scholarly journals Opportunities and Challenges for Implementing Automation among Selected SMEs of Food Manufacturing Industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12S2) ◽  
pp. 724-738
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Process Efficiency ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Food Manufacturing ◽  
Automation Equipment ◽  
Small Medium Enterprises ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Food Manufacturing Industry

The key objective of automation is to minimize human intervention in the workplace. Automation improve not only production productivity but also strengthen company competitiveness. This research presents an empirical study that uses qualitative research methods for investigating the automation level among the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the food manufacturing industry. This research investigates the opportunities of applying automation and identifying the challenges confronted the SMEs in realizing automation in the food manufacturing process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to examine the level of opportunities and challenges of implementing automation among selected food manufacturing SMEs. The findings show that automation enhances productivity, improve product quality and increase manufacturing process efficiency. However, this research also reveals that costing, training and lack of flexibility were the impeding factors for the studied SMEs to implement a fully automated process in food production. Despite the constraints, the companies strive to automate parts of their food production processes by using second-hand automation machines instead of investing in brand new automation equipment, hiring expert technicians and implementing the lean principle. This research presents several innovative recommendations for food manufacturing SMEs to automate their production process in order to increase competitiveness in the industry.

scholarly journals The Innovation Type and Strategy Implemented by Chinese SMEs: Case Study of Manufacturing Industry in Shanghai

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 907-915
Author(s):  
Khaled Mohammed Alqahtani
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Innovation Strategy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cluster Strategy ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Social Wealth ◽  
Innovation Type

In China, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in economic development and social wealth in terms of GDP growth, employment creation and poverty alleviation. In the age of technology and information, innovation has been regarded as one of the most significant drivers for the growth and prosperity of SMEs. Therefore, it is necessary for SMEs to implement innovation strategy, which would help them to initiate new products, adopt new processes and increase their competitiveness. From this point of view, this study attempts to identify the innovation situation of Chinese SMEs with regard to innovation type as well as innovation strategy. The research data is collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from SMEs of manufacturing industry in Shanghai, China. According to the data results, process innovation and marketing innovation are adopted more frequently than product innovation and organizational innovation by Chinese SMEs. This study also demonstrates most SMEs in China implement free-riding strategy; some of them adopt niche strategy; and few SMEs practice cluster strategy. Although innovation is increasingly important for Chinese SMEs, their implementation of innovation strategy is not highly effective and successful.

scholarly journals A Waste Management Behavioural Framework of Singapore’s Food Manufacturing Industry using Factor Analysis

Procedia CIRP ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 578-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Duygu Tekler ◽  
Raymond Low ◽  
Si Ying Chung ◽  
Jonathan Sze Choong Low ◽  
Lucienne Blessing
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Food Manufacturing ◽  
Food Manufacturing Industry

scholarly journals The Mediating Role of Employees’ Green Motivation between Exploratory Factors and Green Behaviour in the Malaysian Food Industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ha Junsheng ◽  
Muhammad Mehedi Masud ◽  
Rulia Akhtar ◽  
Md. Sohel Rana
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Food Manufacturing ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Managerial Support ◽  
Food Manufacturing Industry

Global business entities face the challenge of incremental pressures to restructure their strategic alignments and capabilities to be in accordance with the sustainable development initiatives of the United Nations. This study endeavours to investigate the mediating role of employees’ green motivations in the relationships of environmental ethics, the institutional environment, and managerial support with the green behaviour of companies in the Malaysian food manufacturing industry. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey completed by 230 respondents to achieve the study objectives. The respondents consisted of CEOs, company managers, marketing managers, human resources department managers, concerned authorities from environmental protection departments, and producers in the Malaysian food manufacturing industry. The study found that environmental ethics, the institutional environment and managerial support play significant roles in motivating employees’ green activities within organisations, while employees’ green motivation substantially contributes to the green behaviour of the company. This study also revealed that employees’ green motivation plays an important mediating role in the relationships of environmental ethics, the institutional environment, and managerial support with the green behaviour of the company. The implications of this study will be important for allowing governments to take instantaneous action for their climate change pledges to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) following the Paris Accord of 2015 and the Marrakech Proclamation of 2016.

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