A Knowledge Network and Mobilisation Framework for Lean Supply Chain Decisions in Agri-Food Industry

Copyright ©2017 IGI Global. Reproduced with permission from IGI Global. All rights, including translation into other languages reserved by the publisher. No part of this article may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher, except for noncommercial, educational use including classroom teaching purposes.Making the right decisions for food supply chain is extremely important towards achieving sustainability in agricultural businesses. This paper explores that knowledge sharing to support food supply chain decisions to achieve lean performance (i.e. to reduce/eliminate non-value-adding activities, or “waste” in lean term). The focus of the paper is on defining new knowledge networks and mobilisation approaches to address the network and community nature of current supply chains. Based on critical analysis of the state-of-the-art in the topic area, a knowledge network and mobilisation framework for lean supply chain management has been developed. The framework has then been evaluated using a case study from the food supply chain. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used to incorporate expert's view on the defined knowledge networks and mobilisation approaches with respect to their contribution to achieving various lean performance objectives. The results from the work have a number of implications for current knowledge management and supply chain management in theory and in practice.Peer reviewe

Integrated Approach to Entrepreneurship – Knowledge based Economy: A Conceptual Model

AbstractToday entrepreneurship as one of the basic resources to produce wealth and as a kind of stimulus for development in the world, has led to productivity and economic growth. On the other hand, Knowledge-Based Economy(KBE) relied on manufacturing, distribution and application of knowledge and information and try to exploit the knowledge for economic development, organization policies and international agencies. So the necessity of combining these two concepts to increase the efficiency and utilization of human resources and extensive knowledge simultaneously, in order to advance the major organizations goals will be felt more than ever. In this paper while addressing the topics of entrepreneurship, knowledge-based economy is defined and its prerequisites and consequences have been enumerated. The success criteria and the key role of knowledge in this new economy have been gathered from various sources. Then a conceptual-compiling model, derived from various aspects in development and growth of knowledge-based economy and entrepreneurship has been presented. This new model is called the knowledge-based entrepreneurship emphasizing on the synergy of these two concepts in order to achieve competitive advantages such as high efficiency, optimal use of knowledge and human capital, and making fundamental changes in the entrepreneurial organization