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The field of Supply Chain Management (SCM) has mainly focused on applications for large firms, where significant amount of theory has been developed in the last decades. Little attention has been received by micro and small enterprises (MSEs) that in Latin America represent approximately 99% of all businesses and are the key for the development of the economy, employment, and growth of the region. Due to MSEs' lack of productivity, only a fraction of them survive and thus contribute to Latin America's economic growth. In this chapter, we discuss the connection between MSEs' productivity growth and SCM. We present key takeaways from the literature and summarized different research approaches used to study this emerging field, specifically related to the impact of the size of the company, the use of surveys to gather data, and the importance of field interventions. We also present a large-scale project (i.e., MIT GeneSys) that focuses on improving survival of MSEs in developing countries and discuss some preliminary learnings gained via conducting shadowing/immersion of ∼250 MSEs from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. We conclude the chapter by presenting some recommendations for the future research agenda for the emerging field of SCM for MSEs in Latin America.

The purpose of this paper is to present the result from a study carried out at an organization, which has recently started applying Lean, to examine changes in the importance and presence of Lean values within the organization in relation to when different parts of the organization started to apply Lean.

A questionnaire was used at three different groups at a dental care provider. ANOVA was used to detect any differences in regards to the importance and practice of five Lean values in relation to time since the clinics started to apply Lean.

The study showed no difference between the three groups in relation to the stated importance of the values, something that could indicate that there is a commonly shared value base in the organization. The only difference that was statistically significant was with regard to the presence of the values “continuous improvement” and “supportive leadership” between Groups 1 (pilot, 18 month since starting to apply Lean) and 3 (not yet started to apply Lean).

The research was conducted as one single study in one organization and further research should be done in other organizations and types of businesses.

The questionnaire can be used in organizations to put focus on cultural change when applying Lean both when it comes to practice as well as importance.

Traditional measures mainly focus on hard measurements when measuring the progress in applying quality initiatives such as Lean. This questionnaire can complement these traditional measurements and create a greater focus on the cultural changes in the organization.

The key performance indicators (KPIs) are frequently used in organizations, and they help to transmit the strategy at all levels of the organization. However, the implementation of these indicators in small- and medium-sized companies remains a challenge. Many studies reveal two challenges faced by these firms, the lack of knowledge about the KPIs and the lack of alignment of these with the business strategy. For this reason, this chapter investigated the current level of knowledge about KPIs in managers of small and medium enterprises in the wood and timber sector in Peru.

The level of knowledge was measured using the framework of Bloom's Taxonomy in 21 firms. The use and importance that managers assign to performance indicators were evaluated, in order to identify gaps that exist between the strategy and its use.

The results of a survey study show a high degree of variability in the knowledge of KPI-related concepts as well as an average low level of usage. The importance attributed to KPIs was seen as a necessary but not sufficient condition for attaining higher levels of KPI usage.

In the context of increasing competition between chained retailers and family-owned retailers, it is key to understand the customer's format choice. Using a logistics regression (i.e., binary logit) model, we explain customers' preference to buy in supermarkets or in small-scale, mom-and-pop stores like nanostores. We collect a representative sample of over 110 surveys from customers in the district of Surco, Lima, Perú, which is a representative area of the features of Lima's residents. We asked customers to focus on analyzing their preference between two retail formats: modern channel (i.e., big-box retailers, supermarkets, and hypermarkets) and traditional channel (i.e., mom-and-pop stores, nanostores). Our surveys included factors pertaining retail format attributes as well as factors related to the purchasing process. The results showed that time available for purchase and a comparatively better perceived service at a mom-and-pop store (i.e., nanostore) are significant factors that explain a higher probability of selecting these retailers, while a better store's ambience benefits more supermarkets. The overall discrete choice model is able to explain 65% of the variance using pseudo R-squared of the actual format choice decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to develop propositions explaining the influence of individual goals and social preferences on human decision making in transport planning. The aim is to understand which individual goals and social preferences planners pursue and how these influence planners’ decisions.

Propositions are developed based on investigation of decision making of transport planners in a Dutch logistics service provider using multiple data collection methods.

The study shows how decision making of transport planners is motivated by individual goals as well as social preferences for reciprocity and group identity.

Further research including transaction data analysis is needed to triangulate findings and to strengthen conclusions. Propositions are developed to be tested in future research.

Results suggest that efforts to guide planners in their decision making should go beyond traditional (monetary) incentives and consider their individual goals and social preferences. Moreover, this study provides insight into why transport planners deviate from desired behaviour.

While individual decision making plays an essential role in operational planning, the factors influencing how individuals make operational planning decisions are not fully understood.

The purpose of this paper is to identify constraints and possibilities to develop a value-based leadership in manufacturing using storytelling as a co-creative method and process.

A multi-site case study was conducted in which storytelling was used as a data collection tool and co-creative process to explore dimensions in the company’s cultures that could provide a deeper understanding about the constraints and possibilities that exist for developing value-based leadership in manufacturing.

Storytelling has a positive impact on leadership and communication highlighting important aspects of the organizational culture to support sustainable development and innovation.

This study demonstrates how storytelling can be used by leaders in manufacturing to build cultures of innovation and sustainability. And identifies constrains and possibilities for developing value-based leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the evidence of interlinkages between Lean and sustainability among organisational leaders in the early stages of Lean implementation.

A multiple-site case study was conducted to study the connections between Lean and sustainable development during the implementation stages of a Lean practice. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers about their knowledge and understanding of the interlinkages between Lean and sustainable development. The findings were then used as an analytic frame to determine whether these interlinkages were present in the organisation.

Evidence of interlinkages between Lean and sustainable development was found; however, their presence was incomplete and inconsistent across clinics.

Insights from the research can help organisations plan for the implementation of Lean practice, particularly when a sub-goal is to achieve sustainable development.

The study shows the importance of focussing on managers’ knowledge and understanding of the interlinkages between Lean and sustainable development when implementing Lean in order to utilise Lean’s full potential to achieve sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the claim that the application of human factors (HF) knowledge can improve both human well‐being and operations system (OS) performance.

A systematic review was conducted using a general and two specialist databases to identify empirical studies addressing both human and OS effects in examining manufacturing OS design aspects.

A total of 45 empirical studies were found, addressing both the human and system effects of OS (re)design. Of those studies providing clear directional effects, 95 percent showed a convergence between human effects and system effects (+, + or −,−), 5 percent showed a divergence of human and system effects (+,− or −,+). System effects included quality, productivity, implementation performance of new technologies, and also more “intangible” effects in terms of improved communication and co‐operation. Human effects included employee health, attitudes, physical workload, and “quality of working life”.

Future research should attend to both human and system outcomes in trying to determine optimal configurations for OSs as this appears to be a complex relationship with potential long‐term impact on operational performance.

The application of HF in OS design can support improvement in both employee well‐being and system performance in a number of manufacturing domains.

The paper outlines and documents a research and practice gap between the fields of HF and operations management research that has not been previously discussed in the management literature. This gap may be inhibiting the design of OSs with superior long‐term performance.

A systematic literature review is performed to reveal the state-of-the-art in the implementation of lean principles in the petroleum industry. This paper aims to generate a conceptual framework and reveal research gaps with respect to lean concept application in the petroleum industry.

After formulating research questions, the search strategy is generated, followed by data extraction, literature review and synthesis of the results. The search covers any studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals and conference proceedings in the period 1990-2017 that discuss the implementation of the lean concept in the petroleum industry.

The lean concept has been used to improve operational and technical aspects, contractor/supplier relationships, team organization and project management practice in the petroleum industry. Based on the literature review, a conceptual framework is generated comprising four main elements: leadership and commitment from management, employee involvement, cooperation and trust with contractors/suppliers and lean project management. These elements are the pillars that are founded on lean philosophy and principles to support technical/operational improvement in the organization. The types of literature identified indicate that the subject of the study is still immature.

This study focuses only on the upstream sector of the petroleum industry, which restricts the generalizability of the results to midstream and downstream businesses.

This paper provides knowledge and information regarding the current state of lean implementation in the petroleum industry. The developed conceptual framework provides general guidance for practitioners regarding lean implementation in the petroleum industry, and is also expected to support research on theory building.

Few studies have discussed the application of the lean concept in the petroleum industry. This paper contributes a platform for researchers and practitioners to comprehend how the lean concept has been applied in the petroleum industry, and provides a foundation for further studies on lean implementation in the petroleum industry.