Although many researchers and practitioners have discussed different aspects of outsourcing in the past, there have been only a handful of papers that grapple these complex issues from a broad perspective. The main purpose of this study is to lay an integrative groundwork for the understanding of outsourcing, including its key research areas, its evolution, its theoretical models, and its futur...

Let G be a finite connected graph of order at least two. Two players (a cop and a robber) are allowed to play a game on G according to the following rule: The cop chooses a vertex to stay then the robber chooses a vertex afterwards. After that they move alternately along edges of G, where the robber may opt to stay put when his turn to move comes. The cop wins if he succeeds in putting himself ...

We consider a two echelon supply chain with a single retailer and a single manufacturer. Inventory replenishment policies at the retailer level transmit customer demand variability to the manufacturer, sometimes even in an amplified form (known as the bullwhip effect). When production is inflexible at the manufacturing level, significant costs may be incurred by ramping up and down production l...