Sudden Disruptions Research Articles

Advancing supply chain management from agility to hyperagility: a dynamic capability view.

Research and practice emphasize the criticality of supply chain agility in responding to external disruptions. However, many organizations struggled to respond at enhanced speed to the global supply chain shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations need hyperagile supply chains to survive and remain competitive in an environment characterized by unexpected and sudden disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose that supply chain hyperagility (SCH) is a distinctive organization-specific capability. It enables organizations to effectively manage demand shocks at extreme speeds and under extreme time pressures. We advance the concept of supply chain hyperagility and establish its antecedents, taking the dynamic capability perspective. This study operationalizes the SCH construct for the first time and investigates its antecedents using structural equation modeling. The results highlight the significance of data analytical capabilities, market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and supply chain integration in shaping supply chain hyperagility. The study offers practical insights for managers regarding designing supply chains that can navigate hyperagile environments and benefit from the opportunities presented by such environments.

Lesson learned from the pandemic for learning physics

AbstractBackgroundValuable safeguards against fast‐spreading conjectures about learning in times of fear and uncertainty are evidence‐based approaches to the assessment of the impact of sudden and unforeseen disruptions on learning practices. The present research focused on physics learning in such times because conceptual and computational literacy in physics is critical to the development of a scientifically and technologically literate society.ObjectivesThe present research aimed (a) to offer an objective assessment of whether performance differences in a physics course of the general education curriculum existed between the face‐to‐face medium (familiar mode of instruction) and the online medium (unfamiliar mode of instruction) for both male and female students, and then (b) to develop a response to the evidence collected to ensure a quality education for all parties involved. The research intended to fill two critical gaps in the extant literature: mixed findings concerning students' performance in the face‐to‐face and online mediums as well as scarce coverage of specific domains of knowledge that are critical to STEM learners.MethodsStudents' performance was examined as a function of the type of assessment (formative and summative), instructional mode (online and face‐to‐face), and gender. An understudied student population of STEM students of Middle Eastern descent without prior formal exposure to online instruction was targeted.Results and ConclusionsIn both formative and summative assessments, male students performed better online than face‐to‐face, whereas the performance of female students was either higher online or equivalent between instructional mediums. The evidence collected suggested that consideration be given to remedies that foster academic success in the face‐to‐face instructional medium, particularly for male students.TakeawaysAn evidence‐based approach to learning dismantled emotion‐driven expectations regarding the impact of the online medium on physics learning, and encouraged new perspectives about instruction.

THE ROLE OF DOUBLE-LOOP LEARNING IN MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAINS. THE STUDY OF THE DISRUPTIONS DRIVEN BY COVID-19 IN POLAND

A global pandemic of coronavirus COVID-19 affects the manufacturing supply chains significantly. This study aims to identify and evaluate the reaction of manufacturing supply chains in using the concept of double-loop learning to mitigate the disruptions induced by COVID-19 at the early stage of pandemic. A two-stage research process has been developed that firstly involves determining the learning pattern of enterprises in industrial supply chains and identifying actions taken. Then, the relationship between taking actions in the field of double-loop learning in the manufacturing supply chains and expecting a change in their market situation, and having knowledge in the field of adaptation to changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was examined. The study shows that there is a high level of caution in taking proactive measures in supply chains and a lack of knowledge in the field of adapting industrial supply chains to sudden disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disasters in the Anthropocene: a storm in a teacup?

Dramatic alterations to the natural environment due to human activity have produced a permanent rupture in the Earth system; the relative stable epoch of the Holocene has given way to a volatile Anthropocene. Acceptance of these claims means that we now live in this altered physical reality, inviting us to rethink how we conceptualise disasters. Yet, disaster scholars have been hesitant to apply the Anthropocene label and to acknowledge the profound changes that it can bring to the study of disasters. This paper queries whether this label is a necessary adage or unnecessary baggage for disaster studies by examining the possibilities and the challenges associated with engaging with the Anthropocene. An analysis of the concepts, causes, and consequences of disasters reveals how the Anthropocene provides, as the very least, a theoretical heuristic for challenging linear temporal assumptions, the epistemological status of uncertainty, and the location of agency in disaster studies.

Pandemic-related socioeconomic disruptions and adverse health outcomes: a cross-sectional study of female caregivers

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to mitigate transmission resulted in sudden and widespread socioeconomic disruptions including school and child care closures, unemployment and underemployment, and housing precarity. Understanding the extent to which these disruptions may have contributed to adverse health outcomes is critical for establishing policy priorities that can mitigate further harm.MethodsWe explored the associations between pandemic-related child care, employment, and housing disruptions with depressive symptoms, self-rated health, and food security status among a sample of economically disadvantaged and racially diverse female caregivers of young children (n=464). Data were derived from the Assessing California Communities’ Experiences with Safety Net Supports (ACCESS) study, which conducted survey-based interviews with California caregivers with low-income from August 2020 – May 2021. We implemented a series of multivariable Poisson regressions with robust standard errors to assess the potency of each exposure, independently and within the context of one another.ResultsMost caregivers experienced disruptions to child care (70%) and employment (63%); few experienced major housing disruptions (8%). Women that experienced child care and housing disruptions had greater depressive symptoms, lower self-rated health, and greater food insecurity, although the relationships for housing and depressive symptoms were modified by the timing of participants’ interviews. Employment disruptions were not associated with any of the examined adverse health outcomes.ConclusionIn the wake of socioeconomic stressors brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, attending to structural deficits in the child care system and increasing housing supports may be critical for protecting the health of caregivers.

A conceptual framework for identifying sustainable business practices of small and medium enterprises

PurposeThe purpose of the current paper is to identify the factors responsible for achieving business sustainability. This paper further attempts to develop a conceptual framework that can help SMEs to achieve viable business growth through improved sustainable performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows a methodical examination of literature published on SMEs during COVID-19. Specifically, the combination of keywords has primarily centred on SMEs, Business Practices, COVID-19 and Pandemic. The 155 research papers identified for the analysis have been classified as per geographical spread, type of papers, central theme, and theoretical foundations, which finally is followed by rigourous thematic analysis.FindingsThis research contributes to the SME literature by providing methodological, conceptual and practical rigour. The framework proposed by the research covers all the relevant areas which can be useful in preparing sustainable business trajectory for SMEs. It outlines the required directives for designing sustainable business practices for SMEs and includes macro and micro determinants. It also opens up future research avenues in different areas identified in the research. Future research can be performed on comparing business practices of SMEs across the emerging and developed economies.Practical implicationsIn this study, we propose a framework that enables the design of sustainable business practices and thereby supports SMEs to combat any uncertain events or shocks. SMEs that can work on adopting sustainable business practices may sculpt novel avenues for growth and competitive advantage for their business.Originality/valueThe study is distinctive in nature as it is based on the examination of literature published during a phenomenological event (COVID-19) which depicts the sudden and unaccounted disruptions faced by SMEs and thereby strategies formulated around the significant glitches.

The unintended consequences of hospital strikes on patient outcomes evidence from multiple strikes in the Portuguese National Health Service.

Hospital strikes in the Portuguese National Health Service (NHS) are becoming increasingly frequent. This paper analyses the effect of different health professionals' strikes (physicians, nurses, and diagnostic and therapeutic technicians (DTT) - DTT) on patient outcomes and hospital activity. Patient-level data, comprising all NHS hospital admissions in mainland Portugal from 2012 to 2018, is used together with a comprehensive strike dataset with almost 130 protests. Data suggests that hospital operations are partially disrupted during strikes, with sharp reductions in surgical admissions (up to 54%) and a decline on both inpatient and outpatient care admissions. The model controls for hospital characteristics, time and regional fixed effects, and case-mix changes. Results suggest a modest increase in hospital mortality limited for patients admitted during physicians' strikes, and a slight reduction in mortality for patients already at the hospital when a strike takes place. Increases in readmission rates and length of stay are also found. Results suggest that hospitals and legal minimum staffing levels defined during strikes are not flexible enough to accommodate sudden disruptions in staffing, regardless of hospital quality in periods without strikes.

Large-scale construction programme resilience against creeping disruptions: Towards inter-project coordination

Extant resilience research in project management focused mainly on the project level and sudden disruptions. However, resilience at the programme level, especially resilience against creeping disruptions, remains unexplored. This study adopts boundary object theory as the theoretical lens to explore programme resilience against creeping disruptions. Based on the case study of a large-scale construction programme Expo 2020 Dubai, a process model is proposed to unveil how programme resilience can be fostered through inter-project coordination. The model includes roles (i.e., program coordinators and project managers) and processes (i.e., preparation, mobilisation and response phases) that impact the resilience of the programme. The three-phase resilience process further corresponds to three boundary object-based coordination mechanisms: pull, match, and push, respectively. This study not only contributes to the project/programme resilience and management literatures, but also advances knowledge on resilience.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT ENABLED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE POST COVID-19: AN EXPLORATORY REVIEW AND FUTURE PROPOSITIONS

The Covid-19 pandemic outbreak across the globe has disrupted human life and industry. The pandemic has affected every sector, with the real estate sector facing particular challenges. During the pandemic, property management became a crucial task and property managers were challenged to control risks and disruptions faced by their organizations. Recent innovative technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), have supported many sectors through sudden disruptions; this study was performed to examine the role of AI in the real estate and property management (PM) sectors. For this purpose, a systematic literature review was conducted using structural topic modeling and bibliometric analysis. Using appropriate keywords, the researchers found 175 articles on AI and PM research from 1980 to 2021 in the SCOPUS database. A bibliometric analysis was performed to identify research trends. Structural topic modelling (STM) identified ten emerging thematic topics in AI and PM. A comprehensive framework is proposed, and future research directions discussed.

Investigating the role of stakeholder engagement for more resilient vaccine supply chains during COVID-19

The complexity of the supply chains and the uncertainties in the processes cause business to become more vulnerable in the face of disruptions. Pandemic situations such as COVID-19 cause sudden disruptions in supply chains, causing processes to be disrupted. Especially in multi-stakeholder supply chains, the importance of stakeholder communication, motivation, and regulations i.e. comes to the forefront in order to ensure the resilience of supply chains. As learned with the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine supply chains are also one of the multi-stakeholder supply chains and are extremely vulnerable to disruptions. In COVID-19 times, the importance of vaccine supply chain management and the resilience in vaccine supply chains increased. To have more resilient vaccine supply chains, stakeholder engagement is an essential issue. Therefore, the Graph Theory Matrix Approach has been used to determine factors of stakeholder engagement in multi-stakeholder vaccine supply chains and to specify the relationships between the factors of project and stakeholder engagement in vaccine supply chains to increase resilience in disruption times. The aim of the study is to identify the factors of project and stakeholder engagement that are necessary to ensure the resilience of multi-stakeholder vaccine supply chains and not be affected by disruptions such as COVID-19 as it is today. As a result of the study, innovativeness of stakeholders is the most important factor of stakeholder engagement in vaccine supply chains.

Zombie Companies in Business Environment in Emerging Economies: Case of Turkey

World economies are becoming more competitive and more focused on survival with increasing demand caused by huge increase in population of the world and changing conditions such as widespread use of technology, globalization, changes in consumer behaviour i.e. The emerging competitive environment also causes the formation of zombie companies. Zombie companies have low profits, high dependence on banks and high debt to total assets ratio. Especially with the sudden disruptions that occur in the world, such as COVID-19 pandemic, the bankruptcy of the companies is postponed and the number of zombie companies is increasing, especially in emerging economies. However, by considering the researches, it has not been revealed precisely by which factors the companies turned into zombie companies. In line with this reason, this study will be specified weighted the reasons why companies turn into zombie companies in emerging economies and as a case study, with the SWARA method, will weighted these factors for an emerging economy. These factors, which are listed based on the literature review, give an overview for emerging economies, and each country will be able to create an order of importance based on its own data in line with its own characteristics. This study is expected to be the initial stage for policy makers.

A decade of CO2 flux measured by the eddy covariance method including the COVID-19 pandemic period in an urban center in Sakai, Japan

Cities constitute an important source of greenhouse gases, but few results originating from long-term, direct CO2 emission monitoring efforts have been reported. In this study, CO2 emissions were quasi-continuously measured in an urban center in Sakai, Osaka, Japan by the eddy covariance method from 2010 to 2021. Long-term CO2 emissions reached 22.2 ± 2.0 kg CO2 m−2 yr−1 from 2010 to 2019 (± denotes the standard deviation) in the western sector from the tower representing the densely built-up area. Throughout the decade, the annual CO2 emissions remained stable. According to an emission inventory, traffic emissions represented the major source of CO2 emissions within the flux footprint. The interannual variations in the annual CO2 flux were positively correlated with the mean annual traffic counts at two highway entrances and exits. The CO2 emissions decreased suddenly, by 32% ± 3.1%, in April and May 2020 during the period in which the first state of emergency associated with COVID-19 was declared. The annual CO2 emissions also decreased by 25% ± 3.1% in 2020. Direct long-term observations of CO2 emissions comprise a useful tool to monitor future emission reductions and sudden disruptions in emissions, such as those beginning in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between division and connection: a qualitative study of the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships in the United Kingdom

Background: The first national COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom between March to July 2020 resulted in sudden and unprecedented disruptions to daily life. This study sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as social distancing and quarantine, on people’s lived experiences, focusing on social connections and relationships. Methods: Data were generated through 20 in-depth online and telephone interviews, conducted between May and July 2020, and analysed using thematic analysis informed by an ecological framework. Results: Findings show that the use of NPIs impacted social relationships and sociality at every level, disrupting participant’s sense of self; relationships with their partners, household members, neighbours, and communities; and polarising social and political views. However, experiences of personal meaning-making and reflection, and greater social connectedness, solidarity, and compassion – despite physical distance – were also common. Conclusions: Participant’s lived experiences of the first UK lockdown underscore the interconnectedness of relationships at the individual, community and societal level and point towards the important role of trust, social cohesion, and connectedness in coping with pandemic stress and adversity. Where infectious disease prevention measures rupture sociality, support for social connection at every relational level is likely to help build resilience in light of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

Decolonizing peace with a gender perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze a decolonized peace with gender perspective. Liberal democracies had consolidated on conquest, slavery, racism, sexism, colonialism, raw material extraction and female exploitation. Additional burdens came from neoliberal globalization with the massive burning of fossil oil, changing the Earth's history from the Holocene toward the Anthropocene. Multiple nexus between the human and environmental system requires an epistemology from the Global South. The paper explores alternative peace paradigms enabling poor and exploited people to overcome the destructive outcomes of patriarchal violence and extractivism. Regionally and locally, they are experimenting with just, safe, equal and sustainable alternatives of free societies.Design/methodology/approachThe nexus approach focuses on system efficiency, internal and external feedbacks and allows decision-making processes with stronger cross-sectoral coordination and multi-level governance. It includes the understanding of the policy agenda and the political actors at different levels, explaining the discrimination of gender from local to global. The analysis establishes complex relations between theory and political actions, due that all actions are inherently mediated by gender. A key focus is a relationship and the outcomes of policies, where communication and collaboration at the local level grant efficient peaceful resource management with gender equity.FindingsAn engendered-sustainable peace approach is culturally decentralized and may offer alternatives to the ongoing destruction process of neoliberal corporatism and violence. Drastic systemic change requires massive changes from bottom-up and top-down before 2030–2050. Global solidarity among all excluded people, especially women and girls, promotes from childhood an engendered-sustainable peace-building process, where positive feedbacks may reduce the tipping points on Earth and among humankind. Engendered-sustainable peace can mitigate the upcoming conflicts and catastrophes, limiting the negative feedbacks from abusive, selfish and destructive corporations. A greater self-regulating sustainable system with a HUGE-security could promote a decolonized, engendered and sustainable peace for everybody.Research limitations/implicationsThe interconnected risks are cascading across different domains, where systemic challenges have intensified conflicts and violence, due to uncertainty, instability and fragility. Cascading effects not only demand prevention for sudden disruptions (hurricanes, floods) but also for slow-ongoing processes (drought, sea-level rise, lack of water availability, etc.), which are equally or more disruptive. Women suffer differently from disasters and are prone to greater impacts on their life and livelihood. An engendered peace is limited by the deep engrained patriarchal system. Only a culture of peace with gender recognition may grant future peace and also the sustainable care of ecosystems.Practical implicationsThe Global South is exploring alternative ways to overcome the present violent and destructive globalization by promoting deep engrained indigenous values of Aymaras’ living well, the shell model of commanding by obeying of the Zapatistas or Bhutan’s Happiness Index. Globally, critical women and men are promoting subsistence agriculture, solidarity or gift economy, where local efforts are restoring the equilibrium between humans and nature. An engendered-sustainable peace is limiting the destructive impacts of the Anthropocene, climate change and ongoing pandemics.Social implicationsAn engendered-sustainable peace is culturally decentralized and offers alternatives to the ongoing destruction process of neoliberal corporatism, climate change and violence. The text explores how to overcome the present hybrid warfare with alternative HUGE security and peace from the bottom-up. Regional reinforcement of food security, safe water management, local jobs and a concordian economy for the most vulnerable may change the present exploitation of nature and humankind. Growing solidarity with people affected by disasters is empowering women and girls and dismantling from the bottom-up, the dominant structures of violence and exploitation.Originality/valueThe military-industrial-scientific corporate complex and the exploitation of women, men and natural resources, based on patriarchy, has produced climate change, poverty and global pandemics with millions of unnecessary deaths and suffering. A doughnut engendered peace looking from the outside and inside of the system of globalization and environmental destruction proposes to overcome the growth addiction by a growth agnostic society. Engendered peace explores alternative and sustainable values that go beyond the dominant technological changes. It includes a culturally, politically and institutionally ingrained model where everybody is a participant, reinforcing an engendered-sustainable peace and security for everybody.

Structural Decomposition Analysis of Japan\u2019s Energy Transitions and Related CO2 Emissions in 2005\u20132015 Using a Hybrid Input-Output Table

This study investigates Japan’s energy transitions in 2005–2015, which involved massive economic disruptions due to the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and the Great Recession. A hybrid input-output (IO) table that conforms to the energy conservation condition was newly compiled by integrating the Japanese energy-balance and linked-IO tables. This was employed to conduct a structural decomposition analysis (SDA), which attributes changes in energy consumption and CO2 emissions to the effects of intensity, structure, domestic final demand, and export. These effects were successfully segregated into a profile of energy sources. The results revealed that the structural effect became the dominant driver for decisively reducing energy consumption and emissions of manufacturing and service sectors in the latter period 2011–2015. This suggested that it took time to materialize energy-saving innovations in response to the sudden economic disruptions. Over the entire period, the structural effect was the largest driver contributing to the overall reductions, in part because the other effects tended to cancel out either between energy sources or periods. Therefore, a sensible way to transform Japan to a less energy-intensive, carbon-free society in the future is to improve the non-energy input structures of the manufacturing and service sectors.

Analysis of Energy Substitution vis-a-vis Security Policy Trade-off with the Emissions Embodied in Bilateral Trade: An Index Decomposition Approach

The trade-off between climate protection and energy security is more striking for the developing countries those are having fewer resources to combat the risk of sudden supply disruptions of energy, however, its reflection in the literature is not found sufficient. This paper aims at exploring this trade-off by uniquely representing the India-UK bilateral trade and applies a spatial index-decomposition exercise of the emissions embodied in the net export. The calculated emission imbalance implied in India-UK bilateral trade is decomposed into the contributions from five important drivers. The study compares the policy trade-offs under three hypothetical scenarios where India is adopting prudent policy measures imitating the UK. Based on these scenario experiments, the study suggests a decision trick where India is adopting a lower energy intensity of input use by altering its energy consumption level keeping the employment of inputs unchanged.

Between division and connection: a qualitative study of the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships in the United Kingdom.

Background: The first national COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom between March to July 2020 resulted in sudden and unprecedented disruptions to daily life. This study sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as social distancing and quarantine, on people's lived experiences, focusing on social connections and relationships. Methods: Data were generated through 20 in-depth online and telephone interviews, conducted between May and July 2020, and analysed using thematic analysis informed by an ecological framework. Results: Findings show that the use of NPIs impacted social relationships and sociality at every level, disrupting participant's sense of self; relationships with their partners, household members, neighbours, and communities; and polarising social and political views. However, experiences of personal meaning-making and reflection, and greater social connectedness, solidarity, and compassion - despite physical distance - were also common. Conclusions: Participant's lived experiences of the first UK lockdown underscore the interconnectedness of relationships at the individual, community and societal level and point towards the important role of trust, social cohesion, and connectedness in coping with pandemic stress and adversity. Where infectious disease prevention measures rupture sociality, support for social connection at every relational level is likely to help build resilience in light of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Sustainable Food Supply Chains

Recently, it has become an important issue to ensure sustainability, especially in food supply chains, against the rapidly growing population, increasing demand, and sudden disruptions caused by uncertain times such as that caused by COVID-19. Since food supply chains has vulnerable products and processes, it is critical to understand the sustainability factors of food supply chains especially in uncertain times such during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to determine sustainability factors of food supply chains. An Interpretive Structural Modelling method is used to state the relations between sustainability factors of food supply chains. As a result of the study, Information Sharing and Managerial Approaches are classified as driving factors; Food Safety and Security, Know-How Transfer, Logistics Networking, Risk Mitigation, Employee Commitment, Innovation, Traceability and Responsiveness are categorized as linkage factors. This article will be beneficial for managers in helping them develop sustainable food supply chains during uncertain times by focusing on traceability, information sharing, know-how transfer, food safety and security.

COVID-19 and Rapid Course Adaptations in Saudi Arabia: An Experiential Learning and Recommendations for Online Education.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has severely impacted educational systems around the globe, necessitating rapid modifications to the educational milieu while safeguarding human health and wellbeing. Following the closure of universities in Saudi Arabia, the instructors of all theory courses were mandated to switch from face-to-face course delivery to remote teaching and learning. This research examines the challenges and impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the mode of teaching and learning and the numerous adaptations in the pedagogical framework of the Landscape Architecture program at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. It also explores the opportunities the transition to online education presents to faculty and students moving forward. The data were collected using an online questionnaire survey and focus group discussions. Data analyses consisted of descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. The research finds that the sudden transition to online teaching and learning disrupted academic activities and had negatively affected the existing teaching and learning framework. Therefore, the research recommends an adaptable and dynamic teaching framework agile enough to cope with sudden disruptions. It concludes with lessons for future teaching and learning frameworks and amendments for upcoming sessions to deal with similar situations.

Business sentiments during India's national lockdown: Lessons for second and potential third wave.

The implementation of the COVID-19 national lockdown announced suddenly in March 2020 in India provided a unique opportunity to capture real-time changes in business sentiments during episodes of unexpected and sudden disruptions. Using a logit-probability model to analyse data of this natural experiment showed that firms’ 6-months ahead sentiments for its financial condition worsened drastically during lockdown compared to firms surveyed immediately prior to the announcement. Further, smaller firms showed a relatively higher impact. We also find that firms perceive this as a relatively higher demand shock in terms of falling domestic sales post-lockdown whereas supply shocks are perceived to be on the downside. Lastly the mitigation strategy of firms involved reducing employment for unskilled workers and wages for skilled workers. This unique study gives insights not only about firms and their strategies but regarding appropriate policy choices during lockdown. The lessons are applicable for governments which imposed local lockdowns during the second wave and potential disruption for the expected third wave.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41775-021-00121-w.