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Working capital is designed to provide enterprises with financial security. Its level depends on the strategy of managing individual elements of working capital. An appropriate management strategy allows companies to obtain added working capital. Working capital management is a difficult process as it concerns both current assets and current liabilities. Therefore, company managers are constantly looking for solutions, methods and tools that will help them to manage their working capital. A quality management system is the one that facilitates control over the management of individual elements that create net working capital. The introduction of appropriate procedures derived from quality management systems in specific areas is a great support for creating a positive net working capital. The aim of this paper is to show how the introduction of quality management systems can positively affect the level of working capital. The article presents how quality management systems allow for optimizing the level of individual components, creating a positive net working capital. The research was carried out on a group of 102 Polish small trading companies operating in the same industry. The enterprises were divided into two groups of companies applying the quality management system and of those that did not use such systems. Based on the financial statements for the years 2017–2019 and by means of appropriately selected financial ratios, an analysis of the impact of quality management systems on net working capital was carried out. The results in some areas of management of individual components of net working capital in different groups of enterprises were compared. The research was carried out with the application of appropriate statistical methods. The analysis showed that enterprises using quality management systems managed working capital more efficiently. In the literature, the subject of the impact of quality management systems on working capital is not popular. This paper may be a source for further, extended research and considerations regarding the impact of quality management on the level of working capital in enterprises.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model that explains the impact of big data analytics capabilities (BDAC) on company's supply chain innovation capabilities and sustainable supply chain performance. BDAC is represented through two dimensions of big data technological capabilities (BDTC) and big data personal capabilities (BDPC). Moreover, the relationships between BDTC and BDPC with sustainable supply chain performance through the mediation effect of supply chain innovation capabilities are examined.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a quantitative research approach. A survey of 400 Jordanian manufacturing companies was carried out to conduct this research. However, the responses of 207 managers were valid to be used in the analysis. In this study, the SmartPLS software was used to perform structural equation modeling using a partial least squares approach (PLS-SEM) and to examine the measurement and structural model's validity and reliability.FindingsAccording to the results of this study, BDPC has a significant positive impact on supply chain innovation capabilities. Furthermore, the findings indicate that supply chain innovation capabilities are the most influential predictor of sustainable supply chain performance and act as a positive significant mediator in the relationship between BDPC and firm sustainable performance. Surprisingly, the study found that BDTC had no significant effect on supply chain innovation capabilities. Besides that, no significant relationship exists between BDTC and firm sustainable performance via the mediation effect of supply chain innovation capabilities.Originality/valueThis study provides an integrated research model that incorporates BDAC, supply chain innovation capabilities, and sustainable supply chain performance in order to analyze supply chain innovation and sustainable supply chain performance. This suggests that the scope of the study is broader in terms of predicting sustainable supply chain performance. As a result, the study intends to fill a gap in the literature by explaining how BDAC affects supply chain innovation capabilities and firms sustainable performance. In addition, the role of supply chain innovation capabilities as a mediator between BDAC and sustainable supply chain performance is investigated.

AbstractCompanies worldwide are moving towards sustainability by focusing on its three dimensions: environmental, economic, and social sustainability. This study explores how sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) takes the changing role to affect these three dimensions. Since organizations vary in size, we post and test relationships regarding how firm size can impact the implementation of SSCM practices as a moderator. We posit an empirical research model and test this using structural equation modeling with survey data from 392 managers across various Jordanian manufacturing firms. This study assessed the link between five categories of SSCM practices and TBL performance. We found that firm size is critical and moderates the positive SSCM relationship with economic and social performances. Results shed new light on SSCM and its impacts on environmental, economic, and social performance. According to the study findings, environmental management practices and supply chain integration influenced all sustainability dimensions, whereas socially inclusive community practices influenced none. Furthermore, operations had an impact on economic sustainability. Finally, socially inclusive employee practices had a significant impact on both environmental and economic sustainability. Findings show that when implementing SSCM, larger firms perform better on multiple sustainability measures compared to smaller firms. The model's integration of firm size as a moderator provides additional insights regarding the SSCM construct and its change agent role in stimulating sustainable development.

Destructive market forces are multiplying as the world faces the worst global energy crisis in history. The continuing economic downturn and fluctuating oil prices, triggered by OPEC+'s plan to reduce supply, are slowing down global oil demand. In this respect, the situation in the transport services market is changing. Changes in the price of oil are indirectly influencing the formation of wholesale diesel prices; consequently, road freight should also change. However, are these changes correlative and do oil price fluctuations directly affect freight rate changes? This article aims to investigate the correlation between fluctuations in oil prices on world markets and their impact on wholesale diesel prices and, thus, the development of net road freight in Poland. In the study, the authors developed a model called "fuel adjustment," containing the fluctuations in wholesale diesel prices, which were taken into account in determining the average deviation in the road freight level over the analyzed period. In this way, it became possible to determine the amount of road freight and its fluctuations depending on the development of oil prices on world markets. The results of the study confirm that there is a strong and positive relationship between the analyzed variables. When the prices of crude oil on world markets fall, this should be followed by reductions in diesel prices in individual countries, including Poland. Consequently, the amount of road freight should also have a downward trend. Will this happen?

Various pieces of information and knowledge turn into "know-how" simply by their application in the market. This applies to all spheres of activities. It is therefore important to know and understand the requirements of customers already in the stage of making a product, and to confront these with the possibilities of a producer. In this article we are exploring the possibilities of a better understanding of the requirements of customers and stakeholders in the process of the creation of products in educational services. In particular, we examined seven general requirements: practice orientation, ethical orientation, research orientation, quality resources, innovation orientation, skills orientation, and quality staff. We use the Kano model on a pilot sample of respondents at an institution of higher education. Our results showed that "practice orientation" and "quality resources" are the most stable requirements, while "quality staff" is the least stable. The most linear requirement (the same effect on satisfaction and dissatisfaction) is "innovation orientation". "Research orientation" belongs to attractive requirements and we also found that in the case of "ethical orientation" there are weak relations between positive and negative responses in our survey. The "skills orientation" proved to be too general, and our research shows that it could be indifferent. It is therefore advisable to specify the investigated skills when investigating requirements on educational services. The main contribution based on the proposed research procedures is an effective linking of customers and producers already from the beginning of constructing a value chain. Investing in sophisticated management approaches when modelling products and processes can thus become a significant source of the competitive advantage of an educational institution. At the same time, it is a contribution to better placing of its graduates in the labor market.