Production of multiple products sequentially is widely practiced in industries. Their unpredictable demands and lead times generate inefficient supply chain flow in meeting demands. Besides, production-based business activities emit carbon. However, researchers developed conventional inventory models with deterministic/stochastic demand, ignoring environmental impact. Here we present a model assuming stochastic demands of products processed sequentially by incorporating the costs of operations and multi-source carbon emissions. A lot of a product is assumed to be multiple of its demand plus approximated safety stock. Usually, larger production in lesser setups minimizes setup and processing costs imposing higher holding and carbon emission costs (due to warehousing and temperature control), and vice versa. Consolidated shipments with fuel-efficient slower transportation decrease transportation cost and carbon emission, requiring higher lot sizes and safety stocks, increasing inventory-related carbon emission. This operations-emission cost trade-off encompasses balancing these conflicting objectives. We minimize this total cost via calculus method of differentiation, synchronizing the production flow of satisfying demand of a product during production of other products. The model is illustrated with an example problem and applied to a local Coca-Cola production plant of bottling five types of this beverage. Minimum total carbon emission cost is found to be about 30-32% of the minimum total cost for the former, and 12-13% for the latter. When standard deviation of demands and lead times are jointly increased by 30%, the minimum total cost increases by 5.44%. Finally, results of sensitivity analyses on various parameters and managerial implication of the optimal solution policy are highlighted.
Although a significant number of studies have focused on urban growth patterns in Dhaka, the spatial structure of employment and its roles in shaping polycentric urban development is poorly understood. Specifically, how employment subcenters (ESCs) emerge and organize under conditions of informal and infrastructure-led urban growth typical of Global South megacities remains unclear. Hence, this study poses the question of how ESC formation is related with the construction and development of a polycentric urban employment structure in the city and how their hierarchical spatial organization shapes intra-urban agglomeration. To answer this question, the spatial distribution of employment in the Greater Dhaka Region during the 2011-2013 study period was analyzed based on fine-scale employment data from the 2013 economic census together with Local Moran's I (LMI) within a grid-based framework. An optimal grid size and shape were used to detect ESCs, including their location, hierarchy, spatial extent, geographical distribution, spatial characteristics and processes. The study found 59 ESCs, including one rank 1 center, four rank 2 centers, 18 rank 3 centers, and 36 rank four centers. The findings reveal a core-dominant but dispersed polycentric employment structure, in which high-ranked ESCs concentrated within approximately 20 km of Dhaka's historical core and low-ranked ESCs developed along major transportation corridors in peripheral areas. The findings suggest that the employment structure observed during the study period reflected a hierarchical, corridor-oriented pattern influenced by market forces and infrastructure-led urban processes rather than by planned decentralization, with weak metropolitan coordination strengthening the continued dominance of the historical core. These findings refine polycentricity theory for Global South contexts and provide evidence to support data-driven spatial planning and more balanced urban development in rapidly urbanizing regions.
PurposeSmall- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly adopting technologies and transforming businesses in the digital landscape. Hence, understanding the roles of digital literacy and technology adoption in digital transformation and SME performance is essential for sustainable growth and competitiveness; however, this study explores and presents insights into this matter, particularly for SMEs. Henceforth, grounding resource-based view theory, this study aims to examine the interaction among digital literacy, technologies, transformation and SME performance, including mediating roles of digital technology usage and digital transformation.Design/methodology/approachThis study collects data from managers or owners of SMEs using a structured questionnaire. To examine the complex interaction between digital literacy, digital technologies, digital transformation and SME performance, this study used structural equation modeling approaches using the PLS-SEM software.FindingsThe results reveal that while digital transformation positively impacts SME performance, the mere use of digital technologies does not have a significant direct effect. Furthermore, digital literacy significantly drives both digital technology use and digital transformation, despite having no direct impact on SME performance. Mediation analyses indicate that digital technology use bridges the gap between digital literacy and digital transformation. However, it does not independently mediate the link between digital literacy and firm performance. Instead, digital transformation acts as a crucial mediator, positively linking digital literacy and technology use to SME outcomes. Finally, this study confirms a significant serial mediation pathway in which digital literacy sequentially enhances SME performance, first through the adoption of digital technologies, which subsequently drives comprehensive digital transformation.Practical implicationsThis study has significant implications for SMEs that want to develop competitive capabilities with businesses by performing digital transformation, so that business activities develop in accordance with changes in the existing environment, thus increasing SME performance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by expanding our understanding of how digital literacy, technology utilization and digital transformation collectively influence SME performance. In a rapidly evolving business environment, comprehensive digital transformation is imperative for SMEs. However, successful transformation relies on robust digital literacy to effectively leverage these technologies and drive positive outcomes. Consequently, this study advances current knowledge by empirically validating the sequential pathway from foundational digital skills to tangible firm performance.
PurposeThis paper examines how BDA management capabilities influence effective decision-making processes within innovative organizational culture, serving as a mediating factor in Egyptian higher education in hospitality. In particular, it elaborates on how the four BDA dimensions (i.e. planning, decision-making, coordination, and control) cultivate innovation and enhance faculty members' strategic decision-making within higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via a cross-sectional survey of 368 faculty members at 20 hospitality colleges in Egypt and analyzed using SmartPLS v.4.4 to assess measurement reliability and validity, structural relationships, and mediation.FindingsResults showed that each BDA management capability positively affected innovative organizational culture and decision-making effectiveness. Further, innovative organizational culture partially mediated the effect of BDA capabilities on decision-making effectiveness.Originality/valueThis paper integrates the resource-based and knowledge-based views to provide a dual-theoretical contribution and focuses on the strategic and knowledge-based importance of BDA in higher education. It outlines the need to cultivate innovative culture to leverage data-driven capabilities, providing further insight for administrators and policymakers in hospitality colleges.
