Evaluating the impact of lean practices on environmental performance: evidences from five manufacturing companies

Abstract

Previous evidence suggests that lean practices help organizations to enhance environmental performance. However, the impact of lean practices on the environment is still unclear. This study, therefore, aims to analyse the relationship between lean and environmental performance in two main stages: first, a review of the relevant literature was developed, followed by a multiple case study analysis conducted in five manufacturing companies. Onsite data were collected from the firms during a 5 years’ time span of research and developing semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that the environmental performance of the companies analysed is generally enhanced in the long-term after the implementation of lean. Moreover, the results suggest that the environmental performance of the firms investigated is mainly improved by using JIT and TQM practices in a lean transformation context. The research findings provide further results remarking the possible negative impact of Kanban deliveries, 5S and TPM on various environmental performance indicators.     

Exploring the factors of achieving supply chain excellence: a New Zealand perspective

The objective of the paper is to analyse supply chain (SC) excellence from the practitioners’ perspective in the New Zealand (NZ) context. The extant literature does not focus on achieving this excellence with the contemporary factors of this dynamic field. The study is an exploratory one using the structured Delphi technique to understand the ground level experience of the practitioners on the constructs of supply chain excellence. In this paper, we have administered three poll rounds to gather insights from the SC practitioners on the various enablers and barriers that impact supply chain excellence in the NZ environment. Seven supply chain management constructs are explored for their relationships with barriers and enablers in achieving the excellence in supply chains. The outcomes reveal that the people relevant issues (i.e. SCM knowledge education and supply chain culture) are more significant than other technical and operational factors. However, the influences from specific NZ business environment issues become far less important than a few years ago. This paper seeks the integration of practice-based views with the academic supply chain literature and original contributions from the NZ context.     

The effect of supply chain integration, modular production, and cultural distance on new product development: A dynamic capabilities approach

Little research has examined how international firms' operations strategies affect dynamic capability creation or how cultural distance affects operations management. This study addresses these gaps by bridging the work on dynamic capabilities, two operations management techniques (product modularization and supplier integration) and cultural distance. Using a sample of 111 Brazilian automobile suppliers, the study finds that new product development is marginally increased by product modularization but decreased by supplier integration. Cultural distance negatively moderated these relationships. This research extends the dynamic capabilities literature and indicates that operations management strategy is an important part of the dynamic capability formation process.     

Competitive supply chain network design: An overview of classifications,models, solution techniques and applications

Supply chain network design (SCND) determines the structure of a chain and affects its costs and performance. SCND deals with a variety of decisions such as determining number, size and location of facilities in a supply chain (SC) and may include tactical decisions (such as distribution, transportation and inventory management policies) as well as operational decisions (such as fulfilling customers demand). SCND has a voluminous literature. Most of the literature deals with a single SC and ignores the existing competitor SCs and future emerging ones. However, SCs compete together to capture more market shares. Even if there is not any competitor at the moment, SCs should be prepared for possible future competitive situation at the SCND stage. On the other hand, many competitive models assume that the supply chain network (SCN) and its structure already exist. Few research papers consider both aspects of design and competition. In this paper, we provide a review of SCND literature and highlight the effects of competitive environment on SCND. We review, classify, and introduce the major features of the proposed models in both SCND and competition literature. After investigating proposed competitive SCND models we develop a general framework for modeling the competitive SCND problems considering managerial insight and propose potential areas for future research.     

Taxonomy of ERP integrations and performance outcomes: an exploratory study of manufacturing firms

Building and deploying network capabilities of firms are crucial for sustaining competitive advantage. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are useful to enhance such network capabilities thorough effective information flows. Their intended goals are measured in terms of production costs, operational flexibility and supply chain performance outcomes. However, the impact of ERP system implementation on firm performance has been reported as somewhat inconclusive. This study contends that a missing link in the story is the scope and extent of ERP system implementation after investigating how the extent of ERP integration is associated with the performance outcomes of manufacturing firms. The study also posits that restructuring in the organisation and supply chains are positively associated with manufacturing performance. Since ERP often entails restructuring in an organisation and supply chains, it is anticipated that restructuring plays an important role in inducing positive impact of ERP implementation to the firm. Using a global sample of 641 manufacturers, this research identifies four distinct ERP systems integration patterns, epitomised by different extents and directions of integration, and finds a significant association among the broadest degree of ERP systems integration, restructuring and plant performance improvement. The empirical results also show that restructuring takes place most actively in a firm that implement ERP with widest scope and scale.     

The impact of supply chain management practices on competitive advantage and organizational performance

Effective supply chain management (SCM) has become a potentially valuable way of securing competitive advantage and improving organizational performance since competition is no longer between organizations, but among supply chains. This research conceptualizes and develops five dimensions of SCM practice (strategic supplier partnership, customer relationship, level of information sharing, quality of information sharing, and postponement) and tests the relationships between SCM practices, competitive advantage, and organizational performance. Data for the study were collected from 196 organizations and the relationships proposed in the framework were tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that higher levels of SCM practice can lead to enhanced competitive advantage and improved organizational performance. Also, competitive advantage can have a direct, positive impact on organizational performance.     

A process-oriented perspective of IS success: Examining the impact of IS on operational cost

Effective measurement of information system (IS) success continues to be a top concern for both practitioners and researchers. Labeled the “productivity paradox”, previous attempts to quantify the benefits of IS have often resulted in inconclusive or inconsistent results. The present study contributes to IS success research through the development and empirical testing of a process-oriented model of IS success. Using an operational perspective and combining primary and secondary measures, this study examines the influence of lower-level intangible IS and information technology (IT) benefits on higher-level financial measures. Additionally, we introduce IS plan quality as an antecedent to the model's input variables. Primary survey data from CIOs of primarily Fortune 2000 size firms are combined with secondary data, total operational cost, from Compustat to facilitate the examination of the IS benefits. This study also addresses shortcomings cited in other studies that might have contributed to the productivity paradox by including control variables in the model, defining a research perspective—the operational success perspective—and clearly articulating the level of analysis as the organizational level. The results supported a process-oriented view of the benefits from IS and showed how the effects of IS along a path can lead to better organizational performance, in this case, lower overall costs. These results are discussed and future research implications are presented.     

A call for action: The impact of business model innovation on business ecosystems,society and planet

The impact of business model innovation (BMI) on business ecosystems, society, and planet is of growing theoretical and practical importance for strategic management. Increasing sustainability pressures warrant a better understanding of the impact of companies’ BMI through a more comprehensive analysis of innovation and its consequences. We discuss four foci of innovation (BMI, sustainable BMI, ecosystem innovation, and sustainable ecosystem innovation) to broaden the conceptualization of innovation and its economic, societal, and natural environmental impacts. We call for scholarship examining the impact of BMI to advance knowledge through research on value destruction and the dynamics of BMI over time.     

The impact of project team characteristics and client collaboration on project agility and project success: An empirical study

Although many companies pursue agile projects, extant literature reveals a lack of research on project agility determinants. This study examines the project team characteristics' impact on project agility and success using cross-sectional survey data from 292 agile projects. Using agile principles and complex adaptive systems theory, we find that project team autonomy, team diversity, and client collaboration have significant positive relationships with project agility. Project agility, in turn, has a significant positive relationship to project success. We measure project success by on-time completion, on-budget completion, specifications' attainment, and success rating by the project sponsor, client, and project team members. We find that project team members' adaptive performance partially mediates the relationship between project agility and success. These results guide agile project managers while facilitating team members to independently schedule their work, determine effective work methods, and develop innovative solutions. Moreover, they help agile managers recruit team members with relevant, diverse skill sets, domain knowledge, and expertise. Agile project managers must emphasize client collaboration in requirements gathering, designing, testing, and project reviews.