Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis, which were performed to identify factors influencing the process of communication in the mentor–mentee relationship. Moreover, to diagnose statistically significant differences between individual countries in terms of factors influencing the effectiveness of communication, the Kruskal–Wallis H Test and the Mann–Whitney U Test, as well as pair-wise comparisons, were used. Factors influencing communication in the mentor–mentee relationship are mentor traits, mentor’s personal background, mentor’s professional background, non-verbal communication channels, communication barriers, written communication channels, online communication, quality of content and the ability of content processing by the mentee. There are differences in the perception of individual factors in the analysed countries. So far, no cross-country comparison has been conducted of factors influencing mentoring services. As a direction for future research, more detailed research can be recommended concerning factors of the mentoring process in such countries as Lithuania, Latvia and Italy by developing separate models (or EFA) for mentors and mentees.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"1 - 22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46719109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving the assessment of the diversification of construction companies","authors":"R. Ginevičius","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0011","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Various indicators are used to determine the level of company diversification. Their adequacy largely depends on the structure of the production programme. Its essential feature is the comparative weight of the main product in the total scope of the company’s work. In this situation, the intensity of the diversification process is reflected by the decrease in the volume of this product due to the inclusion of new products in the production programme. In this case, the adequacy of the diversification indicator can be reflected by comparing the scale of the main product with changes in the value of these indicators. The adequacy will be higher with more changes in the values of diversification indicators corresponding to changes in the volumes of the main product. Four indicators of corporate diversification are the most well-known and widely used: the Berry index, the entropy measure, Utton’s measure and the DG index. All of them have both strong and weak sides, so it is important to determine situations of the company’s production programme in which diversification indicators are appropriate to use, i.e., in which situations their adequacy is the greatest. The research has established that if the comparative weight of the main product of the production programme in the total scope of work is greater than 0.5, then the adequacy of the entropy measure and index DG is higher compared to the Berry index and Utton’s measure. If it is lower than 0.5, the other two diversification indicators should be used. The obtained results will help to more efficiently manage the process of diversification as a company’s development strategy.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"46 - 54"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44463658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of conditions for supporting employee safety during the COVID-19 pandemic in manufacturing companies in Poland","authors":"Anna Wronka","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0014","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly and permanently changed modern life in the private and professional dimensions, where numerous consequences of the virus have affected employees and employers. Both groups were forced to implement numerous changes to ensure the work process’s safety. The multi-dimensionality of this concept and, consequently, the multi-directionality of its potential and required actions taken by companies have become the basis for a theoretical and practical analysis of conditions for supporting broadly understood employee safety during the COVID-19 pandemic in selected production companies in Poland. The pilot studies’ results indicated the leading direction and scope of actions taken so far, their main types, stimulating factors and barriers, perceived benefits and future trends. The article’s conclusions may form the basis for universal good practices supporting the safety of employees in the production sector, which, regardless of the duration of the pandemic, may be used as effective and efficient improvement measures in generating measurable benefits for all stakeholders.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"83 - 95"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45211980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"IT reliability as a source of sustainability for organisations operating during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"K. Tworek","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The article aims to show that reliable IT support was crucial for the survival and sustainability of organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article considers the negative effect of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the organisational sustainability of an organisation (i.e., organisational performance through employee job performance). It explores the role of IT reliability in mitigating such a negative effect. To verify the hypotheses, the empirical studies were performed during the COVID-19 crisis with 1160 organisations operating in Poland, Italy and the USA. The data were analysed using multiple linear regression models with mediators and moderators. The results confirmed that due to the ability to limit the severity of a crisis-induced negative effect on employee job performance (influencing organisational performance), IT reliability could be considered a mitigator for the negative effect of the COVID-19 crisis on the sustainability of organisations. The results indicate that IT reliability should be fostered among organisations operating during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain sustainability.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"29 - 40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48995281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the critical success factors of a resilient supply chain","authors":"M. Azam, S. M. Hasan, S. M. Qureshi","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study aims to identify and analyse critical success factors (CSFs) for an organisation aiming for a resilient supply chain. The methodology followed is the systematic analysis of big databases, such as Emerald, Science Direct, and Taylor & Francis, by using a specific set of keywords for filtering. The systematic literature review leads the author to the exploration of several CSFs, followed by their prioritisation by using principal component analysis. The paper highlighted eleven vital CSFs: top management commitment, development of an effective SCM strategy, logistics synchronisation, use of modern technologies, robust information and communication technology, information sharing with SC members, collaborative partnership, improved forecasting, trust development in SC partners, collaborative partnership, strategic partnership, development of reliable suppliers, continuous improvement in the preparedness and response practices, capacity building and training and staff development. The CSFs highlighted in the paper relate to all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper identifies the CSFs for developing a resilient supply chain that is comprehensive and has the potential to address uncertain circumstances. This work is the first of its kind on CSF assessment and categorisation in resilient supply chains.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"41 - 56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42083829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of cash flow variation on project performance: contractors’ perspective","authors":"Sultan Tarawneh, Anoud Fawwaz Almahmoud, Hassan Hajjeh","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study aims to determine the impact of cash flow variation in Jordanian construction projects from contractors’ perspective and its relationship with project performance. An online questionnaire was developed and distributed to a selective sample. The respondents were project managers from contracting companies working in Jordan, around 340 construction companies. The sample frame was a form of non-probability sampling of 181 project managers. The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The study results showed a positive statistically significant effect at the significance level (α ≤0.05) of cash flow variation on project performance in Jordanian construction projects. In addition, respondents indicated a high level of agreement on the impact of cash flow variation on projects’ performance, with a mean of 4.01 and a standard deviation of .546. However, on the project performance dimensions’ level, Quality came first, with a mean of 4.11 and at a high level, followed by Safety, with a mean of 4.01 and at a high level, while Final Cost ranked third with a mean of 3.96 and at a high level. Finally, Project Final Duration ranked fourth with a mean of 3.95. The researchers recommended the necessity of more efforts for a better understanding of the importance of cash flow by contractors to schedule project activities correctly and efficiently to maintain a steady state of the project cash flow.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"73 - 85"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48895614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Global trends of the research on COVID-19 risks effect in sustainable facility management fields: a bibliometric analysis","authors":"K. Aladayleh, S. Qudah, José Luis Fuentes Bargues, P. F. Gisbert","doi":"10.2478/emj-2023-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study used bibliometric analysis to investigate global research trends regarding the effect of COVID-19 risks in sustainable facility management fields. Between 2019 and 2021, the Scopus database published 208 studies regarding the effect of COVID-19 risks on sustainable facility control fields. VOSviewer software was used to analyse the co-occurrence of all keywords, and Biblioshiny software allowed getting the most relevant affiliation using the three-field plot. The results show the contribution by authors from 51 countries, and 73 keywords were identified and organised into six clusters, such as the effect of COVID-19 risks on human health, supply chain in construction projects and industry, disaster risk management in a changing climate, sustainable supply chain benchmarking, facility management and quality control, and, finally, sensitivity analysis & decision-making.","PeriodicalId":37237,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Management in Production and Services","volume":"15 1","pages":"12 - 28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69202626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}