Determinants of quality and efficiency performance in service operations

Health, Education, and Economic Well-Being in China: How Do Human Capital and Social Interaction Influence Economic Returns

In developing countries, it is generally believed that a good health status and education (human capital) bring economic well-being and benefits. Some researchers have found that there are overall financial returns and income premiums correlated with human capital because of its excellent and higher ability. Due to different views and a lack of consensus, the role of human capital is still ambiguous and poorly understood. This study investigates the economic returns of health status, education level, and social interaction, that is, whether and how human capital and social interaction affect employment and income premiums. Using the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) for specification bias, we used the instrumental variable (IV) approach to specify the endogeneity and interaction effect in order to identify the impact and economic returns of human capital and social interaction on the values of other control and observed variables. However, we show that an individual with strong and higher human capital positively affects economic returns, but the variability of these estimates differs across estimators. Being more socially interactive is regarded as a type of social interaction but as not human capital in the labor market; thus, the empirical findings of this study reflect social stability and that the economic well-being of socially active individuals is an advantaged situation. Furthermore, men with substantial human capital and social interaction are in a more advantaged position compared to women with similar abilities.

Stability over time of the "hospital effect" on 30-day unplanned readmissions: Evidence from administrative data

Past studies showed that hospital characteristics affect hospital performance in terms of 30-day unplanned readmissions, proving the existence of a "hospital effect". However, the stability over time of this effect has been under-investigated. This study offers new evidence about the stability over time of the hospital effect on 30-day unplanned readmissions. Using 78,907 heart failure (HF) records collected from 116 hospitals in the Lombardy Region (Northern Italy) over three years (2010-2012), this study analysed hospital performance in terms of 30-day unplanned readmissions. Hospitals with unusually high and low readmission rates were identified through multi-level regression that combined both patient and hospital covariates in each year. Our results confirm that although hospital covariates - and the connected managerial choices - affect the 30-day unplanned readmissions of a specific year, their effect is not stable in the short-term (3 years). This has important implications for pay-for-performance schemes and quality improvement initiatives.

Quality management for high-contact professional service firms: a multiple-case evidence from Indian law firms

Purpose

This paper presents an exploratory study to understand the distinctive quality dimensions of high-contact Professional Service Firms (PSFs) and develop a conceptual model for Quality Management (QM). The paper is based on empirical evidences from multiple cases in leading Indian law firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopted an exploratory, multiple, embedded and comparative case study design. The empirical evidence from multiple case studies in 10 law firms (data includes 42 individual interviews, archival records, field notes) was used to explore the QM dimensions for PSFs.

Findings

The results showed that QM in PSFs is a multifaceted and continuous process rather than a straightforward and episodic one. The findings reveal three distinctive dimensions of QM for PSFs: managing the firm's image; managing the client-firm interaction and support processes and; managing the perceived value of service outcome. Further, the results showed a significant variation in the design of QM practices in a relatively homogenous group of PSFs (law firms). This reflected the influence of personnel and organizational characteristics on the QM.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on evidences collected from 10 Indian law firms and the research design is exploratory in nature. The future research is suggested in terms of extending the scope and research design.

Practical implications

The insights obtained from the paper have implications for managers working on the design of service operations and particularly service quality in high-contact PSFs similar to law firms. While the study does not prescribe a standard design of QM systems for PSFs, it seeks to foster the thinking of managers by helping them conceptualize the broad quality-control checkpoints and quality attributes specific to PSF settings

Originality/value

The academic research in the management of professional service quality is dominated by conceptual/theoretical models for customer evaluation of service provider's performance and the issue of operationalization of QM in PSFs is still needs further investigation. This paper contributes to the theory of service operations management (SOM) by focusing on the structure of QM systems in PSFs.

Intellectual capital and service quality within the mobile telecommunications sector of Egypt

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) (i.e. human capital, structural capital, relational capital) and service quality (SQ) within the Egyptian mobile telecommunications setting.

Design/methodology/approach

A valid research instrument was utilized to conduct a survey of 384 top- middle- and supervisory level managers from three Egyptian mobile telecommunications companies.

Findings

Hypotheses related to the relationship of human, structural and relational capital and their influence on SQ were tested. Results show that Egyptian mobile telecommunications companies have mostly emphasized the use of structural capital to boost their SQ.

Research limitations/implications

This is an empirical research applied in the Egyptian telecommunications setting. Its relationships need further investigation in other settings and countries. Also, the traditional limitations of a cross-sectional study apply with respect to the attribution of causality and the time lag effects.

Practical implications

The optimal procedure for the Egyptian mobile telecommunications companies is to focus their efforts on managing all three components of IC in order to improve their SQ and performance.

Originality/value

This is one of the very few researches to study the relationship between intellectual capital and service quality and the first to investigate these relationships in the Arab Region within the mobile telecommunications setting.

The Sustainable Effect of Operational Performance on Financial Benefits: Evidence from Chinese Quality Awards Winners

Quality management practices have become increasingly important as firms seek to obtain quality certifications to dominate markets. To date, adequate research evaluating the effects of quality management is lacking. In this work, we used Chinese quality awards to evaluate a firm’s quality level. A PSM-DiD (propensity score matching and difference-in-difference) model describing the relationship between quality award effects and financial benefits in terms of return on assets was developed. We further used a hierarchical regression to examine the influence of operational performance on financial benefits. The results show that quality awards cannot assure their winners a higher return on asset. Indicators of operating performance, such as less lead time and higher inventory turnover, can significantly enhance firms’ profitability. The moderating effects of operational performance suggest that firms may focus on how to translate quality management practices into business improvement. This study also contributes to the operation management literature by describing how firms need outstanding financial performance for sustainable development and continuous improvement.

Investigating the view of quality management success factors amongst future early career operations leaders

Purpose

The study aims to investigate the gap between the current vision and knowledge of future early career operations leaders (OL) and common strategic total quality management (TQM) frameworks such as Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards and competing value framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey questionnaire was developed for different groups of participants as current higher education students to identify the gap and analyse the significance of these groups on the factors in TQM framework. The Kruskal–Wallis test as the non-parametric quantitative analysis technique was adopted for this study.

Findings

A new set of TQM factors with necessity of more knowledge and understanding of future generation was identified, followed by highlighting clear differences amongst different groups of this generation in terms of their demographic measures, perceived leadership style and organisational culture.

Research limitations/implications

This research study contributed significantly to the existing study about common QM models and their integration with theories relevant to organisational culture and leadership. The data collection can be extended further in the higher education sector or beyond that.

Practical implications

A sustainable operations leadership practice needs managers and leaders with a sustainable knowledge development of quality management; and as a result of this study, the current vision of future young OL would not echo this.

Originality/value

This study has a systematic, non-parametric approach towards currently fragmented QM analysis, and is integrated with human resource and visionary elements of future young OL and universal QM models and theories.

Emotional labour strategies and employee performance: the role of emotional intelligence

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between emotional labour (EL) strategies and employees’ performance by considering the role of emotional intelligence (EI) as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

This study focused on the administrative staff of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) who deal with students and guests from different countries. A total of 186 valid questionnaires were gathered from administrative staff selected using random sampling. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses of this study.

Findings

The results showed significant relationships of EL strategies with administrative staff performance. Furthermore, moderation analyses revealed that EI moderates the relationships between EL strategies and staff performance.

Originality/value

The study extends the current research on the effects of EL strategies on work performance and tests the moderating role of EI in these relationships in higher learning institutions. Moreover, it examines the performance of EL strategies and EI in cross-cultural context.

Wolter J. Service recovery system antecedents: a contingency theory investigation

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of different antecedent factors (contingencies) on the design of a service recovery system (SRS).

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual model was framed and a series of hypotheses generated and tested using data from 158 practicing managers using a multivariate general linear modeling technique.

Findings

The analyses indicated that firms, by and large, mainly considered environmental factors in the SRS design. Additional evidence suggests that managers do consider other contingencies but may do so in a fragmented manner. The results presented herein indicate that firms design back-office aspects of SRS in response to external factors (i.e. the environmental contingency). In contrast, the front-office components appear to have more diverse antecedents but are strongly influenced by the firm’s recovery orientation. The specific recovery practices appear to be implemented per industry standards. In sum, evidence indicates that there are diverse driving factors to total SRS design.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations are based primarily on the methodology as data were obtained from a single person who represented the entire SRS. Care was taken in the study design in order not to compromise the validity of the findings.

Practical implications

The results indicated that managers responsible for system design need to be holistic in SRS design to more tightly link decisions across multiple contingencies so as to more fully integrate total service system design. This is potentially accomplished through the inclusion of aspects of all relevant contingencies when designing recovery systems.

Originality/value

This paper’s main contribution is that it employs established theory to develop and test a model to show that firms consider multiple contingencies while designing SRS. It contributes to the emerging body of work on SRS design by providing insights that can be considered as driving forces behind the design of SRS.

Quality management vision of future early career operations managers

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the gap between the current vision and knowledge of future early career operations managers (OM) and a common strategic total quality management (TQM) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey questionnaire and a non-parametric test for different groups of participants were adopted to identify the gap and analyse the significance of these groups on the factors in the TQM framework.

Findings

A new set of TQM factors with the necessity of more knowledge and understanding of future generation were identified, followed by the identification of clear differences amongst different groups of this generation.

Practical implications

A sustainable OM practice needs managers and leaders with a sustainable knowledge development of quality management (QM); and as the result of this study, the current vision of future young OM would not echo this.

Originality/value

This study has a systematic, non-parametric approach towards currently fragmented QM analysis, and is integrated with human resource and visionary elements of future young OM and universal QM models and theories.

Self-efficacy’s role in success of quality training programmes

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore why some firms succeed while others flounder or fail to implement quality improvement programmes. It synthesises self-efficacy literature to propose a model of self-efficacy’s role in affecting implementation success of quality improvement programmes in organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of scholarly articles on the topics of self-efficacy and quality initiatives brings to light self-efficacy’s role in successful quality programme implementation. When considered in the context of organisation barriers, it can lead to organisational success.

Findings

It is determined that quality training programmes play an important role in affecting existing efficacies and leading to “quality self-efficacy” in employees. The proposed model and related propositions suggest that right approaches of implementing quality training among certain types of employees and/or organisations can promote teamwork to achieve performance success.

Research limitations/implications

Moving forward, the proposed model should be empirically tested to improve our understanding of quality self-efficacy construct and its role in aiding organisational success. Furthermore, it would offer guidelines for the implementation of quality programmes in the most optimal way.

Practical implications

In applying theories on self-efficacy, motivation, empowerment, and quality training, the authors posit that existing efficacy and quality self-efficacy are crucial for quality implementation efforts to overcome organisational barriers and lead to effective teamwork and performance success.

Social implications

The authors postulate that deciding factors for organisational success originate from employees themselves as existing efficacies. Even though employees can foster quality self-efficacy through the implementation of quality improvement initiatives, existing self-efficacy, and organisation barriers will be moderating forces on eventual effectiveness of quality self-efficacy, teamwork, and organisational performance.

Originality/value

The model and related propositions, linking self- and collective efficacies to quality training, teamwork, and quality performance, offered in this paper will prove useful for organisational decision-makers in selecting quality programmes for implementation in organisation to achieve performance success.

Operational capabilities in an emerging country: quality and the cost trade-off effect

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the operational capabilities in an emerging country, and to analyze the trade-off effect between the quality capability and the cost capability.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data were drawn from 160 firms in Brazil. Scales were validated using the Q-sort method and confirmatory factor analysis. Different techniques were adopted to reduce common method variance. Data were analyzed using multiple line regression.

Findings

The results showed that quality has a positive relationship with delivery, flexibility, innovation and sustainability capabilities. However, it was not possible to observe a positive relationship between quality and cost that confirmed the presence of a trade-off between these two capabilities.

Practical implications

An important practical contribution of this study is that it brings a new perspective to the relationship between quality and cost. Although quality is an important capability for the firm, emerging country managers need to understand that its implementation will take time and money; quality does not indicate an immediate reduction in cost.

Originality/value

This study helps expand research into operational capabilities in lesser-developed countries, such as Brazil. Most of the research on operational capabilities is conducted in industrialized countries. The paper also discusses the trade-off between the quality capability and cost capability. The results show that quality does not always lead to a reduction in cost.

Pallet Picking Strategy in Food Collecting Center

This study aims to analyze the optimal warehouse layout for agricultural and food collecting centers that help small–medium farms to trade in the short food supply chain, by choosing among longitudinal, transversal, and fishbone layout. The developed model allows for the identification of the warehouse ensuring the least impact through inbound material handling, under both an economic and an environmental perspective. The analysis was carried out by using an analytical model to minimize the travelling time of the goods from picking to delivery area. The model considers the different turnover index from which four hypotheses were formulated to implement the results. The Carbon Footprint (CF) and Management Costs (MCs) were calculated by the picking time performance. Findings: Results show that the optimal warehouse layout can be identified after a careful consideration of the turnover indexes. However, for seasonality, the optimal design might be missed across the seasons. Practical implications: the analysis hereby presented is related to those collecting centers aiming to gather conspicuous amounts of seasonal food.

Can continuous improvement lead to satisfied customers? Evidence from the services industry

Purpose

To achieve higher customer satisfaction (CS), companies implement continuous improvement (CI) programs, regardless of the growing evidence of their failure to achieve declared goals. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to identify whether companies are able to improve CS through the application of CI; and, second, to identify what organizational practices are able to facilitate the impact of CI on CS.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the developed assumptions, the study uses the structural equation modeling technique. The data for analysis were collected from 304 service companies via a custom web-survey.

Findings

The research confirms the direct positive impact of CI on CS. Further, the study demonstrates that management commitment and rewards system that encourages employees to participate in CI play the major facilitating role in improving CS through CI. These practices accompanied by quality-oriented culture and employee training in the improvement tools provide necessary infrastructure to sustain CI in the companies over time. Additionally, regardless of the vital role of goal setting for CI established in previous research, the proposed study finds a limited ability of goal setting, as compared to other organizational practices, to facilitate CI–CS relationship.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the scarce field of research on CI implementation in the services environment. Further, the research assesses CS as a variable of interest, as opposite to the previous studies, considering CS as a part of the composite variable. The research assesses the impact of the training in CI methodology on the CI–CS relationship, while previous research focuses on the general, work-related training. The findings provide an important basis for further academic work in the area of quality management. The identified practices can serve as guidance for managers, implementing CI in their companies due to the high fit of the proposed model.

Obtaining global certification

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine predictors of obtaining global certification (ISO 9000) in an emerging market by focusing on ownership structure and total quality management (TQM) commitment.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adapts the theory of planned behavior to explain organizations that obtain global certification in an emerging market (China). Using 269 service firms at different stages of ISO 9000 certification (a proxy for goal-directed behavior/excellence by organizations), the study examines the influence of ownership structures (a proxy for perceived behavioral control) and TQM commitment (a proxy for attitude toward a behavior), using a probit model.

Findings

The results showed that ownership structures that were state-owned enterprises, privately owned enterprises and township-village enterprises (TVEs) had a lower probability of obtaining global certification. However, TQM commitment moderates the relationship between ownership structure and obtaining ISO 9000 certification for POEs and TVEs. The study found stronger results for a subsample of organizations that intended to obtain ISO 9000 certification. Among organizations without ISO 9000 certification, we examined organizations that began the learning process for ISO 9000 and those that had not, and found differences based on competitive pressures, ownership structures, and the moderating effect of TQM commitment.

Research limitations/implications

Future research may consider manufacturing organizations and other countries to further validate the findings of our study.

Practical implications

Creating strong TQM commitment can be an effective means for POEs and TVEs to obtain ISO 9000 certification.

Originality/value

This study is the first to adapt the theory of planned behavior for an organization-level analysis of ISO 9000 certification, especially in the service operations setting. The study found that TQM commitment selectively moderates ownership structures in explaining the probability that an organization obtained ISO 9000 certification.

Service productisation: systematising and defining an offering

Purpose

The previous literature has indicated that the productisation of services may play a role in service management, although a certain level of obscurity still surrounds the concept. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to clarify the meaning of service productisation (SP) as well as to contribute to a greater understanding of the concept.

Design/methodology/approach

An inductive analysis was applied to 13 instances of activities related to the productisation of services, with secondary data being analysed to identify practices relevant to SP and to examine their significance. The analysis is guided by an extensive literature review.

Findings

SP has been found to play a role in systematising and tangibilising a service offering and its related processes as well as in formalising the processes and service offerings. The potential elements of SP have been identified and supporting evidence has been provided. The findings indicate that SP has a specific focus on the offering and its related processes, with the aim being to create a service product that can be sold, delivered and invoiced. SP may utilise various practices and techniques, and customer orientation also plays a significant role. A typology of SP has been created by reflecting on its commercial and technical aspects.

Practical implications

This study has important implications for the service industry as it provides a structure and key considerations for productising services.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to seek evidence for the concept of SP from multiple instances of SP as well as an extensive literature base. The typology created provides a context for discussing SP as well as reflecting on its commercial and technical aspects.

A comparative analysis of competitive priorities and business performance between manufacturing and service firms

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and contrast the levels of focus on competitive priorities (CPs) between service and manufacturing firms in Greece during an economic crisis and the influence of those CPs on business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data were collected from 298 company representatives of Greek firms with an approximately equal proportion of the firms being from the manufacturing (n=157) and service (n=141) industries. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to validate the proposed first-order latent constructs as well as to determine the second-order latent construct (CPs). The CPs were employed to represent the hypothetical structural relationship of business performance. The fit and predictive accuracy of the model was estimated using AMOS software.

Findings

The proposed CPs model consists of five latent constructs: quality, delivery, cost, innovation, and customer focus. It was also verified regardless of industry (manufacturing or service) that the same set of CPs was used. However, these two sectors differed on the emphasis they paid to the selected CPs.

Originality/value

The major contributions of the paper are fourfold. First, this study represents the first empirical investigation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, into CP issues in the service and manufacturing industries, to determine whether there are differences in CPs between these two sectors. Second, the paper focused on the operations strategy of service enterprises in a field where the empirical evidence remains scarce. Third, the current research is conducted in a developing country with economic problems and political instability, while previous empirical research was mainly conducted in large and highly industrialized countries. Knowing about the Greek economy’s economic crisis and the CPs of different industries within it provides a unique and interesting perspective to this research. Finally, the findings introduced a set of common CPs as being applicable to both sectors (services and manufacturing), as the number and the nature of its dimensions seems to be independent of the type of sector examined.