{"title":"Applications of advances in operations research methods to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) in a supply chain management environment: review and future direction of research","authors":"Kannan Govindan","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06643-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06643-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Evidence of the impact of climate change has increased in recent years, forcing supply chain management (SCM) entities to promote sustainability in their operations. Meanwhile, global nations promote their sustainable development goals (SDGs) as one of the most important indicators to achieve sustainability regardless of application. SCM is a complex phenomenon of decision-making, which becomes even more complex when SDGs are adopted in SCM. Despite the central importance of the topic, only a small number of studies have reported on decision-making methods to improve the adoption of SDGs in SCM. To explore the state-of-the-art knowledge of operations research methods (ORMs) and models, we present this important <i>Annals of Operations Research</i> (ANOR) special issue. To introduce the special issue, we review the existing literature on models and methods to promote sustainability in SCM effectively and establish some associated future research directions. The findings of this editorial paper, as well as the articles in the special issue, can be used by both researchers and practitioners to consolidate recent advances and practices for establishing ORMs and models in SCM for effective decision-making to adopt SDGs. Additionally, this special issue paves the way for a solid foundation of advanced methods.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"349 2","pages":"425 - 450"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145122575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wei Wang, Haoqing Wang, King-Wah Pang, Lu Zhen, Shuaian Wang
{"title":"Optimizing bunkering and sailing strategies for sustainable shipping: a decision model for reducing costs and carbon emissions","authors":"Wei Wang, Haoqing Wang, King-Wah Pang, Lu Zhen, Shuaian Wang","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06650-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06650-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Bunkering costs constitute the largest portion of operational expenses in the shipping industry, directly influencing both economic efficiency and environmental impact. In line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 12 and 13, this study develops a decision model that jointly optimizes bunkering and sailing speed in liner shipping, with the aim of minimizing fuel costs and reducing carbon emissions. The model explicitly incorporates two often-overlooked aspects of the bunkering process: the requirement for empty tanks before refueling and the fuel inspection process. Due to the presence of infinite-dimensional and nonlinear terms, solving the model is computationally challenging. To address this complexity, we employ approximation algorithms and linearization techniques to transform the model into a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation. Additionally, we implement a Branch-and-Cut algorithm to enhance computational efficiency. Numerical experiments are conducted to evaluate the model’s performance, along with sensitivity analyses to assess the impact of key parameters. The results demonstrate that both the empty tank requirement and fuel inspection significantly influence bunkering decisions and sailing strategies, with the latter having a more pronounced effect. Moreover, our findings highlight the potential for sustainable fuel management practices to contribute to carbon reduction in maritime transportation. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders seeking to balance cost efficiency and environmental sustainability in shipping operations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"351 3","pages":"2287 - 2305"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144888077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impacts of investor heterogeneity and interactions on price discovery in futures markets: Based on dynamical system and stability analysis","authors":"Qingbin Gong, Zhe Yang, Xundi Diao","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06676-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06676-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper investigates the impacts of trading behaviors on price discovery in futures markets. A dynamical model with difference equations is proposed to depict the interactions of heterogenous investors and the spot-futures coevolution. The system equilibrium and its stability conditions are mathematically analyzed. In the equilibrium, the futures price and the spot price converge to the fundamental value simultaneously. Stability conditions are necessary for the convergence process as well as the price discovery function. To ensure stability conditions, factors such as investor bounded rationality, risk appetites and market liquidity need to satisfy specific relationships. As the findings show, the arbitrage is not always beneficial to market stability and price discovery. It may increase price fluctuations in some cases. If investors have high degree of rationality, they tend to switch trading strategies with high intensity, which may destabilize the market. The simulations suggest the occurrence of complicated dynamics when stability conditions are violated. It provides theoretical insights into complicated phenomena in futures markets.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"350 3","pages":"957 - 977"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145171089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interactions between store brand introduction and information sharing decisions considering store brand spillover","authors":"Hui Cao, Jinjiang Yan","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06628-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06628-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper proposes a game-theoretic model to investigate store brand (SB) introduction and information sharing decisions within a co-opetitive supply chain between a national brand (NB) manufacturer and a retailer, where the retailer chooses whether to introduce a store brand and share demand information with the NB manufacturer. In the main model, we consider that the retailer’s store brand introduction decision precedes the information sharing decision. We fully explore four scenarios involving the retailer’s strategic decision characteristics: no store brand introduction and no information sharing (<i>NN</i>), no store brand introduction and information sharing (<i>NS</i>), store brand introduction and no information sharing (<i>IN</i>), and store brand introduction and information sharing (<i>IS</i>). Our analysis draws the following interesting conclusions: Firstly, our research reveals that the NB manufacturer will benefit from SB introduction under certain conditions. Secondly, we demonstrate that the retailer’s store brand introduction and information sharing reinforce each other. Finally, our study also makes a contribution to how the degree of SB spillover and the fixed introduction cost affect the equilibrium strategy outcome.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"350 3","pages":"927 - 956"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145169289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tanmay Sahoo, Nil Kamal Hazra, Narayanaswamy Balakrishnan
{"title":"On random weighted coherent systems based on a new structure-based performance measure","authors":"Tanmay Sahoo, Nil Kamal Hazra, Narayanaswamy Balakrishnan","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06663-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06663-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The performance level of a random weighted <i>r</i>-out-of-<i>n</i> system is measured by its total capacity. However, this measure is not meaningful for an arbitrary coherent structure as it does not involve the structure of the system. To overcome this drawback, we introduce here a new notion of performance measure (namely, the structural capacity) and then define three different notions of random weighted coherent systems, namely, Type-I, Type-II and Type-III systems. We then derive explicit formulas for computing the reliabilities of these systems. We further give a signature-based reliability representation for these systems. Further, we derive the Birnbaum marginal and joint reliability importance measures for the components of these systems and subsequently provide an algorithm for computing the same. Then, we study several ordering results based on these importance measures. For the Type-III random weighted coherent system, we introduce a new structure-based weighted importance measure and provide an algorithm for its evaluation. The developed results are illustrated through several numerical examples. Finally, we carry out the reliability estimation for a random weighted coherent system using two different simulated data sets.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"350 3","pages":"1169 - 1206"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145167713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A queueing model for time-dependent rental systems with phase-type distributed rentals and substitutions of items","authors":"Anders Reenberg Andersen","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06645-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06645-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Society currently experiences a growing interest in renting as an alternative to exclusive ownership (Fota et al., 2019; Yeganeh, 2021). This paper supports rental companies in this transition by providing a method to evaluate rental system occupancy. The method considers time-dependent systems in which customers rent substitutes during stockouts. Specifically, the paper provides a queueing model based on a continuous-time Markov chain for systems where rentals occur according to Poisson processes and rental times follow phase-type distributions. Additionally, the paper provides a heuristic optimization algorithm to minimize inventory capacity while maintaining an upper stockout probability limit. The paper evaluates these methods through numerical experiments, including a company case. The results indicate that the queueing model adequately reflects the occupancy distributions of the investigated items, and that the optimization algorithm minimizes the inventory capacity to near-optimality. In the company case, these methods reduce the inventory capacity while simultaneously improving the maximum stockout probability.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"350 3","pages":"1143 - 1167"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10479-025-06645-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145168537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abdullah Karasan, Ozge Sezgin Alp, Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber
{"title":"Machine learning approach to stock price crash risk","authors":"Abdullah Karasan, Ozge Sezgin Alp, Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06596-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06596-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, we propose a novel machine-learning-based measure for stock price crash risk, utilizing the minimum covariance determinant methodology. Employing this newly introduced dependent variable, we predict stock price crash risk through cross-sectional regression analysis. The findings confirm that the proposed method effectively captures stock price crash risk, with the model demonstrating strong performance in terms of both statistical significance and economic relevance. Furthermore, leveraging a newly developed firm-specific investor sentiment index, the analysis identifies a positive correlation between stock price crash risk and firm-specific investor sentiment. Specifically, higher levels of sentiment are associated with an increased likelihood of stock price crash risk. This relationship remains robust across different firm sizes and when using the detoned version of the firm-specific investor sentiment index, further validating the reliability of the proposed approach.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"350 3","pages":"1053 - 1074"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10479-025-06596-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145167541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Janos Balogh, Gyorgy Dosa, Lars Magnus Hvattum, Tomas Attila Olaj, Istvan Szalkai, Zsolt Tuza
{"title":"Covering a square with consecutive squares","authors":"Janos Balogh, Gyorgy Dosa, Lars Magnus Hvattum, Tomas Attila Olaj, Istvan Szalkai, Zsolt Tuza","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06633-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06633-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this article we address the following problem. Given are a <span>(1times 1)</span> square, a <span>(2times 2)</span> square, and so on, finally a <span>(ntimes n)</span> square. What is the biggest square that can be <i>covered</i> completely by this given set of “small” squares? It is assumed that the small squares must stand parallel to the sides of the big square, and overlap is allowed. In contrast to the <i>packing</i> version of the problem (asking for the smallest square that can accommodate all small squares without overlap) which has been studied in several papers since the 1960’s, the covering version of the problem seems new. We construct optimal coverings for small values of <i>n</i>. For moderately bigger <i>n</i> values we solve the problem optimally by a commercial mathematical programming solver, and for even bigger <i>n</i> values we give a heuristic algorithm that can find near optimal solutions. We also provide an expansion-algorithm, that from a given good cover using consecutive squares up to size <i>n</i>, can generate a cover for a larger square using small squares up to size <span>(n+1)</span>. Finally we prove that a simple covering policy can generate an asymptotically optimal covering.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"350 3","pages":"911 - 926"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10479-025-06633-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145167887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vahid Kayvanfar, Roberto Baldacci, Kannan Govindan
{"title":"An integrated approach for enhancing operating room management: capacity planning, fair scheduling, and surgeon resilience","authors":"Vahid Kayvanfar, Roberto Baldacci, Kannan Govindan","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06565-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06565-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the realm of operating room management (ORM), several key challenges loom large, including the reduction of overtime and idle time for surgeons, avoiding overutilization and underutilization of ORs, and the equitable allocation of patients to surgeons to mitigate workload pressures. Moreover, the potential disruption risks associated with surgeons can lead to surgery cancellations. This research presents a comprehensive framework for addressing these challenges through a unified approach encompassing capacity planning and equitable scheduling within surgery departments. An essential component of this approach involves the identification of backup surgeons to minimize the surgery cancellations risk attributable to surgeon unavailability. The capacity planning phase is executed in the initial stage, leveraging Markovian queueing systems to optimize resource allocation. In the second stage, a resilient scheduling model is introduced, considering the equitable assignment of patients to surgeons. This scheduling model is developed using a goal programming approach and is solved efficiently using a novel decomposition-based heuristic method designed to expedite the optimal solution attainment. To validate the efficacy of this innovative approach, a real-world case study is undertaken, showcasing its practical application and demonstrating its proficiency in addressing the complex challenges inherent in ORM, followed by some valuable managerial insights. By implementing the proposed approach, the optimal number of operating rooms is obtained from the preceding queueing model in the capacity planning phase, and the effect of changing surgeon numbers is analyzed. Results show that optimizing unit capacity improves surgery scheduling and demonstrates the proposed framework’s efficiency.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"350 3","pages":"1385 - 1412"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10479-025-06565-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145167886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Begoña González, Diego Rossit, Mariano Frutos, Máximo Méndez
{"title":"Modeling and solving an integrated periodic vehicle routing and capacitated facility location problem in the context of solid waste collection","authors":"Begoña González, Diego Rossit, Mariano Frutos, Máximo Méndez","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06626-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10479-025-06626-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Few activities are as crucial in urban environments as waste management. Mismanagement of waste can cause significant economic, social, and environmental damage. However, waste management is often a complex system to manage and therefore where computational decision-support tools can play a pivotal role in assisting managers to make faster and better decisions. In this sense, this article proposes, on the one hand, a unified optimization model to address two common waste management system optimization problem: the determination of the capacity of waste bins in the collection network and the design and scheduling of collection routes. The integration of these two problems is not usual in the literature since each of them separately is already a major computational challenge. Two improved exact formulations based on mathematical programming and two metaheuristic methods are provided to solve this proposed unified optimization model. It should be noted that the metaheuristics consider a mixed chromosome representation of the solutions combining binary and integer alleles, in order to solve realistic instances of this complex problem. Different parameters of the metaheuristics considered – a Genetic Algorithm and a Simulated Annealing algorithm – have been tested to study which combination of them obtained better results in execution times on the order of that of the exact solvers. The achieved results show that the proposed metaheuristic methods perform efficient on large instances, where exact formulations are not applicable, and offer feasible, high-quality solutions in reasonable calculation times.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"350 3","pages":"979 - 1015"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10479-025-06626-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145166428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}