Supply chain management is the basis for the execution of operations, being considered as the core of the business function in the 21st century. On the other hand, at present, factors such as the reduction of natural resources, the search for competitive advantages, government laws, and global agreements have generated a greater interest in the sustainable development, which, in order to achieve it, industries need to rethink and plan their supply chain considering a path of sustainability. So sustainable supply chain management emerges as a means to integrate stakeholders' concern for profit and cost reduction with environmental and social requirements, attracting significant interest among managers, researchers, and practitioners. The main objective of this study is to provide a synthesis of the key elements of the quantitative model offerings that use sustainability indicators in the design and management of forward supply chains. To achieve this objective, we developed a systematic literature review that includes 80 articles published during the last decade in peer-reviewed journals in English language. In addition, a 4W's analysis (when, who, what, and where) is applied and three structural dimensions are defined and grouped by categories: supply chain management, modeling, and sustainability. As part of the results, we evidenced a continuous growth in the scientific production of this type of articles, with a predominance of deterministic mathematical programming models with an environmental economic perspective. Finally, we identified research gaps, highlighting the lack of integral inclusion of a life cycle analysis in the design of supply chain networks. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This chapter takes a look at the gift, in which academic interest has recently grown, especially after the release of Benedict XVI’s social encyclical Caritas in Veritate. It outlines a genealogy of the gift, briefly presenting the three main stages of its evolution: (1) the ceremonial gift, typical of the ancient world and found in the cultural anthropological approach that the French tradition later adopted (Mauss, Caillé, Hénaff, etc.); (2) the moral gift, which Aristotle first outlined to explain the emergence of the city; and (3) the personal gift, developed in the Middle Ages thanks to Christian Revelation and its corresponding idea of the person. © Perspectives on Philosophy of Management and Business Ethics

An optimization model of the NBA team lineups is presented to improve the performance of the teams according to the selected lineup. A set of variables such as inputs and outcome variables are taken into account to optimize the results. Additionally, a technical efficiency analysis was performed on the performance of the lineups selected by the optimization model to validate the results. The results show that the lineups selected through the optimization model were those with greater technical efficiency for the equipment. The application of optimization methods and technical efficiency can be a robust tool for decision making in the sports field. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.

The development of solution algorithms for power system problems is based on hypothetical test systems and test cases. These systems are very scarce, and the degree of variability is relatively low. The constant development of the economic analysis in electrical power systems denotes the need to obtain standardized systems and cases. In this study, the creation of standardized test cases based on a hybrid model using Levy alpha stable distributions and generalized additive models is proposed. The objective of the work is to present a methodological proposal for the creation of test environments for optimization models based on general information about the operation of particular power systems. The simulation of random values based on Levy alpha stable distributions lets capturing the series impulsivity and demand peaks, and the use of generalized additive models permits capturing non-linearity in the behavior of the demand for electrical energy. The hybrid model will tolerate simulating as many instances as necessary, with a coherent behavior attached to the reality of the operation of the analyzed electrical systems. © 2020 by the authors. Applied Sciences,MDPI AG.

This manuscript addresses the problem of forecasting the demand for innovative products with limited and inhomogeneous sales data over time. The main objective of the study is to use the information available from a group of innovative chlorophyll-based food products to build a coherent demand forecasting system. From a transactional database, time series were constructed for each group of products, analyzing the stationarity and seasonality of the time series through the Dickey–Fuller and Canova–Hansen tests. Likewise, an ARIMA model, a long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent deep neural network, and a support vector machine (SVM) were trained to select the best model for each product based on a forecast performance metric. A comparison between classical forecasting techniques and machine learning models is shown. The LSTM neural network was the best model for most products because the internal architecture of the network allows not only to capture non-linear relationships between variables but is also capable of controlling the flow of information to preserve characteristics over time that are relevant for forecasts. The second-best model was the SVM, which allows capturing non-linear behaviors through kernel functions and uses a smaller amount of data for its estimation. Finally, the ARIMA model presented the lowest performance for all products. The objective of having various methodologies is that the system allows the best forecast to be selected according to the type of product, availability of information and methodology used, which will allow the company to integrate new products into the system over time. ©Springer

Learning outcomes: It is expected that students enhance their awareness of businesses’ role in human rights protection as a key factor in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement and core objective achievement, as well as understand the effects of gender-based violence on organizational performance and identify and develop policies for a socially responsible strategic plan for effective communication with current and potential stakeholders. Case overview/synopsis: The case of AFF Consulting Group in Mexico illustrates the challenges that firms face when doing business in an environment riddled with inequality and gender-based violence. The firm is challenged with developing a socially responsible strategic plan to ensure effective communication with stakeholders. The case has been developed as a narrative to demonstrate the intricacies of internal dynamics and discussions, which lead to strategic planning and decision-making. Complexity academic level: The case study illustrates the challenges of business dynamics in an emerging market. It is applicable, especially, for undergraduate and graduate students in management studies related to CSR, ethics, human resources, collaborator management and human rights. Supplementary materials: Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code: CSS 11: Strategy. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

This work seeks to develop a nested non-supervised model that allows a transnational soft drink company to improve its decision-making for the discontinuation of products from its portfolio with the use of unsupervised models from a database with commercial and financial information for all your product line in your most important operation. The integration of different cluster methodologies through a nested non-supervised model allowed to generate a correct identification of the products that should be refined from the catalog due to financial and operational factors. Given the magnitude of the information, a cluster was integrated into a platform for data processing as well as the generation of automatic reports that could be consulted automatically through the cloud. The products identified through the nested unsupervised model made it possible to identify products that had low demand and a low contribution to the utility of the company. Removing said products from the catalog will allow maximizing the profit of the business in addition to not incurring sunk costs related to the production and distribution of low-demand products. The platform developed will allow continuous monitoring of business performance in order to automatically identify the products likely to leave the catalog. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

This article has a twofold purpose: first, it explores how Leonardo Polo's personalist anthropology enriches and enhances neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics and second, it highlights how this specific personalist approach brings new perspectives to servant leadership. The recently revived neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics tradition finds that MacIntyre's scholarship significantly contributes to virtue ethics in business—particularly his conception of practices, institutions, and internal/external goods. However, we argue that some of his latest insights about the virtues of acknowledged dependence and human vulnerability remain underdeveloped because of the underlying anthropology that neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics relies on. To overcome this limitation, we introduce Polo's transcendental anthropology as a possible foundation of a personalist approach that enriches virtue ethics. To do so, we address how transcendental anthropology can enrich two central aspects of virtue ethics, namely (1) the understanding of human beings and their flourishing and (2) the relationship of virtue to praxis and human work. Finally, to address the practical implications for business leadership and work that can derive from assuming transcendental anthropology, we address how servant leadership acquires a new perspective in light of this personalism and its logic of gift, highlighting interpersonal self-giving as a way of service. © Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility

The logistics network of an automotive company in Mexico, was analyzed to propose a better logistics network in the country to improve delivery times to customers. The network design considers elements of digitization of Greenfield Analysis and Network Optimization processes. Taking into account the information given by the company, it was possible to obtain optimal scenarios for better operation, which involved the construction of distribution centers throughout Mexico. © 2020 Jose Antonio Marmolejo-Saucedo et al., licensed to EAI.

Nowadays, in power systems, we still lack the existence of standardized test systems that can be used to benchmark the performance and solution quality of proposed optimization techniques. Several authors report that the electric load pattern is very complex. It is therefore necessary to develop new methods for design of test cases for economic analysis in power systems. Therefore, we compared two methods to generate test systems: time series model and a method simulating stable random variables based on the use of Chambers-Mallows-Stuck. This paper describes a method for simulating stable random variables in the generation of test systems for economic analysis in power systems. A study focused on generating test electrical systems through stable distribution to model for unit commitment problem in electrical power systems. Usually, the instances of test systems in unit commitment are generated using normal distribution, but the behavior of electrical demand does not follow a normal distribution; in this work, simulation data are based on a new method. For empirical analysis, we used three original systems to obtain the demand behavior and thermal production costs. Numerical results illustrate the applicability of the proposed method by solving several unit commitment problems directly and through the Lagrangian relaxation of the original problem. All Rights Reserved © 2015 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico. This is an open access item distributed under the Creative Commons CC License BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Tracking the seismic shifts in consumerism over time, this cutting-edge Research Agenda provides a theoretical and methodological roadmap of brand management research in the third age of consumption. Leading experts and pioneers of key concepts in brand management give insights into the exponential growth of the field and identify promising directions for future investigation. ©The authors © Edward Elgar Publishing.

In this manuscript a group of students from an university of Mexico develop a user-friendly university timetabling tool based on a spreadsheet and using Open-Solve optimization software. The developed tool uses 0–1 integer programming to maximize the number of classes with their respective teacher allocated to a classroom in a certain time schedule. It does not solve only one specific case, the user can introduce each semester’s specific information to the spreadsheet and the tool will automatically generate a schedule that maximizes the number of classes assigned using the given time and classroom resources. Each semester the available times and the teacher can be changed for each class according to the needs for that specific semester. The user does not need to be someone who understands linear programming. The tool is developed on a user-friendly way so that the staff of the school can use it without help from the developers. In this paper we will show how this tool was developed for a smaller example and how it works with a real case. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

In the health sector, it is very important to have adequate control over the allocation of resources; this becomes much more relevant in the case of high-cost diseases, HIV is one example of this. The use of analytical intelligence allows the transformation of raw data into meaningful and useful information to make decisions. To support the management of resources in the health sector an analytical intelligence model based on survival analysis of patients under antiretroviral treatment in the Ministry of Health of Mexico is proposed. A survival model was carried out using a cohort of people with HIV under antiretroviral treatment attended by the Ministry of Health for the period 2007–2015. Sociodemographic variables, viral load, dates of treatment initiation and death were used. Kaplan–Meier method and the logarithmic rank test, as well as the Cox proportional-hazard model, were used. The proposed model can serve as a strategic information management tool for decision-making about the care and financing of high-cost diseases in the health sector. The results show that the probability of survival in people with HIV is higher for currently preferred treatments for treatment initiation and recently incorporated. Increasing the level of CD4 for the start of treatment generates greater probabilities of survival for patients. It is necessary to comprehensively evaluate the prescription and initiation of treatment policies according to CD4 levels to guarantee the financial sustainability of antiretroviral treatment in the Ministry of Health since these measures imply greater use of resources. It would be helpful to implement this type of analytical intelligence model for the monitoring and management of resources in the health sector. © Springer Nature

The development of assets indices has grown as an alternative to measure wealth from different generations in the evaluation of social mobility. A proposal of the development of an asset index is presented using the GSVD-based mixed principal components analysis (PCAMix package in R). The contribution rests in the combination of both numerical and categorical data and the integration of the simultaneous effect of these variables in the index. It was used in profiling the Mexican households according to the information from the 2018 National Household Income and Expenditure and the determination of the Gini coefficient to evaluate the inequality of distribution at the state level. Results show a high level of disparity in the distribution of assets with only 0.01% of the households possessing 40% or more of the assets included in the index, being the southern region where greatest challenges for ascending social mobility.© Springer Nature

The increase of internet services and the availability of new cutting-edge technology, as well as the use of mobile apps and devices, set a major challenge for medical tourism service providers. E-commerce sites and social networks are an important source for consumers’ awareness and knowledge regarding the medical tourism business model in México which has grown at accelerated rates in recent years; therefore their use should be enhanced by formalizing this activity, and creating integrated commercial strategies. Word‐of‐mouth and the Internet are consumers’ preferred sources of information for medical tourism, where trust is elemental for the perception of quality online information. The use of social networks as a means of reference and information based on other users’ experiences and recommendations, as well as the use of mobile applications, have contributed to making electronic commerce increasingly profitable for companies that incorporate them in their business model. This research analyzes the preferences of consumption of medical tourism services in Mexico to determine the effect of formalizing the offer of services with the help of a digital platform on the consumers’ experiences. The study seeks to determine, through the integration of different cluster methodologies, which are the profiles of medical tourism travelers to better predict their consumption habits and channel the various options available through the use of digital tools and social networks to promote the most attractive alternatives for consumers’ benefit, which translates into higher sales impacting the entire value chain of this sector. © 2021, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has represented a great challenge for health systems around the world. That is why it is necessary to propose strategies for prioritizing care and containing the pandemic. This work proposes the use of spectral clustering to characterize high-priority areas of care based on key information on the performance of the pandemic as well as health system variables. The result shows the generation of high priority areas not only due to the deaths observed but also due to the clinical, demographic and health system variables. © 2021, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.

Digital media and technology are nearly ubiquitious in contemporary higher education, As such, researchers and educators are keen to identify best practices and understand impacts. Digital media and technology present opportunities to cultivate interactive, creative teaching-learning communities. However, inclusion of digital media and technology in a course does not necessarily cultivate creative engagement or deep reflection among students. This manuscript studies how a contemplative approach to teaching with digital media, specifically TV series, can lead to more effective and engaging in the process of teaching professional ethics. This research explores how the Contemplative Technopedagogy Framework can enrich the use of TV series for teaching professional ethics and positively influence the effective integration of ethical behavior into university students’ future professional lives. © 2021, NeilsonJournals Publishing. All rights reserved.

The text is a raw material, researchers need to extract information and patterns of value. Through the use of AI tools in conjunction with the hard sciences, it is now possible to access significant sources of knowledge that previously remained hidden in the form of patterns of ideas and feelings stored in large volumes of text. The analysis of the raw text of the Law of Value-Added Tax (VAT) considered the three elements: structure, language, and interdependence. With these three elements, a legal complexity index was constructed, and the results of the model’s parameters show the following: the value for the legal complexity variable was negative (−1.39), which means that when the legal complexity index per unit increases, tax collection will decrease 1.39%. It is helpful to remember that interdependence is the component that outweighs the rest within the legal complexity index. The GDP estimator showed a positive sign, and its magnitude was 4.51; this means that when this estimator increases 1%, VAT collection could increase a 4.5%. © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

This closing chapter celebrates assertiveness as a catalyst for sustainable growth and global competitiveness, not just in theory but as a compelling call to action for future leaders and organisations. Assertiveness emerges as a core principle, enabling individuals and businesses to meet the demands of an interconnected, fast-paced world with confidence, resilience and ethical integrity. For leaders, assertiveness fuels sustainable strategies, cultivates ethical decision-making and fosters inclusive, transparent cultures that empower employees to innovate and excel. It is a powerful tool for individuals’ personal growth and career advancement, promoting clear communication, accountability and adaptability in complex professional landscapes. As technology reshapes global business, assertiveness ensures that human values guide innovation, bridging cultural divides and fostering collaboration across borders. Practical insights within this chapter provide tools for implementing assertive organisational strategies through leadership training, open dialogue and feedback. This chapter closes with an invitation to adopt assertiveness as an enduring foundation for building competitive, inclusive and responsible business environments – where sustainable success aligns seamlessly with ethical responsibility. ©The author ©Emerald Publishing.

This document is a chapter that discusses the negotiation problem in product commercialisation by small-scale producers in the Mexican agri-food sector, specifically in the coffee industry. The chapter emphasises the importance of developing soft skills, particularly assertiveness, in the different actors of the productive chain for price negotiation and product commercialisation. The article discusses the concepts of agroecology and assertiveness in agri-food value chains and the methodology used to measure the relationship between assertiveness and overpricing of agri-food goods using a logistic model. The study found that assertiveness in management and other skills and knowledge can lead to higher coffee prices and improve producers’ quality of life. The article also discusses the coffee industry’s evolution in terms of economic units, added value, governance, institutional framework and policy initiatives to support the sector. The study’s results could have implications for other agri-food products in Mexico, such as Creole corn, mezcal, tequila and cocoa.©The authors ©Emerald Publishing.