Qing Lu

This study examines how creative competence develops through improvisation as a dialogic practice within collaborative groups. Building on the notion of polyphony from communication theory, we conceptualize improvisation as an interactional process through which participants generate, enact, and integrate micro‐responses in real time. We draw on 27 in‐depth interviews with world‐renowned jazz musicians conducted immediately after performance. The analysis identifies three interrelated dimensions of improvisation as a dialogic practice: constitutive communication, situated performativity, and reflexive structuring. Viewed in concert, these dimensions explain how creative competence emerges through a process of distributed micro‐responsiveness , as participants continuously shape and adjust to one another's actions. Our contribution is threefold. First, we advance a dialogic view of improvisation as a source of creative competence through collaborative interaction. Second, we develop a process framework explaining how interrelated dimensions of improvisation are enacted and become mutually reinforcing in practice, thereby shaping the development of creative competence. Third, we introduce distributed micro‐responsiveness as the interactional dynamic through which these dimensions collectively foster creative competence. We conclude by outlining future research directions and practical implications for fostering creative competence in uncertain and interdependent contexts.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are encountering real challenges in a post-COVID-19 world to find suitable locations for channeling their investments. However, how can two locations be compared? A new index for the logistics capability of countries or within-country regions is presented as a tool to assist managers in location-related decision-making. A survey among MNC managers in Asia reveals that MNCs investing in locations with higher regional logistics capability tend to perform better, suggesting that logistics capability is vital in foreign direct investment (FDI) location choices.

Firms are striving to improve their operational capacities and maintain competitive advantages in light of challenges presented by globalization, evolving consumer preferences, prolonged external disruptions, and advancements in industry 4.0. Given that their suppliers have an impact on their competitive advantages, firms must ensure that the selection process for suppliers includes dynamic capabilities such as sustainability, resilience, and digitalization. This is crucial for maintaining competitiveness and effectively managing external disruptions. The objective of this article was to provide an analysis of recent literature on supplier selection through a descriptive and thematic analysis. By examining dispersed literature, this study has developed a framework for supplier selection rooted in building dynamic capabilities of whole supply chain with three important dimensions—resilience, sustainability, and digitalization. Findings of the study will assist managers to improve their supply chain performances, particularly in their supplier selection and evaluation by highlighting the crucial role of dynamic capabilities.

Purpose: The ramp-up in humanitarian logistics operations is a stage when the demand surges, often at the start of an emergency. In response, agility is a key strategy used by the humanitarian organizations (HOs). However, the HOs are constrained by their existing resources and have to respond in the ramp-up process under their resource dependency. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework on agility-building strategies used by HOs for the ramp-up.Design/methodology/approach: This study applies both the dynamic capabilities perspective and resource dependence theory to humanitarian relief operations, and develops four testable propositions to explore the agility-building strategies of the HOs for the ramp-up process. A multiple-case study is conducted on six international HOs operating in Indonesia to verify them, in addition to an extensive literature search.Findings: The case study shows that the human resource management, pre-positioning, standardization and supplier management of the HOs are all related to their resources and environment in the ramp-up process. The authors highlight the practical differences between the few super large, resource rich and centralized HOs with the second-tier HOs.Research limitations/implications: Given the small sample size and single country as the site of study, some findings may not be applicable to the other HOs or in other regions.Practical implications: The propositions could be applicable to other HOs operating under similar environments, and potentially to the commercial enterprises operating in a highly volatile environment with severe resource scarcity.Originality/value: This study provides new insights into ramp-up operations and into how HOs build their agility and reduce their resource dependencies. Theoretically, the paper applies two established theories in the strategic management literature to a new field.

Purpose: Trust is essential for any team working together. In humanitarian logistics operations, relief organizations often have to work collaboratively in hastily formed networks. Trust in such a context, termed as “swift trust” in the literature, is an important but less explored topic. The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the antecedents of swift trust as well as its impact on the coordination among the humanitarian workers. Design/methodology/approach: The authors choose the humanitarian workers in Southeast Asia as the research sample. An exploratory survey study is conducted in three Southeast Asian countries, namely, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with 89 usable responses. Findings: The empirical results have shown support for most hypotheses. Third-party certification, competency, similarity in procedure standards and organizational values, can all generate swift trust. Moreover, swift trust can lead to greater openness in information sharing for coordination, though not to active assistance. Both coordination activities would lead to greater coordination effectiveness. Research limitations/implications: Future studies could examine the four antecedent conditions for swift trust with better proxies. The connection between swift trust and coordination effectiveness can be explored in depth. Practical implications: NGOs and governments could use these means effectively to build swift trust among the humanitarian players. For example, organizing field-oriented training activities would be beneficial for humanitarian workers in both network building and enhancing personal competency. Originality/value: The findings point to the importance of swift trust in humanitarian operations and identify several means to enhance this trust. It has filled a research gap on the empirical investigation of the antecedents and impact of swift trust on inter-organizational coordination in humanitarian logistics operations.

Purpose: – In humanitarian logistics operations, performance measurement is crucial for effective operation. The purpose of this paper is to develop a set of indicators for humanitarian relief organizations (HROs) for their organizational-level logistics operations. Design/methodology/approach: – The authors applied the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) framework to the context of humanitarian supply chains. By taking a bottom-up approach with the support of a large HRO, the authors identified the most important metrics through examining its supply chain processes. The initial metrics are then validated by seven HROs to ensure their applicability in humanitarian logistics operations. Findings: – A hierarchical benchmarking framework is proposed, and a set of 26 metrics is identified. The validation of these metrics supports the initial work with all metrics deemed important. It also highlights the implementation difficulty as only five indicators are readily available. The authors further suggested the automation of key logistics processes, which would significantly increase the number of implementable metrics to 14. Research limitations/implications: – The sample size of the validation is small, and the last mile delivery is not covered by the metrics. Practical implications: – With these performance metrics, HROs are able to monitor their logistics performance better with processed-based measures, which may lead to their policy and process adjustments for performance improvement. Originality/value: – The work contributes to performance measurement in humanitarian logistics with a framework of a generic metrics set. The validation result is also original to reveal the state of performance measurement on the ground.

Purpose: – Remanufacturing is a process whereby value from old products is recovered by replacing and recovering used components to bring such products to a new or like-new state. Today, both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and third parties are engaged in remanufacturing activities, investing in many locations throughout Asia. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons for initiating remanufacturing activities as well as the location determinants for the remanufacturing sector in Asia. Design/methodology/approach: – The authors conduct a multiple case study. Triangulation is applied to gain objective views from interviewing three OEMs, one logistics firm, and three local small enterprises. Real options theory is the theoretical lens used to examine the location choice of the OEMs. Findings: – Firms engaged in remanufacturing tend to co-locate facilities with existing manufacturing facilities, and those investing in new sites for remanufacturing view the regulatory environment as the most important factor. OEMs tend to leverage on existing manufacturing facilities or third-party remanufacturers to reduce their cost of commitment when starting remanufacturing at new locations. Research limitations/implications: – The sample size is still small for the generalization of the results. Further empirical study is needed to test the propositions from this paper. Practical implications: – This paper could assist managers and decision makers in the multinational corporations to design appropriate logistics-related solutions for remanufacturing in Asia. Originality/value: – The authors work contributes to the theory on remanufacturing location determinants. It shows that OEMs and third-party remanufacturers can have a collaborative relationship instead of the commonly assumed competitive one, which is currently not found in the literature.