Are cumulatively developed capabilities better at enhancing corporate sustainability during high uncertainty?
Distinguished Research Seminar Series
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Date
05 Nov 2024
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Organiser
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, PolyU
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Time
14:30 - 15:30
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Venue
HJ303
Speaker
Prof. Aseem Kinra
Summary
This research investigates the impact of cumulatively developed operations and network capabilities on reducing trade-off dilemmas between resilience and sustainability within manufacturing firms under considerable environmental uncertainty.
We employ cumulative capability research models on operations capabilities, and a hierarchical supply chain resilience model on network capabilities based on existing literature. Using Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modelling and sequential testing, the research analyses responses from 135 automotive manufacturing plants. A dual-perspective approach, encompassing pre- and post-Covid-19 data sets, offers a comprehensive view of trade-off dynamics and capability-building processes in manufacturing plants during recent global challenges.
The study reveals that a traditional cumulative sequence of operations capability development crucially reduces trade-off dilemmas between resilience and sustainability. Furthermore, a high level of network capabilities is shown to positively influence these trade-off dilemmas and support the manufacturing plant's internal capability-building process towards social and ecological sustainability under conditions of uncertainty, guided by a distinct sequence of capabilities. Surprisingly, the research discloses that a significant number of manufacturing plants did not adhere to the operations capability sequence before the pandemic, in contrast to after the pandemic, and consequently experienced significant trade-off dilemmas.
Keynote Speaker
Prof. Aseem Kinra
Professor
Professor in Systems Transition Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Scotland
Aseem Kinra is the professorial research fellow at the Institute of Shipping Economics and Maritime Logistics (ISL) in Germany, and from January 2025 serves as the appointed Professor for Systems Transition Engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. Prof. Kinra received his bachelor at the Delhi University followed by a master’s degree in business administration. He went on to accomplish a MSc in International Economics and Business Administration, followed by a Phd in Supply Chain Management and academic training at the Copenhagen Business School. He worked as an Assistant and later as an Associate professor at the Copenhagen Business School, where he also led the Graduate Diploma program in Supply Chain Management. In 2019 he was appointed as Professor for Global Supply Chain Management at the University of Bremen where he also led the International Graduate School (IGS) within Log Dynamics, the Bremen Research Cluster on Logistics. Prof. Kinra’s research spans global supply chain management with a focus on value, barriers and complexity in cross- border value chains, especially in relation to logistics and transportation systems. Moreover, he researches the applicability and adoption of various information and transportation technologies in this context, both within private and public-sector management. His work has been a recipient of numerous Emerald and Log Dynamics research awards, the prestigious Hedorf Foundation grants, and he has previously held a Mitsui fellowship within transportation and trade. His research has previously appeared in leading journals such as the International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Journal of Business Logistics, Transport Policy and Journal of International Business Studies. He is the founding Associate Editor of the new Taylor & Francis International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Journal of Business Logistics, Transport Policy and Journal of International Business Studies, Guest Editor for the International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Journal of Business Logistics, Transport Policy and Journal of International Business Studies, and serves on the editorial boards of International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Journal of Business Logistics, Transport Policy and Journal of International Business Studies. He is also the co-chair of the WCTRS Special Interest Group (SIG) B1 on Supply Chain Management and a founding member of SIG E1 on Transport Systems Analysis and Economic Evaluation.
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