Redistributed Manufacturing and the Impact of Big Data: A Consumer Goods Perspective

Abstract

Digitalization and the growth of big data promise greater customization as well as change in how manufacturing is distributed. Yet, challenges arise in applying these new approaches in consumer goods industries that often emphasize mass production and extended supply chains. We build a conceptual framework to explore whether big data combined with new manufacturing technologies can facilitate redistributed manufacturing (RDM). Through analysis of 24 consumer goods industry cases using primary and secondary data, we investigated evolving manufacturing configurations, their underlying drivers, the role of big data applications, and their impact on the redistribution of manufacturing. We find some applications of RDM concepts, although in other cases existing manufacturing configurations are leveraged for high volume consumer goods products through big data analytics and market segmentation. The analysis indicates that the framework put forward in the paper has broader value in organizing thinking about emerging interrelationships between big data and manufacturing.     

Re-distributed manufacturing and the food-water-energy nexus: opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Addressing the intersection of two important emerging research areas, re-distributed manufacturing (RDM) and the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus, this work combines insights from engineering, business and policy perspectives and explores opportunities and challenges towards a more localized and sustainable food system. Analysis centred on two specific food products, namely bread and tomato paste reveals that the feasibility and potential of RDM vary with the type of food product and the supply chain (SC) components. Physically, energy efficiency, water consumption and reduction of waste and carbon footprint may be affected by scale and location of production activities and potentials of industrial symbiosis. From the business perspective, novel products, new markets and new business models are expected in order for food RDM to penetrate within the established food industry. Studies on policies, through the lens of public procurement, call for solid evidence of envisioned environmental, social and economic benefits of a more localized food system. An initial integrated framework is proposed for understanding and assessing food RDM and the FEW nexus.     

汽车模具制造能力演化路径与能力构筑竞争:北京比亚迪模具案例

以北京比亚迪模具为案例研究对象,探讨中国汽车模具企业能力演化路径,能力构筑竞争的原因、过程与特征。通过对该企业的观察研究,发现模具制造能力演化经历3个阶段:创生静态能力阶段、发展改善能力阶段、保持复制能力阶段。吸收能力的层次不同深刻影响了企业能力演化路径。组织内外部、显隐性知识2个维度的应用与探索的双元能力将影响企业吸收能力的层次。从理论上探讨了吸收能力的双元性与企业能力演化路径、能力构筑竞争之间的相互关系。在实践方面,指出中国模具制造能力停留在复制能力阶段,缺乏自主创新能力的根本原因在于企业重视学习组织内外部的显性知识,不重视隐性知识的积累以及隐性知识的显性化。吸收能力的非双元性制约着中国企业自主创新能力的发展。     

Pro-innovation culture,ambidexterity and new product development performance: Polynomial regression and response surface analysis

This study examines the intervening role of organizational ambidexterity in the relationship between pro-innovation culture and new product development (NPD) performance. The results indicate that organizational ambidexterity positively mediates the relationship between pro-innovation culture and NPD performance. The results show that when both exploration and exploitation are increased simultaneously, after an initial decline, NPD performance shows a rising trend. NPD performance tends to decline generally when there is an imbalance between the two though the plateau is at a point where exploitation is slightly higher than exploration. Additionally, pro-innovation culture can increase the gap between exploration and exploitation for exploration-oriented firms, which can lower their NPD performance. Overall, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms that explain why firms with pro-innovation culture have higher NPD performance. Further, it enhances our understanding of the role of pro-innovation culture as an organizational context for building organizational ambidexterity, and provides new insights that can help reconcile the combined and balanced views of ambidexterity in enhancing NPD performance.     

How top management team behavioral integration and behavioral complexity enable organizational ambidexterity: The moderating role of contextual ambidexterity

Little is known about how top management teams (TMTs) make balanced strategic decisions (exploration and exploitation) and spearhead organizational ambidexterity. To address the theoretical call to explore how TMTs can help create ambidexterity, we propose a theoretical model where TMT behavioral integration cultivates behavioral complexity in a TMT that can build organizational ambidexterity. Further, we argue that the relationship between TMT behavioral complexity and organizational ambidexterity is moderated by contextual ambidexterity. Drawing on research in the areas of leadership, TMT, organizational context and ambidexterity, we explore implications for future research.     

战略柔性、双元性创新和企业绩效

通过对274家企业的问卷调查,探讨了战略柔性对企业绩效的影响,以及双元性创新在此过程中的中介作用。研究表明,战略柔性不仅直接影响企业绩效,而且能够通过双元性创新间接影响企业绩效。最后,指出了研究的意义、研究局限和未来的研究方向。     

Ambidextrous Organizational Culture,Contextual Ambidexterity and New Product Innovation: A Comparative Study of UK and Chinese High‐tech Firms

Contextual ambidexterity is of paramount importance for new product innovation and organizational success, particularly in high‐tech firms operating in a dynamic environment. Whilst it is recognized that contextual ambidexterity is grounded in organizational culture, existing research has not crystallized what kind of organizational culture enables contextual ambidexterity and consequently new product innovation. In this paper, drawing on data from 150 UK and 242 Chinese high‐tech firms, we conceptualize ambidextrous organizational culture as a higher‐order construct consisting of organizational diversity and shared vision, and examine its impacts on contextual ambidexterity and consequently on new product innovation outcomes. Using structural equation modelling, we find significant relationships between ambidextrous organizational culture, contextual ambidexterity and new product innovation outcomes; contextual ambidexterity mediates the relationship between ambidextrous organizational culture and new product innovation outcomes. Our findings also suggest that the above relationships are robust in the UK–China comparative research context, and that contextual ambidexterity and new product innovation outcomes are dependent on business unit level heterogeneity (i.e. ambidextrous organizational culture and research and development strength) rather than industry or cross‐cultural differences.     

Do makerspaces represent scalable production models of community-based redistributed manufacturing?

Abstract

This research explores the development of local community-based ‘makerspaces’ as potential scalable forms of redistributed manufacturing (RDM). Makerspaces are rapidly emerging in post-industrial economies and have been identified as a catalyst of local regeneration in urban areas. However, their role in local production systems is limited. There is a gap in the literature, with respect to the evolution of makerspaces and their productive contribution. The purpose of this paper therefore is to identify, classify and examine the different types of makerspaces. Our focus is on the implementation characteristics that enable industrial production activity to take place. First, we used Leximancer (to identify from the literature) three types of makerspace. Second, we then identify five RDM implementation characteristics. The characteristics were integrated together to form the RDM-makerspace implementation model. Third, case studies were purposively selected to test and advance this model. They were subsequently classified as a Type 1 (educational), Type 2 (design) or Type 3 (production) makerspace. Only one of the case studies was classified as a fully evolved Type 3 production space. The findings concur with the literature that makerspaces tend to be primarily Type 1 or Type 2. Finally, the contribution to local production theory is emphasized.     

Ambidexterity as a dynamic capability: Resolving the innovator's dilemma

How do organizations survive in the face of change? Underlying this question is a rich debate about whether organizations can adapt—and if so how. One perspective, organizational ecology, presents evidence suggesting that most organizations are largely inert and ultimately fail. A second perspective argues that some firms do learn and adapt to shifting environmental contexts. Recently, this latter view has coalesced around two themes. The first, based on research in strategy suggests that dynamic capabilities, the ability of a firm to reconfigure assets and existing capabilities, explains long-term competitive advantage. The second, based on organizational design, argues that ambidexterity, the ability of a firm to simultaneously explore and exploit, enables a firm to adapt over time. In this paper, we review and integrate these comparatively new research streams and identify a set of propositions that suggest how ambidexterity acts as a dynamic capability. We suggest that efficiency and innovation need not be strategic tradeoffs and highlight the substantive role of senior teams in building dynamic capabilities.     

基于信息处理的复杂产品制造敏捷性研究:以沈飞公司为案例

本研究从信息处理理论视角,探讨复杂产品制造企业如何运用信息技术提升复杂产品制造敏捷性的课题.信息技术能否推动制造敏捷性在理论界存在两种截然不同的研究结论.本研究认为企业通过识别复杂产品制造的信息处理需求,构建网络层级与网络中心度高低不同的信息处理网络结构,并引入相应的管控方式,从而实现信息技术促进复杂产品敏捷制造的目标.信息处理网络与管控方式的相互适配可发展企业信息处理能力,它包含信息分解,信息加速与信息共享三类能力.信息处理能力是信息技术能否推动企业制造敏捷性的核心因素.本研究从动态的视角打开信息技术与复杂产品制造敏捷性的过程"黑箱",对发展信息处理理论与推动中国企业复杂产品的敏捷制造具有深远的指导意义.     

Improving operational plant performance in international manufacturing networks: the effects of integrative capabilities and plant roles

Abstract

This study adopts the resource-based view to examine how two integrative capabilities of a plant embedded in a manufacturing network enhance operational performance: the capability to connect with other plants in its manufacturing network (a networking capability, NC), and the capability to integrate manufacturing processes with new product development processes (a new product development capability, NPDC). Our model tests the indirect effect of NC on cost, quality, flexibility and delivery through NPDC. Furthermore, we test if the relationship between NC and NPDC depends on the strategic role of the plant. Using survey data from a sample of 521 plants, we confirmed the mediating effect of NPDC. However, the moderation effect was not confirmed. Our findings reveal that plants can deploy NPDC capabilities, fostered by NC, independently from their role in the network. This study contributes to the understanding of plant capabilities and plant roles in manufacturing networks.     

Density-dependent strategic action: Outcomes of structural market commitment in the global integrated circuit industry

This study develops theory regarding organizational survival and technology management in global, technology-intensive industries. Findings indicate that ecological effects on survival localize to the level of separate international markets as an industry becomes global. How firms structurally participate in these markets moderate these ecological forces. Strategic choices about technology management, such as centralized versus decentralized manufacturing and R&D operations, help firms “crack” densely packed markets. The developed theory is tested with firm-level data on the structure and international presence of all organizations in the worldwide population of integrated circuit manufacturers, from 1961 to 1994.     

The effect of supplier development on outsourcing performance: the mediating roles of opportunism and flexibility

Abstract

In this increasingly competitive business environment, firms utilise outsourcing as a strategic tool to leverage globally dispersed resources so that they may focus on their core competencies and improve efficiency. The more firms rely on outsourcing, the more they depend on their suppliers, and the more important it is to manage and develop suppliers in order to achieve and maximise the benefits of outsourcing. This paper explores the impact of supplier development on outsourcing performance. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse data collected from 213 manufacturing firms in China. The results indicate that supplier development has a strong direct positive impact on outsourcing performance, and that supplier development also leads to enhanced outsourcing performance through reducing outsourcing opportunism risk and improving outsourcing flexibility. In addition to making a contribution to current theories of outsourcing, our findings also provide outsourcing managers with practical understanding and insights about the role of supplier development in enhancing outsourcing performance.     

Managing dependency in China outsourcing relationships

Abstract

This paper examines manufacturing firms’ use of guanxi and formal control to address dependence on suppliers and achieve desired outsourcing performance in China. Using survey data collected from manufacturing firms operating in China, a structural equation model is used to test the research model. The results suggest that manufacturing firms with high dependence on suppliers build Chinese guanxi with those suppliers to overcome the dependence and enhance outsourcing performance. In addition, Chinese guanxi also appears to facilitate the use of formal control, which was also found to have a positive relationship with outsourcing performance. This paper contributes to the literature by illustrating the importance of guanxi in achieving desired outsourcing performance in the China context, particularly in the case where a manufacturer perceives high dependency on its major supplier.     

Quality and flexibility performance trade-offs between lean and agile manufacturing firms in the automotive industry

Abstract

Firms operating in the automotive industry have traditionally been ascribed with efficiency and high levels of quality, as lean production has been extensively applied within this context, but given the recent dynamics in the automotive sector, there is also a need for high levels of flexibility, widening our attention to agile production. However, when lean and agile production have been explored simultaneously, the quality and flexibility trade-offs have been mixed and unclear. In order to dispel the lean-agile ambiguity, and given that both high levels of flexibility and quality are required within the automotive industry, the purpose of this study was to: (a) Identify the relationship between flexibility and quality; and (b) Explore the quality and flexibility differences between lean and agile production. Primary quantitative data was obtained via a survey and a total of 140 automotive manufacturing firms within the UK returned the survey. Logistic regressions were utilised as the main mode of analysis. Not only was an inverse relationship found between quality and flexibility, but our findings depict two distinctive Business Models (BMs) existing in the automotive industry, one lean and one agile. We advance the lean-agile debate by asserting that lean and agile firms acquire quality (efficiency) and flexibility strengths respectively, and not vice-versa. Given this, we theoretically side with the notion of performance ‘trade-offs’ and contend the idea that capabilities are cumulatively gained. By incorporating an argument built on the strategy literature on BMs and Dynamic Capabilities, we assert that lean and agile firms have evolved to underpin different kinds of competitive advantage within the same industry, but these advantages are placed at different tiers in the automotive supply chain.     

More (new) products,more problems? A systems perspective on increased capability deployment and organizational errors

The capabilities-based view postulates that organizational capabilities are a key driver of competitive advantage. However, while increasing the pace of deploying organizational capabilities, such as new product development (NPD), may enable alignment with changing environments, it may also have unintended consequences. In this study, we advance theory on these unintended consequences by investigating how the increased deployment of NPD capability leads to organizational errors. Borrowing from organizational research employing systems theory, we argue that an increase in NPD deployment may increase the likelihood of routine discoordination and, thus, the incidence of intra-firm and interfirm errors. However, we also proffer that firms can mitigate errors from increases in NPD capability deployment by engaging in distinct internal and external activities that enable the accumulation of knowledge on how to coordinate systemic change. We distinguish between internal and external errors, demonstrating that in the context of increased NPD deployments, internal voluntary investigations ameliorate internal manufacturing errors, while supplier alliances mitigate outsourced component errors. We find support for our predictions using data from new product introductions and recalls in the U.S. automotive industry. This study sheds light on the tension inherent to accelerating the deployment of patterned organizational activities and suggests that the outcomes of deploying an organizational capability are best viewed holistically within the milieu of organizational systems the capability spans.     

生产性企业组织学习最优控制模型及其理论分析

运用最优控制理论研究生产性企业组织学习活动的动态最优决策问题.以企业的概念性学习投资率和操作性学习投资率为决策变量,累积知识量、生产率、单位成本和废品率等为状态变量,计划期内的总利润为指标函数,建立了一个最优控制模型,其特点在于规范地描绘概念性学习和操作性学习对企业累积知识量、生产率、单位成本、质量以及企业利润的动态影响.根据生产性企业组织学习和生产经营的实际情况,提出了一些定量化表达的假设和定义.在假设和定义的基础上利用最大值原理分析了所建立的模型,获得了关于动态最优概念性学习投资策略和操作性学习投资策略性质的一些结论,将这些结论与实际问题相结合,指出了在生产性企业组织学习实践上的含义.     

Manufacturing flexibility and advanced human resource management practices

This article analyses the connection between the use of advanced human resource management (HRM) practices, individually and as a system, with manufacturing flexibility. The results show a positive relationship between the implementation of advanced HRM practices and manufacturing flexibility. While most of the advanced HRM practices analysed show higher levels of implementation in flexible firms, no differences are observed in training efforts. Flexible firms are more prone to implement systems of advanced HRM practices.     

The individual side of ambidexterity: Do individuals’ perceptions match actual behaviors in reconciling the exploration and exploitation trade-off?

The paper addresses the issue of the exploration–exploitation dilemma, adopting a micro level of analysis. Unlike the extensive literature on ambidexterity that investigates the organizational solutions that allow firms to pursue the balance between the two kinds of learning orientation, this research draws attention to the as yet barely analyzed individual dimension of ambidexterity. Specifically, in investigating personal ambidexterity we point to the relevance of individuals’ perceptions on what their role requires of them and the actual behaviors they perform.