Rigidity in crisis: The impact of OHSAS 18001 certification on production repurposing during COVID-19

It is important for firms to repurpose production responsively during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, to seize the market opportunity and create social value. However, occupational health and safety (OHS) can also be a concern in a crisis, and adherence to OHS management systems can undermine a firm's responsiveness in repurposing decision making. We adopt the "capability-rigidity" lens to construct a connection between OHS management standards (i.e., OHSAS 18001) and firms' adaptation responsiveness. After sampling 734 listed Chinese manufacturing firms, our match-based analysis reveals that firms certified with OHSAS 18001 were less responsive during COVID-19 in terms of production repurposing than those without the certification. Yet, certain experience, namely, prepandemic manufacturing of related products, experience of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, and being geographically located close to firms that produced medical supplies, could attenuate this effect. We discuss the implications of our findings in the context of and adding to the literature on safety management, certified management standards, and organizational adaptation and learning.

Optimal low-carbon governance model of livestreaming supply chain based on multiple scenarios

Supply chain emissions reduction is an important way to promote the development of a low-carbon economy and address climate challenges. Although the scale of livestream shopping has demonstrated unprecedented growth globally, especially since the COVID-19 outbreak, livestreaming supply chains have also contributed significantly to carbon emissions. Currently, optimisation models for the low-carbon governance of livestreaming supply chains are relatively lacking. To address the issue of carbon emission reduction in livestreaming supply chains, this study paper proposes three low-carbon governance decision-making models based on environmental and operating costs to compare which governance model is optimal. The most suitable decision result for the policymaker and supply chain is both cost-effective and environmentally successful under the model considering carbon tax and carbon trade. The results show that 1) governance based only on carbon tax and collaborative operation will decrease the total cost of the livestreaming supply chain but increase the environmental cost. 2) Governance based only on carbon trading and collaborative operation will increase the total cost of the livestreaming supply chain, while the environmental cost will not change. 3) Under governance that combines carbon tax and carbon trading, collaborative operations can effectively reduce both the total cost and the environmental cost of livestreaming supply chains. Theoretically, our study enriches the research on the low-carbon governance of livestreaming supply chains. Moreover, the research results provide useful insights into the formulation of a low-carbon policy for livestreaming supply chains.