Grants & Projects

Grants

Benchmarking Southcoast and Pioneer Valley creative economies

UMASS Dartmouth - Dean Eileen Peacock, Dr. A. Gunasekaran, Dr. Evelyn Thrasher
UMASS Amherst - Dean Joel Martin and his team

The primary aims of this project are to expand on the work of Florida (2002) and others (Borrup, 2006; Landry, NEFA, Americans for the Arts) for the SouthCoast and Pioneer Valley regions by conducting primary research into the role of UMass in fostering the creative economy. This joint effort, led by UMass Dartmouth's Charlton College of Business and UMass Amherst's College of Humanities and Fine Arts, will be supported by the UMass Donahue Institute, UMass Arts Extension Service, UMass Dartmouth Business Innovation Research Center (BIRC), city and town leaders, business leaders, and university representatives. This project should provide CHFA and CCB with hard data that can then be used to help the colleges better tap into their regional alumni networks, enhance their contributions to the regions' cultural and innovative activities, and promote sustainable economic development.

Projects

Competitiveness of small and medium size enterprises in southcoast of Massachusetts

Small or medium sized enterprise (SME) is normally a small company which employs 50 to 500 people. Over the years the competition among the small or medium sized enterprises has radically increased and the survival of the SMEs is increasingly dependent on a number of factors including in embracing some of the characteristics of SMEs more strongly and applying some of the new technologies available. In this paper we have undertaken a review of the literature available on some of the characteristics of small or medium size enterprises and the new techniques and technologies they should adopt to be a competitive and successful enterprise. In addition, based on literature review we develop a framework to represent the factors that will determine the competitiveness of small or medium sized enterprises. This study uses a sample of 40 SMEs in south coast of Massachusetts to provide further insight into the key characteristics associated with competitiveness of SMEs influenced by advances in technology and globalization.

E-procurement adoption in the southcoast of Massachusets: A preliminary investigation

E-Commerce plays a major role in the 21st century global market. There are several e-commerce models (B2B, B2C and B2A) which have been in applications. Out of which B2B has been very successful considering the fact that automation will be successful where standardized processed are employed like exchanging parts and components between companies along the supply chain. One of the B2B e-commerce elements is e-procurement focusing on trading of resources including materials. Analysts believe that enormous cost savings and effectiveness can be achieved through the utilization of e-procurement. Modern procurement is now focused on electronic based purchase procedures that rely on internet communication and Web based enhanced buying tools. Several studies have been reported in the literature regarding the adoption of e-procurement in different countries and industries. This paper focuses on the current status of e-procurement with companies in the Southcoast of Massachusetts. The main objective of this empirical research is to identify the factors that influence the successful adoption of e-procurement and also determine the perceived benefits and risks involved in its application, perceived critical success factors and perceived barriers regarding the adoption and implementation of e- procurement. A questionnaire based survey has been conducted to collect the data on the adoption of e-procurement in the south coast of Massachusetts. A conceptual model has been developed for the adoption of e-procurement and then validated with the help of the empirical analysis. Finally, a framework has been proposed for the successful adoption of e-procurement in the south coast of Massachusetts.

Performance measures & metrics for supply chain management in fortune 500 companies

Performance measures and metrics are the basic managerial tools in any organization. According to Professor Robert Kaplan of Harvard Business School, "No measure, No improvement". Now the question is whether the performance measures and metrics that have been in use in traditional manufacturing/service environments can be used for supply chain environment. Understanding the importance of suitable performance measures and metrics in supply chain environments, a theoretical framework has been developed to highlight the key performance measures and metrics, and then data have been collected from Fortune 500 companies using the structured questionnaire. The results of the data analysis and final performance measures and metrics framework for supply chain management will be published soon.