Lean management and innovation performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayman Bahjat Abdallah ◽  
Samer Eid Dahiyat ◽  
Yoshiki Matsui

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of innovation orientation (IO) on both the implementation levels of soft and hard lean management (LM), as well as innovation performance. It also aims at exploring the effects of soft and hard LM on innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach The study analyzes survey data collected as a part of a high-performance manufacturing (HPM) project from 238 international manufacturing companies in eight countries and three industries. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied to assess construct validity. The study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings The results demonstrated that innovation-oriented companies tend to adopt aspects of both soft and hard LM. However, the results revealed an insignificant effect of soft and hard LM on innovation performance. The study also showed that innovation performance is positively influenced by an IO. These results indicate that having an IO is vital for enhancing both LM as well as innovation performance. They also evidently suggest that LM is more related to continuous improvement (incremental innovation) rather than (radical) innovation and, as such, is not important for firm’s intent on enhancing their innovation performance. Practical implications The current study demonstrates that IO and LM are complementary and not contradicting strategies. The two strategies share many cultural aspects, similarities and commonalities. However, LM is not sufficient to predict innovation performance. Managers of the surveyed manufacturing firms are advised to focus on IO, as it has beneficial impacts on both LM (continuous improvement initiatives) as well as innovation performance. This clearly indicates that placing the emphasis upon radical (innovative) improvement rather than incremental improvement (LM practices) is believed to support continuous and innovative improvement alike. Originality/value The relationship between LM and innovation is debated in the existing literature, but the debate is characterized by a lack of empirical evidence. This is one of the first studies that empirically investigates the relationships between IO, LM and innovation performance. It identifies some new insights to direct future research, particularly regarding different innovation types as well as in service organizations.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-213
Author(s):  
Fahri Özsungur

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between mobbing and service innovation performance. In this context, the mediating role of boreout, a new concept in the literature, was examined. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted with 240 participants recruited in manufacturing companies affiliated with Adana Chamber of Industry in the province of Adana Turkey in November 2019. The research was analyzed by the structural equation modeling method with the social exchange theory basis. Findings Findings revealed that boreout and mobbing were negatively associated with service innovation performance. Mobbing was positively associated with boreout and job boredom. According to the finding of this study, boreout partially mediated the effect of the mobbing on service innovation performance. Originality/value This study reveals the association among mobbing, boreout and service innovation performances of employees of companies operating in manufacturing sector. The findings of this study provide important practical knowledge to businesses and academics regarding the field of management, entrepreneurship and innovation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 684-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Kafetzopoulos ◽  
Katerina Gotzamani ◽  
Dimitrios Skalkos

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the five European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model enablers, as the latent factor “enabler excellence,” are associated with business performance, taking into consideration the mediating role of innovation in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis followed in order to investigate the relations among the various constructs of the proposed model includes an initial exploratory factor analysis, followed by confirmatory factor analysis and finally structural equation modeling.FindingsAccording to the study findings, “enabler excellence” and innovation performance directly contribute to business performance. Moreover, this paper concludes that innovation performance partially mediates the effect of excellence enablers on business performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study does not separate between radical and incremental innovation; thus, it would be very interesting to explore this issue in future research. Moreover, it might be useful for researchers to reassess the proposed relationships examining the mediating role of organizational culture.Practical implicationsThis study offers clear implications for managers, proving that they should give higher emphasis on quality management (QM) and the four dimensions of innovation in order to achieve increased performance.Originality/valueBased on the multidimensional structure of the EFQM model, this empirical study determines the contribution of QM to business performance taking into consideration the role of innovation performance as a mediator in this relationship.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mantas Vilkas ◽  
Inga Stankevice ◽  
Rimantas Rauleckas

PurposeCumulative capability models are dominating frameworks explaining how manufacturing organizations gain their performance capabilities, such as quality, delivery, flexibility and cost. When innovation capabilities are excluded from the framework, the models are incapable of explaining how companies sustain substantive capabilities in a changing environment. Responding to this gap, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a “sand cone” cumulative capability model that includes the innovation competitive performance alongside the competitive performance of quality, delivery flexibility and cost.Design/methodology/approachTwo competing cumulative models were proposed. The extended cumulative capability model hypothesizes the development of innovation in sequence with other competitive performance dimensions. The affected with innovation cumulative model hypothesizes innovation performance as a predecessor of other performance dimensions. The models were tested using a multimethod approach on a representative sample of 500 manufacturing companies. An analysis of correlations among competitive performance, frequencies of plants following prescribed sequences, fit statistics of covariance-based structural equation modeling and analysis of strength and statistical significance of path coefficients enabled us to select a model that best represents the collected data.FindingsThe findings reveal that innovation competitive performance operates as a predecessor of quality, delivery, flexibility and cost and is developed in relation to these performance dimensions. The modified model also provides a theoretical explanation of how innovation performance helps to sustain reliable production systems that can perform consistently over time within a tolerable range of quality, delivery, flexibility and cost performance.Practical implicationsThe results are significant for practitioners, especially for companies that are operating in volatile environments because the results provide insight on how to develop innovation competitive performance in relation to quality, delivery, flexibility and cost performance.Originality/valueThis study extends the cumulative capability models with innovation competitive performance. It advances the contingency approach on cumulative capability models.


Author(s):  
Sabiha Mumtaz ◽  
Sanjai K. Parahoo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of individual differences particularly self-efficacy (SE) and growth need strength (GNS) as antecedents of employee innovation performance (IP). Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 354 employees in the United Arab Emirates service sector, the study used exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to test the model for IP. The predictors of IP were SE (conceptualized as a three-factor construct including initiative, effort and persistence) and GNS. Findings SE-effort, SE-persistence and GNS had a significant direct effect on IP with SE-effort displaying strongest relationship, followed by SE-persistence and lastly GNS, while SE-initiative did not have a significant direct effect on IP. Originality/value The present study contributes to scant literature pertaining to the relationship of GNS with IP. It is the first study to examine both SE and GNS together in the same model for their impact on IP.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1003-1018
Author(s):  
Chun-Hsi Vivian Chen ◽  
Pi-Wen Yeh ◽  
Jean Madsen

Purpose This study aims to explore the influences of contingent workers on organizations’ innovation performance and develop a framework examining how innovation performance benefits from the utilization of contingent workers. Built up on a strategic human resource (HR) flexibility model, the importance of coordination flexibility of contingent worker skills and behaviors is highlighted. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling is used to test the proposed hypotheses by using data collected from 163 paired surveys in Taiwan. The results provide support on the hypotheses. Findings The findings in this study highlight the coordination flexibility of contingent worker skills and behaviors, adaptive capability and knowledge integration on innovation performance in highly competitive industries. This study provides evidence linking coordination flexibility of contingent worker skills and behaviors and organizational innovation performance, and can contribute to the strategic HR management literature. Originality/value Coordination flexibility of contingent worker skills and behaviors contributes positively to innovation performance. According to the findings, managers should pay more attention on the contingent workers’ coordination practices to enhance organizational innovation performance in the manufacturing firms. In addition to the managerial implications, research limitations and future research directions are also discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 500-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios P. Kafetzopoulos ◽  
Katerina D. Gotzamani ◽  
Evangelos L. Psomas

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of specific, quality-related employees’ attributes to the enhancement of product quality in food companies. The main goal is to examine the synergistic relationships between specific employees’ attributes, which have been related in literature to ISO 9000 successful implementation, to continuous improvement, operational performance and product quality. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis includes an initial exploratory factor analysis, followed by confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, in order to investigate the relations between the constructs of the proposed model. Findings – The findings reveal that although the examined quality-related “employees’ attributes” do not directly contribute to “product quality”, they influence both “continuous improvement” and “operational performance” of food firms. The results also confirm the impact of both “continuous improvement” and “operational performance” on “product quality” and also that “continuous improvement” helps explain “operational performance”. Research limitations/implications – The domain in which the model has been validated, the restricted use of moderators in the model and lack of empirical validation of the model in non-food sector companies, based on various respondents from each company, are a number of limitations associated with this study which suggest future research proposals. Practical implications – The findings of this study can motivate managers of food companies to focus on certain quality-related employees’ attributes in order to boost continuous improvement of ISO 9001 systems and operational performance of their companies, leading to product quality enhancement. Originality/value – This study finds particular relevance in emphasizing that although specific quality-related employees’ attributes, as these are detected in literature, have a significant contribution towards continuous improvement and operational performance, they are not the only critical factor leading to product quality. More complex relationships need to be considered by integrating other constructs as major antecedents of food product quality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Ali ◽  
Ken Matsuno

Purpose Following the resource-based view, this paper aims to investigate the business performance impact of R&D–marketing integration and marketing and technical capabilities at the organization level in a non-Western context. Specifically, this work explores the mediating role of the two capabilities, while accounting for potential moderating effects and under the contingency of technological turbulence. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from the paired marketing and R&D executives of 207 Japanese manufacturing companies. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The results show that marketing capability – by itself and also coupled with technical capability – mediates the relationship between R&D–marketing integration and business performance, while technical capability alone does not. Research limitations/implications This study’s subjective performance measures and cross-sectional design have inherent limitations. The exploration of antecedents and other contingency variables would provide ample scope for future research. Practical implications The findings suggest that managers need to build these two capabilities, especially marketing capability, because R&D–marketing integration by itself will not be sufficient to improve business performance. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence for a new theoretical link through which R&D–marketing integration impacts business performance at the program level. The findings may also partially explain the mixed and conflicting results often found in past studies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 814-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Pin Tan ◽  
Kuan Yew Wong

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of knowledge management (KM) on manufacturing performance and the relationships among three KM measures, namely, knowledge resources, KM processes and KM factors. It also determined a collective set of KM metrics based on these three measures. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using questionnaires posted to 700 manufacturing companies in Malaysia from which 206 usable responses were obtained. The analysis and hypotheses testing were implemented using structural equation modeling. Findings – The results showed that the constructs of knowledge resources, KM processes and KM factors have significant and direct effects on manufacturing performance. In terms of covariance, the results also indicated that these three constructs were correlated with each other. Research limitations/implications – The sample over-represented large firms and the study was a cross-sectional approach that collected data at a single point in time. Practical implications – The results obtained would help managers to better understand the linkage between KM and manufacturing performance. They could use the results to manipulate their KM practices to improve their manufacturing performance. The proposed set of KM metrics could also act as a common language and provide directions for future research. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first empirical studies that has examined the relationship between KM and manufacturing performance. Furthermore, it has investigated the relationships among knowledge resources, KM processes and KM factors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Kafetzopoulos ◽  
Katerina Gotzamani

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework to investigate how the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model enablers influence the four types (product, process, organizational and marketing) of innovation performance of a manufacturing firm. Design/methodology/approach The study uses survey data from a sample of 580 manufacturing firms in Greece and employs structural equation modeling to test the developed hypotheses. Findings The results reveal that enablers of the EFQM model are either directly or indirectly associated with the four types of innovation. Furthermore, the findings show that it is essential for a firm to manage all the facilitating enablers included in the EFQM model, since they cannot boost innovation when implemented in isolation. Research limitations/implications The sample is limited to one country (Greece). In addition, researchers have to assess the same relationships considering the effect of external factors such as environmental uncertainty. The potential consequences of enablers on innovation performance may be mediated by customer or people results. Practical implications The empirical findings of the present study help managers to develop the appropriate quality strategies and allocate the respective resources according to the desired type of innovation. Originality/value Based on the multi-dimensional structure of quality, this empirical study determines the contribution of EFQM model enablers to specific innovation performance dimensions of manufacturing companies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-66
Author(s):  
Natkamol Chansatitporn ◽  
Vallerut Pobkeeree

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore, confirm and verify leadership with regards to quality management measurement models. This research focused on identifying individual staff members’ leadership attributes at the Thai National Institute of Health in relation to quality management. Design/methodology/approach The research instrument used in this study was a modified questionnaire on self-leadership and quality management that was distributed to the institute’s staff. Leadership and quality management construct variables were observed and measured through staff perceptions, attitudes, practices and existing facts at the institute. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to examine the data. Findings The questionnaire had a 65 percent response rate. EFA revealed six factors from 27 questionnaire items and CFA was used to confirm the measurement models that were fitted to the data. The leadership attributes of staff members at the institute were statistically associated to and impacted on quality management by SEM analysis. Research limitations/implications In-depth understanding of leadership and quality management could be done through a longitudinal study because the two factors would change over time. Even though this model is not a longitudinal study, it could help the institute facilitate and manage quality in practice through leadership. Originality/value A cross-sectional study is used to examine the effect of leadership on quality management through factor analysis and SEM, which provided empirical evidence for future research. Leadership and quality management measurement models have statistically proven to be appropriately, technically and theoretically correct by design for observing variables used in the leadership measurement model that affects quality management.


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