Andreas Hinz
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Hinz
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Andreas
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+41 71 224 7271
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Now showing 1 - 10 of 13
  • Publication
    Turning sustainability into action: Explaining firms' sustainability efforts and their impact on firm performance
    (Elsevier Science, 2013-02-27)
    Schrettle, Stefan
    ;
    Hinz, Andreas
    ;
    Scherrer-Rathje, Maike
    ;
    Friedli, Thomas
    This research seeks to shed more light on how manufacturing firms adjust their strategy according to the sustainability challenge. Strategic decisions are influenced by strategic long-term considerations, which take into account aspects that lie within firms' boundaries and beyond. Therefore, the first step of this paper is to operationalise the sustainability challenge by identifying relevant drivers for sustainability that firms are exposed to. Second, we develop a framework showing which dimensions affect decisions concerning a sustainability move and which dimensions are affected by these decisions. A sustainability move can contain initiatives emphasising the adoption of new manufacturing technologies, the development of new, sustainable products or the integration of green practices into the supply chain. Next to the influence of sustainability drivers, we explain firms' decisions concerning a sustainability move with past performance, firm size and current level of sustainability action. Depending on whether initiatives are led by strategic or ad-hoc decisions, firms have to explore new knowledge and/or exploit existing knowledge to realise competitive advantage. The goal of this research is to provide an explanation of how decisions of sustainability moves are motivated and which dimensions in the firm are affected by these moves.
    Type: journal article
    Journal: International Journal of Production Economics
    Volume: 147
    Issue: Part A
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2013.02.030
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/89597
    Scopus© Citations 280
  • Publication
    Making use of dynamic capabilities to address the sustainability challenge
    ( 2011-09-26)
    Hinz, Andreas
    ;
    Boks, Casper
    ;
    Scherrer-Rathje, Maike
    ;
    Skorna, Alexander C.H.
    ;
    Schneider, Anselm
    ;
    Frick, Jan
    ;
    Laugen, Bjørge Timenes
    Manufacturing firms are increasingly exposed to pressures coming from the sustainability challenge. A thorough understanding of these drivers is important in order for firms to be able to react to the sustainability challenge. Since the sustainability challenge creates dynamic market conditions, dynamic capabilities are believed to be a key for firms in dealing with that dynamism. Knowledge-related dynamic capabilities appear to be particularly important in supporting firms to find solutions to the challenge. However, to the best of our knowledge, empirical evidence is rather limited so far. Therefore, it is the goal of this paper to examine these drivers and assess dynamic capabilities in the light of the sustainability challenge. Four case studies with multinational manufacturing firms provide empirical findings.
    Type: conference paper
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/93502
  • Publication
    Using Causal Loop Diagrams (CLD) as an organisational learning tool to raise management awareness of the eco-sustainability challenge and to facilitate operational problem solving
    (European Operations Management Association, 2011-07-03)
    Hinz, Andreas
    ;
    Scherrer-Rathje, Maike
    ;
    Gütter, Saskia
    This paper introduces Causal Loop Diagrams (CLD) as an organisational learning tool which should help managers of manufacturing firms to build awareness and understanding of the eco-sustainability challenge. In order to achieve that, the literature and case studies are used to analyse the drivers of the eco-sustainability challenge as well as their impact on innovation in the form of eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness. Better understanding supports management to deal with this challenge and to sustain competitive advantage. CLD are a useful tool to structure and visualise components of the sustainability challenge and to highlight important cause-effect relations between components.
    Type: conference paper
    Volume: ENV115
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/93860
  • Publication
    Achieving competitive advantage by addressing the dimensions of eco-sustainability and innovation in manufacturing processes
    (European Operations Management Association, 2011-07-03)
    Hinz, Andreas
    ;
    Scherrer-Rathje, Maike
    ;
    Neumann, Michèle
    This paper explores how firms can generate competitive advantage by simultaneously addressing the dimensions of eco-sustainability and innovation in manufacturing processes. The eco-sustainability dimension is divided into eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness while the innovation dimension is divided into incremental and radical innovation. These two dimensions are combined in an eco-sustainability & innovation matrix which allows to build clusters of studied firms. In order to shed more light into the connectedness of these two dimensions and the impact on competitive advantage, case studies are conducted with firms that are actively engaged in eco-sustainability and innovation initiatives.
    Type: conference paper
    Volume: ENV32
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/93861
  • Publication
    The Impact Of Sustainability Drivers On A Firms' Strategic Decisions Regarding Manufacturing Technologies, New Product Development And Supplychain Initiatives
    (Fraunhofer Verlag, 2011-07-31)
    Schrettle, Stefan
    ;
    Hinz, Andreas
    ;
    Scherrer-Rathje, Maike
    ;
    Friedli, Thomas
    ;
    Spath, Dieter
    This research seeks to shed more light on the drivers of sustainability that firms are exposed to and their impact on management decisions. We have identified three essential paths of action how firms can react to the sustainability challenge. First, firms reassess their manufacturing technologies. Firms have to identify, evaluate and adopt greener technology options which focus on energy and material efficiency in manufacturing processes. Second, new, eco-friendly products are launched. Third, firms extend green practices from the plant out into the supply chain which is referred to as green supply chain practices (GSCP). In order to understand how manufacturing units are affected by the sustainability challenge, exogenous and endogenous factors are analyzed, which drive a firms' sustainability efforts. Exogenous factors include government regulation, norms and values in society as well as the market forces such as customers, competitors and suppliers. Endogenous factors include a firm's strategy, culture and resources at hand in order to deal with sustainability. Therefore, it is the goal of this work to guide firms' management decisions to address the sustainability challenge.
    Type: conference paper
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/93789
  • Publication
    Type: conference paper
    Journal: Schriftenreihe Logistik und Supply Chain Management
    Volume: Bd. 5
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/93495
  • Publication
    Loss Prevention in Transportation to Ensure Product Quality : Insights from the Cargo Insurance Sector
    (Springer, 2011-09-26)
    Skorna, Alexander C.H.
    ;
    Hinz, Andreas
    ;
    Frick, Jan
    ;
    Laugen, Bjørge Timenes
    Transport and logistics operations are vulnerable to many types of risks due to an increasing dynamic and structural complexity of today's supply chain networks. Globally distributed sourcing and production lead to more transported goods in general but also to more high-value cargoes being shipped around the world. However, detailed information about the transport condition and integrity are not available in the end-to-end chain as logistics operations lack full transparency. Therefore, this paper identifies causes and risks of cargo-related losses by an analysis of cargo insurance claims. Based on these results, appropriate preventive measures to monitor and improve the product quality during logistics operations are derived.
    Type: conference paper
    Volume: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology 384
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33980-6_18
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/93508
    Scopus© Citations 5
  • Publication
    Guiding firms towards the development of eco-effective products : A conceptual framework
    (European Academy of Management, 2010-05-19)
    Hinz, Andreas
    As a comprehensive literature review suggests, factors which impact on eco-efficiency, eco-effectiveness or both have been discussed extensively. Nevertheless, as to the best of our knowledge, a holistic framework to guide a firm's transformation process from eco-efficient towards eco-effective products has not been developed yet. More efficient products are based upon existing ones which are redesigned to become more efficient in terms of material and energy consumption as well as environmental impact added during its life-time. Effective products substitute existing ones by only consuming regenerative resources and generating reversible environmental impact. In researching the literature, we miss the link between strategic decisions and the transformation process from efficiency to effectiveness as well as the development of action plans for a firm to emphasize the creation of eco-effective products. To close this gap, we develop a conceptual model that enables us to derive propositions and leads us towards further research questions.
    Type: conference paper
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/96480
  • Publication
    Applying System Dynamics as an experimental interactive learning technique to
    (Poliprint, 2010-06-14)
    Hinz, Andreas
    ;
    Hügel, Kathrin
    ;
    Scherrer-Rathje, Maike
    ;
    Taish, Marco
    ;
    Cassina, Jacopo
    ;
    Smeds, Riitta
    The goal of this paper is to introduce an experimental learning technique aimed at raising management awareness of eco-sustainability drivers which should support management to deal with this challenge properly to sustain competitive advantage. Methodologically, we will use Causal Loop Diagrams (CLD) - an approach of System Dynamics (SD) - to structure and visualise these drivers. CLD are a suitable tool to highlight cause-effect relations on a qualitative level. CLD can demonstrate an overview of multiple interactions between different drivers. Moreover, they can identify positive and negative feedback loops and can indicate delays in cause-effect relations. Learning to understand these relations will likely support both, under-performing firms to gain awareness of eco-sustainability drivers and then to transform this new knowledge into real actions, as well as firms which are already performing well in terms of sustainability to improve further.
    Type: conference paper
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/96328
  • Publication
    The Link between Ecologically Sustainable Management and the Firm's Competitive Advantage : Differences in Performance through Incremental and Radical Innovation
    (PoliScript, 2010-10-11)
    Hinz, Andreas
    ;
    Scherrer-Rathje, Maike
    ;
    Tribelhorn, Andrea
    ;
    Skorna, Alexander C.H.
    Ecological innovations are assumed to generate business opportunities by reducing resource consumption while increasing quality of life at the same time. This research seeks to address how a firm's strategy influences the development of innovations with emphasis on sustainability and how incremental and radical innovations differ upon achieving competitive advantage. Based on a literature review, a conceptual model is developed and propositions are derived. With the help of a case study, the conceptual model and the propositions are validated
    Type: conference paper
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/95799