Purpose: To deal with an increasingly competitive environment, organizations are combining continuous improvement (CI) practices with digitalization to accrue their benefits on operational performance and achieve operational excellence. The purpose of this study was to identify the enablers and inhibitors of digitalization as part of CI projects. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design consisting of an online survey and semi-structured interviews was used to examine how digitalization technologies have been incorporated by organizations in their CI projects. Findings: Key enablers of digitalization were found to be leadership capabilities, strategic direction, stakeholder involvement, system compatibility, data quality and giving employees room to experiment. Knowledge of digitalization was found to affect all these enablers. Research limitations/implications: The empirical findings are based on a nonprobability sample of Dutch CI practitioners, limiting their generalizability. Practical implications: The empirical findings highlight the need for organizations to adopt a structured approach to implementing digitalization as part of their CI projects, starting by ensuring that the necessary knowledge and skills are either present or accessible to the organization. Originality/value: The empirical findings show that enablers of digitalization in the context of CI are strongly interlinked, and thus require a holistic approach.
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The textiles and apparel industry is a major contributor to economic development while at the same time being one of the most polluting industries due to its lengthy supply chain and resource intensive production operations. To address these sustainability challenges, digitalization is seen as one of the potential solutions. Using the lens of sustainability and digitalization in Supply Chain Management (SCM), this paper analyses the sustainability and digitalization status of Dutch textile and apparel firms. We used a mixed methodology of quantitative text mining of 94 Dutch textile and apparel firms as well as qualitative thematic and coding analysis of experts’ views and opinions on sustainability and digitalization in the Dutch textiles and apparel industry. Quantitative analysis of website data shows that Dutch textile and apparel firms predominantly communicate the environmental, to a lesser extent social, and least of all economic sustainability factors. Keyword analysis also shows that the use of technological keyword indicators is less prominent, while certain technologies such as IoT, sensors and blockchain correlate mostly to environmental sustainability factors. Moreover, qualitative analysis reveals that to address sustainability via digitalization, it is important to link sustainability goals to Key Performance Indicators, which requires data for traceability. We recommend firms to: (1) re-evaluate their business models and assess the extent traceability can be incorporated in their sustainability strategy; (2) enhance stakeholder collaboration within and outside the supply chain to utilize traceability; and (3) proactively use traceability information to improve transparency and accountability to meet legal requirements and address greenwashing. This study contributes to literature by showing the importance of traceability for (a) linking sustainability and digitalization in SCM, b) achieving the ultimate goals of transparency and accountability, and c) predicting demand and supply to address overproduction and waste in the textiles and apparel sector.
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A practical framework for the implementation of digitalization entitled the “Data Analytic Capability Wheel” was presented. The aspects encompassed by this framework included data quality, data analytics, IT infrastructure, processes, employee knowledge and skills, and management.
The focus of this project is on improving the resilience of hospitality Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by enabling them to take advantage of digitalization tools and data analytics in particular. Hospitality SMEs play an important role in their local community but are vulnerable to shifts in demand. Due to a lack of resources (time, finance, and sometimes knowledge), they do not have sufficient access to data analytics tools that are typically available to larger organizations. The purpose of this project is therefore to develop a prototype infrastructure or ecosystem showcasing how Dutch hospitality SMEs can develop their data analytic capability in such a way that they increase their resilience to shifts in demand. The one year exploration period will be used to assess the feasibility of such an infrastructure and will address technological aspects (e.g. kind of technological platform), process aspects (e.g. prerequisites for collaboration such as confidentiality and safety of data), knowledge aspects (e.g. what knowledge of data analytics do SMEs need and through what medium), and organizational aspects (what kind of cooperation form is necessary and how should it be financed).
Digital transformation has been recognized for its potential to contribute to sustainability goals. It requires companies to develop their Data Analytic Capability (DAC), defined as their ability to collect, manage and analyze data effectively. Despite the governmental efforts to promote digitalization, there seems to be a knowledge gap on how to proceed, with 37% of Dutch SMEs reporting a lack of knowledge, and 33% reporting a lack of support in developing DAC. Participants in the interviews that we organized preparing this proposal indicated a need for guidance on how to develop DAC within their organization given their unique context (e.g. age and experience of the workforce, presence of legacy systems, high daily workload, lack of knowledge of digitalization). While a lot of attention has been given to the technological aspects of DAC, the people, process, and organizational culture aspects are as important, requiring a comprehensive approach and thus a bundling of knowledge from different expertise. Therefore, the objective of this KIEM proposal is to identify organizational enablers and inhibitors of DAC through a series of interviews and case studies, and use these to formulate a preliminary roadmap to DAC. From a structure perspective, the objective of the KIEM proposal will be to explore and solidify the partnership between Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas), Avans University of Applied Sciences (Avans), Logistics Community Brabant (LCB), van Berkel Logistics BV, Smink Group BV, and iValueImprovement BV. This partnership will be used to develop the preliminary roadmap and pre-test it using action methodology. The action research protocol and preliminary roadmap thereby developed in this KIEM project will form the basis for a subsequent RAAK proposal.
Digital transformation has been recognized for its potential to contribute to sustainability goals. It requires companies to develop their Data Analytic Capability (DAC), defined as their ability to manage and analyze data effectively. Despite the governmental efforts to promote digitalization, there seems to be a knowledge gap on how to proceed, with 37% of Dutch SMEs reporting a lack of knowledge, and 33% reporting a lack of support in developing DAC. While extensive attention has been given to the technological aspects of DAC, the people, process, and organizational culture aspects are as important, requiring a comprehensive approach and thus a bundling of knowledge from different expertise. Therefore, the objective of this KIEM proposal is to identify organizational enablers and inhibitors of DAC through a series of interviews and case studies, and use these to formulate a preliminary roadmap to DAC.
