Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and to what extent knowledge-oriented leadership (KOL) is associated with knowledge sharing (KS) in an organization as well as the dimensions of this leadership style. Design/methodology/approach Opinion-based questionnaires were applied in the study. A principal axis factor analysis was conducted to find the main factors in KOL (n=236). The relationship between KS and KOL was tested with Pearson’s correlation coefficient method. Findings The findings support the importance of high-quality leader–member exchange for KS because KOL had a strong significant positive association with the extent of KS in the organization (n=96, r=0.521). The principal axis factor suggested three factors, all of which were moderately significantly related to KS: the perceived support from the superior, enough time for KS and information flow from the superior. Research limitations/implications The research design in this study was cross-sectional. Thus, the interpretations of the cause–effect relationship among the variables could not be determined. Furthermore, the findings should be confirmed using a larger sample. Practical implications The study indicates that if innovativeness and the use of human capital are important for an organization’s competitive ability, it is vital to train managers to be able to apply KOL. Originality/value Few studies have addressed the relationship between leadership and KS. Hence, this study contributes to a better understanding of the relation between KS and KOL style. Additionally, KOL is probably a multidimensional construct, but little empirical work has been done to explore it.

Results are presented from quantitative research as part of a project on cost variability and cost management systems. The main objective was to analyze principal findings stemming from determining perception of cost behaviour in practice of industrial firms. Special attention was paid to selected cost groups, especially logistics costs. The main part presents results verified through statistical inspection of dependence relations. Key discoveries comprise significant drawbacks for manufacturing enterprises and reservations they hold about overhead cost management. Additionally, it was found that the share of overheads remained relatively high. Furthermore, confirmation was made on the close differences between company size and diligence paid to managing variable and fixed costs. It was also confirmed that senior executives were uninformed about asymmetric cost behaviours or the influence of factors beyond production capacity. Logistics costs were identified from the perspective of the cost behaviour problem. Crucial findings are discussed in the final part of the paper.

This research analyses logistics outsourcing services from the viewpoint of client companies (manufacturing companies). The main goal is to show how intensively various logistics outsourcing services are used by Czech manufacturing companies in comparison with other world regions, and which areas of logistics outsourcing should be considered more seriously in order to increase logistic efficiency. The study is based on a quantitative and qualitative investigation of Czech manufacturing companies. Firstly, the brief overview of the present situation in the Czech market is presented. It is based on survey data. The results of this quantitative study are compared with global research activities, especially with the 2013 Third-Party Logistics Study carried out by Capgemini Consulting Company. Next, results of the qualitative investigation are discussed. This part describes the experience of four selected Czech manufacturing companies with logistics outsourcing, the main problems they face in this area and their future plans and expectations. The present study is part of a more complex research currently being carried out by the authors.

The study investigates whether establishing of the shopfloor management in the company is beneficial for the company or not even in difficult conditions (food production with BRC standards of production, presence of foreigners, agency employees). A qualitative research based on detailed long-term observation the real process of planning and establishing the shopfloor management in the company was used, as well as interviews with industrial engineers, first line managers, blue-collar workers, and shopfloor management practitioners. The company was chosen for this case study on purpose. The findings say it was good to establish SFM in the company. In spite of obstacles, the utilization of machines increased by 20% and one machine (out of 12) could be sold due to redundancy. The need for human capital decreased, the number of scraps decreased, and the cooperation improved.

The surface created by machining significantly affects the service life and functional reliability of the component. As part of this study, four different chip machining technologies were evaluated on the surface texture of the polymer material Ertacetal C. The samples were processed by turning, milling, grinding and polishing technologies, 5 samples for each technology. Within the given technology, different cutting conditions were chosen to compare the effect of cutting conditions on the resulting surface roughness. The machined surfaces were comprehensively evaluated on the basis of 16 profile and surface roughness parameters due to the practical use of the tested material. Surface texture measurements were performed on a Talysurf CCI Lite device. A non-contact method using a coherence correlation interferometer was used for the measurement. The obtained data were evaluated using TalyMap Platinum software. Graphical documentation of the machined surfaces was made using an Olympus DSX500 opto-digital metallographic microscope. Machining