Impact of lean operations on the roles of finance functions and their application of lean

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 731-763
Author(s):  
Henrik Nielsen ◽  
Thomas Borup Kristensen

Purpose This paper aims to study the relations between lean operations, lean principles in finance functions and the roles of finance functions. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses structural equation modeling to analyze data from 408 different firms in the Danish production and services sectors. A dyadic approach is applied, as a sub-sample of 107 chief operating officers in the responding firms is used to investigate the construct validity, reliability and average deviation index of the instrument measuring the roles of finance functions. Findings The paper finds that lean-operation firms emphasize four different yet interdependent roles of finance functions. The paper also finds that lean operation leads to firms’ finance functions adopting lean principles. Research limitations/implications This paper characterizes lean-operation firms as contextually ambidextrous to predict relations between lean operation and roles of finance functions. The paper expands prior case study findings on the roles of finance functions in lean-operation firms, and the findings of the paper underline that finance functions continue to play an important role in these firms. Practical implications Decision-makers in lean-operation firms should not be hesitant with respect to integrating finance function workers into the lean operation. Furthermore, decision-makers should understand that a balanced emphasis of the roles of finance functions is necessary to avoid overemphasizing exploitation at the expense of exploration, or vice versa. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to provide large-scale evidence of the roles of finance functions in lean-operation firms and to show that lean principles diffuse to finance functions. Furthermore, the paper introduces a new instrument for measuring finance function roles, based on the competing values framework.

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Wallace ◽  
Isabel Buil ◽  
Leslie de Chernatony

Purpose Brand “Likes” on Facebook facilitate self-expression, forming part of consumers’ virtual selves. Yet, consumers’ brand “Likes” may bear little resemblance to their material realities. This paper aims to test similarities of brand image with self-image for Facebook “Likes” to determine whether self-congruence with a “Liked” brand leads to positive offline brand outcomes. It also investigates whether consumers’ perceptions about their Facebook social relations influence self-congruent brand “Likes”. Design/methodology/approach A large-scale survey was conducted of regular Facebook users who “Liked” brands. Data from 438 respondents was analysed and hypotheses tested using structural equation modeling. Findings Empirical results show that the perceived self-congruence with a “Liked” brand increases with social tie strength. Perceived social tie strength is informed by perceived attitude homophily. When the perceived self-congruence with a “Liked” brand is higher, brand love and word of mouth (WOM) are enhanced. Consumers also have greater brand loyalty and offer more WOM when brands are loved. Research limitations/implications Findings demonstrate the influence of consumers’ cognitive network on “Likes” and brand outcomes. Further replication would enhance generalisability. Future research should use a wider sample and investigate other variables. Practical implications Findings support managers seeking to grow and analyse Facebook “Likes” by providing insights into brand loyalty, brand love and WOM for “Liked” brands. Originality/value The paper addresses the dearth of research exploring how consumers’ perceptions of their Facebook network influence their online brand behaviour and how perceived self-congruence with a “Liked” brand relates to brand outcomes.


Kybernetes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Cinar ◽  
Serkan Altuntas ◽  
Mehmet Asif Alan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the relationships between technology transfer, innovation and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The relationship between technology transfer, innovation and firm performance is examined by using data obtained from 252 Turkish export firms, which are among the top 1,000 firms in terms of export volume in Turkey. To examine these relationships, a theoretical framework is empirically tested using structural equation modeling and tested via an empirical study of Turkish export companies. Findings The results of this study can benefit policymakers in government at the national level and company decision-makers at the firm level. Furthermore, an understanding of the relationship between technology transfer, innovation and firm performance may help firms to make correct technology transfer decisions and focus on the correct type of innovation to increase firm performance in practice. The findings indicate the positive effects of technology transfer on innovation and firm performance. In addition, innovation mediates the relationship between technology transfer and firm performance in Turkish export companies. This study suggests that decision-makers should transfer the right technology because well-realized technology transfers lead to the improvement of corporate innovation capacities and improvement of firm performances for export companies. Originality/value There is no study that fully examined the relationship between technology transfer, innovation and firm performance. The proposed literature-based theoretical framework in this study is novel for Turkish export companies.


Author(s):  
Doris Masal

Purpose – Although an increasingly complex work environment requires shared forms of leadership in the police, there is little empirical evidence on how to facilitate shared leadership in the police. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of transformational leaders in supporting shared leadership. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on an online survey in a German state police (3,000 invited participants, a 39 percent response rate). The empirical analysis relies on a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Findings – The study findings reveal that transformational leaders exert a direct, positive influence on shared leadership and have an indirect, positive influence through their capacity to clarify organizational goals and create job satisfaction for followers. Originality/value – This large-scale study is the first to examine antecedents of shared leadership in the police. The results expand on the literature on transformational leadership by highlighting transformational leaders’ role as “SuperLeaders” in supporting shared leadership.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 772-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sajan M.P. ◽  
Shalij P.R. ◽  
Ramesh A. ◽  
Biju Augustine P.

Purpose The relevance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in contributing to the economy and social development is increasingly felt in the current business environment. Focusing on sustainable development, SMEs have also implemented many acting strategies of large-scale enterprises such as lean and green practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the linkage between lean manufacturing practices (LMPs) in SMEs and their sustainability performances. Further, this study explores the relationship between the triple bottom line sustainability performances. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a survey conducted and data collected from 252 manufacturing SMEs in India. The hypothesized relationships are then analyzed with structural equation modeling. Findings The outcome of the analysis shows that LMPs are positively associated with various sustainability performances categorized as economic, environmental, and social performances. Further, this study shows that environmental sustainability is correlated with economic and social sustainability performances. Research limitations/implications The study conducted was limited to a particular state in India. Moreover, the study uses the data from a cross-sectional survey from single respondents. Practical implications The findings of the study become an added advantage for the managers to convince their various stakeholders for implementing LMPs in SMEs. Originality/value The research findings provide theoretical and practical insights to derive the importance of LMPs in maximizing sustainability performances. It gives an enhanced perspective of the importance of LMPs on the sustainability performance of SMEs.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sri Astuti ◽  
Diki Rukmana

Purpose The covid-19 pandemic that hit the world has caused several changes in the higher education service sector, including the implementation of the undergraduate thesis examination, where direct interaction between students and examiners is avoided and replacing it with an online bachelor thesis exam. This study aims to develop a conceptual model regarding the variables that can affect student satisfaction with the quality of the implementation of online undergraduate thesis examinations in higher education. Design/methodology/approach The research instrument consisted of 22 survey questions distributed to 583 students taking the thesis trial examination in the even semester of 2019/2020 who came from 12 different study programs. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted to analyze the validity of the instrument and test the hypothesis. The results of the analysis show that the 22 instrument items used have been determined by sufficient variables to check the structure of each. Findings SEM analysis results show that the three hypothesized variables (study program service, examiner performance and quality of video conference applications) positively and significantly affect the level of student satisfaction with the online undergraduate thesis examination 0.187, 0.177 and 0.177, respectively. The total effect of these three factors is 0.737. Research limitations/implications This finding is a reference for those who want to improve the quality of the online undergraduate thesis examination in higher education. Originality/value As the online thesis examination was implemented in higher education in Indonesia as a result of the implementation of the study and work at home policy by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, it is important to conduct research on the implementation of online thesis exams in Indonesia, especially to study the conceptual model of variables affect student satisfaction with the implementation of the online thesis exam. Because even though the implementation of online thesis exams on a large scale is new to some higher education in Indonesia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1034-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Ruefenacht

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the crucial antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty for the insurance industry and discuss how customer satisfaction and loyalty can be increased.Design/methodology/approachA large-scale global survey is conducted among 11,736 insurance customers. To analyze the data, structural equation modeling is used to estimate the influence of the identified antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty.FindingsThe results reveal a positive relationship between satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty for the insurance industry. In addition, the individual cognitive-based dimensions of anticipated regret and product category knowledge significantly affect satisfaction. Furthermore, co-production and trust both positively affect satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsThis study identifies relevant antecedents of satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty for the emerging literature of insurance marketing. Future studies in this domain should examine the influence of additional dimensions which were not part of the present work, such as perceived price fairness, service quality, and switching costs.Practical implicationsBy installing and maintaining efficient two-way communication channels, insurers can decrease customers’ anticipated regret and enhance product category knowledge, which, in turn, can increase customer satisfaction. In addition, frequent and honest communication should be used to build up trust and induce co-production, which positively affect satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty.Originality/valueThis paper identifies crucial antecedents of satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty for insurance companies. This research is timely, as previous works have largely neglected the idiosyncrasies of the insurance sector.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-385
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Tsigilis ◽  
Athanasios Koustelios

Purpose Much of prior research focused on the dimensionality of the part of Job Diagnostic Survey that measures the core job characteristics, with mixed findings. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate an instrument assessing core job characteristics. Design/methodology/approach Public school teachers (n=685) serving in elementary and secondary schools filled in the Core Job Characteristics Inventory (CJCI). CJCI comprises 29 items to assess job autonomy, task significance, task identification, skill variety and feedback from the job. The development of the CJCI undergone the following stages: development of an initial pool of items, examination of its content validity by ten experts and a pilot study. Findings Exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors with satisfactory internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis showed mixed results. Application of exploratory structural equation modeling procedures revealed that a correlated five-factor model yielded an adequate fit to the data. Associations among the five work features were significant, positive and yielding moderate values. Correlations among the five-core job characteristics and two affective job responses (job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion) provided evidence of CJCI concurrent validity. Practical implications Human resources managers can use CJCI to measure core job characteristics or to evaluate interventions in the work places. Originality/value A new instrument was developed to measure core job characteristics, and to address previous shortcomings reported in the literature. The rigorous methodological procedure, which followed for the development of the CJCI combined with a cross-validation approach best guarantees its applicability.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don Heath ◽  
Ali Ardestani ◽  
Hamid Nemati

Purpose Human genomic research (HGR) demands very large pools of data to generate meaningful inference. Yet, the sharing of one’s genetic data for research is a voluntary act. The collection of data sufficient to fuel rapid advancement is contingent on individuals’ willingness to share. Privacy risks associated with sharing this unique and intensely personal data are significant. Genetic data are an unambiguous identifier. Public linkage of donor to their genetic data could reveal predisposition to diseases, behaviors, paternity, heredity, intelligence, etc. The purpose of this paper is to understand individuals’ willingness to volunteer their private information in this high-risk/high-reward context. Design/methodology/approach The authors collect survey data from 273 respondents and use structural equation modeling techniques to analyze responses. Findings The authors find statistical support for our theorization. They find that while heightened awareness of the benefits and risks of sharing correlates with increased privacy concerns, the net impact is an increase in intention to share. Social implications The findings suggest that prescriptive awareness might be an effective tool with which policy-makers can gain the sufficient voluntary participation from individuals necessary to drive large-scale medical research. Originality/value This study contributes a theoretically and empirically informed model which demonstrates the impact of awareness and privacy concern on individuals’ willingness to share their genetic data for large-scale HGR. It helps inform a rising class of data sufficiency problems related to large-scale medical research.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abul Bashar ◽  
Ahsan Akhtar Hasin ◽  
Nadim Jahangir

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore an empirical investigation of the linkage between total productive maintenance (TPM), people management (PEM) and organizational performance in the apparel industry of Bangladesh. This study also explores the direct and mediating effect of TPM on organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data were collected using a close-ended structured questionnaire from 227 small, medium and large-scale garment manufacturing industries. The causal relationships between PEM, TPM and organizational performance were examined using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings of this study have provided significant evidence that the PEM has both direct and indirect impact (through TPM) on organizational performance. The results of the analysis also indicated that TPM has direct and mediating effects on operational performance.Research limitations/implicationsData for measuring PEM practices and organizational performance were collected from the same source, assuming that PEM practices are uniform across the organization. Therefore, response bias is not unexpected.Originality/valueThis study explores the interdimensional linkage between PEM, TPM and organizational performance and argues based on the empirical data in the context of the apparel industry in Bangladesh. The apparel industry is a complex manufacturing system synchronizing man, machine and material. The findings provide empirical evidence that employee engagement and practice of TPM will enhance the operational performance of the apparel industries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bardia Naghshineh ◽  
Maryam Lotfi

PurposeSupply chain resilience (SCR) has recently become an important issue for organizations all around the world. In order to decrease the risk of failures, managers and decision makers are constantly looking for practices to enhance SCR. The purpose of this paper is to propose a research model that mainly focuses on the effect of information sharing (IS) to enhance SCR.Design/methodology/approachSurvey method is used in this research. Data were collected from the supply chain, procurement, executive and IT managers of 82 of Tehran’s stock exchange production companies. Structural equation modeling with SmartPLS3 software is used to analyze the collected data.FindingsResearch results show that IS significantly enhances SCR.Research limitations/implicationsData were collected at one point in time, and therefore a longitudinal study can further investigate the results of this study. The research was carried out in production companies in Iran. Future research can examine the research model in other industry sectors, e.g. services, in other countries to validate the accuracy of the findings.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research should help managers, and decision makers create more resilient supply chains for their own and partners’ organizations.Originality/valueThe research model provides insightful results regarding the significance of IS in the SCR context.


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