Mediation Effect of Lean: A Bidirectional Synergetic Relationship with SCM for Higher Operational Performance

Competitive plants focus their efforts on reducing manufacturing costs and waste along their production chains. Hence, manufacturing programs with important practices and methodologies such as lean, JIT, TPM, and Kaizen have been embraced. However, an empirical investigation of simultaneous use of several manufacturing programs representing multiple facets of lean is lacking in the literature. Various studies have found that some supply chain management practices are bi-directionally related to lean, but its holistic measurement in relation to supply chain management is still lacking. Thus, this paper provides an evidence of mediation effect of lean from high performance manufacturing (HPM) project perspective in relation to supply chain management

Analysis of interaction fit between manufacturing strategy and technology management and its impact on performance

Purpose – Using the matching/difference perspective, the purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction fit between a set of managerial practices from manufacturing strategy (MS) and another set from technology management (TM) and the link of this fit to operational performance. Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies multiple statistical methods to a database of an international sample of plants in the auto supplier sector to explore (deviation score analysis/multiple linear regression) and confirm (correlation and variance subgroup analysis) whether a matching model presents organisational disequilibrium, where states of fit are related to effectively higher performance than states of misfit. Findings – Results from regression show that there were no states of misfit between the levels of both manufacturing practice sets/areas. This means that there are no significant differences in performance that may be tested for matching interaction. However, subgroup analysis provides greater detail on why there might not be any misfits (i.e. state of fit), by illustrating that when grouping by plant type (high/world class performer, HP, and standard performer, SP), the slight lack of significant difference in the correlation between MS and TM was in favour of HP. The implementation levels of MS-TM found were not significantly different, showing for HP slightly higher levels for both practices (þ& þ ) than for SP, with slightly lower values in both cases (2 & 2). Therefore, it seems that both groups might perform equally well, due not to interaction but to the presence of a state of MS-TM fit alone. A state of fit such as this, known as selection or congruency, would be the reason for there being no significant matching interaction originally. Originality/value – Most of the interaction fit bibliography is from the accounting perspective.Therefore, the impact of the matching interaction fit between MS and TM (as well as its impact on performance) has not been well documented theoretically, and much less, empirically, in production and operations management.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia DPI 2006-05531Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia DPI 2009-11148Junta de Andalucía P08-SEJ-0384

The pursuit of responsiveness in production environments: from flexibility to reconfigurability

Many production plants are pursuing responsiveness (i.e., timely purposeful change guided by external demands) as one of their main performance priorities and are looking for ways for their responsiveness to be improved. One of the ways that they are currently trying to do this is through the flexibility provided by production practices. On the other hand, other systems are also being now developed based on reconfigurability (such as reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMSs)) which can enhance a company’s technological ability to respond to market requirements by reconfiguring its products and processes. This paper analyses how current production programmes can be a prior step to achieving reconfigurability. The analysis uses a holistic framework that considers a number of linkages or combinations of practices (technology, JIT, TQ, HR, TPM and production strategy) and how these enhance performance in terms of cost, quality and responsiveness. The framework is tested with data collected from a survey of 314 plants worldwide using a series of canonical correlation analyses. The results confirm not only the importance of practice linkages that do not only include technology as the launch pad for reconfigurability, but also that in their pursuit of responsiveness it is vital for plants to implement practices in the technology programme as well as to link them to organisational programmes. The framework presents a contribution to both theory and practice. It offers novel insights into the programme and production practices involved in transitioning from flexibility to reconfigurability in the pursuit of responsiveness and provides a basis for future research.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación DPI-2009-11148Junta de Andalucía P08-SEJ-0384

Industry 4.0: current trend and future scope for further research in High Performance Manufacturing

The fourth industrial revolution requires that personalization processes of mass productions evolve towards flexible, interconnected, cloud production with greater automation in its machines and operations, called Industry 4.0 (I4.0). However, a homogeneous I4.0 concept, infrastructure state, and other issues are still scarce, making difficult to determinate in the specialized literature, the threshold between recent manufacturing and challenges that companies had to reach competitive advantage through I4.0 inclusion. Despite becoming one of the most popular strategies for continuous improvement, many plants are struggling to turn I4.0 into a success. Therefore, this paper analyzes the current trends of Industry 4.0 in High Performance Manufacturing (HPM), aiming to consolidate the existing knowledge on both subjects, providing a starting point for academics and practitioners seeking to implement I4.0 in plants and offering suggestions for future examination. This systematic literature review aims to synthesize, organize, and structure the stock of knowledge relating to I4.0 and HPM. The results show that HPM papers do not evidence a holistic evaluation of I.40 principles and foundations. There exists in HPM literature manufacturing practices that permit evaluate technology inclusion and their performance but not their autonomy, cloud computing and network between machines, supplier, and processes. The HPM papers trends are related with issues such as adaptability, flexibility, reconfigurability, new information technologies, modularity, automation, etc. Regarding study limitations, it is necessary to study current I4.0 adoption level, technological infrastructure, and cultural factors. The practical implications are focused in the identification of manufacturing practices used in specialized literature to measure how technology inclusion increase companies’ performance, proving the technological infrastructure and I4.0 maturity level. The originality of this paper converges on the presentation of some manufacturing practices applied on HPM studies which are associated with I4.0

Bivariate adjustment models of the lean-scm relationship on competitive performance: Intervener and interactive effect

Nowadays, many companies ignore the point in which lean production significantly mediates and/or moderates along SCM & performance, thus decreasing companies’ competitiveness. This paper determines the level of interaction and intermediation where lean reaches its significance level for high performance manufacturing, using structural equations and ordinary least squares regressions. Results emphasize the need to consider the human and contextual factor when lean is implemented

Implementation of technology and production strategy practices: relationship levels in different industries

Many industries face open, global markets with requirements for rapid response and low costs. Given the major role that technology plays in business competitiveness, proper technology management (T) in combination with a good production strategy (S), is important to address current challenges. This paper analyzes the nature of T & S implementation in different industrial contexts to examine whether there are differences in how T & S are implemented in different sectors, whether implementation is linked to performance, and whether contextual factors explain the differences. A database from the High Performance Manufacturing Project is used to test the research questions based on a survey of 267 plants across nine countries in three different industrial contexts (machinery, electronics and auto suppliers). The findings show some differences between the T and S practice modes in the three industries. T and S implementation is observed to be related to performance, but not in the same way. Three of the eight contextual factors are found to differ in the three sectors, which may explain the differences found in T and S implementation. The results imply that plants should consider the joint implementation of T and S as their interdependencies may affect performance, outweighing the possible differences between industries in which plants operate. However, when implementing a specific technology practice, not all plants necessarily consider the same production strategy practices across industries. Likewise, when adopting a certain production strategy, it is not necessarily influenced by the same technology practices across industries.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación DPI-2009-11148Junta de Andalucía P08-SEJ-0384

A glance at global competitiveness: production in electronics industry

Se estudian dos de los principales programas de producción: Estrategia de producción (por sus siglas en inglés PS) y gestión de tecnología (por sus siglas en inglés TM) de las siguientes dos formas: 1) Testeando y validando los efectos de ajuste de la vinculación entre prácticas de dichos programas; y (2) Explorando el papel que juega el entorno de las fábricas como un inhibidor de ajuste entre PS y TM. El artículo se fundamenta en el análisis estadístico de encuestas, que involucra 88 fábricas de la industria de electrónica, distribuidas entre Alemania, Austria, Canadá, Corea del Sur, España, Estados Unidos, Finlandia, Italia, Japón y Suecia. Con ello, el estudio prueba la existencia del ajuste entre las prácticas de PS y las de TM. Para ello, se proveen argumentaciones analíticas y empíricas, mostrando que la PS y la TM refuerzan mutuamente sus prácticas para lograr una mayor competitividad global, medida por el rendimiento de operaciones. Esto parece indicar que la implementación común de las prácticas de producción estudiadas a través de la industria de la electrónica es importante en los entornos en los cuales operan las fábricas. El artículo sugiere un patrón de mejora donde la PS y la TM tienen que ser implementados mano a mano para lograr una mejor ventaja de su eficacia. Las articulaciones de prácticas de producción proveen una base sobre el cual el ajuste se origina, extendiendo sus beneficios a través de la organización. La investigación representa un intento de operacionalizar y validar empíricamente las articulaciones entre prácticas de producción en un entorno industrial internacional. Además, el artículo provee recomendaciones originales para los profesionales y decisores en las fábricas, de cómo lograr lo mejor de la implementación de la PS y la TM en la industria de la electrónica internacional.Two of the main production programs (PPs) in manufacturing: Production strategy (PS) and technology management (TM) are here studied twofold: 1) testing and validating fit effects of the links between practices from such programs; and 2) Exploring the role played by the environment of plants as an inhibitor of the PS-TM fit. The paper is based on statistical analysis on a survey that involves 88 plants from the electronics industry, distributed among Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and USA. Hence, the study proves the existence of fit between PS and TM practices. To do so, the paper provides analytical and empirical argumentations showing that PS and TM mutually reinforce each other’s practices in order to gain greater competitiveness, measured by operational performance. This may indicate that common implementation of studied production practices across the electronics industry is important in environments in which plants operate. The paper suggests a pattern of improvements where PS and TM have to be implemented hand-in-hand to take better advantage of their effectiveness. Production practices linkages provide ground over which fit originates, spreading its benefits throughout the organization. The research represents an attempt to operationalize and empirically validate linkages between production practices in an international industrial environment. Furthermore, the paper also provides original suggestions to practitioners and decision maker in plants on how to make the most out of implementing PS and TM in the international electronics industry.Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras Proyecto Producción de Alto Rendimiento (PAR)Ministerio de Ciencia español e Innovación proyecto DPI2014-60365-

Manufacturing strategy–technology relationship among auto suppliers

Each manufacturing plant has to develop its own path to success based on contingencies and on manufacturing practices links. On the basis of the latter, this paper tests the link between two of the most important manufacturing practices areas, manufacturing strategy (MS) and technology, without addressing causality or their combined effect on performance. This is done by selection fit, i.e. congruency adjustment. However, this paper goes beyond grouping both sets of practices in pairs, by using a more general selection view version, with practices from both sets related multidimensionally and subordinated by regression analysis to test for any congruent pattern. Regression results from a wide-ranging survey of auto supplier plants show that, in general, MS seems to have some kind of impact on technology, and that technology has some kind of influence on MS. In addition, a strong congruency between both practices areas is observed when using correlation. This suggests that when implementing or adjusting MS or technology, the other should also be considered; otherwise they may not operate effectivelyMinisterio de Educación y Ciencia DPI-2006-05531Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia DPI 2009 -11148Junta de Andalucía P08-SEJ-0384

Congruency fit: beyond performance in the auto supplier industry

The effects of manufacturing strategy (MS) and technology (T) on performance have been studied separately, but few studies have examined the relationship between MS and T practices clusters that improve effectiveness when implemented jointly, and even then they do not consider possible congruency between the two. This paper develops a congruency (selection) model to test for any interconnection between said clusters, without addressing causation or their combined effect on performance. The implicit outcome is that the plant will achieve a desirable effectiveness level. Through a wide-ranging survey of auto supplier plants, two approaches are considered: 1) grouping both clusters in pairs (canonical correlation analysis); and 2) a more general selection view version, with practices from both clusters related multidimensionally and subordinated by bivariate analysis (regression) to test for any congruent pattern. Both methods find a congruent relationship between manufacturing strategy and technology practice clusters, although the second provides greater detail.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia DPI-2006-0553

Do technology and manufacturing strategy links enhance operational performance? empirical research in the auto supplier sector

Although much of the literature on manufacturing strategy (MS) and technology studies the implementation and impact of these manufacturing programs in isolation, this paper goes further by assessing the joint implementation and effect of these two manufacturing programs on performance, even when some contextual factors are present. Thus, this paper investigates how plants from the auto supplier sector make use of some operations practices from Manufacturing Strategy (MS) and from both Product and Process Technology, by testing the effectiveness of both sets of practices, with the ultimate goal of enhancing operational performance. The results suggest that there are only very minor differences between high and standard performers on the aggregated level for technology practices, which may be the reason why technology does not result in significant performance differences between the two plant types. On the other hand, on the aggregated levels there are somewhat greater differences for MS practices than for technology in both plant types, leading to larger differences in performance. While this study provides a foundation for examining MS, technology and context within a single framework, it is only through further research that a full understanding of the relationship between them will be obtainedMinisterio de Educación y Ciencia DPI-2006-0553Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia DPI 2009-11148Junta de Andalucía P08-SEJ-0384