Operations Research/Management Science Research Articles

A scientometric analysis of multicriteria decision-making research

ABSTRACT Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is an important decision-making technique for incorporation into Decision Support Systems (DSS). This paper uses bibliographic techniques to characterise the MCDM research field. This research identifies the historical origin of MCDM in both Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) and Computer Science. This research identifies the increasing importance of environmental and medical applications in addition to traditional engineering and business applications. It also examines the core literature and the extent to which newer papers are cited.

Value co-creation in business-to-business context: A bibliometric analysis using HistCite and VOS viewer.

Value co-creation (VCC) recently displayed a significant increase in the frequency of publications in business studies and social sciences. Our study objects to explore the current state of VCC research in the business-to-business (B2B) context, principally in the marketing field. This research article extracted research papers on VCC in the B2B context published in the last two decades through the Web of Science (WoS). Initially, we applied HistCite to determine the research dynamics of VCC articles and then VOS viewer to conduct bibliographic coupling and cartographic analysis. Furthermore, we found the most co-occurred keywords in the abstracts, titles, and keywords. Our research explored that the United Kingdom was the most important country with 27 publications and 594 citations. Aarikka-Stenroos L was the most influential author, among his research is a systematic review which revealed that scholars of B2B journals adopted the term business "ecosystem" and studied the implications of ecosystem perspective in business and innovation networks and received the most citations. Industrial Marketing Management (IMM) was the most influential journal because it published 8 of the 10 most cited articles. One hundred and six out of 121 publications were in Business research and seventy-six were in management area, which made it the most hot and critical research area. Lappeenranta University was the most essential organization in VCC research based on the most records published and second-highest citations. Four research streams have emerged which indicate the prominent role of VCC in the B2B context (1) VCC and relationships, (2) VCC and organizational capabilities, (3) VCC and actors' engagement at various platforms, and (4) VCC and processes. Our research paper provided a base for conceptualizing publications related to business, management, operations research management science, and social sciences interdisciplinary on VCC in the B2B context. Content analysis has revealed that research work on VCC in the B2B context is at an early stage in the marketing arena. Along with bringing some sort of consensus regarding researchers' opinion toward the nature and modality of VCC literature and process in the B2B context, we urge future research to focus on how relationships and their precursors can be efficiently utilized to co-create and enhance value within B2B interactions. We also request future research to focus on making the VCC process sustainable and viable both on a time and economical basis. Organizations can involve customers and producers to work jointly to co-create value for their goods and services with negligible cost to achieve higher market shares and a competitive edge over rivals. This might be the first bibliometric study conducted on VCC in the B2B context (there are some Bibliometric VCC publications, but they are not B2B-specific, our research is the first Bibliometric study conducted on VCC in the B2B context) in the marketing field and can expose novel avenues for future research.

Physical Exercise Effect Evaluation Based on Data Envelopment Analysis

Data envelopment analysis is a new field of interdisciplinary research in operations research management science and mathematical economics. Data envelopment analysis uses mathematical programming to evaluate the relationship between decision-making units with multiple inputs and outputs (abbreviated as DMU). Effectiveness (DEA is effective) is to judge whether DMU is located on the "frontier surface" of the production possibility set. This paper proposes a method for evaluating the effect of physical exercise based on the data envelopment analysis method. First, a multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between physical exercise effects and physical exercise outcomes. Secondly, the exercise combination efficiency analysis based on data envelopment analysis is used to select the physical exercise time optimally. Then use the historical data for training to obtain the evaluation effect. The results show that the data envelopment analysis method can evaluate the effect of physical exercise well and can also provide decision-making strategies related to sports performance.

Towards a Pro-Silience Framework: A Literature Review on Quantitative Modelling of Resilient 3PL Supply Chain Network Designs

The increasingly dynamic and volatile market environment has elevated the importance of handling operational risks in supply chain networks. Also, black swan risks are constantly evolving and can strike from almost anywhere, including natural disaster, cyber risk, or viruses. As more companies are outsourcing their logistics to third-party logistics (3PL), at the same time, supply chain risks and uncertainties are also shifted to 3PLs. A 3PL’s supply chain network capability to assure continuity can be expressed in terms of resilience, i.e., the ability of sensing and responding to disturbances or threats. Operations research/management science (OR/MS) methods have been widely applied in supply chain management. The objective of this paper is to look into research regarding the development of resilient 3PL supply chain network designs through the utilization of OR/MS methods. After extensive literature review, a so called pro-silience framework is developed aiming at improving resilience from a 3PL perspective maintaining or increasing its competitive advantage during and after major disruptions, yet also maintain competitiveness under normal operating conditions. Additionally, the framework offers insights into topics for future research.

Bibliographic Analysis of Operations Research Citation in the Environmental Domain

This article uses bibliographic analysis techniques to examine the papers in the Web of Science database that have citation links to key operations research/management science (OR/MS) journals. The research identified the journals and papers in the environmental domains which cite these OR/MS journals and identify the key journals, papers, and themes. This research shows that environmental disciplines are becoming more important relative to the business and engineering domains that predominated in the previous years. However, much of the citation of OR/MS journals is for techniques like data envelopment analysis (DEA) which are used to conduct research rather than directly model environmental problems. Of the modelling techniques used to address problems in the environmental domains, MCDM methods are the most often cited, reflecting the importance of MCDM with the decision support systems (DSS) field. There are also significant numbers of applications relating to logistics and energy which cite OR/MS papers. Further research is needed to clarify the role of OR/MS techniques in the environmental sector, a domain outside the traditional areas of OR/MS application.

The Volkswagen Pre-Production Center Applies Operations Research to Optimize Capacity Scheduling

The Volkswagen Pre-Production Center (VPC) is responsible for the entire prototype assembly of the Volkswagen brand. In their assembly sites, however, they often cannot employ their manufacturing staff to the full utilization level, and therefore, the manufacturing volume is low. Maximizing the manufacturing volume for a given available capacity is a frequently pursued objective in industrial manufacturing. The planning task of capacity scheduling contributes to this objective by deciding on resource allocation and the selection and scheduling of orders. We were asked to evaluate possible operations research/management science (OR/MS) solutions for their capacity scheduling problem. To this end, we developed a prototype for capacity scheduling based on binary integer programming. After the prototype had revealed high improvement potential, we developed a spreadsheet-based decision support system (DSS) for daily capacity scheduling. The schedules generated by the DSS were substantially better than the solutions generated by the current manual procedure, in terms of both accomplished manufacturing volume and planning effort. After successful test implementation and rollout, the VPC estimated the annual cost savings to lie in the six-digit Euro range. Meanwhile, we continue spreading OR/MS methods to neighboring departments of the VPC.

A strategic asset planning decision analysis: An integrated System Dynamics and multi‐criteria decision‐making method

AbstractAsset planning is a complex and dynamic problem, where the decision maker is often faced with the challenge of making decisions now about aspects that will change over the asset lifetime. This paper is a part of an ongoing study whose goal is to develop decision‐support methods and tools (qualitative and quantitative) to support asset planning. In this context, this paper's objective is to demonstrate an integrated approach for combining System Dynamics (SD) and Multi‐criteria Decision‐Making (MCDM). To support the design approach, the paper uses a multi‐method design framework, from the wider Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) literature, as a theoretical lens to review and synthesize literature. To apply and test this approach in practice, the paper uses as a test case the classic asset replacement problem from the asset management literature. The test case is applied in a real‐life decision support project for fleet planning in a military organization. Results showcase the value of using SD (qualitative and quantitative) methods and MCDM, both independently and integrated, to support asset planning.

Assessing the exchange of knowledge between operations management and other fields: Some challenges and opportunities

Addressing a suspicion that the field of Operations Management (OM) draws substantially more knowledge from non-OM journals than those journals draw from OM journals in return, we studied the citations of the top 30 research journals of interest to our field. We conducted citation analyses of the three oldest OM journals over three decades in comparison to the 27 other journals representing the fields of Management, Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS), Marketing, Practice, and Engineering. We examined both the entire 30-year period and then each decade separately. Our suspicions were confirmed—although citations from these 27 journals to these three OM journals have increased by a factor of 7 over the three decades, we in OM still cite these journals about twenty-five times more often than they cite our journals, giving an indication of the knowledge development and flows among these fields. We then describe some challenges for the field of OM in providing more research knowledge to other fields but also some opportunities that OM should be able to capitalize on, such as our historic ties to practice and our escalating research in strategic and organizational issues.

Airport demand management: The operations research and economics perspectives and potential synergies

Airport demand management aims to mitigate air traffic congestion by limiting the imbalances between demand and capacity at busy airports through administrative measures (e.g., slot controls) or economic incentives (e.g., congestion pricing, slot auctions). This paper provides an integrated synthesis of the contributions of the fields of operations research/management science (OR/MS) and economics on the subject matter. From an operating standpoint, assessing the benefits of demand management requires estimates of airport capacity and models of airport on-time performance. From a managerial standpoint, the design of demand management mechanisms can be supported by decision-making models of flight scheduling. From an economic standpoint, the welfare impact of congestion pricing, slot controls and slot auctions depends on the market structure at the airport. This paper proposes an integrated framework that underscores the interdependencies between these operating, managerial and economic aspects to foster cross-disciplinary approaches toward more effective demand management policies at busy airports worldwide.

Operations research in intensive care unit management: a literature review.

The intensive care unit (ICU) is a crucial and expensive resource largely affected by uncertainty and variability. Insufficient ICU capacity causes many negative effects not only in the ICU itself, but also in other connected departments along the patient care path. Operations research/management science (OR/MS) plays an important role in identifying ways to manage ICU capacities efficiently and in ensuring desired levels of service quality. As a consequence, numerous papers on the topic exist. The goal of this paper is to provide the first structured literature review on how OR/MS may support ICU management. We start our review by illustrating the important role the ICU plays in the hospital patient flow. Then we focus on the ICU management problem (single department management problem) and classify the literature from multiple angles, including decision horizons, problem settings, and modeling and solution techniques. Based on the classification logic, research gaps and opportunities are highlighted, e.g., combining bed capacity planning and personnel scheduling, modeling uncertainty with non-homogenous distribution functions, and exploring more efficient solution approaches.

Decision Making And Systems Thinking: Educational Issues

Decision making in most universities is taught within the conventional OR/MS (Operations Research/Management Science) paradigm. This paradigm is known to be “hard” since it is consisted of mathematical tools, and normally suitable for solving structured problems. In complex situations the conventional OR/MS paradigm proves to be inadequate; decisions must be based on systems thinking which provides the decision maker(s) the opportunity to address the problematic situation in its full system context. The aim here is to develop a framework and a new course to teach “decision making through systems thinking” to industrial engineering students. The new course is to be taken after the existing course which covers the traditional OR/MS paradigm. It is believed that such an “extended” framework will help students to improve their skills in handling complex decision situations.

Operations Management in Intensive Care Unit Scheduling: A Literature Review

The intensive care unit (ICU) is a crucial and expensive resource largely affected by uncertainty and variability. Insufficient ICU capacity causes many negative effects not only for the ICU itself, but also makes it a bottleneck in hospital patient flows. Operations research/management science (OR/MS) plays an important role in identifying ways to manage ICU capacities efficiently and ensuring service quality simultaneously. As a consequence, numerous papers on the topic exist. The aim of this paper is to provide the first structured literature review on how OR/MS may support ICU scheduling and planning. We start our review by illustrating the important role the ICU plays in the hospital patient flow. Then we focus on the ICU scheduling problem (single department scheduling problem) and classify the literature from multiple angles, including decision horizons, problem settings, and modeling and solution techniques. Based on the classification logic, gaps in the current research and significant trends for future research are highlighted, for instance, combining bed capacity planning and personnel scheduling, applying non-homogenous distributions to model uncertainties, and exploring more efficient solution approaches.

Validation of a decision support model for investigation and improvement in stroke thrombolysis

Validation of Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) decision support models is usually performed with the aim of providing the decision makers with sufficient confidence to utilize the model's recommendations to support their decision-making. OR/MS models for investigation and improvement provide a particularly challenging task as far as validation is concerned. Their complex nature often relies on a wide variety of data sources and empirical estimates used as parameters in the model, as well as on multiple conceptual and computational modeling techniques. In this paper, we performed an extensive literature review of validation techniques for healthcare models in OR/MS. Despite calls for systematic approaches to validation of complex OR/MS decision support models; we identified a clear lack of appropriate application of validation techniques reported in published healthcare models. The “Save a minute – save a day” model for evaluation of long-term benefits of faster access to thrombolysis therapy in acute ischemic stroke is used as a case to demonstrate how multiple aspects of data validity, conceptual model validity, computerized verification, and operational model validity can be systematically addressed when developing a complex OR/MS decision support model for investigation and improvement in health services.

Decision Making via Systems Thinking in Management: Educational Issues

The aim of this paper is to provide a critical view of the educational issues related to teaching decision making in management studies and to provide a general framework is proposed that will serve as a basis designing new courses, covering some methodologies for handling complexity in decision making. At present, the widely spread approach to teaching the subject matter is mostly restricted to the traditional OR/MS (Operations Research/Management Science) paradigm. This paradigm is based on a set of mathematical tools and suitable for solving well defined decision making problems; it fails in “messy” or complex situations. Systems-based approaches are more promising in complex situations since they provide the decision maker(s) the opportunity to address the problematic situation in its full system context. The framework proposed in the study attempts to complement the traditional OR/MS paradigm rather than replacing it.

OR/MS models for supply chain disruptions: a review

ABSTRACTWe review the Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) literature on supply chain disruptions in order to take stock of the research to date and to provide an overview of the research questions that have been addressed. We first place disruptions in the context of other forms of supply uncertainty and discuss common modeling approaches. We then discuss 180 scholarly works on the topic, organized into six categories: evaluating supply disruptions; strategic decisions; sourcing decisions; contracts and incentives; inventory; and facility location. We conclude with a discussion of future research directions.

Contemporary trends in Japanese business environment: A review of existing empirical evidence

The main purpose of this paper is to identify current trends and practices that have been influencing Japanese business environment and their consequences to corporate world by conducting a review of existing empirical evidence on this topic. An in-depth review of more than 1,600 articles published in high-quality academic journals in the areas of Business Management, Accounting, Social Sciences, Engineering, Economics, Econometrics, Operations Research Management Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Finance and Decision Sciences was pursued following a multiple-step process. Furthermore, the trends were classified into six categories based on their occurrence frequency and described in detail. These trends involve: reformulating strategic management principles, less lifelong employment orientation and change of traditional HRM practices, raising labour force participation, female participation in management and improving education, use of non-financial performance indicators, decomposition of a large organization into smaller units and opening up to outside influence. Each of the categories contained specific practices that interacted with each other, shaping and giving strength to each individual category. Finally, the insights extracted from the literature review were synthesized and directions to future research were provided.

Research advances in environmentally and socially sustainable operations

Consumers and governments are pressuring firms to strike a balance between profitability and sustainability. However, this balance can only be maintained in the long run if the firm can take a holistic approach to sustain the financial flow (profit), resource flow (planet) and development flow (people) for the entire ecosystem comprising poor producers in emerging/developing markets, global supply chain partners, consumers in developed countries, and the planet. By considering the flows associated with different entities within the ecosystem, we classify and summarize recent Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) research developments. Also, we identify several gaps for future research in this important area.

The Fifth Column: The Diamond Pins, or $800,000,000 and Still Counting

The Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) program at the Colorado School of Mines has been in existence for more than 30 years. The program is unique in that most of its students must complete a client project that results in reduced costs, increased profits, or management acceptance and implementation of an immeasurable but highimpact policy change. In addition, if the project saves the client at least $1 million within one calendar year of its implementation, the student is awarded a diamond stickpin. The client must provide a document certifying the savings. This paper is a compendium of the projects that have qualified students for a diamond pin. At the Colorado School of Mines, we have

Operations research/management science contributions to peace studies

AbstractThe discourse on ethics in operations research/management science (OR/MS) has many aspects. Among them there is the ethical responsibility the OR/MS community faces in a world in which the widespread presence of structural violence makes the construction of a peaceful and sustainable social order a very challenging task, and puts at risk the very survival of human kind. In this paper we want to emphasize the role of the systemic approach, which is proper of OR/MS, with respect to the issue of peace, and in particular within the Peace Studies area.

How to Market OR/MS Decision Support

This research examines what decision makers must do to utilize OR/MS decision support. The author investigates OR/MS decision support from a new viewpoint of service. Firstly, OR/MS decision support provides information to aid in decision making, and it is shown that OR/MS decision support shares characteristics with service and can be considered a kind of service. This paper analyzes OR/MS decision support from the viewpoint of what is necessary for high quality service, and the issue of a communication gap is clarified. Through analyzing preceding research in OR/MS (Operations Research/Management Science), the author discovers a communication gap between decision makers and decision supporters. Finally, the author shows that it is effective to utilize “problem specification”, which is a decision-maker friendly description of problems proposed by research group including the author, as one approach to bridge the communication gap.