Chasing productivity demands, worker well-being, and firm performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1823-1843
Author(s):  
Mastura Ab Wahab ◽  
Ekrem Tatoglu

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of chasing productivity demands on worker well-being and firm performance in manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Flexible work arrangements and human resources support are used as moderators to mitigate the adverse impacts associated with chasing productivity demands.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 213 workers from manufacturing firms through a survey questionnaire utilizing structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings of the study show that flexible work arrangements play a significant role in moderating the relationship between chasing productivity demands and well-being, and between chasing productivity demands and firm performance. The study also shows that flexible work arrangements are important to buffer the adverse effects of chasing productivity demands on worker well-being. In addition, flexible work arrangements strengthen the positive effect of worker well-being on firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study highlights the importance of flexible work arrangements in overcoming the negative impact of the relationship between chasing productivity demands and worker well-being and strengthening the positive impact of the relationship between worker well-being and firm performance.Originality/valueThis study has extended the variable of chasing productivity demands in the existing literature on the job demands–job control model, specifically in manufacturing firms.

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erlinda N. Yunus ◽  
Suresh K. Tadisina

Purpose – Supply chain integration (SCI) is a set of practices driven by many factors and circumstances. The purpose of this paper is to examine firms’ internal and external drivers of SCI, evaluate the impact of the integration on firm performance, and further investigate the moderating role of organizational culture in strengthening the relationships between firms’ drivers and SCI. Design/methodology/approach – For the purpose of this study, manufacturing firms were identified as the focal firms in supply chains, and thus data were collected through a survey of 223 Indonesian-based manufacturing firms. Two informants from each firm became the respondents. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings – This study confirmed the positive relationship between SCI and firm performance. The results also indicated that internal driver, or specifically firms’ customer orientation (CO), triggered the initiation of SCI. Organizational culture, in terms of external focus, positively influenced the relationship between CO and SCI. Research limitations/implications – This study illustrates the important role of organizational culture in determining the shape of the relationship between firms’ drivers and SCI. The results of this study enhance the understanding of SCI, especially related to types of organizational culture that could promote the integration. Originality/value – This study brings a different dimension of SCI as this study provides evidence from a developing country, which might implement different practices as compared those of developed countries. This study provides a measure of internal drivers, which has not been empirically investigated. The new measure was tested and validated using a rigorous process, and thus could be employed in other studies with different settings.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel-Alejandro Ibarra-Cisneros ◽  
María del Rosario Demuner-Flores ◽  
Felipe Hernández-Perlines

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to study the moderating effect of absorptive capacity, defined as the set of organizational routines and processes through which companies acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit knowledge to produce a dynamic organizational capacity (Zahra and George, 2002), in three strategic orientations: market orientation; technology orientation and entrepreneurial orientation and their positive relationship in the performance of the medium and large Mexican manufacturing firms. Likewise, it is determined whether these three combined SOs influence firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data was collected from 171 medium and large-sized Mexican manufacturing firms. The proposed hypotheses are tested using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsDespite the importance of knowledge for the development of firms, the results indicate that the moderating effect of absorptive capacity is only present in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. That is, firms cannot take advantage of knowledge simultaneously between the three strategic orientations. For their part, market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation exert a positive influence on firm performance.Practical implicationsThe main practical implication for the manufacturing industry is that they must develop mechanisms to detect what kind of knowledge affects each strategic orientation, in this way it can make the absorptive capacity influence the relationships between SO and FP.Originality/valueThe main contribution consists of studying the moderating effect of the absorptive capacity on the relationship between three strategic orientations and firm performance, and not concentrating solely on the simultaneous use of these strategies as is commonly done.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Paolillo ◽  
Silvia A. Silva ◽  
Margherita Pasini

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of diversity climate and inclusion climate on safety participation behaviors through the mediating effect of the motivation to actively promote safety at work. Design/methodology/approach Participants were 491 workers employed in four Italian metal-mechanical companies. They completed a paper questionnaire containing measures of psychological diversity climate, psychological inclusion climate, safety motivation participation and safety participation behaviors. Data were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Findings Results showed that safety participation motivation fully mediates the relationship between diversity climate and safety participation behaviors, whereas it partially mediates the relationship between climate for inclusion and safety participation behaviors. Practical implications The present findings can help managers to motivate employees in pursuing safety goals independently of compensation or obligation by creating an organization in which the main concern is caring for each other’s well-being. Originality/value This is the first study which has empirically tested the relationships between diversity climate, inclusion climate and safety behaviors. It has extended previous research which simply tested the effects of objective types of diversity on safety performance.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole R. Fuller ◽  
Porter McDowell ◽  
Elyria A. Kemp

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between marginalization, Web presence and firm performance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach This study relies upon interviews and surveys of managers and/or owners of SMEs. Using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, the authors tested an integrated model of the relationship between marginalization, Web presence and firm performance. Findings Findings indicate that marginalization enhances the risk perceptions entrepreneurs assign to internet use. This enhanced risk perception then limits the extent to which an entrepreneur responds to online customer feedback, which has implications for the SME’s relationship and reputation management efforts with buyers, ultimately impacting the enterprise’s performance. Originality/value This study sheds light on the overlooked phenomena of marginalization and internet avoidance among entrepreneurs. The findings provide insight for entrepreneurs on the deleterious consequences associated with lacking an online presence.


Kybernetes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1836-1856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serkan Altuntas ◽  
Omer Cinar ◽  
Selahattin Kaynak

Purpose The purpose of this study is to find the relationships among advanced manufacturing technology (AMT), innovation, export and firm performance by using data obtained from 310 Turkish manufacturing firms. Design/methodology/approach A survey study was performed to obtain data from manufacturing firms. Multiple-item scales were adapted from the literature to conduct the survey in this study. Data were collected from five cities located in the Southeastern Anatolia Region in Turkey (Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Kilis, Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa). Structural equation modeling was utilized to investigate the relationships among AMT, innovation, export and firm performance in Turkish manufacturing firms operating in several industries. The direct and indirect relations between these variables are examined in the proposed conceptual model. In addition, the complex relations including in the proposed model are assessed in detail through the mediation analysis. Findings Six of the proposed ten hypotheses related to manufacturers are validated by the empirical evidence from manufacturing companies in Turkey. Significant findings obtained in this study include the following: there are strong positive associations between the use of AMT and innovation and between export and firm performance. In addition, innovation mediates the relationship between AMT and firm performance and between AMT and export. Finally, export mediates the relationship between AMT and firm performance and between innovation and firm performance. It is expected that the results obtained from this empirical analysis will help decision makers and managers to construct a good technology and production management strategy for manufacturing systems. Originality/value In this study, a novel conceptual model is proposed to examine the relationships among AMT, innovation, export and firm performance via the use of survey responses from 310 Turkish manufacturing firms. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first study that proposes such a conceptual model in the literature.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-111
Author(s):  
Macide Berna Çağlar Kalkan ◽  
Kenan Aydın

PurposeThe aim of this study is to examine the role and capabilities of fourth party logistics (4PL) in the supply chain agility and firm performance. In addition to this, the relationship between supply chain agility and firm performance is also examined. This study aims to fulfill the gap in the literature about the studies on the relationship between 4PL capability dimensions, supply chain agility and business performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses survey data from 58 senior executives and managers in the logistics and supply chain functions from 4PL service providers' customer firms in Turkey. The results are structural equation modeling using SmartPLS software. Snowball sampling method was used to collect survey data.FindingsThis study shows that integrator and supply chain infomediary are appropriate practices for mediating the impact of agile supply chain strategies, on firm performance. For supply chain practitioners, results indicate that firms benefit greatly if they consider the outsourcing, such as a 4PL partnership, in conjunction with their supply chain strategy.Research limitations/implicationsTime, cost and the presence of businesses located in different cities across Turkey in the sample of study and the existence of the tendency of enterprises not to participate in the research can be stated as the limitations of this study.Originality/valueIn the literature, studies on 4PL have been conducted in different fields which can be categorized as follows: 4PL solution development, reasons that facilitate and prevent the design and implementation of 4PL, scope of 4PL service delivery and profit and risk sharing from the structure of 4PL networks. Briefly, the studies focus on conceptualizing and differentiating of 4PL from 3PL before reaching a common definition. Motivation of this study is to fulfill the gap of literature about supply chain agility, firm performance relationship and mediation role of 4PL skill dimensions.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zia Ul Haq

Purpose Despite the significance, no study examines the relationship between supply chain (SC) learning components and focal firm performance. This study aims to investigate different types of SC learning (supplier, customer and internal learning) and their influence on the focal firm’s operational and financial performance. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in knowledge-based view and absorptive capacity theory, this study applies structural equation modeling to test the conceptual model based on data collected from 213 manufacturing firms in China. Findings The findings indicate that supplier and customer learning improve internal learning. Customer and internal learning have direct influence on operational performance, whereas internal learning mediates the relationship between supplier learning and operational performance. Moreover, all three dimensions of SC learning do not affect financial performance directly but operational performance plays the mediating role in their relationship. Research limitations/implications This study only investigates SC learning outcomes without exploring its antecedents. In addition, SC learning and their impacts on firm performance are tested empirically with cross-sectional data collected only from manufacturing firms in China. Practical implications The findings furnish managers to seek for competitive advantages through different types of SC learning. Originality/value This study offers new insights concerning the performance implications of SC learning. It divides SC learning into dimensions and shows the distinctive impacts of these dimensions on focal firm’s performance using an empirical method.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Kohtamaki ◽  
Henri Hakala ◽  
Jukka Partanen ◽  
Vinit Parida ◽  
Joakim Wincent

Purpose – Product-manufacturing firms are increasingly positioning themselves as providers of industrial services and solutions. Despite the increasing conceptual interest in industrial services, empirical evidence about the factors that mediate the relationships between industrial services and firm performance remains limited. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between industrial service offerings, service orientation and firm sales and profit performance. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data from 115 manufacturing firms and adopts a structural equation modeling technique to test a set of hypotheses on service offerings, service orientation and company sales and profit performance. Findings – The results underline the importance of implementing service orientation in employees’ behavior, recruitment, training, and assessment. Service orientation is demonstrated as an essential mediator for the relationship between service offerings, revenues, and profits. The results therefore suggest that both service offerings and service orientation are important when manufacturing companies attempt to position themselves as industrial service providers. Research limitations/implications – Given the limitations of the sample collected from the Finnish manufacturing industry, future studies could refine the measures and investigate the applicability of the results in other contexts. Practical implications – The results suggest that developing a service orientation is vital for manufacturing companies to profit from increased offerings of industrial services. Because nurturing service orientation is a central enabler of the impact of service offerings on sales and profit performance, it is in the interests of manufacturing firms moving towards a servitized business model to develop training, compensation, and recruitment policies. Originality/value – The study establishes a link between service offerings, service orientation, sales, and profit performance in manufacturing firms. This is among the first studies to provide statistical evidence to support claims that even manufacturing firms can benefit from developing integrated product-service solutions.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siriwan Kitchot ◽  
Sununta Siengthai ◽  
Vatcharapol Sukhotu

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationships among supply chain management (SCM) implementation, human resource management (HRM) practices and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) firm performance in Thailand. It further examines whether HRM practices have a mediating effect on such relationship. Design/methodology/approach A survey instrument was developed based on the literature review which then was verified by SCM expert opinions. Cross-sectional surveys of sample employees of SMEs in Thailand were undertaken by both direct and mail surveys. Of about 779 questionnaires distributed, 203 usable questionnaires were returned. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to analyze the obtained data. Findings The statistical results reveal that SCM indirectly improves firm performance of small- and medium-sized firms through HRM practices. The latter, HRM practices, is found to fully mediate the impact of SCM implementation on SME firm performance. These results suggest that SCM cannot enhance SME firm performance if its implementation is undertaken without effective HRM practices. Originality/value This study identified the research gap in SCM areas by recognizing the scarcity of research on SCM in SMEs and by identifying and integrating HRM practices as a significant behavioral support system to SCM implementation in SMEs. Its results reveal that HRM practices fully mediates the impact of SCM on SMEs’ firm performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sourabh Kumar ◽  
Sankersan Sarkar ◽  
Bhawna Chahar

Purpose The growing demands of work and life have shifted the concept of work-life balance to work-life integration (WLI). The success of integration depends upon the flexibility to perform the duties. This paper aims to explore the factors that affect WLI and the role of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) in the process of WLI. Design/methodology/approach Systematic literature review was used to explore the concept of WLI and FWAs. A bibliometric analysis was carried out with Bibexcel and VoSviewer. Findings This paper explained the organizational and personal factors that create the demand for WLI. The FWAs, perceived flexibility, technology and self-efficacy have important roles in WLI. The result of WLI can be enrichment or strain, depends upon how effectively the work-life domains are integrated. Originality/value This paper explores the work-life from both personal and organizational views. The findings of this paper will be useful to design the organizational policies and work arrangements that match the requirements of employees and organizations. This paper helps to develop the future research agenda of investigating the relations of WLI to performance, organizational policies and personal factors.


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