If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether information and communication technologies (ICT) resources, including investment and use of specific types of ICT as well as innovative work practices, have a positive impact on several dimensions of firm performance, taking into account both direct and indirect effects and both short and long-term effects. Design/methodology/approach -An empirical study using data from a sample of 267 Spanish manufacturing SMEs was conducted. Path analysis was used to study direct and indirect ICT impacts and OLS regression was the estimation method employed. Findings -The findings show a positive relationship between ICT adoption and all the measures of perceived performance analyzed, although the impact is not always immediate since the lag effects and length differ according to the type of ICT. Managers' perceptions of ICT impact are related to the adoption of new work practices but the effects also depend positively on the number of years since new work practices were implemented. ICT impact on final performance (market share and profits and margin) takes place mainly indirectly through the improvement of internal and external communication, as well as through operational performance.Research limitations/implications -The main limitations of the research stem from the specific geographical context under consideration and restrictions relating to the cross-sectional nature of the data. Practical implications -The results reveal the wide scope of the benefits of ICT adoption in SMEs and point to the need for persistence in use so as to obtain good results in some areas. They also stress the positive effects of adopting ICTs together with organizational innovation. Originality/value -This research extends the scope of the analysis of ICT payoff literature by analyzing direct and indirect effects and by focusing on a broad range of technologies, a variety of performance measures and several time lags to study ICT adoption impacts in SMEs. IntroductionEvaluating information and communication technologies (ICT) investment payoff constitutes a key concern for companies in managing their ICT resources. Companies are compelled to find way...
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between 5S use, contextual factors and performance. The contextual factors comprise structural features of the firm, environment, human resources and technology and quality management. The performance measures refer to improvements in productivity, quality, employee satisfaction, lead time and new product design. Design/methodology/approach -A questionnaire survey was conducted in 203 Spanish manufacturing plants, with personnel interviewees. The hypotheses proposed were verified using correlation analysis and analysis of variance. Findings -The results show the existence of a positive relationship between the use of 5S and some contextual factors such as size, the integration of the plant in a multinational group, the type of product manufactured, the technology used and the quality programmes in the plant. Moreover, 5S is positively related to some operational performance measures, especially those referring to quality and productivity. Originality/value -This paper contributes to the scarce empirical literature analysing the factors related to the use of 5S and its association with manufacturing performance.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyze which factors determine the use of just-in-time (JIT) in companies. More precisely, the paper aims to study the role played by two variables of organizational context (size and age) and three infrastructure practices (advanced manufacturing technologies -AMT, quality management, and work organization). Design/methodology/approach -The hypotheses were tested using data collected from 203 manufacturing plants with at least 20 employees. Data were collected by means of personal interviews with plant managers. Regression analyses have been performed to test the hypotheses. Findings -The results reveal the existence of diversity in the factors that affect the use of the different components of JIT. Infrastructure practices are shown to be more determining than contextual factors. This happens in particular with AMT, basic quality tools and the management of the relationships with suppliers and customers.Research limitations/implications -The main limitations of the research are those derived from the cross-sectional character of the data and from information coming from surveys, especially when the measures are subjective. Practical implications -The paper stresses the need to develop adequate infrastructures in technology management, quality management and work organization to obtain all the benefits of JIT implementation. Originality/value -The paper highlights the role of organizational context and, especially, infrastructure practices in the incidence of JIT in the manufacturing industry. Moreover, the identification of different dimensions of JIT systems makes it possible to conclude that the influence of the different factors considered is not uniform across all JIT elements.
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