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Due to the growing demand for customised products, companies have faced increasing product and process complexity levels. To address this issue, manufacturing processes should become more flexible. One of the most promising technologies to achieve this goal is collaborative robotics (or 'cobots'). In collaborative assembly processes, human and robot combine their skills. However, the co-existence of humans and cobots in the same workspace may influence the operators' perception of assembly complexity. The analysis and control of assembly complexity are crucial to achieving better performances in terms of process quality and operators' well-being. Many qualitative methods have been proposed in the literature to provide a holistic assessment of assembly complexity. This paper proposes a novel method to define a quantitative scale of perceived assembly complexity, based on Thurstone Law of Comparative Judgements. This method was applied to an experimental case-study concerning the assembly of three different products in two modalities (i.e. manual and collaborative). Regression analysis showed that the perceived complexity may be related to the occurrence of process failures and to the perceived workload. The method also proved capable of identifying assembly processes where cobot assistance was helpful, providing process designers with a supporting tool to minimise perceived complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Online customer reviews is an important information resource for product innovation. This study aims to investigate the impact of online customer reviews on iterative innovation of software products and the moderating roles of product complexity in the process of online reviews influencing product iterative innovation. Design/methodology/approach: To empirically test the hypotheses, this paper built a panel data of 500 software products from 2019 to 2021 and applied Poisson regression analysis. Findings: Empirically results reveal that both sentiment and quantity of online customer reviews have positive effects on iteration innovation of software products. In addition, the authors find that product complexity negatively moderates the relationship between online reviews and iterative innovation. Practical implications: This study suggests that firms can acquire valuable information from customers' online reviews for product iterative innovation and improvement. However, for high-complexity products, it may be difficult for enterprises to obtain useful information for iterative innovation from online reviews. On the other hand, this study provides a reference for firms to choose more useful online reviews from the perspective of sentiment. Originality/value: This paper provides a new finding that there is a positive relationship between online customer reviews and iterative innovation of software products. Moreover, the authors also provide a deeper understanding of how online customer reviews affects iterative innovation by examining the moderating roles of product complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern industries are experiencing radical changes due to the introduction of high technological innovations. In this context, even more highly complex and customized products are required, increasing the need of tending towards the concept of complexity for free. In addition, new products are conceived with the circular economy in mind, considering possible multi life-cycle at the early design stage to reduce time and costs while ensuring high quality standards. To evaluate the overall product complexity, this research combines geometrical, manufacturing, assembly, and disassembly complexity features, typically treated separately in the literature. The research is divided into two parts and proposes a novel methodological framework for assessing product complexity with an overall view, integrating many aspects of product life cycle. The framework aims to create a rank of product configurations, on the base of complexity. Making complexity assessment procedures objective is essential to effectively support decision-making processes, especially when introducing advanced manufacturing technologies such as Additive Manufacturing (AM). Additionally, it is necessary to know the complexity of the individual components before the overall assembly. This paper deals with the first part of the research, proposing the aforementioned novel methodological framework, with a great focus on geometrical complexity. A geometrical complexity index is defined through experimental and numerical surveys, involving CAD modeling experts and considering numerous metrics found in the technical literature. The proposed methodological framework and the geometrical complexity metric can provide useful tools for businesses looking to evaluate their product complexity and identify areas for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the impact of product complexity, product involvement and product diagnosticity on shaping webrooming behavior in emerging fashion retailing, with product knowledge acting as a moderator and information processing, and uncertainty reduction theory contributing as the theoretical foundation. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 371 responses were collected from fashionable consumers who had recently purchased fashion products via a purposive sampling approach, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro. Findings: The results illustrated that product complexity had a significant impact on product involvement and product diagnosticity, and consumer attitude. Attitude, in turn, had a favorable impact on webrooming behavior. Likewise, product diagnosticity and product involvement had a positive mediating association between product complexity and consumer attitude. Product knowledge significantly moderated the relationship between product complexity, product involvement, and consumer attitude, but it exhibited a negative moderation association between product complexity, product diagnosticity, and attitude. Originality/value: This study represents a novel research endeavor, shedding light on webrooming from the perspective of product attributes in fashion retailing. It contributes to the growing body of literature on fashion marketing by analyzing the rapidly evolving phenomena of webrooming behavior within the multichannel context of the fashion industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empirical evidence on the relationship between the real exchange rate and export performance in emerging economies is inconclusive. In this paper, we present evidence that one reason for this inconclusiveness is the use of real exchange rate (RER) measures that do not consider the heterogeneity between economic sectors. To this end, we calculate a unique sectoral bilateral RER index (SBRER) for 12 Latin American economies, which considers the variation of producer price differentials and bilateral nominal exchange rates across 21 manufacturing sectors and 38 trade partners between 2001–2018, and to estimate the effect of SBRER movements on manufacturing exports. The regression results show that the SBRER is a significant determinant of aggregate manufacturing exports, whereas the bilateral RER is not significant. Moreover, sectoral export elasticities indicate that mainly sectors with low levels of product complexity and, to a lesser extent, those of medium complexity are affected by RER movements. These findings show that it is important to consider sectoral heterogeneity when estimating RER export elasticities from a macroeconomic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: When is it more profitable for multinational manufacturers to manufacture in high-cost environments and when in low-cost environments? While the literature offers many cues to answer this question, too little empirical research directly addresses this. In this study, we quantitatively and empirically investigate the financial effect of companies' production footprint in low-cost and high-cost environments for different types of production networks. Design/methodology/approach: Using the data of 770 multinational manufacturing companies, we analyze the relationship between production footprints and profitability during four calendar semesters in 2018 and 2019 (N = 2,940), investigating the moderating role of companies' production network type. Findings: We find that companies with networks distinguished by both high levels of product complexity and process sophistication profit the most from producing to a greater extent in high-cost countries. For these companies, shifting production to low-cost countries would be associated with negative performance implications. Practical implications: Our findings suggest that the production geography of companies should be attuned to their network type, as defined by the companies' process sophistication and product complexity. Manufacturing in low-cost countries is not always the best choice, as doing so can adversely affect profits if the products are highly innovative and the production processes are complex. Originality/value: We contribute to the scarce empirical literature on managing global production networks and provide a data-driven analysis that contributes to answering some of the enduring questions in this critical area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores the role of knowledge management capabilities (KMCs) in enhancing competitive advantage and organisational performance in fashion retailing. Employing the resource-based view (RBV) and knowledge-based view (KBV) perspectives, it investigates the interplay between managing knowledge effectively and fashion products' complexity. The goal is to provide new insights into optimising KMC for greater agility and success in the fashion retail industry. Design/methodology/approach: The study analysed survey data from 322 US fashion retail professionals using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings: The results revealed that knowledge infrastructure capability enhanced both competitive advantage and organisational performance significantly. In contrast, knowledge process capability did not significantly affect competitive advantage, it improved organisational performance. Importantly, product complexity moderated the relationship between competitive advantage and organisational performance negatively. Practical implications: This study underscores the necessity for retailers in the fashion industry to enhance their KMC to bolster competitive advantage and organisational performance, while it also acknowledges product complexity's effect on these strategies. These insights offer actionable guidance for industry leaders to optimise knowledge management to navigate the rapidly evolving retail landscape. Originality/value: This research offers novel insights into the interplay of product complexity and KMC in fashion retail and highlights the unique effects on competitive advantage and organisational performance valuable for both academia and industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although prior research indicates that crowdsourcing is primarily beneficial for companies, this work reveals, across three studies, that quality perceptions of crowd‐sourced (vs. company‐generated) products are shaped by relationship norms: communal norms (vs. exchange norms). Study 1 indicates that developing a communal (vs. exchange) relationship with the company enhances quality perceptions of crowdsourced (vs. company‐generated) products. Study 2 shows that firms' innovation ability works as an underlying mechanism: when consumers develop a communal (vs. exchange) bond with the company, they attribute greater innovation competence to crowdsourcing (vs. company‐generated innovations). Finally, study 3 reveals that the beneficial effects of communal (vs. exchange) norms on perceived quality crowdsourced products only hold when the product innovation lacks complexity, and the effect is mitigated with high‐complexity tasks. By demonstrating the importance of relationship norms and their interaction with innovation complexity, we resolve mixed findings on consumers quality perceptions towards crowdsourcing, contributing to recent studies and further offering important implications for firms seeking to leverage crowdsourcing strategies effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global consensus on sustainable development and environmental cooperation has prompted the promotion of trade in environmental goods (EGs) for green growth. This study delves into the diversity of EGs trade patterns, using decomposed environmental technology similarity indicators to reveal the technological drivers. Linking innovation indicators to trade performance in EGs provides new insights into the determinants of inequality in environmental governance cooperation. Based on an extended gravity model, we empirically analyze their impact on bilateral EGs trade flows among 176 countries over the period 2002–2019. The study finds that (1) the global EGs trade network presents a "core-periphery" structure, with increased network density and participation of developing countries. (2) Technology similarity contributes significantly to EGs trade. Compared to competition, technology complementarity has a greater impact on EGs trade flows. (3) The influence of technology similarity varies across trade patterns and product complexity explains the mechanisms, with technology complementarity promoting more trade in high-complexity products, mainly concentrated in the trade from Northern countries, while technology competition greatly promotes the export of low-complexity products from the South. (4) Technology similarity helps to overcome information barriers in EGs trade, and its trade-enhancing effects exhibit geographical regionalization. The findings offer empirical evidence on the technological drivers of EGs trade and provide policy implications for fostering inclusive global environmental governance and enhancing the competitive advantages of Southern countries, fostering more opportunities for green growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to (1) validate the efficacy of contractual and relational governance in enhancing operational performance and (2) explore the influence of product complexity on the effectiveness of these governance mechanisms, thereby determining the optimal approach for varying levels of product complexity. Design/methodology/approach: By utilizing a comprehensive theoretical framework encompassing transaction cost economics, social exchange theory and contingency theory, this research explores the intricate interplay between governance mechanisms, product complexity and operational performance, drawing insights from a dataset comprising 246 responses within Mainland China's manufacturing sector. To rigorously test the proposed hypotheses, this study employed a hierarchical regression analysis. Findings: The findings of this study are summarized as follows: (1) while both contractual governance and relational governance have a significant impact on operational performance, relational governance is found to be more effective than contractual governance in enhancing operational performance; and (2) the moderation effect of product complexity is evident, as it weakens the impact of contractual governance while simultaneously enhancing the positive influence of relational governance on operational performance. Originality/value: The study uncovers a moderation effect of product complexity on the relationship between governance mechanisms and operational performance. This finding adds an original contribution to the literature by highlighting how product complexity can interact with governance strategies, providing practical insights for industries dealing with varying levels of product complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent technological advancements allow companies to incorporate increasingly heterogeneous and interrelated features into their products, which heightens the products' complexity. In four experimental studies conducted with two product categories, this article reveals similarities and differences in terms of how the heterogeneity and interrelatedness of product features influence consumer attitudes (i.e., expected product usability and capability) and, in turn, purchase intentions. Moreover, it shows that both neglected dimensions of product complexity affect the corresponding influence of the number of product features but do so in considerably different ways. The findings suggest that companies can foster consumer adoption by deemphasizing a product's feature heterogeneity, thereby avoiding low expected product usability, and by emphasizing its feature interrelatedness, thereby promoting high expected product capability. This article provides insights into how companies can manage the complexity of products during both product design (i.e., before market launch) and product advertising and selling (i.e., after market launch). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates factors that contribute to the survival of export relationships at the firm and product levels using a large anonymised firm-level database for Latvia. It finds that some characteristics of exporting firms, such as a higher productivity level, larger size, lower indebtedness and higher profitability are associated with longer duration of export relationships. This paper also reveals the role of product characteristics for export product survival, in particular focusing on product absolute and relative complexity, as well as proximity to existing product basket. Exporting complex products improves the survival of trade relationships. However, exporting products that are more complex or distant from the firm's previous export bundle reduces the chances of survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the impact of product complexity on product lifetime. As product lifetime increases, firms have a longer time to develop new products and gain a higher return on investment. This study posits that product complexity has an effect on product lifetime and then investigates a product portfolio strategy for product complexity by using Korean mobile phone data released from 2004 to 2013. The impact of product complexity on product lifetime is investigated by pooled ordinary least squares regression. Then, we derive a product portfolio strategy that increases product complexity using panel data analysis. The results show that an increase in product complexity lengthens product lifetime and that a firm needs to design its product portfolio by concentrating its resources and capabilities on releasing products of the latest product type. The findings of this study can help a firm establish an optimal product portfolio that increases the return on investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional conceptions of state-sponsored cyber economic espionage suggest that countries with different product profiles should experience high levels of espionage between them. However, this is not what we observe empirically. Incidence of economic espionage tends to be prevalent between countries with similar product and manufacturing profiles. This suggests that we may be missing critical parts of what drives state-sponsored cyber economic espionage. To help unravel this puzzle, I develop a novel theoretical framework that proposes that because attackers seek to maximize the expected utility of stolen information, they target countries that possess similar productive capabilities as themselves. Consequently, countries with dissimilar product profiles should avoid targeting each other for espionage. I test this argument using data on states' product complexities and cyber economic espionage for a global sample of countries in a dyadic analytical framework. The results robustly show that for any pair of countries, as the complexities of their products diverge, they become significantly less likely to aim espionage attempts at each other. This study thus contributes new insights to explain why cyber economic espionage appears restricted to only a small number of advanced economies. It also illustrates the utility of large-N dyadic approaches in studying state-sponsored cyber espionage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assembly complexity assessment is a widely addressed topic in manufacturing. Several studies proved the correlation between assembly complexity and the occurrence of defects, thus justifying this increasing attention. A measure of complexity provides control over quality costs and performances. Over the years, many methods have been proposed to provide an objective measure of complexity. One of the most widely diffused is the so-called MCAT (i.e., "Manufacturing Complexity Assessment Tool") modified by Samy and ElMaraghy H. for assessing product assembly complexity. Although this method highlights some interesting aspects, it presents some critical issues. This work aims to thoroughly analyse this method, focusing on its strengths and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the incentives for firms' obfuscation strategies and their impact on social welfare in a market with boundedly rational consumers. We assume that firms obfuscate product information, which can prevent consumers from acquiring type information. Some naive consumers in the markets exhibited limited comprehension and default bias toward higher-quality products. We show that firms chose obfuscation in all cases except those in which consumers have a strong degree of bounded rationality and more pessimistically evaluate themselves as the naive type. This means that for firms, the benefits from second-degree price discrimination are limited and obfuscation may be a more important strategy than informing. We also find that, under certain conditions, obfuscation may result in socially desirable product allocation. This result indicate that careful consideration needs to be given to policies that reduce the incentive for firms to obfuscate, such as increasing the proportion of sophisticated consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to employ conservation of resources (COR) theory to explain how customer support, customer power, customer orientation (CO) and product complexity impact frontline employees (FLEs) work engagement. Design/methodology/approach: Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze data collected from 1,620 South Korean insurance salespeople using an on-line survey. Findings: Results show that customer support, customer power and CO will bring more FLEs work engagement, and product complexity negatively dilutes the work engagement gained from customer support. Practical implications: The results of this study suggest that firms should encourage FLEs to share their experiences and tactics in dealing with customer power and stimulate supportive customer behaviors. Since complex products, particularly financial products, require more explanation and information exchange for customers to understand them, managers might include simulations, videos and role-playing in training programs to show salespeople how to handle customers when attempting to sell these products. Originality/value: This study investigates the effects of customer cognitive and emotional support on FLEs work engagement and also empirically demonstrates the positive effects of customer power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In manufacturing, complexity is considered a key aspect that should be managed from the early phases of product and system design to improve performance, including productivity, efficiency, quality, and costs. The identification of suitable methods to assess complexity has always been of interest to researchers and practitioners. As complexity is affected by several aspects of different nature, it can be assessed from objective or subjective viewpoints or a combination of both. To assess experienced complexity, the analysis relies on the subjective evaluations given by practitioners, usually expressed on nominal or ordinal scales. However, methods found in the literature often violate the properties of the scales, potentially leading to bias in the results. This paper proposes a methodology based on the analysis of categorical data using the multi expert-multi criteria decision making method. A number of criteria are adopted to assess assembly complexity and, from subjective evaluations of operators, product assembly complexity is assessed at an individual level and then, aggregating results, at a global level. A comparison between experienced complexity and an objective assessment of complexity is also performed, highlighting similarities and differences. The assessment of experienced complexity is much more straightforward and less demanding than objective assessments. However, this study showed that it is preferable to use objective assessments for highly complex products as individuals do not discriminate between different complexity levels. An experimental campaign is conducted regarding a manual assembly of ball-and-stick products to show the applicability of the methodology and discuss the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the manufacturing field, the assembly process heavily affects product final quality and cost. Specific studies, concerning the causes of the assembly defects, showed that operator errors account for high percentage of the total defects. Also, models linking the assembly complexity with the operator-induced defect rate were developed. Basing on these models, the present paper proposes a new paradigm for designing inspection strategies in case of short-run productions, for which traditional approaches may not be carried out. Specifically, defect generation models are developed to get a priori predictions of the probability of occurrence of defects, which are useful for designing effective inspection procedures. The proposed methodology is applied to a case study concerning the assembly of mechanical components in the manufacturing of hardness testing machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the relationship between building smart factories in manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and firm performance and the moderating effect according to product complexity and company size. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 206 companies selected in the list of SMEs, which had built smart factories, provided by the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center in Korea. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. Findings: First, production automation and big data utilization are associated positively with productivity, but not significantly with export performance. Second, supply chain integration is associated positively with both productivity and export performance. Third, product complexity moderates negatively the relationship of productivity with each of production automation, big data utilization and supply chain integration while moderating positively the relationship between supply chain integration and export performance. Finally, company size does not moderate significantly the relationship between productivity or export performance with any of production automation, big data utilization and supply chain integration. Originality/value: This study contributes theoretically to literature by demonstrating the usefulness of building smart factories and suggesting how SMEs build a smart factory to enhance productivity and export performance from a business perspective. Moreover, this study contributes practically by proposing that SMEs should put priority on supply chain integration over production automation and big data utilization and execute different strategies of building smart factories depending on product complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of social exclusion and product design philosophy on consumers' design preference, its underlying mechanism, and boundary condition. We propose that rejected (vs. ignored) consumers should prefer a professional‐ (vs. user‐) designed product through increased psychological ownership. Additionally, product complexity should moderate this effect, such that rejected (vs. ignored) consumers should prefer professional‐designed products for low complexity products; for high‐complexity products, we predict a preference for professional‐designed products, regardless of consumers' state of social exclusion. Across four studies (including one using an incentive‐compatible design), we empirically test these hypotheses using different operationalizations of social exclusion. Our research contributes to the literature on product design philosophy, social exclusion, and psychological ownership. The findings offer novel insights regarding ways for marketers to develop marketing strategies to effectively choose and advertise firms' design philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mobile internet era, customers can interact with firms more conveniently. It helps express customers' personalized demands and provides directions for firms' product innovation. It requires and promotes technological innovation in firms changing from the original firm-oriented linear management approach to the rapid demand-centric iteration model. For example, many software firms develop their products while operating them. Then, how should firm developers understand and project the iteration speed while employing the iterative innovation model? Can firms keep the innovation iteration speed while pursuing innovation speed by shortening their innovation cycle? And will it result in the fact of "more haste, less speed"? The further question is, in the industrial context of emphasizing speed, how can firms obtain the best effect of innovation by considering their own innovation process traits? In fact, the rapid iteration of product innovation means that firms dynamically learn the external knowledge, such as the customer knowledge and the empirical knowledge, through development in the process of testing to reduce trial and error costs and improve product performance. Existing studies focus more on how firms improve product innovation performance based on existing resources from a relatively static perspective, while ignoring that product innovation performance is also affected by the dynamic learning process in the external environment. From the perspective of dynamic learning process, the theory of absorptive capacity well elaborates the hidden mechanism of how firms make innovation through absorbing, transforming and utilizing external knowledge. This work systematically investigates the effect of product iteration speed on innovation performance. Moreover, the process factors will also influence the innovation effect through the dynamic process of learning from external knowledge. For example, products of different complexity levels lead to different levels of innovation complexity; also, there could be difference for firms' learning capability in different iteration cycles, which finally influence the rapid iteration effect. Therefore, combined with the process characteristics of product iteration, this paper also examines moderating effect of three factors that are most relevant to the product iteration innovation process on the mechanism of product iteration speed, including product complexity, the number of product iterations and the innovation iteration regularity. We obtained version data of 924 applications from 2011 to 2018 with Python, and gained the following results through the empirical study. (1) The product iteration speed has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the product innovation performance, indicating that it does not follow the law of the faster the better. But there is a peak value, exceeding by which, it will lead to the fact that haste makes waste. (2) Product complexity negatively moderates the effect of iteration speed on product innovation performance. As the number of iterations increases, the moderating effect of the product complexity will be attenuated. It suggests that firms need to consider the process characteristics in the product iteration innovation, particularly, when the product is relatively complex, firms need to consider reducing the innovation speed, which however can be accelerated appropriately with the accumulation of iteration experience. (3) The regularity of product iteration can positively moderate the impact of iteration speed on product innovation performance. Therefore, firms should attach importance to the innovation iteration rhythm, and thus ensure the effectiveness of iteration through learning external knowledge. This paper has made theoretical contributions to the research of product iterative innovation and the empirical research on the absorptive capacity theory and also provides detailed suggestions for firms which practice the iterative innovation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re-examines key explanations of the Global Financial Crisis—product complexity, behavioural biases in decision making, systemic risk, and regulatory arbitrage and capture—and finds a common underlying cause, namely gaming by personnel at all levels in the banking sector and its regulators. This has enabled banks to use highly leveraged, maturity-mismatched investment strategies, which were designed so that the banks retained the upside rewards, but transferred the downside risks to taxpayers, leading to the privatization of profits and the socialization of losses—behaviour that has been described as 'banksterism'. Although governments have introduced some significant mitigatory measures, they will not be effective in preventing future financial crises, because they do not and, indeed, cannot provide the appropriate incentives to end the Great Game between bankers and taxpayers, which would involve making bankers, rather than taxpayers, personally liable for losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Drawing on the theoretical lens of the job demands-resources model, this study builds upon and tests a conceptual model that links customer prioritization, product complexity, business ties, job stress and customer service performance. Conceptualizing customer prioritization and product complexity as job demands and business ties as personal job resources, this research explicates the mediating process by which customer prioritization and product complexity affect customer service performance through job stress and its boundary conditions. The purpose of this paper is to offer a theoretical framework in which business ties moderates the mediated relations of customer prioritization and product complexity to customer service performance. Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modeling and a moderated mediation analysis were used on a unique multi-level, multi-respondent data set of 248 participants from 124 small and medium-sized enterprises in Turkey. Findings: This study finds that both customer prioritization and product complexity increase job stress. In addition, this paper finds that business ties have a bitter-sweet nature as a personal resource and reverse the relation of customer prioritization to job stress while strengthening the negative direct relation of product complexity to job stress. Finally, this study finds that the indirect relation of customer prioritization to customer service performance through job stress is contingent on business ties. Specifically, this paper finds that high levels of business ties negate the indirect relation of customer prioritization to customer service performance while low levels of business ties exacerbate the negative effects of customer prioritization to customer service performance, channeled through job stress. Practical implications: The findings demonstrate the critical role that personal networks play in reducing job stress and enhancing customer service performance for small and medium-sized enterprises that adopt customer-centric strategies such as customer prioritization. Nevertheless, the results suggest that the managers need to cognizant of the undesirable consequences of business ties may have on job stress when boundary-spanners handle a wide range of products/services that are technically complex. Accordingly, this study recommends small and medium-size enterprise managers and owners should be cautious in resource allocation to establish informal, personal ties with suppliers, competitors, customers and other market collaborators. Originality/value: This paper offers a deeper perspective of the relations of customer prioritization and product complexity to job stress and customer service performance. This study also specifies business ties as a personal coping resource, which decreases the undesirable consequences when used in small and medium enterprises that adopt customer-centric strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The virtual brand community has become an important marketing tool for companies. A successful brand community marketing strategy should attract a large number of consumers. Although past studies have revealed consumer motivations for participating in virtual brand communities, they fail to answer an important question: Why is it so easy for some virtual brand communities to attract users while others have such difficulty? In this study, product characteristics are hypothesized to be important factors that determine consumer motivation to participate in brand communities. Product characteristics (e.g., product complexity, product symbolism, and product satisfaction) can directly affect how actively consumers participate in brand communities. The results of questionnaires show that product complexity, product symbolism, and product satisfaction have a positive influence on consumers' willingness to participate in brand communities. Notably, the duration of product use has a regulating effect on the influence of product satisfaction and product symbolism. A long period of product use weakens the influence of product satisfaction on consumers' willingness to participate in brand communities. On the contrary, a long period of product use strengthens the influence of product symbolism on consumers' willingness to participate in brand communities. This study enriches the literature on brand community participation and has implications for companies that aim to utilize brand communities for marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though research has suggested that supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability are distinct capabilities, little is known about their performance effects and about the contextual conditions under which they are effective. Based on a sample of 143 German firms, we empirically investigate the effects of supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability on cost performance and operational performance using hierarchical regression analysis. We ground our investigation in the dynamic capabilities view and contingency theory. We find that supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability positively affect both cost performance and operational performance. We further find evidence for a mediating role of supply chain agility in the links between supply chain adaptability and performance. Product complexity positively moderates the links between supply chain adaptability and cost performance, and supply chain adaptability and operational performance. The results contribute to the literature by offering a more nuanced understanding of the performance implications of supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability, thereby addressing the crucial question of why their benefits may or may not materialise under varying levels of product complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply networks are regularly affected by events that trigger supply disruptions, entailing severe consequences for firms and their supply networks. Hence, the ability of firms to withstand and recover from disruptions (i.e., their resilience) is vital to their long‐term survival. Prior research suggests that the complexity of a firm's supply network is critical in determining its resilience to disruptions, but tensions arise when delineating the precise nature of the relationship between supply network complexity and resilience. In this research, we investigate whether and how three facets of supply network complexity—supply complexity (nodes in the network), logistics complexity (arcs in the network), and product complexity (contents moving through the network)—influence a firm's ability to resist and recover from disruptions. We empirically investigate this relationship in the context of automotive sector shipments from Japan to the United States before, during, and after the 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami, using the difference‐in‐differences technique. Results indicate that the relationship between supply network complexity and resilience is multifaceted; some aspects of supply network complexity intensify disruption impact, whereas others enhance disruption recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial literacy is a core life skill for participating in modern society. But how many of us have been educated about money; the importance of budgeting and saving for a rainy day; how bank accounts and debt work and when it makes sense to save for a pension? Our brief research to date indicates a shockingly low level of financial literacy in the general population. And, it does not look like this will get better soon; regarding improving financial literacy, the Financial Services Authority stated in 2003 that "Never has the need been so great or so urgent". And yet many children will go through school without an hour spent studying financial literacy. Furthermore, efforts to improve financial literacy at older ages are either non-existent or piecemeal at best. The consequences of poor financial literacy are especially damaging for vulnerable people. Vulnerable groups of people are most at risk of making poor financial decisions throughout their lives, which has negative consequences for saving, home ownership, debt levels, retirement and financial inclusion. In this paper, we consider various mechanisms to protect such financial customers, whilst recognising that improving financial literacy is not a silver bullet to improve customer outcomes from financial products. Financial literacy cannot be brought to a point where the public can understand many financial products without support and advice. But surely, awareness of basic financial literacy principles can be raised, including the most important: when to seek support and advice before undertaking important financial decisions. The paper suggests some key principles for financial literacy and will also consider methods and tools to allow the public to access much-needed support and advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the Indonesian economy and the influence that repercussions from the pandemic have had on the country's long-term development goals and objectives. The article used backcasting approach to link expected development objectives and targets with current state of social and economic conditions. Results demonstrated a gap between long-term and current economic performance, attributable largely to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and society. A drastic decline in aggregate demand due to contraction in household and corporate expenditure, investment, and exports sparked a surge in open unemployment and underemployment. While swift and wide-ranging government response helped to attenuate the impact of the crisis on the economy and vulnerable sections of society, COVID-19 pandemic impact compounded existing fundamental problems facing the Indonesian economy including de-industrialization, wide urban–rural, East–West, inter-regional digital divide; unemployment and underemployment; weak human resource development; low participation in global value chains; and low education effectiveness. Policy recommendations to nudge the economy and society back to its long-term development trajectory include initiatives to enhance emergency response program effectiveness and tackling structural problems. The initiatives include strengthening and widening the coverage of government programs that support business and society in education, labor and employment, and SME and trade. The thrust of the pathways stresses the need for accelerating the implementation of the national information highway and the ASEAN connectivity initiative. Achieving will support efforts to mainstream the adoption and deployment of digitalization in the economy, government, and transboundary trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the decisions determining whether customers will admire the product is the degree of product complexity to most attractive customers. Product complexity results from the overall product features presentation, the greater the number of features, the more complex the product, and vice versa. Practically, enterprises already know not only simple products but also complex products do not necessarily attract customers. No existing approach can guide enterprises to determine the most suitable level of product complexity. This study intends to propose a quantitative mathematical model to compute product complexity based on product features, and then link product complexity to product attractiveness to the customer. The product development team can therefore obtain a suitable amount of product features combined to produce the optimal product complexity that attracts customers to the greatest extent, and then design products based on the determined product features. The results of the example demonstrate the proposed model can help enterprises design the most attractive products for customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding supply chain sustainability performance is increasingly important for supply chain researchers and managers. Literature has considered supply chain sustainability and the antecedents of performance from a triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental) perspective. However, the role of supply chain visibility and product complexity contingency in achieving sustainable supply chain performance has not been explored in depth. To address this gap, this study utilizes a contingent resource-based view theory perspective to understand the role of product complexity in shaping the relationship between upstream supply chain visibility (resources and capabilities) and the social, environmental, and economic performance dimensions. We develop and test a theoretical model using survey data gathered from 312 Indian manufacturing organizations. Our findings indicate that supply chain visibility has significant influence on social and environmental performance under the moderation effect of product complexity. Finally, we have outlined our research limitations and further research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a graph-based model to measure the relative manufacturing complexity of and the manufacturing similarity of products in job shop manufacturing systems. This model depicts the impact of the complexity factors on the profit realisable from products based on their manufacturing process and required resources/skills. These resources deal with the process required for a component to reach assembly, the process of assembling the components to a whole product. This relative manufacturing complexity measure not only can support assembly and production cost estimation, but also can provide a guideline for creating a product with the most effective balance of manufacturing and assembly. Also, the results of this study can help improve budgeting and resource allocation, and the product life cycle cost estimation for future products. A numerical example is also presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As technology advances, it becomes more feasible to load products with a large number of features, each of which individually might be perceived as useful. However, too many features can make a product overwhelming for consumers and difficult to use. Three studies examine how consumers balance their desires for capability and usability when they evaluate products and how these desires shift over time. Because consumers give more weight to capability and less weight to usability before use than after use, they tend to choose overly complex products that do not maximize their satisfaction when they use them, resulting in “feature fatigue.” An analytical model based on these results provides additional insights into the feature fatigue effect. This model shows that choosing the number of features that maximizes initial choice results in the inclusion of too many features, potentially decreasing customer lifetime value. As the emphasis on future sales increases, the optimal number of features decreases. The results suggest that firms should consider having a larger number of more specialized products, each with a limited number of features, rather than loading all possible features into one product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop taxonomy of sourcing decision-making (SDM) archetypes and explore how different contextual factors influence these archetypes when global sourcing of complex components is considered a viable option. Design/methodology/approach: A multiple case study approach with five in-depth cases is employed. In total, 19 interviews as well as publicly available and internal data from large buying firms headquartered in Austria and Germany were collected and analyzed. Findings: The results reveal three different SDM archetypes which are described in detail (i.e. "consensus," "argumentation" and "cabal"). Furthermore, it is found that these archetypes are mainly influenced by three contextual factors: sourcing maturity, product complexity and leadership style. The final model comprises six propositions which illustrate how these contextual factors determine companies' SDM archetypes. Research limitations/implications: The study contributes to theory development at the intersection of organizational buying behavior and the (global) SDM literature. Thereby, it answers the call for more rigorous investigation of the influence of contextual factors on SDM processes. Practical implications: The findings enable practitioners to better understand and consequently manage SDM processes and their outcomes. By supporting decision-makers in identifying SDM archetypes, this study allows sourcing managers and teams to make better decisions by avoiding problems that occur in situations in which the preferred decision-making type would result in suboptimal decisions. Originality/value: The study provides a first step toward taxonomy of SDM archetypes and is among the first that explores their underlying contextual factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how organizations connect internal and external processes to enable an agile response to continuous change. Drawing on life cycle theory, a hypothetical model is developed regarding the independent and combinative effects of internal and external process connectivity on supply chain agility and the moderating effect of product and supply complexity. The model is tested using hierarchical regression analysis based on survey data from 143 managers at German manufacturing firms. Our findings suggest that internal and external process connectivity have a positive effect on supply chain agility independently and collectively, with complexity having a moderating effect in particular instances. The findings build on prior research regarding the process-related enablers of supply chain agility; research that has yet to clearly differentiate between internal and external processes or uses the terms interchangeably. The theoretical contribution of the paper rests on its extension of life cycle theory to the supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the effect of product complexity and communication quality on inter-organizational cost management (IOCM) and open book accounting (OBA) practices in buyer–supplier relationships in Malaysian manufacturing firms. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire survey was administrated to CFOs or accounting managers of Malaysian suppliers. Exploratory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling procedures were applied to test convergent and discriminant validity of the measurement model and examine the relationships among the latent constructs in the structural model. Findings: The results suggest that IOCM and OBA scales show acceptable reliability and validity. The findings also report that both product complexity and communication quality have a positive effect on IOCM and OBA in buyer–supplier relationships. However, the results suggest that IOCM does not influence OBA practice. Research limitations/implications: Although IOCM and OBA constructs exhibited satisfactory reliability and validity, future research is required to refine and further validate these constructs. The data were only collected from the supplier's perspective. Thus, future research is invited to benefit from matched data from both suppliers and buyers to generate additional insights on IOCM and OBA. Practical implications: This study may assist suppliers and buyers in relationships by suggesting that complex products require the adoption of IOCM and OBA practices to reduce information asymmetries and manage costs. Furthermore, emphasizing quality of communication may enhance the implementation of these practices. Originality/value: Theoretically, this study contributes to the academic stream of management accounting and cost management as it enhances an understanding of contributions introduced in prior literature on IOCM and OBA. It uses a complementary approach of transaction cost theory (TCT) and social exchange theory (SET) to explain the research model. Methodologically, the study validated scales for measuring IOCM and OBA in a new environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether labour mobility from foreign-owned firms to local firms in the host economy is associated with an increase in productivity, export product complexity and other export indicators of domestic firms. Based on employer-employee level data from Estonia, we confirm that hiring employees with experience from foreign-owned firms is associated with an increase in the total factor productivity (TFP) of the firm and the higher export propensity and breadth of export markets or products. However, on average, these within-firm effects on TFP appear to be not working through increases in the level of the complexity of the export product portfolio of domestically owned firms. One implication of this result is that other channels of upgrading than changes in the Hausmann-Hidalgo export product complexity measure may be more important in this context; for example, such as upgrading the tasks or activities in the global value chain of a product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research presents a theoretical framework to investigate how firms with limited resource maintain and improve their performance facing the problems incurred by product complexity. It considers operational level supplier collaboration as firms' strategy to reduce the negative impact of product complexity. It also examines the mediating role of risk management capabilities between supplier collaboration and firms' performance. Survey data was collected from 264 U.S. manufacturing firms to test the hypothesized relationships in the proposed model using Structure Equation Modeling methodology. The findings indicate that product complexity motivates firms to collaborate with their suppliers. Supplier collaboration at operational level enables firms to achieve better performance through improving firms' risk management capabilities toward normal risks, internal processing risks, and extraordinary risks with limited resource investment. This research contributes to risk management literature through conceptualizing the concept of risk management capabilities and empirically testing its role as a mediating factor between supplier collaboration and firms' performance. The findings of this research also provide useful insights about how to handle product complexity through basic level collaboration with suppliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between operational risk management and customer complaints. It also determines whether product complexity moderates the relationship between the operational risk management and customer complaints. Design/methodology/approach: This study utilizes a quantitative method: quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire. The population of this study is 1,845 local conventional bank branches based in Malaysia. Findings: The findings revealed that components of operational risk management, namely practice of hazard identification and formulation of implementation of risk control, have negative and significant relationships with customer complaints. Empirical evidence confirmed the moderating effects of product complexity on the relationship between operational risk management and customer complaints. Originality/value: From the perspective of developing countries, the main contribution of this study is the elucidation of the effect of operational risk management on customer complaints in commercial banks in Malaysia. This study confirmed the usability of the resource-based view theory in the banking industry, as well as operational risk management as a bank resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on learning by exporting by investigating whether an increase in the complexity of exported products contributes to higher productivity at the firm level. Design/methodology/approach: The study implements an empirical analysis for Estonian manufacturing firms involved in exporting for the period 2008–2014, adding product complexity as an explanatory variable in the production function estimation. An increase in product complexity is interpreted as an indirect proxy for an increase in firm capabilities, capturing both tangible and intangible elements of competitiveness and reflecting the learning effects. Findings: A relatively weak correlation between product complexity and productivity was found using a simple OLS estimation – exporters with higher product complexity have generally higher productivity levels. Somewhat surprisingly, no evidence for the learning by exporting was found among exporters, meaning that the increased complexity does not seem to be a channel for productivity upgrading. This result seems to be robust, irrespective of estimation methods and sampling preferences. Research limitations/implications: The sample is representative of exporting firms. Practical implications: The results show that the pursuit to more complex product does not necessarily contribute to productivity for exporting firms. The findings suggest that the firm-level upgrading due to increased export orientation is likely to take place through the other channels like moving up in global value chains and differentiating by product quality. Originality/value: This is one of the first papers to investigate the effect of product complexity on productivity at a firm level. The results provide new insights into the learning-by-exporting hypothesis, with focus on potential learning among the existing exporters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on analyzing the complexity level of the basket of parts and components exported by EU countries and how it is related to trade linked to international production networks. Three blocks of EU countries, which enjoy different available comparative advantages, are distinguished (Core, New Periphery, and Old Periphery). Our analysis shows that more than one third of exports of P&Cs are of very high complexity in the three blocks of countries. By estimating a panel data gravity model, we find that the higher the product complexity, the higher the volume of trade linked to international production networks, with the impact larger for EU Core countries that exhibit a wider set of high capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Gestao & Producao is the property of Gestao & Producao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: In this paper a bi‐objective multi‐product model for the design of a production/distribution supply chain logistic network with four echelons is considered. The proposed optimization model minimizes the total cost of the network (including the fixed cost to open facilities and the transportation costs between them) and the total CO2 emissions. Five factors (network size, product complexity, cost variability, CO2 emissions generation and over‐capacity) are considered for the experimental framework. The problem is solved using the ε‐constraint method and the resulting Pareto frontiers (PF) are characterized using five new metrics specifically developed for analysing how those factors affect the resulting optimal configurations. The results show that over‐capacity and product complexity are the two most influential factors regarding the characteristics of the PF, and that their effects are in the same direction: more complexity and capacity mean a wider set of optima alternatives, some close to the ideal point, and in general with a smaller number of links used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an uncertain data clustering approach to quantitatively analyze the complexity of prefabricated construction components through the integration of quality performance-based measures with associated engineering design information. The proposed model is constructed in three steps, which (1) measure prefabricated construction product complexity (hereafter referred to as product complexity) by introducing a Bayesian-based nonconforming quality performance indicator, (2) score each type of product complexity by developing a Hellinger distance-based distribution similarity measurement, and (3) cluster products into homogeneous complexity groups by using the agglomerative hierarchical clustering technique. An illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the proposed approach, and a case study of an industrial company in Edmonton, Canada, is conducted to validate the feasibility and applicability of the proposed model. This research inventively defines and investigates product complexity from the perspective of product quality performance with design information associated. The research outcomes provide simplified, interpretable, and informative insights for practitioners to better analyze and manage product complexity. In addition to this practical contribution, a novel hierarchical clustering technique is devised. This technique is capable of clustering uncertain data (i.e., beta distributions) with lower computational complexity and has the potential to be generalized to cluster all types of uncertain data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ekonomik Yaklaşim is the property of Ekonomik Yaklasim Dernegi (Ekonomik Yaklasim Association) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the implications of communicating customer involvement in the ideation and concept stage of new product development (NPD). This paper assesses the extent to which the awareness that a product was co-created jointly by company professional designers and consumers affects observer consumers’ attitudes toward the product and the company. While earlier research has mainly emphasized the positive and desirable consequences of consumer participation in NPD, the present set of studies shows that labeling products as having been co-created is not always valuable; rather, it is dependent on the level of perceived complexity of the products.Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses are tested in four experimental studies using several categories of product complexity (low, medium and high). The data have been collected on young adult samples, measuring the participants’ perceptions of a firm’s innovation ability and product purchase intentions.Findings The results suggest that there are benefits at the corporate level (higher perceptions of innovation ability) to inform the market about consumer involvement, particularly when consumers and company professionals work together. The findings also indicate that product complexity plays a critical role in translating the perceptions of greater corporate abilities (innovation) in purchase intention, and it is particularly beneficial for low-complexity products.Originality/value The previous research has mainly focused on the impact of involving consumers in firms and participating consumers; however, it has neglected the role of observer consumers. This study adds to the innovation literature by showing that the value of learning about other consumers’ involvement in firm NPD is not universally beneficial and that product complexity is a critical boundary condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The importance of supplier integration (SI) in improving firms’ performance has been previously identified but the effects of SI are complicated, as the relationship between supplier and buyer is full of uncertainty. The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the effects of SI on operations performance from a relational view.Design/methodology/approach Two strategies of integrating suppliers are theoretically presented: information sharing and joint decision making. Hypotheses are then developed on when SI influences operations performance, using product complexity and competitive intensity as moderating factors. The hypotheses are tested using a global survey data set, made up of 763 manufacturing firms from 22 countries.Findings The results indicate a positive relationship between SI and operations performance and that the moderating roles of product complexity and competition intensity are significant, but product complexity does not have significant moderation effects on the relationships between joint decision making and product quality/cost reduction.Research limitations/implications The moderators of product complexity and competitive intensity are not comprehensive. Future study into how and under what circumstances SI has the greatest effect will be of benefit.Originality/value This study makes theoretical contributions by exploring the strategies of SI through a relational view, and examining the effects of SI through the moderating roles of product complexity and competition intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]