Modeling compliance to environmental regulation: Evidence from manufacturing industries

We examine the demand for pollution control equipment from 1973 to 1991 by those U.S. manufacturing industries that are highly sensitive to environmental regulation. We also consider the political determinants of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforcement budget. Because, as we demonstrate, the EPA enforcement budget is an important determinant of the industries' investment in pollution control equipment, we are able to establish a relationship between political factors and economic decision making on the part of the industries. Thus, our analysis demonstrates that the demand for pollution control equipment is sensitive to both economic and political factors.     

Is the scheduling task context-dependent? A survey investigating the presence of constraints in different manufacturing contexts

Abstract

Most studies regarding real scheduling constraints only consider the constraints related to the specific manufacturing environment studied, limiting the possibility of drawing general conclusions. A survey of 50 companies was conducted in order to discover which constraints were present and what their relationship was with the scheduling context. This paper investigates which practical scheduling constraints are present in the manufacturing industry and whether the scheduling task is context-dependent. Results of this study show that some practical production constraints are context-dependent.     

Manufacturing bill-of-material planning

The bill-of-material BOM in the machine tool industry takes two different forms in design and manufacturing functions: Engineering BOM E BOM , which is used by the design engineer to represent designed product structure; and manufacturing BOM M BOM , which is used by MRPII system for MRP explosion. The designer constructs the E BOM after the product has been designed. Next, the E BOM is transformed into the M BOM by considering assembly sequence and constraints. Constructing a M BOM simply involves compressing the E BOM into a three-level M BOM. Planning of a M BOM still depends primarily on the experience input of a manufacturing engineer and is performed manually. This trial and error and time consuming approach creates an inconsistent method for planning the M BOM. Therefore, in this study, a three-stage M BOM planning method is developed. Stage one plans the initial M BOM, stage two improves the M BOM and stage three tunes the M BOM. Concepts and algorithms of each stage are highlighted in this study. Moreover, an illustration is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of M BOM planning.     

Measurement Equivalence Using Generalizability Theory: An Examination of Manufacturing Flexibility Dimensions

As the field of decision sciences in general and operations management in particular has matured from theory building to theory testing over the past two decades, it has witnessed an explosion in empirical research. Much of this work is anchored in survey‐based methodologies in which data are collected from the field in the form of scale items that are then analyzed to measure latent unobservable constructs. It is important to assess the invariance of scales across groups in order to reach valid, scientifically sound conclusions. Because studies have often been conducted in the field of decision sciences with small sample sizes, it further exacerbates the problem of reaching incorrect conclusions. Generalizability theory can more effectively test for measurement equivalence in the presence of small sample sizes than the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tests that have been conventionally used for assessing measurement equivalency across groups. Consequently, we introduce and explain the generalizability theory (G‐theory) in this article to examine measurement equivalence of 24 manufacturing flexibility dimension scales that have been published in prior literature and also compare and contrast G‐theory with CFA. We show that all the manufacturing flexibility scales tested in this study were invariant across the three industry SIC groups from which data were collected. We strongly recommend that G‐theory should always be used for determining measurement equivalence in empirical survey‐based studies. In addition, because using G‐theory alone does not always reveal the complete picture, CFA techniques for establishing measurement equivalence should also be invoked when sample sizes are large enough to do so. Implications of G‐theory for practice and its future use in operations management and decision sciences research are also presented.     

Global operations strategy: Coordinating manufacturing networks

This paper presents a concept that describes how companies can manage their international operations so as to facilitate the coordination of their manufacturing networks. The research presented originates from a model that was developed at the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson in the mid-1990s, but has since then been further elaborated. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to show how Ericsson Radio Systems incorporated the recent research on manufacturing networks found in literature in their global operations strategy, and to present the conceptual model that was the result of these efforts. The conceptual model described in this paper focuses on the blending of cost competitiveness, flexibility, and innovativeness; a combination termed the “transnational solution” in the literature. In addition to a literature review on manufacturing networks and global operations and the proposed conceptual model, the paper also contains a case illustration showing how Ericsson has implemented a version of the conceptual model so that their global operations strategy realizes the transnational solution.     

Antecedents and performance outcomes of global competence: An empirical investigation

We examine the role of commitment to supply chain management (CSCM) and information technology (IT) in the achievement of global competence (GC). Through an empirical examination of 667 manufacturing business units in the U.S., we confirm the importance of global competence using two objective measures of firm performance. We investigate the direct effects of CSCM and experience with IT on performance, in addition to their indirect effects through global competence. We show global competence to be linked directly to objective measures of sales, and indirectly to return on assets (ROA). Despite manufacturers’ hefty investments in IT, we find that experience with IT does not drive ROA directly, but only indirectly through global competence and sales.     

中国经济增长的就业弹性

 本文利用2001-2008年中国深沪两市508家制造业上市公司的微观就业数据和企业动态劳动需求方程来重新估计了中国经济增长的就业弹性。实证结果表明,中国制造业上市公司的总资产规模扩张（即企业投资）具有显著的就业效应。因此,企业微观数据并不支持中国经济增长的就业弹性下降或偏低的观点。     

中国制造业出口贸易的技术水平——测度及行业特征检验

笔者将以考察国家层面的出口品技术含量指数延伸到一国内部的行业层面,并构建了相对技术含量指数和整体技术水平指数,分析了中国制造业出口贸易的变迁。实证结果表明,中国制造业出口品的相对技术含量是低层次的,常用的技术水平指标高估了中国的实际情况,但是整体技术水平仍然呈现上升趋势并表现出不同的特征。此外,笔者还检验了相对技术含量与三类行业特征的相关关系。     

中国制造业出口如何突破“天花板约束”

在全球价值链分工条件下,出口存在着名义增长和真实增长两种情形。面临国内外环境深刻变化,当前中国制造业名义出口面临“天花板约束”,而破除约束的路径之一就是依托制造业服务化提升制造业出口国内增加值,实现真实出口增长。本文利用WIOD数据库,在整体和细分层面上测算了包括中国在内的44个样本经济体2000-2014年制造业出口内含服务增加值。研究发现,无论是整体还是细分行业层面,以出口内含服务增加值为表征的制造业服务化有深入发展趋势,但中国在样本经济体中排名较为靠后。进一步的相关性分析表明,制造业出口国内增加值率与制造业出口内含国内服务增加值呈显著正相关,而与内含国外服务增加值呈显著负相关。因此,破除出口“天花板约束”,依托制造业服务化对于中国制造而言具有广阔空间和余地,也是可行的路径之一,但需要区分制造业出口内含的服务增加值来源结构。即通过大力发展国内服务业尤其是现代生产性服务业,以弱化制造业发展对国外服务业的依赖,对确保上述路径可行具有极为重要的战略意义。     

Structural and contextual approaches to ambidexterity: A meta-analysis of organizational and environmental contingencies

This meta-analysis examines the conditions under which structural and contextual approaches help balance exploration and exploitation. Drawing on heterogeneous samples of prior ambidexterity studies, we apply moderated meta-analytic regression methods to 33,492 organizations sampled in 114 primary studies from 1991 to 2017 to test a contingency model. Our findings suggest that structural separation helps firms of all sizes to balance exploration and exploitation, and that structural separation is more conducive for balancing exploration and exploitation in high technology environments. Also, avoiding a structural separation approach benefits service firms. As research on ambidexterity enters the maturity stage we discuss the implications for future theory development, methodology, and for managers interested in developing ambidextrous organizations.