Call for papers: Models for Operational and Business Excellence

A special issue of International Journal of Logistics Economics and Globalisation

Excellence pervades every aspect of business and industrial activity and it is often envisaged as an essential ingredient of organisational success. Firms – be it a for-profit or non-profit organisation or be it a multinational corporation or a small enterprise – have been imbibing concepts, adopting tools and implementing best practices germane to different facets of excellence. Successful companies factor stakeholder perspectives into their strategic decision-making processes besides undertaking continuous improvement initiatives. Business excellence has been construed as a holistic framework for integrating stakeholder perspectives with the organisational vision and strategic objectives so as to establish performance benchmarks related to financials, markets, customers and processes. Operational excellence has been viewed as an engine for organisational growth and a key driver of productivity with the objective of enhancing/sustaining competitive advantage.

Key practices of business excellence applied across functional areas include continuous and breakthrough improvement, preventative management and management by facts. Some of the tools employed are the balanced scorecard, lean thinking, six sigma, statistical tools, process management, quality management, technology management and project management. Operational excellence comprises proven practices and procedures of the three foundation blocks - operations risk management, capital effectiveness and asset productivity; and it embraces the entire supply chain.

This special issue aims to trace established practices and track new developments in the field of business and operational excellence with the following objectives of identifying:

• conceptual frameworks and analytical models for business and operational excellence (using statistical analysis).
• country and industry-specific variables that impact business and operational excellence (through empirical research)
• insightful case studies exemplifying the importance of business and operational excellence.

Papers must also have real value relevance, primarily focused on real time implementation, and the target audience are researchers, managers, practitioners and consultants.

Contributors are encouraged to submit original manuscripts that have practical relevance, case studies, and focus on the following or other areas related to business and operational excellence in manufacturing and service industries:

• Best practices in business management
• Data mining for business performance
• Innovation and quality management
• Knowledge transfer models
• Balanced scorecard models
• Change management concepts
• Statistical and analytical models
• Multivariate techniques and mathematical models
• Multi criteria decision making models
• Process of customer value creation in business
• Information integration
• Technology management applications
• Lean and agile concepts and applications
• Six sigma concepts and applications
• Benchmarking
• Information systems assessment
• Planning improvement

Important Dates
Manuscript submission: 30 May 2010
Notification of initial decision: 31 July 2010
Submission of revised manuscript: 30 August 2010
Notification of final acceptance: 15 September 2010
Submission of final manuscript: 10 October 2010