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Theory of Constraints (TOC), though a well-established process improvement methodology in manufacturing, is still a novel philosophy for healthcare and an exhaustive review of literature is needed to summarize the key findings of various researchers. Such a review can provide a direction to the researchers and academicians interested in exploring the application of TOC in the healthcare sector. This paper aims to review the existing literature of TOC tools and techniques applied to the healthcare environment, and to investigate motivating factors, benefits and key gaps for identifying directions for future research in the domain of healthcare.

In this paper, different electronic repositories were searched using multiple keywords. The current study identified 36 articles published between January 1999 to mid-2021 to conceptualize and summarize the research questions used in the study. Descriptive analysis along with pictorial representations have been used for better visualization of work.

This paper presents a thorough literature review of TOC in healthcare and identifies the evolution, current trends, tools used, nature of services chosen for application and research gaps and recommends future direction for research. A variety of motivating factors and benefits of TOC in healthcare are identified. Another key finding of this study is that almost all implementations listed in literature reported positive outcomes and substantial improvements in the performance of the healthcare unit chosen for study.

This paper provides valuable insight to researchers, practitioners and policymakers on the potential of TOC to improve quality of services, flow of patients, revenues, process efficiency and cost reduction in different health care settings. A number of findings and suggestions compiled in the paper from literature study can be used for diagnosing, learning and making substantial changes in healthcare. The methodologies used by different researchers were analysed and combined to propose a generic step by step procedure to apply TOC. This methodology will guide the practising managers about the appropriate tools of TOC for their specific need.

Good health is always the first desire of all men and women around the globe. The global aim of healthcare is to quickly cure more patients and ensure healthier population both today and in future. This article will work as a foundation for future applications of TOC in healthcare and guide upcoming applications in the booming healthcare sector. The paper will help the healthcare managers in serving a greater number of patients with limited available resources.

This paper provides original collaborative work compiled by the authors. Since no comprehensive systematic review of TOC in healthcare has been reported earlier, this study would be a valuable asset for researchers in this field. A model has been presented that links various benefits with one another and clarifies the need to focus on process improvement which naturally results in these benefits. Similarly, a model has been presented to guide the users in implementation of TOC in healthcare.

Design Science (DS) is a relatively new paradigm for addressing complex real-world problems through the design and evaluation of artifacts. Its constituent methodologies are currently being discussed and established in numerous related research fields, such as information systems and management (Hevner et al., 2004). However, a DS methodology that describes the “how to” is largely lacking, not only in the field of OM but in general. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) and its underlying thinking processes (TP) have produced several novel artifacts for addressing ill-structured real-world operations problems (Dettmer, 1997; Goldratt, 1994), but they have not been analyzed from a DS research standpoint. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how TOC’s thinking process methodology can be used for conducting exploratory DS research in Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM).

A case study of spare parts replenishment illustrates the use of TOC’s thinking processes in DS to structure an initially unstructured problem context and to facilitate the design of a novel solution.

TOC’s thinking processes are an effective methodology for problem-solving DS research, enabling the development of novel solutions in initially unstructured and wicked problem situations. Combined with structured CIMO design logic TOC’s thinking process offers a systematic method for exploring wicked problems, designing novel solutions, and demonstrating theoretical contributions.

The implication for research is that TOC’s thinking process methodology can provide important elements of the lacking “how to” methodology for DS research, not only for the field of OM but in general for the field of management.

The practical outcome of the research is a novel design for dynamic buffer-based replenishment that extends beyond organizational boundaries.

This work shows how the thinking processes can be used in DS research to develop rigorous design propositions for ill-structured problems.

The scope of this study is to explore and summarize the pool of dimensions, models and measurement techniques of service quality used in healthcare services and to propose a comprehensive conceptual model for practitioners and researchers.

This research employs a comprehensive review of available literature by using multiple keywords on different electronic repositories using the recommendations of the PRISMA approach for the selection of articles. A critical analysis of available studies helped in compiling a list of core service quality dimensions in healthcare services.

This paper presents a comprehensive account of different dimensions and their measurement items used by various researchers to assess service quality in healthcare systems. Most of the researchers have used SERVQUAL model either in its original or modified form while the others have proposed and used totally different dimensions to assess the service quality in healthcare. Many dimensions are just an existing dimension of SERVQUAL that has undergone a name change while others are completely new. The dimensions used by many researchers have items drawn from more than one dimension of SERVQUAL model. The availability of so many dimensions and models adds to the confusion that researchers and practicing managers experience when determining the appropriate model to be used in their work. To mitigate this confusion, there is a need to develop a comprehensive model; the current work is an attempt to meet this need. Through our analysis, we identify four major service quality dimensions: clinical quality, infrastructural quality, relationship and managerial quality and propose a model named CIRMQUAL.

After exploring all available models in the domain of healthcare, this research presents the best possible areas to enhance the quality of healthcare services. It also enhances the research insights for academicians and working professionals by developing and proposing a comprehensive model for measuring healthcare service quality. The proposed model covers almost all of the service quality dimensions used by other researchers and will make the choice of dimensions/model easy for the future researchers/practitioners interested in measuring and improving the quality of services offered by their healthcare units. Such a comprehensive model has not been developed by any researcher thus far.

Premised on dynamic capability theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the link between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and operational responsiveness (OR). In addition, grounded in contingency theory, the authors examine the roles of competitive intensity and technological turbulence in affecting the entrepreneurial orientation and OR link.

This study proposes that firms’ entrepreneurial initiatives in terms of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking significantly affect their responsiveness. Competitive intensity and technological turbulence moderate the EO and OR relationship. Using hierarchical regression analysis, the authors analyze the data generated from a sample of 164 small-and-medium enterprises in the USA.

The findings show that entrepreneurial initiatives are instrumental in responding to market requirements, which in turn results in superior performance. The authors also find that the interactive effects of innovativeness/risk-taking and competitive intensity are significant and positive, while those of innovativeness/proactiveness and technological turbulence on responsiveness are significant but negative. These findings imply that OR is effective when the level of competitive intensity is high while technological turbulence is low.

The authors conclude the paper by suggesting that entrepreneurial actions are pre-requisites for OR, which becomes effective only when the market experiences a moderate level of competition and a low level of technological change. The study provides implications for cross-functional research in the areas of entrepreneurship and operations management (OM) and also suggests future directions in this research stream.

Although responsiveness has been recognized as a critical competitive capability in the OM literature, its relationship with EO is not fully understood and has not been empirically tested. Moreover, the interplay between EO and competitive intensity/technological turbulence and their effects on effective OR have not been gauged in the past.

The changes in tensile behavior of polycrystalline nanocopper lattice with changes in temperature, average grain size (AGS) and strain rate, have been explored. The existence of a critical AGS has also been observed which shows that the Hall–Petch relationship behaves inversely.

Nanoscale deformation of polycrystalline nanocopper has been done in this study with the help of an embedded atom method (EAM) potential. Voronoi construction method has been employed for creating four polycrystals of nanocopper with different sizes. Statistical analysis has been used to examine the observations with emphasis on the polycrystal size effect on melting point temperature.

The study has found that the key stress values (i.e. elastic modulus, yield stress and ultimate tensile stress) are significantly influenced by the considered parameters. The increase in strain rate is observed to have an increasing impact on mechanical properties, whereas the increase in temperature degrades the mechanical properties. In-depth analysis of the deformation mechanism has been studied to deliver real-time visualization of grain boundary motion.

This study provides the relationship between required grain size variations for consecutive possible variations in mechanical properties and may help to reduce the trial processes in the synthesis of polycrystalline copper based on different temperatures and strain rates.

The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze library marketing research output using select bibliometric indicators with the aim of identifying top-performing countries, subject subthemes, organizations, authors and journals in the area.

The present study has examined 520 publications in library marketing, as indexed in Scopus database during 2006–2017. The study has statistically assessed processed publications and citations data into tables in order to ascertain research growth rate trends, global publication output and share, citation impact and distribution of library marketing research by country of publication, international-level collaborating country share of publication, by broad subject areas and preferred media of research communication. The study also provides bibliometric profile of top research organizations and authors in terms of their publications and citation indicators.

The body of literature in library marketing research is still very small, highly scattered and has so far registered no growth during the last 12 years, i.e. 2006–2017. Library marketing research is yet to emerge as a popular research area in library and information science. The USA dominates The library marketing research in the world, whereas other top participating countries including India, China, Japan, Canada, etc., are distant cousins. Top research institutions in the area of library marketing across the world include City University of New York, Florida State University, University of Texas at Austin, USA, Loughborough University and University of Sheffield, UK. The major focus of library marketing research was on academic libraries, followed by public libraries and medical libraries. Of late, the use of social media has emerged as an alternative to traditional library marketing techniques.

The scope of study describing the status of library marketing research is limited to the period 2006–2017. The results of the study should interest researchers in finding solutions to formulating future library strategies and programs for achieving sustainable growth in this area of study.

The present study in library marketing research should be of interest to researchers in evolving, and formulating theories/best practices/and policies/programs for outreach to current and potential users for promoting library products and services.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the role of the theory of constraints (TOC) to complement, reinforce, and help integrate conventional operations management (OM) concepts by using an Excel‐based version of the dice game discussed in The Goal by Goldratt.

The paper discusses the motivation for and the development and evaluation of an Excel‐based dice game model of a production system for novice managers to experiment with. A set of experiments related to OM concepts (e.g. inventory, capacity, and variability) is designed and counterintuitive results are discussed. The paper concludes by demonstrating how TOC provides an integrative OM framework.

The novel The Goal by Goldratt serves as a comprehensive case study in OM. The computerized dice game provides a mechanism for understanding relationships among various OM concepts. The proposed set of experiments strengthens the linkages between OM and TOC concepts. Managers can conduct additional experiments and predict/interpret the results without spending time in the logistics of setting up the manual dice game repeatedly.

The proposed dice game simulates a fairly simple serial production system so the generalization of results obtained might not be intuitively convincing for more complex production systems. More advanced OM concepts such as push (MRP) and pull (JIT) systems can easily be investigated using the underling logic of the dice game proposed here.

The model provides an innovative way to integrate TOC concepts with mainstream OM concepts and thereby, renews interest in OM.

Several versions of dice games, both manual and spreadsheet based, have appeared in the literature, however, none attempt to address as wide a variety of operations issues as the game proposed here.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the theory of constraints (TOC) can serve as a general theory in operations management. The paper first investigate linkages between TOC and the core concepts/components of operations management (OM) and show how OM concepts can be integrated with TOC using examples from the published TOC literature. A second important purpose is to show that TOC, as a theory, has properties essential for a good theory.

Using a commonly accepted categorization of operations decisions (process, quality, inventory and capacity), traditional views, and approaches to operations decisions to those inherent in the TOC are compared.

The paper concludes that the TOC provides approaches to operations decisions that avoid pitfalls of local optimization by reaching across functional boundaries in organizations. In addition, while the TOC appears to meet the criteria of a good theory, it has not been empirically tested for the most part.

The TOC can serve as a unifying theory or theme for operations management, providing new insights for researchers and an organizing principle for teachers.

The study aims to identify and rank the critical success factors (CSFs) for BOT projects in India.

The study was conducted based on an extensive literature review and focus group discussions. Through structured questionnaire, a survey was conducted with executives from leading construction, consultancy and government organizations. A total of 150 questionnaires were sent out of which 60 responses were received. Analytical hierarchy process method was used to analyze the data.

Concession agreement, short-construction period, selection procedure of concessionaire, sufficient long-term demand and sufficient net cash inflow emerged as the top five factors critical for the success of the BOT projects in India.

The identified CSFs should influence the policy development towards BOT projects and are expected to enhance the success rate of these projects.

The study has made much-needed contribution to the extant literature on BOT projects. The findings would be valuable in assisting government (owner) and private participants to have a better understanding of the critical factors leading to success of these projects. The results from the current study are crucial as not many studies have been conducted in India as compared to China and West.

A number of attempts have been made to develop theories in operations management (OM) (e.g. trade‐off theory by Skinner, customer‐contact model by Chase and Tansik, product‐process matrix by Hayes and Wheelwright). Researchers in OM acknowledge that there is no widely‐accepted theory on which OM rests or which serves as a unified OM theory to integrate existing theory‐like principles or informal theories. Constraints management (CM) has been developed over the past 20 years by consultants and practitioners but has received little attention from OM researchers. The authors believe that constraints management may serve as a broad theory within operations that will allow integration of a great deal of existing OM research. The main objectives of this paper are to propose a construct, throughput orientation, discuss its core dimensions, and develop a theoretical model of CM. The paper also suggests several hypotheses that might be empirically tested to establish CM as a recognized theory in the field of operations management. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research.