Trends in Modern Operations Management

This double special issue of the International Journal of Operations and Production Management contains ten papers which have been developed from a series of research seminars funded by the UK's Economic and social Research Council (ESRC) (Reference RES-451-26-0547). These seminars have subsequently catalysed research into the following emerging trends in operations management: The servitization of manufacturing - investigating how adding services in manufacturing organisations can add to their competitiveness E-operations - investigating the use of new developments in enterprise resource planning systems Outsourcing - looking at the bases for outsourcing and or insourcing of resources and capabilities Leanness and agility - looking at ways of reducing waste and increasing value created by operations Performance measurement and quality control - investigating how measuring operations can change operations behaviour.This seminar series was established to debate issues concerning the above trends, their impact upon operations management, especially in the UK, and share knowledge about these emerging beneficial practises. The seminars involved a mixture of approximately 250 academics, consultants, managers, politicians and research students. Further details about these seminars and subsequent research can be found here www.aston.ac.uk.This special issue includes theoretical and empirical insights to bridge the gap between academic and practical perspectives. The authors hope that this research will act as a key point of reference for those wishing to conduct follow-on research into these operations management trends. Hence, in turn, this should enable operations management practises based in higher cost economies to compete more sustainably, on a long-term basis, with those located in lower cost economies.