Socialis Series in Social Science

MEASURING THE MATURITY OF DIGITALIZATION TRANSFORMATION FROM OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE'S PERSPECTIVE

Horst J. Lechner — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Operational Excellence (OE) means the development of innovative sustainable production science and technologies that cover the entire live cycle of products but also of services. The food-packaging industry examined in this paper so far lacks a comprehensive yet consensual framework that encompasses all aspects of measuring the maturity of digitalization transformation from an Operational Excellence's perspective. Consequently, this paper aims to show the significance of the application of Industry 4.0 technologies in a lean environment - in the food-packaging sector. For OE initiatives, the main question is the inefficiencies that occur at different stages of production. A systematic literature analysis helps to identify existing maturity models in the context of the research fields of digitization, Industry 4.0 and in particular the process digitization. Based on this, a maturity model will be designed and evaluated in a company-related application context. With certain modifications, Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies can be applied to the observed case plants. Combining these advanced technologies with lean principles can lead to better OE initiatives than applying these concepts alone. The paper provides insight into the current state of knowledge in the respective areas and suggests the way forward for future research.

THE INFLUENCE OF CONTENT MARKETING, TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT ON SME’S

Anchala Ameena Mohammadi , A. Seetharaman — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this study is to understand how social media characteristics, such as content marketing, technology innovation, and customer engagement, influence small and medium-sized firms (SME) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The main objective is to give SME owners a way to increase their business revenue. SME's were chosen as the dependent variable, while content marketing, technology innovation, and customer engagement were chosen as three independent variables based on a thorough evaluation of the literature related to business. Secondary data were employed in this study. The findings show that content marketing, technology innovation, and customer engagement all have a positive significant impact on SME's in the Middle East and North Africa region. SME owners and members of the business management team are highly urged to have a very strong online presence with the aid of various digital technologies in order to increase the firm's sustainability, sales improvement, business success, SME's performance, and purchase intention.

BANK-SPECIFIC AND MACROECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF BANKS LIQUIDITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Shin Chi Teoh, Bavani Chandra Kumar — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this paper, we investigate bank-specific and macroeconomic factors in Southeast Asia from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam during the period 2011 to 2020. We demonstrate that deposits to total assets and total loans to total assets are the major factors determining the liquidity of commercial banks in Southeast Asia. Prior research focuses on developed and emerging markets. Past researchers yield inconsistent results and to assess the impact of determinants on commercial bank liquidity, this study adds the factor of the political stability index, which has not been studied in any literature before. Bank-specific factors play a dominant role in determining liquidity in the Philippines and Vietnam. Similarly, in Malaysia and Thailand, liquidity is mainly influenced by bank-specific factors and GDP, while inflation and unemployment primarily affect liquidity in Indonesia. Banks in Indonesia should consider internal and external factors when strengthening their liquidity. Political stability has little impact in Southeast Asia. These findings can guide regulatory authorities in enhancing the banking sector's resilience. Additionally, future studies may explore industry-specific determinants like interest rate margins and rates on loans and advances.

INFLUENCE OF IOT ON SMART LOGISTICS

Nisha Ravi, A Seetharaman, Vaidya Jayaraman — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of this study is to present smart solutions to all logistics issues in an organization. Innovation in logistics is an indicator of modernity. The Internet of Things (IoT), which enables items to connect with one another and to other platforms, is one of the most significant developing technologies. In addition, the factors influencing the implementation of IoT in smart logistics should be studied to solve the current issues faced in the logistics industry. The IoT is a global network of smart devices that integrate the digital world, enhancing a logistics organization's productivity and efficiency. The Internet of Things is a logistics industry revolution enabling operations, transportation, storage, and all other necessary information at each logistics activity. Current models, in which enormous volumes of data are gathered and regulated, are called into question by the recent surge in the adoption of modern technologies into all managerial procedures. The key tenet of smart logistics is believed to form the foundation for the industry of the fourth industrial revolution. This change is built on various concepts in smart logistics. Over the next ten years, the Internet of Things (IoT) will witness a significant shift in logistics. The implementation of IoT Logistics, practical instances of its application by transport businesses, and thoughts on the creation of new technologies are the main topics of this work. This study examines the potential of smart logistics to solve current supply chain management issues. The theoretical framework that guides this paper's investigation of IoT's impact on smart logistics.

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS (CSF) OF INDIAN SMALL AND MEDIUM MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES

Vinay Kumar Gairola, A Seetharaman, K Maddulety, Raj Gururajan — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Small and medium-sized Manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) are core growth drivers for any economy and more so in the case of an emerging market like India. The Covid 19 pandemic has impacted the world economy and its impact was accentuated and severe in the case of SMEs, given the way they were structured, managed, operated, and funded. This disruption has resulted in creating a distressing situation on the back of the lockdown leading to supply/demand and labor side challenges in the entity’s operations. Hence, there is an urgent need to understand the relationships and impact of various factors critical for achieving Sustained Business performance and this paper makes a first towards covering this gap. The study focuses on Literature available on the subject matter, analysing available literature to identify CSF (Independent variables) for achieving Sustainable business performance (Dependent Variable) by Indian SMEs post-Covid 19. The paper concludes that four factors, Innovation (IN), Digital Transformation (DT), Entrepreneurial Action and approach (EAA), and Government Support/Intervention (GSI) are considered critical for achieving sustained business performance (SP) by SMEs in India. EAA additionally was considered a driver for IN and DT having an indirect impact on SP and GSI was considered as enabler for EAA having an indirect effect on SP. This study/knowledge seeks to help the stakeholders (both internal and external) in creating a stable business with sustained growth going ahead.

EFFECT OF SELF-ESTEEM ON YOUNG SINGLE-PERSON HOUSEHOLDS ON THE WILL TO BE INDEPENDENT

Hyun-Su Kim, Doo-Young Byun — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The proportion of young adults living in single-person households in South Korea has been rapidly increasing in recent years. In particular, the economic and social independence of young adults in these households is crucial. To prevent issues such as extreme choices and crime, as well as to address the difficulties they face, it is necessary to allocate budgets, introduce appropriate policies, and implement initiatives in line with the current trend. These measures need to be implemented. This study aimed to examine the influence of self-esteem on the independence of young single-person households and to investigate the extent to which social support affects the relationship between self-esteem and independence.

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL, QUESTION ANSWERING SYSTEMS, AND CHATGPT: TECHNOLOGY, CAPABILITY, AND INTELLIGENCE

Tengku M. T. Sembok, Sharyar Wani — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The question is will ChatGPT replace Google? To answer the question, we have a look at the engine that powers ChatGPT. Knowing the engine that drives it, we may be able to estimate its capability and power. Information retrieval and question answering systems have been around for decades using well known technology to serve their purposes, such as keywords approach, semantic technology, predicate logic, and natural language processing. Several WH questions have been tested to assess the quality and the correctness of the answers given by ChatGPT. With respect to What, Where, and How questions, we found that ChatGPT seems to understand the questions and answer them quite well. But some facts embedded in the answers are found to be inaccurate. These may be due to the “hallucination” problem caused by the Large Language Models (LLMs) adopted in the engine. We wonder here whether ChatGPT, which adopts the Generative Pre-trained Transformer based on LLMs, has reasoning mechanism as in the rule-based systems. In conclusion, ChatGPT represents a significant leap forward in the field of question answering systems. However, it is important to recognize that ChatGPT and Google are not direct competitors, but rather complementary tools that serve different purposes.