PurposeThe purpose of the study is to illustrate the advantages for firms who build local supplier and customer relationships whenever possible.Design/methodology/approachA case study of a US petrochemical firm is used along with a discussion of Porter's economic cluster theory.FindingsThe firm outsourced two raw materials first to a firm about 200 miles away and then to a firm that built a plant across the street. By sourcing to a co‐located firm the company reduced its costs by $280,000 per year while simultaneously increasing quality by 6.5 per cent, reducing lead‐time by seven to ten days, and reducing raw material inventory from 800 tons to 30 tons.Research limitations/implicationsAs with all case studies, care must be taken when generalizing the findings of this study. This article provides empirical evidence that supports Porter's economic cluster theory.Practical implicationsManagers are reminded that even in the age of the global business environment, there is still practical value in constructing local supply chains. Government officials who are in charge of economic development are shown the value of targeting clusters of economic activity.Originality/valueThis article provides empirical evidence that supports Porter's economic cluster theory and has practical implications for managers and government officials.

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Reports an initial study to validate a brief instrument which could be useful as a tool to permit researchers to gain insight into a construct termed QM maturity – the quality of an organization’s adoption of (QM) programs. Notes that investigators have frequently confounded the length of time an organization reports that it has “been on” QM with the quality of its QM adoption. Yet it is entirely possible that an organization that reports that it has had quality programs in place for a considerable period of time may have adopted those programs poorly and superficially. The researchers were aware that a significant research stream was in place and investigating these issues, but were concerned that the available instruments tended to be extremely lengthy, aimed at top management rather than the workforce as a whole, or oriented toward a manufacturing rather than service environment. Reports initial work to validate a brief instrument that is potentially useful at all organizational levels and in both service and manufacturing. Suggests that the findings indicate that the instrument is consistent with an instrument from the existing research stream and that it also shows relationships to worker perceptions of organizational culture, Baldrige criteria, and job enrichment in directions that would be expected in the quality environment.

Building on the organizational‐politics (Kaemar & Baron, 1999) and social‐identity (Hogg & Terry, 2000) literatures, we examined the moderating effect of work identity on the organizational‐politics/organizational‐commitment relationship. Data collected from 500 employees of a data‐reporting organization and 943 employees of a customer‐service organization indicate that employees who identified primarily with their occupations were less affected by the level of perceived politics in the organization in the consideration of their commitment than were employees who identified primarily with their employing organizations or one of its units. Implications for research and management practice are discussed.

Examines two distinctly different reasons for resistance to total quality management (TQM) in US corporations. One of these is that workers will perceive TQM as controlling rather than empowering: in effect, seeing it as a ploy to get them to work harder for fewer rewards. Alternatively, it may be that TQM is seen as empowering but that all individuals do not want enriched, empowered jobs. Asks whether personality characteristics, and especially equity sensitivity, growth need strength, and willingness to engage in organizational citizenship behavior, are related to each other and whether they will influence individuals' reactions to job characteristics associated with the quality environment. Findings offer support for the second of the possibilities raised, with results suggesting that resistance is not related to perceptions that jobs under TQM are seen as controlling. Finds evidence that personality characteristics, and especially growth needs strength (GNS) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), are related to preferences for enriched jobs of the type associated with the quality environment.