This paper examines the association between the structure of formal intra-firm networks and productivity. We focus on two network structure components-department centralization and centrality, within a four department engineering organization. Centrality indicates the number of connections...

B2Bs are online markets where buyers and sellers trade products either in the spot market or via derivate instruments such as option contracts. Our goal in this paper is to show how procurement managers, in addition to buying on the spot market in cash (physical transactions), can integrate risk...

Organizational knowledge is a critical source of competitive advantage for professional service firms. Learning from experience and sustaining past knowledge are critical to the success of such knowledge-driven firms. We use learning curve theory to evaluate learning and depreciation in...

Retail supply chains are complex, with each company in the chain having multiple echelons of distribution. Forecasting and requirements planning are further challenged by managers’ reliance on “local” rather than chain-wide retail demand to make key operational decisions. A frequent...

In this case study of an architectural/engineering firm, Tonya, Ram, and Robert offer a new technique for projecting the scope and costs of professional-service projects. They utilize historical monthly data to estimate relationships between project outputs on one hand and labor inputs and prior...

Online retailers (or Internet divisions of brick and mortar retailers) often offer shipping discounts (for example “free shipping on orders above $150”) to entice customers. The premise is that the retailer will attract more customers and these customers will likely buy more per order to...

Tonya and Ram give their views on the preceding Foresight article by John Mello. Copyright International Institute of Forecasters, 2015

In logistics networks involving one supply point (depot) and several geographically dispersed demand points (e.g., retail stores), delivery shortages will result if the design of delivery routes ignores random period-to-period fluctuations in customer demands. Delivery shortages may be costly...