The moderating effect of industry clockspeed on Lean Manufacturing implementation in Zimbabwe

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-304
Author(s):  
Catherine Maware ◽  
Olufemi Adetunji

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the moderating impact of industry clockspeed (IC) on the relationship between Lean Manufacturing (LM) practices and operational performance. A model for evaluating the impact of LM is developed and the moderating effect of IC is taken into consideration as a fundamental variable that affects the causal relationship between LM practices and operational performance. Design/methodology/approach A structural equation model was proposed and investigated across two groups based on IC level (Group 1: low IC and Group 2: high IC). A structured survey questionnaire was used to collect empirical data from 600 companies listed by the Confederation of Zimbabwean Industries. A total of 214 usable questionnaires were obtained giving a response rate of 35.6 percent. The data were analyzed using Smart PLS 3 and SPSS version 25. Findings The results revealed that LM practices directly and positively affected operational performance and IC had a positive moderation effect on the relationship between LM practices and operational performance. The results indicated that the structural equation model remained invariant across the groups. This showed that IC had a moderating effect on the relationship between LM practices and operational performance for both low IC and high IC industries. Originality/value The study analyzed the moderating effect of IC in Zimbabwean industries. The study will provide further evidence to managers on the impact of LM practices on operational performance in developing countries.

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 549-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaoyan Lyu ◽  
Lihua Chen ◽  
Baofeng Huo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between logistics park platforms, logistics location and operational performance. Relationship analysis helps managers respond to the changes that today’s logistics companies face, which include limited resources and facilities, market uncertainties and financial instabilities. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire is developed based on the resource-based view. Qualitative data collected from 273 companies in China are used in a structural equation model to test the conceptual model. Findings In logistics parks, logistics park platforms and location positively influence companies’ resource integration, which is positively related to operational performance. While logistics park platforms can improve operational performance directly, logistics location cannot. Resource integration is thus a full mediator between logistics location and operational performance, while it is a partial mediator between logistics park platforms and operational performance. Originality/value This study fills a gap in the literature on logistics parks, particularly on the relationships among operational performance, resource integration, logistics park platforms and the location of logistics parks in China. The authors provide guidelines for logistics park managers to organize their resources and develop capabilities for improving the operational performance of companies in logistics parks.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitendra Nenavani ◽  
Rajesh K. Jain

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of strategic supplier partnership and customer relationship on supply chain responsiveness and then to analyse the influence of supply chain responsiveness on operational performance in the manufacturing industry in India. In addition to that, this study also investigates the moderating effects of demand uncertainty on the relationship between strategic supplier partnership–supply chain responsiveness and customer relationship–supply chain responsiveness. Design/methodology/approach A structured self-administered questionnaire was developed to collect data from manufacturing companies in India. This study performed the structural equation modelling and moderated regression for testing the hypotheses after ensuring the validity and reliability of identified constructs. Findings Strategic supplier partnership and customer relationship positively influence supply chain responsiveness, and supply chain responsiveness also positively impacts operational performance. In addition to that, demand uncertainty negatively moderates the relationship between strategic supplier partnership and supply chain responsiveness. However, demand uncertainty does not significantly affect the relationship between customer relationship and supply chain responsiveness. Originality/value Strategic supplier partnership and customer relationship are firstly investigated as antecedents of supply chain responsiveness. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is one of the first to examine the moderating effect of demand uncertainty on the relationship between supply chain practices (strategic supplier partnership and customer relationship) and supply chain responsiveness.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 500-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Himanshu Shee ◽  
Shah Jahan Miah ◽  
Leon Fairfield ◽  
Nyoman Pujawan

PurposeTheorising from the intersection of supply chain and information systems (IS) literature, this study aims to investigate supply chain integration (SCI) as a multidimensional construct in the context of cloud-based technology and explores the effect of cloud-enabled SCI on supply chain performance, which will eventually improve firm sustainability from a resource-based view (RBV). In addition, the moderating effect of top management is explored.Design/methodology/approachUsing cross-sectional survey data collected from a sample of 105 Australian retail firms, this study used structural equation modelling to test the hypothesised relationship of cloud-enabled SCI with performance in a theoretical model.FindingsResults show that cloud-based technology has positive effect on SCI, and the cloud-enabled SCI is positively related to supply chain performance which eventually influenced firm sustainability. Further, top management intervention moderates the relationship between supplier and internal integration with supply chain performance. But it is found to have no moderating effect on the relationship between customer integration and supply chain performance.Practical implicationsRecognising the potential benefits of emerging cloud-based technologies reported in this study, retail managers need to understand that higher order SCI requires the support of cloud-based technology to improve supply chain performance and firm sustainability.Originality/valueThis research extends prior research of information and communication technologies-enabled SCI and its effect on supply chain performance which overly remains inconsistent. In addition, IS literature abounds with discussion on cloud computing technologyper se, and its adoption in supply chain is overly rhetoric. This study fills this gap by conceptualising the multiple dimensions of SCI enabled by cloud-based technology and the way it affects supply chain and firm sustainable performance. Investigating SCI in context of cloud-based technology is a unique contribution in this study. The moderating effect of top management in this decision also adds to the current body of literature.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Tingchi Liu ◽  
Yongdan Liu ◽  
Ziying Mo ◽  
Zhidong Zhao ◽  
Zhenghao Zhu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on how corporate social responsibility (CSR) (i.e. responsibility to customers, employees and society) influences customer behavioural loyalty in the hotel industry. The mediating effects of brand image and customer trust on the relationship between CSR and customer behavioural loyalty are also considered. Design/methodology/approach In total, 298 valid responses to questionnaire surveys were collected from a convenience sample in China in 2017. A structural equation model was used to test the hypotheses. Findings Hotel customer behavioural loyalty can be enhanced by CSR performance. Performance in each of the three CSR domains positively impacted customer behavioural loyalty to different degrees. The impact of CSR on the customer had the strongest influence on Chinese customers’ behavioural loyalty among the three CSR domains of customer, employee and society. Brand image and customer trust were found to be mediators of the relationship between CSR performance and customer behavioural loyalty. Originality/value The current research contributes to the literature by demonstrating that CSR activities are not all equally effective. Results reveal that the society dimension of CSR had the strongest impact on Chinese customers’ brand image of hotels among the three CSR dimensions investigated. In terms of Chinese hotel customers’ trust, the CSR–customer dimension plays the most effective role. The findings also support the notion that Chinese consumers are beginning to use CSR information to evaluate hotels.


Author(s):  
Jose Benedicto Duhaylongsod ◽  
Pietro De Giovanni

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether implementing certain innovation strategies and adopting a portfolio of innovations improve the relationship between supplier integration (SI) and operational performance (OP). Design/methodology/approach The authors test several research hypotheses by using a data set of 173 firms. Data were collected by interviewing managers, presidents and directors, from ten European countries and across nine different industries. The authors use structural equation modeling to estimate the relationships between SI and OP. The authors apply multi-group analysis to test the effects of certain innovation strategies and a portfolio of innovations on these relationships. Findings The authors show that SI improves internal OP but has no direct effect on external OP. The latter can only be improved through well-performing internal operations. The adoption of an incremental product innovation strategy improves the relationship between internal and external OP and leads to more effective SI. Other types of innovations do not help in improving the impact of SI on OP. Finally, the adoption of a portfolio of innovations does not enhance the influence of SI on OP. Thus, firms should focus on a small number of innovations rather than expanding their innovation portfolio to improve the effectiveness of SI on OP. Practical implications When firms aim to improve the impact of SI on OP, they should concentrate on incremental product innovations. Other strategies obtained by combining process, incremental and radical innovations are not adequate for that purpose. An expanded portfolio of innovations does not improve the effect of supplier innovation on OP. Originality/value This research suggests how the impact of SI on OP can be improved by adopting certain innovation strategies and without diversifying the portfolio of innovation projects.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cayetano Medina ◽  
Ramón Rufín

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse the effectiveness of the transparency policy carried out by a public university in terms of the impact on students’ satisfaction and trust. The loss of trust suffered by public institutions means that they are trying to identify the existing formulae so that this can be restored, and this includes transparency. In universities, certain changes in their situation mean that the demand for transparency policies is even greater. Design/methodology/approach – To carry out the transparency survey, data were collected using 6,180 valid questionnaires among the degree, postgraduate and continuing education students of the UNED. The statistical behaviour of the constructs included in the model was analysed by developing the structural equation model with SmartPLS. Findings – The results of this research show that transparency does have both a direct effect on trust and an indirect effect that is mediated by satisfaction. This latter indirect effect comes out stronger than the direct one. Thus, satisfaction emerges as a key factor for any research on the relationship between transparency and trust. Originality/value – This paper verifies the impact of the transparency policy on the satisfaction and trust towards a public university’s services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinod Yadav ◽  
Rakesh Jain ◽  
Murari Lal Mittal ◽  
Avinash Panwar ◽  
Andrew Lyons

PurposeAlthough lean thinking is deemed to be a gold standard of modern production management, a lot of scepticism still remains regarding its applicability in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to understand the perception of lean in SMEs and establish the relationship between lean adoption and operational performance.Design/methodology/approachWith the help of a survey, data were collected from 425 SMEs in India and analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsOperational performance of the firms was found to be positively related to lean implementation.Originality/valueThis study also furnishes practitioners with a better understanding of lean thinking in SMEs and its impact on performance.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lokpriya Mohanrao Gaikwad ◽  
Vivek K. Sunnapwar

The study focuses on the analysis of the direct effect of Lean Manufacturing (LM) practices on operational performance in manufacturing industry. A model for evaluating the effect of LM is developed taking into consideration as a fundamental variable that affects the causal relationship between LM practices and operational performance. A structural equation model was proposed and investigated across the manufacturing industry in India. A structured survey questionnaire was used to collect empirical data from 400 Indian companies. A total of 203 usable responses were obtained giving a response rate of 53%. The data was analyzed using SPSS- AMOS software. The results revealed that LM practices directly and positively affected operational performance. The results indicated that the structural equation model remained invariant across the Industry. The study provides further evidence to managers and practitioner on the effect of LM practices on operational performance in developing countries like India.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Scarpi ◽  
Marco Visentin

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate what drives the decision of small non-food store retailers to develop a relationship with the bank financing them. The analysis addresses the banking industry and quantifies the extent to which a decision to develop a relationship is influenced by satisfaction, trust and by two different kinds of values, namely, monadic and dyadic. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on data collected from more than 400 small business by means of a questionnaire, and develops a structural equation model to estimate the impact of satisfaction, trust and value constructs on the intention to develop the relationship. Findings – The results show that satisfaction and trust do not exert a direct effect on the decision to develop the relationship that is directly determined by dyadic value (i.e. the comparison between the cumulated value given through time and the cumulated efforts sustained by the partner). In turn, dyadic value stems from monadic value (i.e. the self-centred comparison of the costs and benefits experienced within the relationship). In a nutshell, considering value perceptions by the business partner and the relational dimension of value provides a better understanding of the intention of small firms to develop their relationship with a financing bank. Originality/value – This study contributes to shaping a picture of the motivations that lead small firms to develop a relationship with their financing bank. Drawing from a heterogeneous literature and considering individual-level variables, a theoretical model is developed to include the relational dimension of value and value perceptions by the business partner in the relationship. The empirical analysis provides useful indications to practitioners to understand and effectively manage the partner’s decision to develop the relationship, suggesting where to intervene.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent Eriksson ◽  
Cecilia Hermansson

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine how three relational attributes – duration, context and trust – are subjectively perceived by bank customers, and how these affect their saving behavior, as defined by monthly flows to mutual funds and the financial products bought and held in stock.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a combination of unique bank register and subjective survey data, and a structural equation model for theory development. Four constructs are developed to estimate the structural model, i.e. saving behavior, duration, context and trust.FindingsThe authors find that all three relational attributes have positive effects on saving behavior. The authors also find that duration and context have the largest total effects, and that trust is a mediating variable channeling indirect effects from context and duration to saving behavior.Practical implicationsOne implication for bank managers is that it takes time and understanding of customer context to gain customer trust, but that this increases customer savings. Another implication is that the authors confirm that relational attributes can be studied using subjective measures in surveys, and that these have an effect on objective savings behavior. The findings provide an understanding that could develop both the customer’s value and the banks’ business opportunities.Originality/valueThe impact of relationships between bank advisors and their customers in terms of costs and benefits has been studied, but a little research has focused on the attributes of the relationship and how these affect customers’ saving behavior. The study also uses unique objective bank register data, combined with customers’ subjective perceptions of the relationship.


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