International Journal of Business Process Integration and Management (26 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Simulation modelling and analysis of fresh agri-food supply chain configuration: the case of Arusha City in Tanzania  
  by Martin Dome, Sadananda Prusty 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study was to achieve threefold objectives viz. analyse the existing supply chain configuration of fresh agri-food supply chain (AFSC) in Tanzania, apply the simulation technique to the supply chain configuration and evaluate it using a specialised software. The method adopted in this study involved collection of primary data on arrival of consignment from farmers, brokers, wholesalers and retailers seeking to be served timely and accurately from the Kilombero Central Market (KCM) in Arusha City of Northern Tanzania. For the departure to other designated distribution points, the data were collected concurrently and both were triangulated with secondary data held by the Market Master. The part of the methodology involved building a simulation model based on SIMUL8 Professional and the input data were run as part of studying the largest central market for fresh produce in the northern zone of Tanzania. The findings indicate that, the supply chain configuration of fresh agri-food sub-sector under the case has a defined configuration resulted from doing the business as usual and in an informal arrangement. However, the configuration is marked by inefficiencies of the key facility (KCM) such as time wastage and under-utilisation of personnel and tools/workstations posing a bottleneck in the whole supply chain of the fresh produce in meeting the time-sensitive performance criterion. The managerial implication on the findings suggests for dedicated interventions in restructuring the AFSC and formalising operations and business practices accordingly. Moreover, large-scale simulation studies in AFSC are suggested as part of strategies to improve performance of the sub-sector in Tanzania.
  Keywords: simulation modelling; agri-food supply chains; SIMUL8 Professional; supply chain configuration.
  
  
• Effectiveness of enterprise resource planning systems: case study of Shirin Asal Company  
  by Nader Rezaei, Alireza Mirzaeinezhad 
  Abstract: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software systems consist of a broad variety of software modules which support the business operations of organisation and decision making process. This research is aimed at investigating the implementation of ERP systems and its effectiveness in Shirin Asal Company of Tabriz. The considered effectiveness criteria in this study are some system features comprise customer-orientation, sharing information, notification way and cooperation of unities. The research population consists of the employees of Shirin Asal Co. including 134 people. The present research is an applied one of field descriptive-survey studies type. The method of testing the hypothesis is correlation and regression test. The results of analyzing the research data suggest that employing enterprise resource planning systems in Shirin Asal power information sharing. Also, using ERP systems will influence the cooperation between the units, enhance customer-orientation, and develop the way of notification.
  Keywords: enterprise resource planning; customer-orientation; sharing information; notification way; cooperation of units.
  
  
• Configurable artifact-centric business process modelling with proclets  
  by Guosheng Kang 
  Abstract: To promote reuse and rapid modelling of business process models, configurable business process modelling is proposed for traditional activity-centric business process models. However, to the best of our knowledge, few approaches on configurable process modelling have been developed for artifact-centric business process models which have emerged in recent years. This paper fills the gap by proposing a configurable process modelling approach for artifact-centric business process models. In our approach, proclets are used to describe the internal lifecycles of artifacts, and the proclet system describes the artifact-centric process model: artifact lifecycles and their interaction. To derive the integrated representation of artifact-centric process model variants, we propose merger operation for two artifact-centric process model variants. We obtain a configurable proclet system by setting configurable points in the integrated proclet system. In a proclet system, transitions and ports can be defined to be configurable elements, and the associated configuration alternatives are proposed correspondingly. Therefore, new proclet systems can be derived by configuration based on the behaviour of the configurable proclet system. The data model can be also derived correspondingly based on the configured proclet system. A running example is presented throughout the paper to illustrate the specification of configurable proclet system modelling and the derivation of new proclet systems.
  Keywords: configurable model; artifact-centric; business process modelling; proclet system.
  
  
• A semantic abstraction criterion to reduce complexity on automatically discovered declarative maps  
  by Pedro Richetti, Fernanda Baião, Flávia Santoro 
  Abstract: A declarative approach can be employed on the definition of constraints that limits process execution possibilities. This perspective is appropriate when dealing with unstructured or flexible processes, a.k.a. knowledge-intensive processes. Declarative process mining may result in complex models owing to the discovery of a high quantity of constraints, producing models with excessive complexity. As abstractions are seen as an effective approach to represent readable models, this work proposes to create language-independent hierarchical declarative maps using a linguistic hierarchy of activities. The proposed approach applies natural language processing to build more abstract declarative models produced by process mining. The presented method was evaluated in a case study with real-life data and support from domain experts. The findings showed that it is possible to generate meaningful groups by looking for the semantics of activity labels in order to create abstract process views with reduced complexity, starting from a low-level declarative map.
  Keywords: process mining; declarative modelling; semantic abstraction; business processes; natural language processing.
  
  
• People management: modelling the work of an ICT team in a coordination and governance organisation of state-owned enterprises  
  by Edna Dias Canedo 
  Abstract: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and people management are crucial to achieve the organisational strategic objectives. In the Secretariat of Coordination and Governance of State-owned Enterprises (SEST), established in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Management, Brazil, there is an ICT governance team allocated to the General Coordination of State Information Management (CGINF), which is responsible for the support and maintenance of structuring ICT services. This team has been working since its creation in August 2016, without detailing the work processes and structuring its positions. Therefore, this study aimed to map the work processes and job structure of the CGINF team, in order to provide a healthy work environment, in which the organisational culture contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the work performed. Several processes and sub-processes of work have been mapped that will support the people management from this work environment. The processes were modelled and validated with the responsible teams. This paper will present the main identified processes, which will facilitate team management and achieve greater clarity in the implementation of the activities carried out by them, Although the processes have been validated in a specific context, they may be applied in any state-owned enterprise or organisation, since the best practices of people management are adherent for both private or public companies.
  Keywords: people management; process mapping; organisational productivity; people management policy; skills.
  
  
• Investigating the impact of external environment on strategic market planning: a case study for NetSol Technologies Inc.  
  by Shahzeb Zulfiqar, Fayaz Ahmed 
  Abstract: The objective of this paper is to propose a model for effective strategic marketing planning process by investigating the impact of external environmental factors on the international strategic marketing planning of NetSol Technologies, Inc. For an effective marketing strategy to be designed, the analysis of internal and external environment holds crucial importance. Following multiple theoretical approaches, the paper investigates and analyses international strategic marketing planning for NetSol Technologies, Inc. This paper also investigates if this analysis supports these theoretical models. Finally, the paper proposes a strategic marketing planning model that is proposed based on the strategic marketing planning applied by NetSol Technologies during its successful expansion throughout 30 countries. This model is proposed for all industries, primarily the tech industry.
  Keywords: adaptation; standardisation; NetSol; application software; financing and leasing industry; niche market; strategic marketing planning; software industry; model development.
  
  
• Towards a reusable business process modelling approach  
  by Denis Silveira, Eliane Loiola, João Araújo, Ana Moreira, Pedro Fernandes 
  Abstract: In general, model reuse requires specific techniques that provide facilities for model configurations, such as variability modelling. Reuse of business processes is key to have a more efficient way to produce business process models, which are used during requirements elicitation to provide information when developing software to automatise an organisations procedures. A configurable process model represents multiple alternatives of a business process model, identifying its variabilities and commonalities in a business domain. Thus, reuse of business processes models requires techniques to discover benefits from process patterns that preserve semantics after model composition. Current approaches lack systematic and pattern-based mechanisms for the construction of a configurable process model that uses the facilities of feature modelling. This paper defines an approach to build and configure a process-oriented feature model aiming at representing a family of business process models by means of its reusable process modules. Modules may be concrete or abstract, and composed via mandatory, optional, alternative or multiple relationships. The process-oriented feature model captures a business process family, and the configuration process maintains the semantic properties of business process models.
  Keywords: configurable process model; process-oriented feature model; business process family; business process management notation.
  
  
• Business process management: from a critical review to a contemporary ontological entity  
  by George Tsakalidis, Kostas Vergidis 
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical foundations of the business process domain and to propose a conceptually unified and agile approach. The authors undertake a systematic examination of literature from a critical perspective on key business process aspects, introduced by the most influential approaches based on their citation impact. The review and interpretation of established business process definitions and the association of structural elements, lead to a conceptual business process structure with clear boundaries and interrelated components that considers business process as an ontological entity. The proposed structure encompasses continuous modification of its design, by acknowledging the particular context and the feedback it generates. Following, a similar analysis of BPM definitions and life-cycles results in matching the most frequently occurring cycle steps on specific components of the proposed structure, thus bridging the gap between business process and BPM life-cycle models. Overall, the review process aims to clarify and connect core business process aspects and the proposed structure and life-cycle to assist organisations in apprehending the various set of stages towards using appropriate and adaptive tools and phases.
  Keywords: business process specification; business process management; BPM life-cycle; critical review.
  
  
• Improving software development process using simulation: case study in ICT services sector  
  by Sarandis Mitropoulos, Maria Xroni, Christos Douligeris 
  Abstract: This paper presents a business process that unfolds in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) department of a large-scale company and proposes an optimised model for launching a software service, derived using business process simulation. The paper first provides a literature review and related work around the importance of waterfall and agile methods in software development processes. Then, the problem space and its reasons are explained. Next, our methodology and the respective technical approach are presented, as well as a comparison between six business process simulation tools. Afterwards, the examined business process is introduced. Based on the well-known theory in software development projects, we enforce two sets of improvements in the examined business process. The implications are presented and discussed, with a special focus on the benefits provided to enterprises.
  Keywords: software development project management; business process; service launching; simulation; KPI-based evaluation.
  
  
• Application of a knowledge management system as the supporting factor of success in a rural innovation program  
  by Wilopo Wilopo 
  Abstract: This study aims to test the application of a knowledge management system as the supporting factor of success in a rural innovation program. The study used the Soft System Methodology (SSM) (Checkland and Scholes, 1990). It is a methodology based on systems thinking and system concept dealing only with human activity system (Hardjosoekarto, 2012) which consists of seven stages. Data was collected using literature studies concerning the law, presidential decrees, government regulations, Ministry of Social Affairs Regulation, Regulation of the Ministry of Rural Development and Transmigration (KDPDTT) associated with the Social Space of Knowledge (RSP). An in-depth interview technique was used through Focus Group Discussions (FGD). The Knowledge Management for Rural Innovation program already existed but it is not successful to support good governance. Knowledge management will effectively benefit the learning organisation through knowledge that allows for developing a community group memory to prevent a 'brain drain' as a result of a shift or change in leader/community leaders at the expiration of a program (legacy capture). The originality of this research can be seen from the documentation of practices in community development and empowerment, such as sharing forums regularly, replication innovation of quantity and quality in infrastructure development, local economy, and human resources, and establishment of knowledge management system.
  Keywords: knowledge management; supporting factor; rural innovation program.
  
  
• A framework for evaluating migration strategies of evolving business processes  
  by Khebizi Ali, Seridi-Bouchellaghem Hassina 
  Abstract: To adapt their information systems to the new and ever-present changes that occur in the environment at an increasing rate, organisations must continuously update and improve their business processes. However, managing dynamic business process evolution is a complex task for which a large spectrum of approaches and techniques has recently emerged to cope with the related challenges. In particular, the problem of active instances migration has been addressed from different perspectives, and the research literature exhibits a panoply of instances migration strategies. But, it's observed that there does not exist a widely-accepted benchmark to evaluate and to compare the proposed strategies. As a result, it can be difficult for a protocol manager to select the suitable migration strategy for a given evolution scenario. To address this challenge, we propose a comprehensive framework and we provide computational models for evaluating and comparing migration strategies intended to handle the impact of business process changes. In our approach, selecting the best migration strategy is perceived as an optimisation problem for which a migration cost model is suggested and an associated objective function is formalised. The proposed framework can be used by business process managers to efficiently choose the most adequate migration strategy for a given evolution context.
  Keywords: business processes; dynamic evolution; change impact; migration strategy; migration cost; objective function.
  
  
• Comparative analysis of clustering-based remaining-time predictive process monitoring approaches  
  by Niyi Ogunbiyi, Artie Basukoski, Thierry Chaussalet 
  Abstract: Predictive process monitoring aims to accurately predict a variable of interest (e.g. remaining time) or the future state of the process instance (e.g. outcome or next step). Various studies have been explored to develop models with greater predictive power. However, comparing the various studies is difficult as different datasets, parameters and evaluation measures have been used. This paper seeks to address this problem with a focus on studies that adopt a clustering-based approach to predict the remaining time to the end of the process instance. A systematic literature review is undertaken to identify existing studies that adopt a clustering-based remaining-time predictive process monitoring approach and performs a comparative analysis to compare and benchmark the output of the identified studies using five real-life event logs.
  Keywords: operational business process management; process monitoring; remaining-time predictive modelling.
  
  
• Factors causing employees to resign from a foreign oil company in China National Oil Offshore Corporation in South-East Sumatra  
  by Mochammad Al Musadieq 
  Abstract: This study was conducted to determine and analyse the influence of organisational culture, work-life balance and work pressure on employee engagement and employee turnover intention. This research used a quantitative approach using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and surveys. The population used is employees of China National Oil Offshore Corporation in South-East Sumatra (CNOOC SES Ltd), which amounted to 574 people. This research was performed in January to August 2018, at the CNOOC SES Ltd office, which is located in Jakarta, Indonesia. The findings show that there is a significant and positive influence between company culture, work-life balance and employee engagement, and that there is a significant and negative influence between work pressure and employee engagement.
  Keywords: organisational culture; work-life balance; employee involvement; work pressure; intention to move.
  
  
• Direct and mediating effects of social media on e-commerce purchase intention: a comparative approach  
  by Shahzeb Zulfiqar, Sayed Fayaz Ahmad 
  Abstract: E-commerce companies are unable to effectively allocate their social media marketing budget. This paper will help e-commerce companies to design marketing campaigns that are more profitable. In the recent years, the impact of social media sites (SNS) has been significant on the e-commerce purchase intention of customers. Specifically talking about e-commerce, there are multiple social media based independent factors that may impact the online buying behaviour. For this paper we are specifically focusing on trust and perceived usefulness as mediating variables. The direct impact of social media is compared with the mediating impact of social media through these mediating variables. Data is collected through questionnaires that were distributed online. The sample size is 267. Purposive sampling technique is applied based on the participants exposure and use towards social networking sites and e-commerce platforms. This comparative analysis is applied through the use of SEM-PLS analysis implemented by SmartPLS v.3. PLS algorithm is applied to confirm the validity and reliability of the model and data collected, and bootstrapping is applied to investigate the significance of relationships between variables. In the results, it is observed that the direct impact of perceived usefulness, trust and purchase intention is significant. The mediating impact of trust is significant and perceived usefulness is not significant. In comparison, trust as a mediating variable has more impact than direct impact of SNS. This analysis suggests the importance of a customers trust towards e-commerce platforms for better purchase intention. Organisations may use this research to understand a customers behaviour in terms of social media and its impact on e-commerce purchase intention. Analysis suggests the importance of SNS in building trust towards e-commerce buying behavior. This research contributes towards the technology acceptance model theories on customer trust. This research uses multiple mediating relations between SNS and purchase intention in order to examine the combination for a better outcome.
  Keywords: social commerce; social media; e-commerce; technology acceptance model; SEM-PLS; trust; perceived usefulness; social networking sites; SNS; purchase intention.
  
  
• The effect of corporate governance and risk acceptance criteria on non-performing loans with technology monitoring moderation  
  by Maswar Purnama, Sri Mangesti Rahayu, Muhammad Saifi, Cacik Rut Damayanti 
  Abstract: This study aims to test and analyse corporate governance and risk acceptance criteria as drivers of non-performing loans (NPLs) and test whether there is a moderation effect of technology monitoring in the relationship between these variables. This research is a quantitative research. The data in this study are a combination of primary data obtained through questionnaires and also secondary data obtained from bank credit portfolios. The research took place at the Micro Branch Office of Bank Mandiri in Central Java Region, Indonesia, with the head of the branch office as a sample in this study. The sampling technique used is judgement sampling and data analysis using SEM. The results showed that corporate governance had a positive and significant effect on risk acceptance criteria, corporate governance had a negative and significant effect on NPL, risk acceptance criteria had a negative and not significant effect on NPL, and technology monitoring had a positive and not significant effect in moderating the relationship between corporate governance and risk acceptance criteria for NPLs. The originality of this research lies in testing the effect of corporate governance and risk acceptance criteria on NPLs with the updated technology monitoring as a moderating variable.
  Keywords: non-performing loan; corporate governance; technology monitoring.
  
  
• Extent of artificial intelligence into accounting and auditing work - an analytical attempt of job and duties  
  by Sajed M. Abukhader 
  Abstract: Whereas information technology and systems (IT/IS) are anticipated to render many rewards for the accounting and auditing profession, there are increasing fears from both the accounting/auditing community and academia that IT/IS may be able to automate most or even all of the duties. Little has been discussed in literature in this regard, although overwhelming questions are continually being raised in various forums without enough answers and clarifications: which of the duties/tasks can be automated, and accordingly whether it is a majority as this may lead the discipline to reshape itself. An open-ended questionnaire to members of the Association of Accountants in Jordan was administered. The study arrives at a number of observations and concluding remarks: the chance of intrusion of IT/IS into accounting practice is nearly two-thirds of the set of various tasks and duties that can be assigned to accountants/auditors (considering their various ranks and ranges of experiences). This result is reached through the breakdown of tasks and duties of accounting/auditing (for different ranks and different ranges of experiences); breakdown of tasks can be beneficial, if developed further in future, not only for the analysis about automation but also for other developmental purposes. Future research issues are also discussed and suggested.
  Keywords: accounting information systems; automation; information technology; artificial intelligence; enterprise systems; accounting; auditing; job structure.
  
  
• Preparing and compiling a model to identify the outsourcing activities of Khorasan Regional Electricity Company  
  by Saeid Nosrati, Hossein Raeefard, Fatemeh Naderizadeh 
  Abstract: Privatisation of government from the outsourcing perspective, which constitutes transferring the activities of some specialised and non-specialised jobs that are non-governmental, is an important issue that should be considered by government companies. For this reason, in form of scientific research, Khorasan Regional Electricity Company (KREC) developed a model for selecting and determining these types of activity. The aim of this study is to extract outsourcing indicators by focusing on the activities of specialised and non-specialised occupations that have a non-governmental process. For this purpose, after reviewing articles related to outsourcing, 494 indicators were identified and categorised into six axes. In the first stage, the indicators that have overlapping or repetitive concepts were removed and 44 indicators were selected in accordance with the strategy and vision of KREC. Therefore, the first questionnaire was distributed among the expert team in order to localise the indicators. After interviews with the experts of KREC, 10 indicators were selected. In the next step, the second questionnaire was set to determine the importance of each indicators in the five-dimensional Likert scale. The 10 selected indicators were prioritised by Weighted Average and Friedman test. Finally, a model was developed to measure each activity, which slightly quantifies the feasibility of outsourcing activities.
  Keywords: Khorasan Regional Electricity Company; outsourcing; non-governmental business activities; Freidman test.
  
  
• The effect of transglobal leadership on bank sustainability mediated by militancy, innovation culture and bank performance  
  by Kadarisman Hidayat, Sis Apik 
  Abstract: This research examines the effect of transglobal leadership on militancy, innovation culture, bank performance and bank sustainability. A quantitative approach and data collection using survey methods are used. The population in this study were all regional offices and branch offices of PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. The sampling technique uses Stratified Proportional Area Random Sampling (SPARS). The analytical method uses Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results show that there was a significant influence between transglobal leadership and militancy, innovation culture, and bank performance. There was a positive and significant relationship of militancy towards innovation culture and bank sustainability. The novelty in this study is to use the militancy and innovation culture variables as a mediating effect of transglobal leadership on bank sustainability.
  Keywords: bank performance; bank sustainability; innovation culture; militancy; transglobal leadership; SEM; BRI; Asia; Indonesia; signalling theory.
  
  
• Empowerment of small businesses based on agribusiness, micro, and cooperatives in Malang, Indonesia, to face the ASEAN market  
  by Benny Hutahayan 
  Abstract: This study breaks down the strengthening procedure of small, micro, and cooperative enterprises (SMCEs) in view of agribusiness in facing the Asean Economic Community. The population in this study were all SMCEs mentors in the Department of Cooperatives, Industry, and Trade of Malang, Indonesia (Northeast, Central, and Southwest) that depend on agribusiness. The sample size was 80 SMCEs, data was collected by direct observation in the field in a participatory manner and investigation was performed by relapse. The results demonstrated that the factors recognized in the SMCEs business progress model were 66.2%. In the meantime, whenever seen from the degree of impact, it is generally negligible, which is just 43.9%. In any case, the after-effects of this examination are a decent initial phase in understanding the genuine state of SMEs in Malang. SMCEs everywhere, including in Malang, require more serious attention to further organise their performance in dealing with global issues so as not to lose in global competition.
  Keywords: agribusiness; Malang; small; micro; and cooperative enterprises.
  
  
• Flexibility-based selection of paradigms and tools for BP modelling and execution  
  by Asma Mejri, Sonia Ayachi Ghannouchi, Ricardo Martinho 
  Abstract: The last decades have witnessed several changes at the level of the development and the adoption of several business process management approaches, methodologies, tools and paradigms. These latter support all stages of the business process management life-cycle. Owing to the continuous, increasing and rapid changes in the context or environment in which organisations operate, the flexibility of business processes ranks high on the list of priorities of organisations. Hence, organisations must be able to respond promptly and effectively to these changes and unexpected turbulence. This research presents a generic approach for guiding business process engineers to choose paradigms and tools, for modelling and executing their business process, in the sense of taking into account their flexibility requirements. A case study is conducted considering the well-known Scrum framework as a business process for which the approach is applied. Business processes are analysed in terms of flexibility needs, and then our approach guides process engineers on the modelling paradigm and tools they can use accordingly.
  Keywords: flexibility; business process management; paradigms; BPMS; guidance; Scrum framework.
  
  
• New developments in the Round Robin algorithm and their applications: a systematic mapping study  
  by Daniela L. Freire, Rafael Z. Frantz, Fabricia Roos-Frantz, Vitor Basto-Fernandes 
  Abstract: Enterprises have a set of applications support that need to work synchronously and efficiently to respond quickly to business processes. To achieve high performance in the execution of the applications, software engineers suitably must task scheduling on the computational resources. The Round Robin algorithm is an efficient and effective scheduling technique for task scheduling in computing. This article provides a systematic mapping study that identifies the state-of-the-art in the research of the Round Robin algorithm to guide researchers and practitioners in the field of software engineering. The research regarding the improvement in the Round Robin algorithm continues active, indicating that it remains one of the more efficient scheduling techniques in the fields of packets, CPU and virtual machine scheduling.
  Keywords: Round Robin algorithm; scheduling; systematic mapping study; performance evaluation metric; simulation tool.
  
  
• Determinants associated with the application of strategic project management: empirical evidence on research and development projects  
  by Charity Udodirim Ugonna, Edward G. Ochieng, Hellen Nyolo Otieno 
  Abstract: The application of project management tools and techniques in the management of research and development projects has increased in recent years so as to achieve its strategic objective and manage the organisations operations. This paper aims to present an overview of strategic project management (SPM) application in research and development (R and D) projects and identify success factors when dealing with R and D projects. A quantitative research method was adopted and the data collected were analysed using SPSS. The study identified that the appointment of the project team, experiences and competencies of the project team, and their ability to work as a team; management support in project funding; project planning; project management methodology and understanding of the principles of project management were found to be determinants that were associated with SPM and could affect the execution of R and D projects in public research organisations.
  Keywords: strategic project management; project management; public research organisations; project management practitioners; research and development projects.
  
  
• The influences of product quality and brand expansion toward consumers purchase decision of Liquid Tolak Angin products: a study of customers behaviors in K-24 pharmacies in East Surabaya  
  by Anik Lestari 
  Abstract: This paper analyses and discusses the influence of product quality towards customers purchase decision upon Liquid Tolak Angin products in K-24 pharmacies in East Surabaya, Indonesia. It also analyses and discusses the influence of line extension towards customers purchase decision upon Liquid Tolak Angin. This research is a conclusive research that attempted to test some specific hypotheses using quantitative approach. The results showed that product quality and line extension both have a positive influence on customers purchase decision upon Tolak Angin products. The originality of this research lies in the depth of review on empirical research literature about customer satisfaction analysis in the field of the traditional pharmaceutical industry, particularly in Indonesia.
  Keywords: purchase decision; product quality; line extension.
  
  
• Influence of factors on the rules of sustainable mining governance with the help of decentralised performance as a mediation objective and the transformation of U-based mining management as a moderation goal  
  by Sujono Sujono 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study is to analyse how the quality of environmental, governance, community, and economic influences sustainable mining governance with performance of decentralisation as mediation and transformation of U-based mining management as a moderation with SEM approach based on WarpPLS. The study uses a quantitative approach, in which a total of 200 respondents participated. The unit of analysis and sample units in this study are individuals. The analytical method uses the WarpPLS Structural Equation Model (SEM) approach. First order confirmatory factor analysis shows the relationship between observational variables as indicators of related latent variables. Results show that quality of environmental (X1) and quality of governance (X2) significantly influence the performance of decentralisation (Y1) and sustainable mining governance (Y2), while quality of community (X3), and quality of economic (X4) only significantly influence performance of decentralisation (Y1) and have a significant effect on sustainable mining governance (Y2) but through the mediation of performance of decentralisation (Y1). Sustainable mining governance (Y2) was also significantly influenced by performance of decentralisation (Y1). Transformation of U-based mining management (M1) is a moderating variable between the influence of the relationship of quality of environmental (X1), quality of governance (X2), quality of community (X3), and quality of economic (X4) to sustainable mining governance (Y2). The originality of the study reveals performance of decentralisation (Y1) as a mediating variable and U-based mining management (M1) as a moderating variable.
  Keywords: sustainable mining governance; SEM-WarpPLS; performance of decentralisation.
  
  
• The mediating effect of dividend policy on the effect of asset structure on firm value  
  by Sri Mangesti 
  Abstract: This study examines the mediating effect of dividend policy on the effect of asset structure on firm value. The locations of this study were manufacturing companies located or operated in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia and on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in the period 2011-2015. The results show that (1) the asset structure has no significant effect on the dividend policy: this finding indicates that empirically the asset structure is not always or not a determinant of dividend policy in manufacturing companies in Indonesia; (2) dividend policy has a significant effect on firm value: this result supports bird-in-the-hand theory which states that investors feel more secure to earn income as dividend payments rather than waiting for capital gains (Lintner, 1962); (3) the asset structure directly and significantly influences the firm value; however, dividend policy does not mediate the effect of asset structure on firm value. The originality of the research is that there has been no testing about the mediating effect of dividend policy on the effect of asset structure on firm value, and that previous research that examined the effect of asset structure on dividend policy as done by Olakunle and Emmanuel (2014), Harc (2015) and Cekresi (2015) used only one indicator, i.e. fixed asset to total asset (FATA) asset variable, while this research uses two indicators at once for asset structure variable, i.e. current asset to total asset (CATA) and fixed asset to total asset (FATA).
  Keywords: dividend policy; asset structure; firm value.
  
  
• The manufacturing excellence model research proposal to solve the operational risks due to product demand variations  
  by Rohit Kenge, Zafar Khan 
  Abstract: Dynamic product demand impacts the manufacturing supply cycle by creating some operational risks, such as high inventories, excess manpower, and underuse of machines, etc. Business firms or companies get impacted financially by the dynamic product demand with issues such as rising finish goods, raw material, and in-process stocks or inventories, inefficient usage of resources like machines, water, and people, and excess or less manpower or job cuts. We studied the lean manufacturing principle in a literature survey to understand the concept of manufacturing excellence at the product manufacturing and its deployment to solve the above-listed issues due to product demand variations. Further, in our research methodology, we considered the independent variable as dynamic product demand and the dependent variable as operational risks, such as high inventories, excess manpower, and underuse of machines. We plotted the value stream map for the selected product manufacturing with daily demand of 25 and 40 to understand the operation risks that occur after changing the demands. We proposed consolidated manufacturing excellence models for solving the operational risks and, after their deployment of them, we again plotted the value stream map for the selected product manufacturing with daily demand of 25 and 40. We found a gain in the case of the daily 25 demand, total lead time reduced from 14.6 to 7.82 days, that is 46.44% for in-house product manufacturing and, in the case of the daily 40 demand, total lead time reduced from 26.18 to 15.18 days, that is 42.01%. Total lead time in both cases is reduced by >40%, which helped product manufacturing. We conclude from this research study that our manufacturing excellence models are successful in delivering the expected results at our selected product manufacturing.
  Keywords: VSM; lean manufacturing; manufacturing excellence model; inventory; operational risks.