Improving productivity through strategic alignment of competitive capabilities

Developing SME performance management practices: interventions for improving productivity

Purpose

The paper is a proof of concept (PoC) intervention study aimed for developing performance management (PM) practices in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the longer-term aim enabling the SMEs to improve their productivity. The intervention was designed and deployed by a collaborative quartet of academics, management consultants, accountancy firm and a commercial bank manager.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper firstly musters a set of initialising PM practices aligned to productivity improvement. These are utilised to design a knowledge transfer intervention for deployment with a set of manufacturing SMEs incorporating some associated productivity tools. The evaluation of the intervention utilised a case study approach founded on a logic model of the intervention to assess the development of the PM practices.

Findings

The intervention contributed to a partial development of the mustered practices and the productivity diagnostic based on the multi-factor productivity (MFP) abstraction and a data extraction protocol had the strongest impact. The study revealed the importance of the three interlaced factors: Depth of engagement, feedback opportunities and the intervention gradient (the increase of independent action from the participating SME's and the diminishment of the external intervention effort).

Research limitations/implications

The case study is based on a limited number of individual SME's, and within just the manufacturing sector.

Practical implications

SME businesses will require a more sustained programme of interventions than this pilot to develop PM capability, and depth of engagement within the SME is critical. Professional stakeholders can be utilised in recruitment of firms for intervention programmes. Business can start developing PM capability prior to PMS implementation using the tools from this programme.

Originality/value

The productivity diagnostic tool, based on a synthesis of MFP and the performance pyramid, an array of potential initialising practices for PM capability and discovery of potential mechanisms for PM practice development.

Theoretical framework for strategic productivity in manufacturing: the primary transformation model (PTM)

Purpose

A quantitative theoretical model is proposed to measure how productivity performance can be affected by strategic decisions related to specific competitive priorities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study proposes the Primary Transformation Model (PTM) and an equation to measure cause-and-effect relationships between productivity and competitive priorities.

Findings

The interdependence between productivity and competitive priorities was studied using the PTM and the proposed model indicates that strategies that improve external performance also impact internal productivity. It was also observed that the compatibility between competitive priorities depends on the initial manufacturing conditions and the implementation method adopted.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed model is theoretical and, as such, is an abstraction of reality and does not consider all possible aspects. It consists of a novel approach that still requires further empirical testing. The PTM provides insights about the trade-offs between productivity and strategic objectives, as well, contributes to the ongoing research on manufacturing strategy and can be further developed in future studies.

Practical implications

The main practical implication is to allow companies to relate their strategic decisions to their productivity performance.

Social implications

This research also contributes to societal issues by enabling firms to better align strategic objectives and operations, which ultimately allows offering products more suited to the needs of customers, thus making better use of the required resources and favoring economic growth.

Originality/value

The model proposed allows objective assessment of actions aiming at operational efficiency and effectiveness, in addition to providing insights into cause-and-effect relationships between productivity and competitive priorities. The model can also be used in empirical investigations on manufacturing strategy.

Organizational readiness and innovation in the Jordanian telecommunication companies

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of organizational readiness (OR) dimensions (organizational culture, climate and capability) on three types of innovations (INs) (service, process IN and entering new markets) in telecommunication companies. The study also tests the mediating role of employee engagement (EE) in the causal relationship between OR and IN.

Design/methodology/approach

In the theoretical framework, a deep and broad review of the literature was presented to determine the study variables and hypotheses that were tested in the field study. The study sample consisted of 306 respondents distributed to the headquarters of the three companies (Zain, Orange and Umniah) working in the Jordanian telecommunications sector. The number of questionnaires retrieved and valid for analysis was 255 (83%).

Findings

Results indicate a positive effect of organizational climate and organizational capacity on process IN and entering new markets. While organizational culture had no significant effect on the three types of IN EE did not have a mediating role in the relationship between OR and IN.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study are related to the telecommunications sector as a highly competitive service sector and more able to work remotely with regard to customers, so its results cannot be generalized to other sectors such as the industry sector, which has suffered in recent years from the epidemic more than other sectors.

Practical implications

The study of OR as a concept, dimensions and effects provides great experience for leaders and managers facing the challenges of competition and threats posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. This study also helps researchers to study OR in new areas and in relation to other concepts.

Social implications

The OR covers a wide field that includes the individual, the group and the company. Therefore, readiness includes a social experience that can extend from the company to the community.

Originality/value

The study gains an important value by revealing that organizational culture as a dimension of readiness does not have a significant impact on IN. With the readiness to respond quickly to challenges, culture can be more inclined to the status quo and the prevailing routine than to IN and change.

Aligning the risk hedging strategy with supplier collaboration and manufacturing competitiveness: a resource-based and contingency approach

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the alignment between the risk hedging strategy and supplier collaboration and its effect on manufacturing competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on the resource-based view (RBV) and contingency theory (CT), this study is guided by a positivist philosophy and employs a survey strategy to investigate both the direct relationship between the risk hedging strategy and manufacturing competitiveness and the moderating role of supplier collaboration using data collected from 397 respondents of manufacturing firms. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique is used to analyze collected data and to present the research findings.

Findings

Consistent with the RBV and CT, study findings indicate that a significant positive relationship exists between the risk hedging strategy and manufacturing competitiveness and that this relationship becomes stronger when supplier collaboration is interactively aligned. Study findings provide important insights on the role of the risk hedging strategy in promoting manufacturing competitiveness. Furthermore, supplier collaboration as a moderator accounts for a significant proportion of the relationship between the risk hedging strategy and manufacturing competitiveness.

Research limitations/implications

Internal resources provide an explanation of the competitive differences among firms employing the risk hedging strategy. However, the environment presents opportunities for firms to acquire additional resources to fulfil the unique collaborative requirements of the risk hedging strategy. This study has used the moderation perspective to explain the interaction between the risk hedging strategy and supplier collaboration and its effect on manufacturing competitiveness. Future studies could incorporate other alignment concepts such as mediation and systems approach and compare the results to improve the theory.

Originality/value

This study can be considered as its kind in the supply chain management literature and both practitioners and researchers can benefit from the experience of resource-based and contingency analysis research and the results of aligning the risk hedging strategy with supplier collaboration for higher levels of manufacturing competitiveness.

Exploring the Factors Affecting Sustainable Human Resource Productivity in Railway Lines

This study aimed to identify the critical factors and items affecting the productivity of sustainable human resources in a Railway Operation Company based on the perceptions of employees and managers in the Human Resources Department. The study was motivated by research which was applied in terms of the objectives of the study and a descriptive survey was employed as the method. The statistical population of the current study consisted of all employees and managers of the Human Resources Department of the company. Random sampling was employed to collect data and the sample size was 191 people according to Morgan’s Table. Methods including the correlation coefficient, multivariate regression, and factor analysis were employed for data analysis. The findings highlight the main factors and items affecting labor productivity in the Urban and Suburban Railway Operation Company as perceived by the Human Resources Department, which were mainly related to human resources management and could be attributed to motivation and requirements for their effective contribution to the improvement of public welfare. Organizational Attitude and Culture, Leadership Style, and Bonus and Ergonomics were extracted as factors affecting productivity or as independent variables. This study is the first study that has aimed to discuss the perceptions of the Human Resources Department active in a company. As such, the study highlights the standpoint of the main decision makers in the Urban and Suburban Railway Operation Company with regard to labour productivity in the urban and suburban sector.

Systematic review of manufacturing strategy studies focusing on congruence aspect

Purpose

This study provides a systematic review of the literature within the manufacturing strategy (MS) domain focusing on the congruence aspect of different strategic functions to determine the state-of-the-art research progression and the trend of publications.

Design/methodology/approach

We have adopted a five-stage review methodology consisting - 1) Article Identification; 2) Inclusion/Exclusion; 3) Review of the Articles; 4) Literature Analysis; 5) Future research directions. 121 articles focusing on congruence aspects and specific to the MS domain are identified and reviewed. Bibliometric analysis comprising keyword co-occurrence using a VOSviewer© software, and citation analysis is performed. Further, content analysis is carried out to categorize articles based on the type of research methodology, type of tool/method used, and aspects considered for congruence study.

Findings

Based on the research gaps identified in the existing literature on the congruence aspect within the MS domain, this study offers future research directions. Majorly, the work found is an empirical survey. Literature scants to develop a framework that helps to quantify the congruence between two strategic functions.

Research limitations/implications

This study facilitates researchers and practitioners to understand the congruence between different strategic aspects studied in the literature and the level of fit between them. Further, the identified research directions can encourage researchers and practitioners to conceive novel approaches to conduct future works on congruence theme.

Originality/value

The unicity of the current review lies in its theme, i.e. congruence aspect within MS. To the best of author's knowledge, no comparable study is observed to review the congruence aspect in any other domain.

Impacts of marketing decisions on delivery performance and flexibility of the operations area

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations in the Marketing/Operations interface through the analysis of data of the operational reality of a Brazilian company with a low technological intensity. The study aims to quantify and determine the impacts of marketing decisions on delivery performance and on flexibility of the operations area.

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal case study was conducted and the variables used in the model were derived from established theories and were evaluated with artificial neural networks. The case of a food manufacturing company was selected to reflect the relations in the marketing/operations interface of a low technological intensity enterprise.

Findings

The results show that the decisions on Place/Channel, Price and Product dimensions of marketing exert a significant impact on flexibility and delivery performance of the operation area.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of the case study cannot be generalised and the outcomes are specific to just one firm. However, the approach lends itself to replication, particularly within low technological intensity companies.

Originality/value

Prior studies have focussed on coordination among functional areas as marketing and operations at higher levels of abstraction. The study contemplate empirical propositions through the data analysis of a company with a low technological intensity that can be used to improve managers' decisions and alignment in the Marketing/Operation Interface.

Information technology-enabled explorative learning and competitive performance in industrial service SMEs: a configurational analysis

Purpose

As purveyors of knowledge-based and high value-added services to the manufacturing sector, industrial service small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must develop the information technology (IT) capabilities that, in combination with other non-IT capabilities, enable their capacity for organizational learning (OL) and for explorative learning in particular. In this context, this study aims to identify the different causal configurations that account for the nonlinear complex interplay of IT capabilities for exploration and strategic capabilities for explorative learning as they affect these firms’ competitive performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data obtained from 92 industrial service SMEs were analyzed with a configurational approach, using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

Findings

As it allows for equifinality, the fsQCA analysis identified two sets of causal configurations that characterize the sampled firms’ explorative learning capability as it relates to competitive performance. In the first set, two configurations were equally associated with high innovation performance, whereas in the second set, four configurations were equally associated with high productivity.

Originality/value

By viewing explorative learning as a dynamic capability that is enabled by the firm’s IT and strategic capabilities, the study contributes to OL theory by providing a more concrete or “operational” grounding, which allows for a greater practical applicability of this theory. By taking both the configurational and capability-based views of the OL-IT-performance causal framework, the authors provide an empirical basis for unraveling, explaining and understanding the complex non-linear relationships embedded within this framework.

Corporate sustainability and enterprise performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between economic performance in terms of labour productivity of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their corporate sustainability in association with the driving forces of internationalization process and enterprise networks.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops an innovative theoretical–conceptual approach and applied unique empirical survey to investigate the simultaneous causalities between labour productivity and corporate sustainability, in the context of the set of relationships controlled with two other set of variables for mediating role of the internationalization process and enterprise networks focusing on business collaborations between SMEs. Four hypotheses are tested by the developed structural equation model for the unique in-depth survey data of Slovenian SMEs.

Findings

The results highlight significant positive correlations between the studied variables and their constructs, which indicate scientific justification to variables as factors. The results confirmed that internationalization process and enterprise networks are positively associated in improving corporate sustainability, which drives labour productivity.

Practical implications

The implications of this research are for managers regarding strategies and approaches aiming at sustainable development of SMEs, and for policy-makers regarding appropriate policies for practices encouraging internalization processes and enterprise networks as important drivers of corporate sustainability and labour productivity of SMEs.

Originality/value

The main scientific value added of this research is that combines and empirically examines driving forces of corporate sustainability in SMEs based on related studies, to develop more comprehensive structural equation model for better understanding of the corporate sustainability behaviour in SMEs.