Impact of improvement tools on standardization and stability goal practices

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 705-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raed EL-Khalil ◽  
Zachary Moran Leffakis ◽  
Paul C. Hong
Keyword(s):  
Shop Floor ◽  
Technical Process ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Process Standardization ◽  
Test Technique ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Complex Production System ◽  
Systems Framework

PurposeThis paper empirically examines the implementation pattern of different types of lean management (LM) techniques on the shop-floor. Based on the socio-technical systems framework, LM techniques are classified as social improvement tools and technical process standardization and stability practices. This categorization facilitates investigating their implementation relationship in a complex production system.Design/methodology/approachBased on the survey data from managers of the three major US auto-manufacturers and their suppliers (n = 137), measurement scales are developed using confirmatory factor analysis for the LM process improvement, stability, and standardization constructs. Hypotheses are tested by applying the Sobel test technique for mediating regression.FindingsStatistical results confirm the mediation role of LM improvement tools between standardization and stability goal practices, indicating that technical process-oriented practices are not directly related and that their association is impacted by the corresponding implementation of social tools on the shop-floor.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that LM practices should not be randomly implemented on the shop-floor but rather adopted and executed based on a systematic pattern. In LM systems, the implementation of process stability, standardization, and improvement practices on the shop-floor are more tightly integrated than traditionally assumed.Originality/valueThis study establishes a new categorization of specific LM tools based on social and technical characteristics. The conclusions highlight the importance of adopting a social emphasize of continuous improvement to establish a technical focus of process standardization and stability for LM implementation success.

Young consumers' innovativeness and hedonic/utilitarian cool attitudes

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mijeong Noh ◽  
Rodney Runyan ◽  
Jon Mosier
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Multiple Group ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Young Consumers ◽  
Hedonic Utilitarian

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the relationship between young consumers' innovativeness and their hedonic/utilitarian attitudes toward cool clothing and to examine the moderating role of income on this relationship. This study uses five cool factors (singular cool, personal cool, aesthetic cool, functional cool and quality cool) under the hedonic and utilitarian cool dimensions to test the hypotheses. Design/methodology/approach – Using a web-based survey, 265 responses were used for analysis. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the measurement scales. Single-group SEM and multiple-group SEM were performed to examine the hypothesized relationships. Findings – Innovative young consumers tend to have stronger hedonic cool attitude toward clothing than non-innovative young consumers. In contrast, innovativeness and utilitarian values of cool products are not interrelated for young consumers. Innovative, high-income young consumes have a tendency to purchase cool products to reflect their personality, individuality, and self-identity. Research limitations/implications – This study has limitations for future research with regard to the generalization of the findings because this study focused on a sample of college students. Practical implications – This study will provide some valuable information about young consumers' purchasing behaviours toward cool products for commercial marketers. Originality/value – This study provides an initial contribution to the literature on the relationships between young consumers' hedonic/utilitarian attitudes and their innovativeness and income levels.

Volition to transfer: mastering obstacles in training transfer

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 809-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Seiberling ◽  
Simone Kauffeld
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Transfer Of Training ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Training Transfer ◽  
Bootstrap Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Motivation To Transfer ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to seek a better understanding of the role of volition in the learning transfer system beyond the well-established concept of motivation to transfer. Design/methodology/approach Participants of a two-day leadership training were asked to complete two online questionnaires (t1 directly after training, t2 eight weeks after training). In total, 891 managers answered the first questionnaire, 465 the second. Findings Confirmatory factor analysis suggests that motivation and volition to transfer are perceived as two different constructs. Hierarchical linear regression shows that additional variance in training transfer can be explained when volition to transfer is taken into account. Structural equation models and bootstrap analysis suggest that both motivation and volition to transfer mediate effects of supervisor support and trainer performance on training transfer. Research limitations/implications The results imply that besides motivation to transfer, volition to transfer may be a relevant construct in the transfer of training. It remains to be tested how far these findings can be generalized to other training settings beside leadership trainings. Practical implications Organizations aiming at improving training transfer should focus on enhancing the participants’ motivation and volition to transfer. Both trainers and supervisors seem to promote transfer of training by influencing a trainee’s motivation to transfer and volition to transfer. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to systematically examine the role of volition in training transfer.

Impact of marketing effectiveness and capabilities, and export market orientation on export performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 532-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aydin Kayabasi ◽  
Thandiwe Mtetwa
Keyword(s):  
Market Orientation ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Export Performance ◽  
Export Market ◽  
Marketing Capabilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marketing Effectiveness ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between marketing effectiveness, marketing capabilities, export market orientation and export performance. Design/methodology/approach The research analyses whether export market orientation, marketing effectiveness and marketing capabilities are antecedents of export performance with structural equation modelling. Data to test the model were obtained through a structured survey of 443 export companies operating in the Aegean region of Turkey. After explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis, the structural model was tested. Findings The findings suggest that export market orientation has a significant impact on marketing capabilities and marketing effectiveness, and that marketing effectiveness has a significant impact on export performance. This indicates that export market orientation is central to the development of marketing capabilities, while marketing effectiveness contributes to explaining export performance. Research limitations/implications There are several limitations of the research. The first significant limitation is that the variables had various sub-dimensions. The second limitation is about sampling of the research that it is not specific to a particular sector. Practical implications This paper provides useful insights to exporters on market orientation, focal dimensions of marketing effectiveness and marketing capabilities that would help them enhance their export performance. Originality/value Using the resource-based view, this paper contributes to the explanation for export performance by assessing the role of export market orientation behaviour on marketing capabilities and marketing effectiveness.

Embracing supply base complexity: the contingency role of strategic purchasing

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melek Akın Ateş ◽  
Huriye Memiş
Keyword(s):  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Measurement Properties ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Purchasing ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

PurposeThis paper aims to empirically examine the moderating role of strategic purchasing on the relationship between supply base complexity (SBC) and purchasing performance.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 209 firms listed in the Capital Top 500 Firms of Turkey. Measurement properties were assessed via confirmatory factor analysis, and the conceptual model was tested via hierarchical regression analysis. A supplementary analysis based on 14 semi-structured interviews was conducted to provide further insights on the survey findings.FindingsRegarding structural SBC, the results suggest that horizontal complexity and supplier interaction improve purchasing performance, but only in firms with high strategic purchasing. By contrast, spatial complexity reduces purchasing performance in firms with high strategic purchasing, while supplier differentiation does not have any effect. Regarding dynamic SBC, the results show that both delivery complexity and supplier instability reduce purchasing performance when firms have low strategic purchasing. Interviews further suggest that firms with high strategic purchasing leverage the positive effects and mitigate the negative effects of SBC by having a long-term focus, considering multiple performance criteria and adopting advanced purchasing practices.Practical implicationsIn contrast to what is widely posited in the existing literature, the nuanced findings of this study reveal that complexity is not always detrimental. The results suggest that practitioners should aim for high levels of strategic purchasing to suppress the negative effects of SBC while leveraging its benefits.Originality/valueBy investigating the contingency role of strategic purchasing, this study provides novel insights into the under-investigated issue of how to best “manage” SBC.

AI feel you: customer experience assessment via chatbot interviews

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-766
Author(s):  
Karim Sidaoui ◽  
Matti Jaakkola ◽  
Jamie Burton
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Critical Determinant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
Novel Approach

PurposeWhile customer experience (CE) is recognized as a critical determinant of business success, both academics and managers are yet to find a means to gain a comprehensive understanding of CE cost-effectively. The authors argue that the application of relevant AI technology could help address this challenge. Employing interactively prompted narrative storytelling, and the authors investigate the effectiveness of sentiment analysis (SA) on extracting valuable CE insights from primary qualitative data generated via chatbot interviews.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on a granular and semantically clear framework for studying CE feelings, an artificial intelligence (AI) augmented chatbot was designed. The chatbot interviewed a crowdsourced sample of consumers about their recalled service experience feelings. By combining free-text and closed-ended questions, the authors were able to compare extracted sentiment polarities against established measurement scales and empirically validate our novel approach.FindingsThe authors demonstrate that SA can effectively extract CE feelings from primary chatbot data. This findings also suggest that further enhancement in accuracy can be achieved via improvements in the interplay between the chatbot interviewer and SA extraction algorithms.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed customer-centric approach can help service companies to study and better understand CE feelings in a cost-effective and scalable manner. The AI-augmented chatbots can also help companies to foster immersive and engaging relationships with customers. This study focuses on feelings, warranting further research on AI's value in studying other CE elements.Originality/valueThe unique inquisitive role of AI-infused chatbots in conducting interviews and analyzing data in realtime, offers considerable potential for studying CE and other subjective constructs.

Classification and relationships between risks that affect lean production implementation

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliano Almeida Marodin ◽  
Tarcísio Abreu Saurin
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Lean Production ◽  
Shop Floor ◽  
Management Support ◽  
The South ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
South Of Brazil

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: to classify the risks that affect the lean production implementation (LPI) process, and to demonstrate how that classification can help to identify the relationships between the risks. Design/methodology/approach – Initially, a survey was conducted to identify the probability and impact of 14 risks in LPI, which had been identified based on a literature review. The sample comprised 57 respondents, from companies in the south of Brazil. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out to analyze the results of the survey, allowing the identification of three groups of risks in LPI. Then, a case study was conducted in one of the companies represented in the survey, in order to identify examples of relationships between the risks. Multiple sources of evidence were used in the case study, such as interviews, observations and documents analysis. Findings – The risks that affect LPI were grouped into three categories: management of the process of LPI, top and middle management support and shop floor involvement. A number of examples of relationships between the risks were identified. Research limitations/implications – The survey was limited to companies from the south of Brazil and therefore its results cannot be completelly generalized to other companies. Moreover, the results of the survey were not subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis. Originality/value – This study helps to improve the understanding of LPI, as: it re-interprets the factors, barriers and difficulties for LPI from the perspective of risk management, which had not been used for that purpose so far; it presents a classification of the risks that affect LPI, which can support the understanding of the relationships between the risks and, as a result, it can support the development of more effective methods for LPI.

On the road to happiness at work (HAW)

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Salas-Vallina ◽  
Álvaro López-Cabrales ◽  
Joaquin Alegre ◽  
Rafael Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Learning Capability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Road ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Learning Conditions ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Order Construct ◽  
On The Road

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership (TFL), organizational learning capability (OLC) and happiness at work (HAW), and offers a new measure for HAW. Design/methodology/approach The authors used confirmatory factor analysis to test the theoretical model in order to check the psychometric properties of HAW. They examined a sample of 167 medical staff working in allergy units, which represents a response rate of 25 per cent. Findings The research showed that HAW can be measured using the proposed new measurement scale, and that TFL predicts HAW through the mediating role of OLC. Practical implications The results suggest that hospital managers and heads of allergy services should consider the effects of TFL, under certain learning conditions, to enhance HAW. Originality/value This research is the first that examines the effects of TFL and OLC on HAW, a higher order construct that has been implemented closely following previous research.

scholarly journals Talent management and organizational commitment: the partial mediating role of pay satisfaction

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 863-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Luna-Arocas ◽  
Ignacio Danvila-Del Valle ◽  
Francisco J. Lara
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Talent Management ◽  
Pay Satisfaction ◽  
Employee Perception ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Compensation Systems ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to better understand the role of pay satisfaction and employee perception of talent management in business loyalty strategies, which implies considering both economic and non-economic variables in order to achieve organizational success.Design/methodology/approachResults from a survey of 198 workers were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) based on three constructs (confirmatory factor analysis, CFA). The scales used were: employee perception of talent management, pay satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Pay satisfaction acts as a mediating variable in the significant relationship between the perception of talent management and organizational commitment.FindingsThe partial mediating model hypothesised was supported by the SEM model, indicating that loyalty strategies require both good talent management and a good compensation system.Research limitations/implicationsThe article promotes the use of mediating variables as an explanation to better understand the strategies of loyalty in the management of talent, framed within the model of the resource-based view (RBV) theory.Practical implicationsThe implications are important for practitioners, who normally put every effort into strategies related to economic reinforcement, since the model suggests that they should also strive to correctly apply talent management.Social implicationsThe study suggests the need to understand better retributive systems with an application of talent management based on improvement and professional development.Originality/valueThe originality lies in the article stating that the application of good talent management must be complemented with adequate compensation systems in order to achieve efficient retention strategies for talented employees.

Role of HR interventions in enhancing employee creativity and organizational innovation: an empirical study

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-206
Author(s):  
Akriti Chaubey ◽  
Chandan Kumar Sahoo
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
Employee Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Automobile Manufacturing ◽  
Organisational Innovation ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of HR interventions (rewards and incentives, training, organisational learning) on employee creativity to enhance organisational innovation in connection to the Indian automobile industries. Design/methodology/approach The study examined 258 valid responses of middle-level and top-level executives working in four wheeler automobile manufacturing units, and research and development units constituted in Southern India. The hypothesised model’s validity was tested through structural equation modelling (SEM). The confirmatory factor analysis established the reliability and validity of the dimensions and the related hypotheses were tested by using SEM. Findings The findings illustrate that HR interventions have an impact on employee creativity which helps in enhancing organisational innovation. Originality/value The research is unique in its attempt to measure the creativity of an individual for organisational innovation by combining the existing scales of employee creativity. The paper contributes to the HR literature by incorporating HR interventions and employee creativity into a research model that enhances organisational innovation.

The mediating role of work atmosphere in the relationship between supervisor cooperation, career growth and job satisfaction

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Ashraf
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Career Growth ◽  
Work Atmosphere

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of work atmosphere which have a positive influence on job satisfaction. Specifically, it focuses on how supervisor’s cooperation and career growth affect job satisfaction mediating through work atmosphere in a private corporate entity. Design/methodology/approach To attain this objective, a research framework with a mediating variable of work atmosphere was formulated. Using measurement scales created to assess different aspects of job satisfaction, career growth, supervisor’s cooperation and work atmosphere, a survey instrument was developed to test the various relationships implied by the framework. Data (n = 325) were collected from the employees of a local chemical company in Bangladesh following convenience sampling procedure. The analysis has been done by bootstrapping procedure following structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings The result shows that work atmosphere has a significant mediating role in linking supervisor cooperation and job satisfaction of the employees in the organization. Research limitations/implications As with any study, there are limitations to the study described here. One possible drawback is the use of a single company’s employees as respondents. Second, the sample size is not very large, because respondents were observed to be negligent in filling the questionnaire provided to them. If the sample size could be increased a bit more, then the authors might have better outcomes as postulated in the paper. Nevertheless, the usual cautions about over-generalizing findings from this sample, to populations for which it is not strictly representative, apply. The sample was not randomly drawn to represent a population to which findings could be generalized. Instead, it was a convenience sample, and as such, the ability to generalize the findings very far beyond the sample is limited. Practical implications From a practical perspective, as a cumulative body of work on job satisfaction with mediating variable of work atmosphere emerges, the authors will be better able to advise employers on the elements they need to address to increase their employee retention rate. In this study, the one area of findings that may help business and commercial organizations the most concerns work environment in the workplace. The authors found that supervisor cooperation and work atmosphere were associated with positive path value toward job satisfaction. Similarly, career growth and work atmosphere also exhibit positive path value towards job satisfaction. The implication is that employers can focus on supervisor cooperation in rightly and duly promoting the deserving employees, and in doing so, they can generate positive attitudes toward these activities. Originality/value This paper will add immense importance of work atmosphere to the organizational learning and behavior.

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