The purpose of this article is to investigate how contemporary studies about engineering are brea... more The purpose of this article is to investigate how contemporary studies about engineering are breaking down boundaries of knowledge. This study uses a systematic literature review to show how the application of qualitative multi-method approaches may offer reliable results and provide greater emphasis to the dimensions of development, triangulation and complementarity. The article offers new insights on the role of qualitative researches for the engineering domain, an area which has been largely unaddressed in the literature.
International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management
Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) is a continuous, flexible and dynamic area of enginee... more Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) is a continuous, flexible and dynamic area of engineering. Its intervention relates not only in manufacturing industry, but also in hospitals, education systems, transport systems, financial institutions, etc. Thus, there is the need to prepare students to the extended scope of IEM and the curriculum has to provide this broad vision. This range of IEM is evident in curriculum rationale. Graduates have to be ready for a wide range of jobs in the labour market. This is a challenging demand to cope with when designing and developing the curriculum. Thus, a selection of a special focus is the basis for the curriculum design process and for that reason the curriculum programs have different emphasis. The aim of this study is to analyse four IEM curriculum programs in Europe based on a classification of courses by areas of knowledge. Furthermore, the relative weight of areas was computed based on courses’ credits. Two interrelated group of areas...
International Journal of Qualitative Research in Services, 2015
ABSTRACT In any service delivery process its customers participate in a certain way and how this ... more ABSTRACT In any service delivery process its customers participate in a certain way and how this takes place will affect the efficiency and the quality of the service delivery process substantially. In this paper we develop a design-oriented modelling framework that aims to guide managers on the question of how the participation of customers can be designed best. Building on a systematic literature review on customer participation models in the disciplines of services, marketing and operations management, the paper develops an integrative framework that helps with the assessment of alternatives design options for customer participation. The framework offers guidance on the design across the different phases of a service process and provides a specific set of dimensions to be evaluated in the design. This supports managers in the examination of the implications of their design for customer value, as well as for different operational efficiency attributes.
It has been extensively acknowledged that the adoption of quality and Lean techniques make a posi... more It has been extensively acknowledged that the adoption of quality and Lean techniques make a positive contribution for the competitiveness of organizations. However, evidence suggests that their kick-off implementation can involve substantial difficulties, arising from staff resistance and lack of familiarity with the specific methods and tools. This has been particularly noticed in the case of small and medium sized companies (SMEs), which often lack the resources and the internal capabilities to invest in adequate training. In this paper we present the results of an internal questionnaire employed by a Portuguese SME, for stimulating employee awareness about the benefits from the implementation of 5S.
The present paper reports on the findings of a systematic literature review on multi-channel serv... more The present paper reports on the findings of a systematic literature review on multi-channel services. In doing so, it uses an affinity diagram to show the results of a content analysis regarding the issues addressed by the existing literature in the field. This enables to understand areas of interest in the contemporary subject of research, find gaps in the literature and, lastly, to uncover guidelines for future research. The results suggest that future investigations should focus on the integration of traditional and virtual services, on quality issues and customer behaviour towards the use of multi-channel services. Previous research also suggests that multi-channel services are largely unaddressed, regarding issues as back-office processes, within the scope of operations management. Subsequently, since multi-channel services are multidisciplinary in nature, these guidelines represent a fruitful opportunity for future research to involve other disciplines. Abstract. The present paper reports on the findings of a systematic literature review on multi-channel services. In doing so, it uses an affinity diagram to show the results of a content analysis regarding the issues addressed by the existing literature in the field. This enables to understand areas of interest in the contemporary subject of research, find gaps in the literature and, lastly, to uncover guidelines for future research. The results suggest that future investigations should focus on the integration of traditional and virtual services, on quality issues and customer behaviour towards the use of multi-channel services. Previous research also suggests that multi-channel services are largely unaddressed, regarding issues as back-office processes, within the scope of operations management. Subsequently, since multi-channel services are multidisciplinary in nature, these guidelines represent a fruitful opportunity for future research to involve other disciplines.
The present study presents the results of a systematic review on multi-channel services, to synth... more The present study presents the results of a systematic review on multi-channel services, to synthesize the existing body of knowledge and propose avenues for further research. We present theories that are widely corroborated, as well as suggestions presented by scholars that represent research opportunities. Towards this aim, using a comprehensive review of 118 peer-reviewed articles, the results suggest that existing studies are mainly focused on the analysis of consumer interactions with multi-channel front-office services, whereas the management of back-office processes and control aspects remain largely undressed. These topics represent strategic challenges and opportunities for future research.
The purpose of this article is to investigate how contemporary studies about engineering are brea... more The purpose of this article is to investigate how contemporary studies about engineering are breaking down boundaries of knowledge. This study uses a systematic literature review to show how the application of qualitative multi-method approaches may offer reliable results and provide greater emphasis to the dimensions of development, triangulation and complementarity. The article offers new insights on the role of qualitative researches for the engineering domain, an area which has been largely unaddressed in the literature.
International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management
Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) is a continuous, flexible and dynamic area of enginee... more Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) is a continuous, flexible and dynamic area of engineering. Its intervention relates not only in manufacturing industry, but also in hospitals, education systems, transport systems, financial institutions, etc. Thus, there is the need to prepare students to the extended scope of IEM and the curriculum has to provide this broad vision. This range of IEM is evident in curriculum rationale. Graduates have to be ready for a wide range of jobs in the labour market. This is a challenging demand to cope with when designing and developing the curriculum. Thus, a selection of a special focus is the basis for the curriculum design process and for that reason the curriculum programs have different emphasis. The aim of this study is to analyse four IEM curriculum programs in Europe based on a classification of courses by areas of knowledge. Furthermore, the relative weight of areas was computed based on courses’ credits. Two interrelated group of areas...
International Journal of Qualitative Research in Services, 2015
ABSTRACT In any service delivery process its customers participate in a certain way and how this ... more ABSTRACT In any service delivery process its customers participate in a certain way and how this takes place will affect the efficiency and the quality of the service delivery process substantially. In this paper we develop a design-oriented modelling framework that aims to guide managers on the question of how the participation of customers can be designed best. Building on a systematic literature review on customer participation models in the disciplines of services, marketing and operations management, the paper develops an integrative framework that helps with the assessment of alternatives design options for customer participation. The framework offers guidance on the design across the different phases of a service process and provides a specific set of dimensions to be evaluated in the design. This supports managers in the examination of the implications of their design for customer value, as well as for different operational efficiency attributes.
It has been extensively acknowledged that the adoption of quality and Lean techniques make a posi... more It has been extensively acknowledged that the adoption of quality and Lean techniques make a positive contribution for the competitiveness of organizations. However, evidence suggests that their kick-off implementation can involve substantial difficulties, arising from staff resistance and lack of familiarity with the specific methods and tools. This has been particularly noticed in the case of small and medium sized companies (SMEs), which often lack the resources and the internal capabilities to invest in adequate training. In this paper we present the results of an internal questionnaire employed by a Portuguese SME, for stimulating employee awareness about the benefits from the implementation of 5S.
The present paper reports on the findings of a systematic literature review on multi-channel serv... more The present paper reports on the findings of a systematic literature review on multi-channel services. In doing so, it uses an affinity diagram to show the results of a content analysis regarding the issues addressed by the existing literature in the field. This enables to understand areas of interest in the contemporary subject of research, find gaps in the literature and, lastly, to uncover guidelines for future research. The results suggest that future investigations should focus on the integration of traditional and virtual services, on quality issues and customer behaviour towards the use of multi-channel services. Previous research also suggests that multi-channel services are largely unaddressed, regarding issues as back-office processes, within the scope of operations management. Subsequently, since multi-channel services are multidisciplinary in nature, these guidelines represent a fruitful opportunity for future research to involve other disciplines. Abstract. The present paper reports on the findings of a systematic literature review on multi-channel services. In doing so, it uses an affinity diagram to show the results of a content analysis regarding the issues addressed by the existing literature in the field. This enables to understand areas of interest in the contemporary subject of research, find gaps in the literature and, lastly, to uncover guidelines for future research. The results suggest that future investigations should focus on the integration of traditional and virtual services, on quality issues and customer behaviour towards the use of multi-channel services. Previous research also suggests that multi-channel services are largely unaddressed, regarding issues as back-office processes, within the scope of operations management. Subsequently, since multi-channel services are multidisciplinary in nature, these guidelines represent a fruitful opportunity for future research to involve other disciplines.
The present study presents the results of a systematic review on multi-channel services, to synth... more The present study presents the results of a systematic review on multi-channel services, to synthesize the existing body of knowledge and propose avenues for further research. We present theories that are widely corroborated, as well as suggestions presented by scholars that represent research opportunities. Towards this aim, using a comprehensive review of 118 peer-reviewed articles, the results suggest that existing studies are mainly focused on the analysis of consumer interactions with multi-channel front-office services, whereas the management of back-office processes and control aspects remain largely undressed. These topics represent strategic challenges and opportunities for future research.
Uploads
Papers by Marlene Amorim
Books by Marlene Amorim
Conference Presentations by Marlene Amorim