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The purpose of this paper is to review studies on mathematical optimization of the sustainable gasoline supply chain to help decision-makers understand the current situation, the exact dimensions of the problem and the models provided in the literature. So, a more realistic mathematical optimization model can be achieved by fully covering all dimensions of the supply chain of this product.

To evaluate and comprehend the mathematical optimization of the sustainable gasoline supply chain research area, a systematic literature review is undertaken that covers material collection, descriptive analysis, content analysis and material evaluation steps. Finally, based on this process, 69 related articles were carefully investigated.

The results of the systematic literature review show the main areas of the published papers on mathematical optimization of sustainable gasoline supply chain problems and the gaps for future research in this field presented based on them.

This approach is subject to limitations because the protocol of the systematic review of the research literature only included searching for the considered combination of keywords in the Scopus and ProQuest databases. Furthermore, the protocol used in this paper restricts documents to English.

The results have significant implications for both academicians and practitioners in this field. It can be useful for academics to comprehend the gaps and future trends in this field. Also, for practitioners, it can be useful to identify and understand the parts of the mathematical optimization model, which can help them model this problem effectively and efficiently.

No systematic literature review has been done in this field by considering gasoline to the best of the authors’ knowledge and delivers new facts for the future development of this field.

The purpose of the paper is to study the interconnections between visual management, performance management and continuous improvement programmes and to suggest a practical framework to establish an effective visual management programme in association with performance management and continuous improvement systems. For the sake of simplicity, this paper refers to such a programme as integrated visual management (IVM) throughout this paper.

The following research included proposals and discussion, which were based on a case study which took place at a quality assurance (QA) department in PACCAR Australia, a global premium truck manufacturer, as well as authors’ own findings and experience, in addition to a literature-based review on visual management, performance management and continuous improvement. A systematic approach was followed to establish an effective IVM system. This paper is composed of two sections. Some of the most important literatures on visual management, performance management and continuous improvement are reviewed in the first section. Then the findings, as well as some other author findings, on why visual management works are summarised. The second section is dedicated to the case study.

Visual management can provide a simple and yet effective solution to enhance information flow in organisations. However, for visual management to yield its full benefit, it needs be part of a bigger plan. It has to be linked to a performance management programme, which provides input into visual management, and a continuous improvement initiative, which receives inputs from visual management. This paper proposes a practical framework to establish an IVM programme and provides a detailed description of its phases. The paper also presents the results achieved, during our case study, and views on the integration benefits, as well as on how to successfully implement an IVM programme. A systematic approach to establish an effective IVM system was followed. It laid a solid foundation to facilitate an effective flow of information in QA in its respective areas. This programme not only improved an understanding of the processes and raised awareness about the performance and associated issues, it also boosted transparency, discipline, shared ownership, team involvement and scientific mindset. It assisted in achieving significant and concrete process improvements. It helped in establishing a productive continuous improvement programme. It was observed that while visual management, performance management and team or company continuous improvement programmes each served a benefit individually, when they were linked together, as a whole, their synergy allowed for more significant achievements.

The scope of this research is limited to use of visual management to manage performance and to lead continuous improvement initiatives. The research was performed in a manufacturing environment. Even though it is believed that the suggested framework for IVM and the findings are applicable to other business environments as well, further research in this direction is required. Also, the interconnection between visual management, continuous improvement and performance management based on a case study was investigated. More quantitative researches, on bigger scales, are required to better understand the mentioned interactions and to enhance our knowledge of these tools in a holistic manner.

The originality of the papers comes from its holistic approach to visual management, performance management and continuous improvement programmes and the suggested framework to establish an IVM programme.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of an integrated approach for performance improvement of virtual teams (VTs) in third-party logistics (3PL) through the integration of performance management (PM), visual management (VM) and continuous improvement (CI) initiatives into one coherent system. The paper will also propose a methodological framework to establish such a system. The intended integrated system is called as integrated visual management (IVM) throughout this paper.

This research is based on a case study that took place in a 3PL context with 19 VTs of different sizes spread across Australia. Many major 3PL companies provide their services either internationally or nationwide and therefore use VTs on a regular basis. The selected company does the same. This case was picked as representative of the many complexities which VTs face in 3PL settings, e.g. geographical and temporal separations; different skill levels within the team and between different team bases; multi-teaming system; high staff turnover; recurring performance problems and firefighting approach to problem-solving; and highly demanding performance requirements from clients. Further, this case study, being of a newly established contract and team, enabled the observation of the team dynamic and complexities from the earliest stages. In addition, as the main author of the paper was part of the managerial layer of the studied VT, this provided it a unique opportunity to escape the usual bureaucracy and rather focus on the research. This study also includes a literature review on VTs along with PM, VM and CI, which comprises IVM.

It was found that an integrated approach to PM, VM and CI was effective in systematically improving the VT performance. The framework for implementing IVM was productive and enabled to successfully plan and deploy the improvement intentions. Even though the team was highly virtual and encompassed a range of situational challenges, including different skill levels, a multi-teaming system and a high staff turnover, nevertheless, through IVM, the results met and exceeded performance targets on a sustainable base. Inventory record accuracy, dispatch on time, delivery in full on time and dock to stock were improved by 45, 62, 22 and 25 per cent on average, respectively.

The originality of the paper comes from its methodological approach to performance improvement for VTs in 3PL contexts through integrating PM, VM and CI systems into one coherent system, IVM.

Addresses issues related to teaching management in the Arab world. Discusses issues of growth, poor quality and lack of vision. Contrasts American and Arab cultural profiles and their management implications. Specifies the illusions that seem to prevail in some quarters in the Arab world regarding management and its culture.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the turbulent thermohydrodynamic (THD) performance characteristics of an axially grooved finite journal bearing for a variety of simulated operating conditions.

The set of governing equations consisting the Navier‐Stokes, turbulent kinetic energy and its dissipation rate equations coupled with the energy equation in the lubricant flow and the heat conduction equation for the bush are solved to obtain the three dimensional steady state THD characteristics of journal bearings. The lubricant flow in turbulent regime is modelled using the AKN low‐Re k−ϵ turbulence model. The problem is formulated mathematically and solved numerically using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach with appropriate boundary conditions.

It was found that shaft rotational speed has dramatic effects on the maximum temperature of the bearing and lubricant, also on the maximum hydrodynamic pressure and the oil flow rate. Besides, it was revealed that the clearance ratio and eccentricity ratio significantly change the performance of the journal bearing.

The paper presents a very useful numerical method for the prediction of the pressure and temperature fields inside the lubricant and thermal simulation of the bearing.

The paper provides the numerical simulation of the flow and heat transfer inside the journal bearing. Present computational approach is valuable to the practical modeling of the journal bearing operating under turbulent regime and in preparing the design charts in prediction of both hydrodynamic and thermal behaviors of journal bearings.

Because of importance of technological learning for less developed countries, the notion has received increasing attention of scholars. The purpose of this paper is to investigate technological learning systematically by assessing the effect of technology transfer actors on technological learning in less developed countries context.

The paper presents assessment model by adopting technological learning concept based on technology absorption and incremental innovation at firm level and identifying key roles of technology transfer actors (State – Scientific and technological infrastructure – Industry) that affect technological learning. The paper follows survey as research methodology. Thus, a questionnaire was addressed to 33 Syrian textile factories to examine the assessment model. Simple linear, multiple linear and ordinal regression analyses are preformed to examine relationships of model components.

The regression models show notable ability of technology transfer actors to explain technological behavior of firms to accumulate operative capability and consequently to generate passive incremental innovation. The findings indicate passive technical change system of Syrian textile industry. Therefore, goal-oriented evaluation of actual technology policy is preliminary step for achieving improvements, as well as activating scientific and technological infrastructure role by enabling strong relationships with industry and supporting interactions of domestic firms of textile industry and with foreign players.

The paper enriches technological learning literature by proposing systematic approach that sets the nature of technical change process of less developed countries in core of analysis. Moreover, it provides a guide for technological learning practices at firm level and for policymakers based on assessing actual status of Syrian textile industry.

ISO 18404:2015 standard defines the proficiencies to the attainment of distinct competency levels with either Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma or separately combined strategy Lean Six Sigma (LSS). The purpose of this paper is to perform a detailed investigation of the applicability of current LSS competency standard in SMEs and examine the need for further improvement.

A qualitative-based semi-structured interview method was utilized globally by interviewing a group of LSS professionals with knowledge about the LSS implementation working in different leading organizations. All participants were asked to review the standard before the interview process to ensure that they are familiar with the standard.

The results reveal that the current ISO 18404:2015 standard does not fit SMEs to implement the LSS approach as it has several shortfalls that need to be fixed before its adoption or an urgent need to develop a more customized LSS standard for SMEs. The outcome further helps organizations understand theoretical knowledge about ISO 18404:2015, its role in operational excellence implementation, pros, cons, critical success factors and required changes for further improvement within the standard.

There were very limited baseline studies in the literature. A mixed method strategy that includes qualitative and quantitative data would yield better data so that more robust outcomes can be derived from the research.

To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical research on the applicability of ISO 18404:2015 for SMEs, which encapsulate opinions of LSS professionals working in several SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a combined intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (IFAHP) and fuzzy multi-objective optimization approach to select suppliers and allocate the orders to them in the bottled water production context.

First, the primary weights of criteria associated with the supplier selection problem are calculated using the IFAHP technique. Then a fuzzy multi-objective optimization model is developed to allocate the appropriate amount of orders to each supplier.

The proposed methodology has been successfully implemented in the case of an Iranian food company in its bottled water factory. Results demonstrate our model is capable of practically handling the uncertainty in DMs’ preference that leads to effective and efficient supplier selection and order allocation decisions.

The authors develop a novel hybrid decision-making tool to tackle the uncertainty in decision-makers’ opinions with a demonstrated applicability and some promising outcomes in efficiently allocating the order quantity to suppliers in the area of bottled water production.

A fundamental concept of the smart city is to get the right information at the right place to make city-related decisions easier and quicker. The main goal of supply chain management (SCM) systems is to enhance the supply chain process for delivering the identified products to customers correctly in distributed organizations. In addition, new IT infrastructure such as cloud-based systems and internet of things (IoT) have changed many organizations and firms. Hence, this study aims to assess the factors that contribute to the success of SCM systems.

In this paper, the usage of urban knowledge, urban intelligent transportation systems and IT infrastructure was considered as a key factor for the success of SCM systems. For assessing the features of the model, a comprehensive questionnaire was designed. The survey questionnaires were sent to critical informers who are practical heads associated with SCM and urbanism. Of these, 315 usable responses were received, resulting in a response rate of 82.03%. The data were examined using Smart-PLS version 3.2 and IBM SPSS version 25.

The obtained results showed the high strength of the proposed model. This study found that the impact of urban ITS (safety, accessibility, information management and flexibility) is important to the success of supply chain management systems. Another important finding is that the cloud-based system (cloud security, resource virtualization, on-demand self-service and scalability) has a very important role in the success of supply chain management systems. The finding showed that the effect of IoT service variable (commercialization, mobility features, infrastructure capabilities and security and privacy) on the success of supply chain management systems is significant and positive. The findings also showed that urban knowledge (usage skills, awareness, experience and knowledge sharing) is viewed as a significant factor in the success of supply chain management systems.

The inductive nature of research methodology has introduced limitations on the generalizability of results. Therefore, it is recommended to examine the validity of this research model in other supply chains.

The statistical results support the crucial role of urban knowledge, urban intelligent transportation systems, IoT services and cloud-based systems. Therefore, aspects relating to these factors must be the focus of attention of any distributed organization in their endeavor to develop supply chain management systems. Implementing cloud based IoT through accurate and timely availability of information, can predict forecasting and planning processes, resources, logistics and support, service management and spare parts and many sub-processes in the supply chain. These technologies allow organizations to invest in manufacturing and operating processes rather than paying for the software section, which will generate more cash flow.

One of the most crucial and fundamental parts of an organization’s management is the supply chain management. The department is responsible for coordinating all units from the initial stages, such as supplying materials to the final stages, such as delivery and after-sales service. Comprehensive and credible information platforms are essential for managing a supply chain. Therefore, it is important to use integrated information systems such as IoT, cloud computing, intelligent transportation systems and more in this part of the organization management. Covering this information in a timely and accurate manner will facilitate the process and make the process more transparent. For this purpose, a model is needed to determine the relationship between technologies and supply chain management, which this study has provided a comprehensive model.