Global Operations Research Articles

Policy responses to the rise of global OTT platforms in Korea

Abstract The outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent social distancing measures sparked a surge in demand and unprecedented growth opportunities for OTT (over-the-top) services. Despite the need to foster Korea’s domestic media and cultural industry, the Korean government has almost failed to properly operate OTT policies and the opportunity went to global operators. Although Korea’s content competitiveness has advanced to a global level, local OTTs continue to lag Netflix. This is not a concern confined to Korea. This paper identifies the focal actors of Korea’s local OTT platforms, analyzes the developmental phases of the Korean OTT market, and draws policy-related and industrial implications by ascertaining, which factors hinder local OTT services from achieving their desired development, within the context of the actor-network theory. This paper offers a fresh perspective on the policy responses to the rise of global OTT platforms and the downturn of local OTT platforms in Korea.

CL-fusionBEV: 3D object detection method with camera-LiDAR fusion in Bird’s Eye View

In the wave of research on autonomous driving, 3D object detection from the Bird’s Eye View (BEV) perspective has emerged as a pivotal area of focus. The essence of this challenge is the effective fusion of camera and LiDAR data into the BEV. Current approaches predominantly train and predict within the front view and Cartesian coordinate system, often overlooking the inherent structural and operational differences between cameras and LiDAR sensors. This paper introduces CL-FusionBEV, an innovative 3D object detection methodology tailored for sensor data fusion in the BEV perspective. Our approach initiates with a view transformation, facilitated by an implicit learning module that transitions the camera’s perspective to the BEV space, thereby aligning the prediction module. Subsequently, to achieve modal fusion within the BEV framework, we employ voxelization to convert the LiDAR point cloud into BEV space, thereby generating LiDAR BEV spatial features. Moreover, to integrate the BEV spatial features from both camera and LiDAR, we have developed a multi-modal cross-attention mechanism and an implicit multi-modal fusion network, designed to enhance the synergy and application of dual-modal data. To counteract potential deficiencies in global reasoning and feature interaction arising from multi-modal cross-attention, we propose a BEV self-attention mechanism that facilitates comprehensive global feature operations. Our methodology has undergone rigorous evaluation on a substantial dataset within the autonomous driving domain, the nuScenes dataset. The outcomes demonstrate that our method achieves a mean Average Precision (mAP) of 73.3% and a nuScenes Detection Score (NDS) of 75.5%, particularly excelling in the detection of cars and pedestrians with high accuracies of 89% and 90.7%, respectively. Additionally, CL-FusionBEV exhibits superior performance in identifying occluded and distant objects, surpassing existing comparative methods.

Comparative analysis of zero-carbon supply solutions for mid-to-low temperature process heat using nuclear energy

Energy consumption and carbon emissions from industrial heating processes constitute a significant and indispensable proportion of industrial production. Therefore, advancing the decarbonization of industrial production, particularly to optimize industrial heating processes, is of considerable importance in achieving global environmental sustainability. This study evaluates long-distance steam transport (LDST) and long-distance hot water transport (LDHWT) as zero-carbon supply schemes for mid-to-low temperature process heat. The heat is sourced from the existing Hainan Nuclear Power Plant using indirect heat exchange, ensuring safety for the long-distance transport medium. The schemes were applied in the Yangpu Industrial Park and comparatively analyzed based on energy efficiency and economic viability. The results indicate that both schemes exhibit comparable energy efficiencies, with LDHWT offering a slight economic advantage. However, beyond this case study, LDHWT becomes increasingly advantageous with longer transport distances and encourages factories to lower their required temperatures through technological modifications. By evaluating these schemes, this study aimed to inform future sustainable process heat decisions and contribute to reducing carbon emissions in global industrial operations.

StopThePop: Sorted Gaussian Splatting for View-Consistent Real-time Rendering

Gaussian Splatting has emerged as a prominent model for constructing 3D representations from images across diverse domains. However, the efficiency of the 3D Gaussian Splatting rendering pipeline relies on several simplifications. Notably, reducing Gaussian to 2D splats with a single viewspace depth introduces popping and blending artifacts during view rotation. Addressing this issue requires accurate per-pixel depth computation, yet a full per-pixel sort proves excessively costly compared to a global sort operation. In this paper, we present a novel hierarchical rasterization approach that systematically resorts and culls splats with minimal processing overhead. Our software rasterizer effectively eliminates popping artifacts and view inconsistencies, as demonstrated through both quantitative and qualitative measurements. Simultaneously, our method mitigates the potential for cheating view-dependent effects with popping, ensuring a more authentic representation. Despite the elimination of cheating, our approach achieves comparable quantitative results for test images, while increasing the consistency for novel view synthesis in motion. Due to its design, our hierarchical approach is only 4% slower on average than the original Gaussian Splatting. Notably, enforcing consistency enables a reduction in the number of Gaussians by approximately half with nearly identical quality and view-consistency. Consequently, rendering performance is nearly doubled, making our approach 1.6x faster than the original Gaussian Splatting, with a 50% reduction in memory requirements. Our renderer is publicly available at https://github.com/r4dl/StopThePop.

Dynamic Cooling on Contemporary Quantum Computers

We study the problem of dynamic cooling whereby a target qubit is cooled at the expense of heating up N−1 further identical qubits by means of a global unitary operation. A standard back-of-the-envelope high-temperature estimate establishes that the target qubit temperature can be dynamically cooled by at most a factor of 1/N. Here we provide the exact expression for the minimum temperature to which the target qubit can be cooled and reveal that there is a crossover from the high initial temperature regime, where the scaling is 1/N, to a low initial temperature regime, where a much faster scaling of 1/N occurs. This slow, 1/N scaling, which was relevant for early high-temperature NMR quantum computers, is the reason dynamic cooling was dismissed as ineffectual around 20 years ago; the fact that current low-temperature quantum computers fall in the fast, 1/N scaling regime, reinstates the appeal of dynamic cooling today. We further show that the associated work cost of cooling is exponentially more advantageous in the low-temperature regime. We discuss the implementation of dynamic cooling in terms of quantum circuits and examine the effects of hardware noise. We successfully demonstrate dynamic cooling in a three-qubit system on a real quantum processor. Since the circuit size grows quickly with N, scaling dynamic cooling to larger systems on noisy devices poses a challenge. We therefore propose a suboptimal cooling algorithm, whereby relinquishing a small amount of cooling capability results in a drastically reduced circuit complexity, greatly facilitating the implementation of dynamic cooling on near-future quantum computers. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Influence of Geopolitical Events on Procurement Strategies and Supply Chain Dynamics in Multinational Corporations

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the influence of geopolitical events on procurement strategies and supply chain dynamics in multinational corporations Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study found that geopolitical events exert a profound influence on procurement strategies and supply chain dynamics within multinational corporations (MNCs), compelling them to adapt swiftly to global uncertainties. The study underscored that events such as trade conflicts, sanctions, and political instability disrupt established supply chains, necessitating strategic adjustments in sourcing, supplier relationships, and operational practices. MNCs respond by diversifying sourcing locations, enhancing supply chain transparency, and integrating robust risk management frameworks to mitigate geopolitical risks effectively. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Institutional Theory, Resource Dependence Theory & Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) may be used to anchor future studies on influence of geopolitical events on procurement strategies and supply chain dynamics in multinational corporations. Encourage MNCs to adopt agile procurement strategies that prioritize flexibility and responsiveness to geopolitical disruptions. This includes establishing multi-sourcing strategies, leveraging local suppliers, and implementing digital platforms for real-time risk monitoring and decision-making. Strengthen supplier relationship management practices to build resilient supply networks. Foster transparent communication and collaboration with suppliers to co-develop contingency plans and mitigate supply chain risks arising from geopolitical events. Advocate for transparent and stable trade policies that reduce uncertainty and facilitate global supply chain operations. Engage in constructive dialogues with policymakers to address trade barriers, tariffs, and regulatory inconsistencies that hinder cross-border trade and procurement efficiency.

Relationship between Climate Change and Business Risk: Strategies for Adaptation and Mitigation: Evidence from a Mediterranean Country

Global corporate operations are facing significant challenges as a result of climate change. Businesses are exposed to a variety of dangers because of their effects, which might include anything from changing regulations to excessive weather. The objective of this research is to examine the connection between business risk and climate change, with a particular emphasis on the success of different adaptation and mitigation tactics used by Greek companies. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 345 enterprises in Greece using a quantitative research methodology. To investigate the relationship involving company risk management, adaptation, and mitigation plans with climate change risks, descriptive, correlational, and regression analyses are employed. Businesses are most distressed about the financial risks associated with climate change, followed by supply chain disruptions and physical hazards. Moreover, developing climate-resilient infrastructure and enhancing catastrophe preparedness have evolved into vital adaptation tactics. Also, converting to renewable energy sources is the most preferred approach to mitigation initiatives. Furthermore, the study demonstrated a significant positive correlation between climate change mitigation strategies and effective business risk management. Nevertheless, as perceived climate change risks increased, business risk management effectiveness decreased. The study suggests that Greek businesses are actively engaging in climate change risk management strategies that embrace both adaptation and mitigation strategies. Yet, the study recommends a continued focus on developing resilient infrastructure and collaborative efforts with local communities, governments, and NGOs. Businesses should also prioritize the shift to renewable energy sources to better mitigate their carbon emissions. This research contributes significantly to understanding how companies can strategically address the challenges of climate change. Furthermore, the study provides valuable insights into the dynamics of climate change adaptation and mitigation in a specific geographical area, thereby enhancing the global dialogue on climate resilience and sustainable business practices.

Economic upgrading of Central and Eastern European economies through global value chain participation and foreign direct investment

ABSTRACT This paper links global value chain (GVC) integration and operations of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the context of host economies upgrading. Economic upgrading is referred to as higher exported value added that has been generated in the domestic economy as a result of foreign direct investment (FDI). Particular attention is paid to the impact of GVC on selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies. An econometric model is estimated using panel data of 44 sectors for four CEE economies over the period 1995–2018. A primary source of data is the latest edition of the TiVA (Trade in Value Added). The most important variable in explaining domestic contribution to GVC was the flow of foreign inputs. Backward linkages are crucial for building the GVC presence of the economies. The variables of interest – FDI stocks and flows – have in general a negative impact on the level of domestic content in analysed economies.

Examining the influence of global terminal operators on the performance of container terminals via privatization strategies in the maritime sector

Abstract This research navigates the evolving of global trade through an exploration of the strategic evolution of container terminals, with a specific focus on the integral role played by Global Terminal Operators (GTOs) amid prevailing privatization trends. Recognizing container terminals as critical nodes within the maritime supply chain, the study employs a comprehensive approach anchored in SWOT analysis to uncover the nuanced consequences of privatization, accentuating the collaborative influence exerted by GTOs. The research is dedicated to unraveling the intricate dynamics that shape container terminal performance, with a particular emphasis on operational efficiency, financial sustainability, administrative processes, and infrastructure development. In the era of heightened global economic interconnectivity, the study underscores the paramount importance of understanding the implications of privatization strategies. By providing nuanced insights into the strategic role of GTOs, this research transcends the boundaries of individual terminals, offering valuable perspectives for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and academics grappling with the intricacies of maritime infrastructure development in this transformative era.

Lanzajet announces first-of-a-kind $20 M investment from global airport operator GROUPE ADP

Lanzajet announces first-of-a-kind $20 M investment from global airport operator GROUPE ADP

TRANSPARENCY IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: ITS ROLE IN MITIGATING FINANCIAL RISKS AND IMPROVING PERFORMANCE METRICS

In-depth analysis of the vital role that openness plays in corporate governance is provided in this paper, with particular attention to how it improves organizational performance measures and reduces financial risk. Transparent corporate governance processes are more important than ever in a time of growing complexity in global business operations and elevated stakeholder expectations. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study combines qualitative insights from in-depth interviews with business executives, regulators, and governance experts with quantitative analysis of financial data from 500 publicly traded companies across several industries. The study's five-year duration, from 2019 to 2023, enables a thorough analysis of trends and causal connections. Based on reduced stock price volatility, fewer substantial financial restatements, and improved credit ratings, our results show a clear positive association between more corporate transparency and better financial risk management. Additionally, the study shows that businesses with more open governance processes routinely beat their less open competitors on a number of important performance criteria, such as customer happiness, employee productivity, and return on equity (ROE). The study also reveals complex connections between particular transparency metrics and performance results, emphasizing the necessity of customized strategies for improving openness depending on organizational and industry-specific factors. These revelations aid in the creation of an all-encompassing framework for putting corporate transparency into practice and gauging its effectiveness, offering practitioners, legislators, and scholars studying corporate governance useful direction.

Invariance of Iterated Global Differential Operator for Slice Monogenic Functions

Invariance of Iterated Global Differential Operator for Slice Monogenic Functions

Radiological image analysis using effective channel extension and fusion network based on COVID CT images

Attention mechanisms demonstrate significant capabilities in improving the performance of COVID CT image classification networks. Existing strategies often employ global pooling to acquire feature vectors, overlooking local feature information. Complex attention modules are then applied to enhance network performance, inevitably leading to increased model complexity. To address these issues, this paper introduces an Effective Channel Expansion and Fusion (ECEF) module specifically designed to enhance the performance of medical COVID CT image classification. The module represents a simple yet effective convolutional neural network module. In the channel direction of the given feature map, the module performs segmentation, conducts global pooling operations separately on the segmented and overall feature maps to obtain corresponding attention vectors, and merges them to produce high-dimensional attention vectors. Channel attention feature vectors are derived along the two pooling operation directions and dynamically fused. The resulting attention vectors are multiplied by the input feature map for adaptive feature refinement. Through these operations, the ECEF module adeptly captures local features in COVID CT images, enhancing the classification performance of medical COVID CT images. As a lightweight and versatile module, ECEF seamlessly integrates into any CNN architecture with negligible overhead. It can undergo end-to-end training alongside basic CNNs. ResNet is selected as the backbone network for empirical studies conducted on COVID CT images, including the COVID-CT dataset. Experimental results indicate that, compared to current advanced channel attention mechanisms, the ECEF module exhibits superior performance in COVID CT image classification tasks. The successful application of the ECEF module establishes a foundation for its widespread use in areas such as COVID CT medical image segmentation and object detection.

Corporate Social Responsibility and International Business: A Study of the Impact on Firm Performance

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has evolved from a philanthropic initiative to an important strategic component of global business operations. CSR is now seen as an element that influences a company's image, financial performance, and stakeholder relationships. Effective CSR implementation can provide a range of benefits to international companies, including enhanced reputation, customer loyalty, and operational efficiency. This article explores the impact of CSR on firm performance by analyzing case studies from five countries: Turkey, Nigeria, China, Bangladesh, and Spain. The research method used is a qualitative meta-analysis to identify common patterns and findings from various studies. The results show that CSR implementation has a significant impact on firm performance, although it varies depending on the geographical and industry context. This article highlights the importance of a systematic approach in integrating CSR to achieve optimal results for companies.

Learning Topological Operations on Meshes with Application to Block Decomposition of Polygons

We present a learning based framework for mesh quality improvement on unstructured triangular and quadrilateral meshes. Our model learns to improve mesh quality according to a prescribed objective function purely via self-play reinforcement learning with no prior heuristics. The actions performed on the mesh are standard local and global element operations. The goal is to minimize the deviation of the node degrees from their ideal values, which in the case of interior vertices leads to a minimization of irregular nodes.

Neither a Beast Nor a God: A Philosophical Anthropology of Humanistic Management

AbstractIs freedom and capability enough to sustain our well-being? For human flourishing to progress, defer, and avoid decline, managers as persons must grow in virtue to transcend to the ultimate source of the good. In our definition of a person we develop an anthropology of gift through the communication of one self to another and whose form is love, the willing the good of the other. We ask four questions about the humanistic manager as a person: what is the goal, end, good; what form, structure guides the manager; what materials, resources, technology, and context does the manager use within the structure to meet the end and exceed the goals, what is the means of effecting the change needed to meet the manager’s goals. Each of these questions form the basis to construct a philosophical anthropology of humanistic management. To these four questions we add three types of finality: the usual absolute terminal and horizontally immanent finalities plus the vertical finality of every growing and developing person among other persons in community. The need for a philosophical anthropology derives from a concomitant ethical requirement of what does and ought the manager, as person, undertake. What and how the person knows, wills, acts on provides the reality within which the manager, as person, operates. Along the way we will visit topics of transcendence, secularism, vulnerability, authentic personhood, and virtue. We conclude with a description, which is a dynamically evolving scheme of the meaning of a manager in the world, the social, and perhaps, the terminal goods of order. We move far from the homo farber of a technology-led world whose thought conforms being. We have begun to extend our manager into the species homo transcendens where being conforms thought and responsible action. We conclude with a sketch on the emerging role of spirituality in the workplace with connections to compassionate leadership, organizations as sites for healing and growth, and examples from the experience of humanistic organization who seem to have survived and thrived centuries of global operations. From an anthropology of gift we can identify several implications for managers. Humanistic management education would subsume the rational choice hegemony of economic modeling to a technological subset of tools, subject to the goals and nature of human persons. The scientism of thinking that psychology, sociology, political science, and economics would suitably describe, explain, and model human decisions would be replaced by an overarching framework leading to higher levels of knowledge, especially wisdom based educational experiences and content based on the natural integrity of human beings as learners. Since all technology follows, rather than leads, persons in an anthropology of gift, workplace practices would be founded in the structures immanent in persons and communities of persons. This would imply practices which transcend appraisal and assessment of performance to heights of contemplation and implementation of meaning in every task. Instead of beginning with a deficit of “what’s in it for me?” practices can begin with the surplus “how can I help you?” Proposed are practices which impound wisdom-based attributes of compassion, active listening, alterity, mercy, companionate and agapic love in decision analyses, interpretations of results, and incentives. The objective of the humanistically managed organization under the aegis of an anthropology of gift would be to minimize the maximum grief for the the most vulnerable. The objective would be applied as a policy across all authorities delegated by jurisdictions over organizations, and by boards, oversight groups, over decisions within organizations. This view from an anthropology of gift is consonant with emerging definitions of organizations as healing spaces where a balance of solidarity and subsidiarity guide decisions as opposed to simplistically applying supply and demand trade-offs.

Session 13. Oral Presentation for: Practical lessons from implementing a top-down, drone-based methane emissions quantification technology into global oil and gas operations

Session 13. Oral Presentation for: Practical lessons from implementing a top-down, drone-based methane emissions quantification technology into global oil and gas operations

Isogeometric Topology Optimization of Multi-patch Shell Structures

Shell structures refer to structural elements that derive strength and load-bearing capacity from their thin and curved geometry. In practical applications, shell structures are commonly composed of multiple patches to represent intricate and diverse architectural configurations faithfully. Nevertheless, the design of multi-patch shell structures holds considerable promise. However, most of the previous work is devoted to the numerical analysis of multi-patch shell structures without further optimization design. The work proposes an inverse design framework, specifically focusing on multi-patch configurations based on Reissner–Mindlin theory. First, reparameterization and global refinement operations are employed on the provided multi-patch shell structures. Renumbering the indices of control points with shared degrees of freedom at the interface naturally ensures C0-continuity between patches. Subsequently, this study investigates the amalgamation of Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) and the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) method for topology optimization of shell structures. The proposed approach is validated through numerical examples, emphasizing its capacity to enhance multi-patch shell structure design, showcasing robustness and efficiency.

Dirty Tracks Across the Border: Global Operations of Extraction, Labour and Migration at a Railway Station on the Bihar–Nepal Border

This article is based on an ethnography of the railway siding at Raxaul Junction railway station, a town on the Bihar–Nepal border, which finds itself at the intersection of a massive logistical exercise by China in the form of the Belt Road Initiative, counter-logistical apparatus building by India and incremental hardening of an otherwise ‘open’ border by Nepal. The article will analyse in detail the intricate network of the labour market that operates at and through the railway siding. It will also trace the origins of commodities used in the cement factories in the industrial corridor of Nepal that are extracted from some of the most deprived regions of India at great human and social costs. Finally, I will describe some of the latest exercises in logistical operations such as containerisation, opening of a new land port, the Integrated Check Post in Raxaul and operationalisation of a new dedicated freight corridor from Vishakhapatnam port to Raxaul, which is reconfiguring the logistical arrangements away from Kolkata and Haldia port and their implications on labour and labour practices. The Raxaul railway siding will be, hence, studied on multiple scales: global, national and local. The article will also try to understand the transformation of this very peculiar border town located on a unique border. This transformation is creating new labour processes, migratory processes and networks, and new modes of production of workers’ subjectivities and resistance along the global logistical apparatus and supply chains. It will also open up the possibilities of thinking conceptually about ‘South Asian Border Systems’.

Analysis and Reflection on the Strategy Benchmarking of Power Battery Management in China and Europe

In 2023, the European Union (EU) enacted the Regulation on Batteries and Waste Batteries (hereinafter referred to as the New Law on Batteries), which strengthens the regulatory framework for the entire lifecycle of power batteries. This development presents both challenges and opportunities for global power battery manufacturers and operators. As a significant player in the global power battery industry chain and the world’s largest producer of electric vehicles and power batteries, China must systematically assess the impact of global battery management strategies, including the EU’s New Law on Batteries, from a lifecycle perspective. This understanding is crucial for maintaining China’s competitive edge in the global power battery market and achieving mutually beneficial outcomes in international trade negotiations. This paper constructs a strategy analysis framework based on the lifecycle approach. By summarizing the power battery management strategies of both the EU and China, it provides a comprehensive overview of strategies across different countries, highlights the key regulatory focus areas, and offers relevant strategy recommendations. The main conclusions and insights are as follows: (1) The New Law on Batteries achieves lifecycle regulation from “cradle” to “grave” and back to “cradle”. (2) China emphasizes the management of waste power batteries, with an increasingly robust strategy system at the recycling stage, yet lacks comprehensive measures for other lifecycle stages. (3) The EU has established a comprehensive lifecycle strategy management system centered on the New Law on Batteries, characterized by strong coordination and a synergistic combination of strategies across different sectors. Finally, this paper identifies three major compliance challenges posed by the New Law on Batteries, necessitating enhanced strategy development and implementation in the areas of carbon footprint management, circular economy, and digital battery passports.