Purpose – Human resource management (HRM) is considered an important issue in operations strategy (OS). Furthermore, OS effectiveness depends on performance in competitive priorities (CP). However, little empirical evidence exists about the relationship between them. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of HRM on performance in CP. Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted by surveying a sample of medium and large manufacturing companies in the Colombian coffee region. Three groups of variables were studied: performance in CP, HRM practices and factors related to employees. A regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings – No significant relationship was found between HRM practices and performance in CP. Regarding the factors related to employees, two findings were relevant: first, when the companies involve features about the individuals in OS decision making (motivations, personal goals, abilities, etc.) better performance can be observed in CP; second, when employees reach a higher level of satisfaction and job performance, the performance in CP improves as well. Practical implications – Considering the importance of HRM practices, appropriate adjustment and application should be sought to improve company performance. Furthermore, factors related to employees (features about the individuals, job satisfaction and employee performance), must be properly aligned with the OS. Originality/value – The paper addresses an issue supported by little empirical evidence. Because few studies have considered the total set of CP identified in the literature review, the authors applied an indicator to establish the global performance of the production system according to the market requirements. Traditionally, HRM has been studied from the perspective of management practices, giving little attention to employees. In this research, the authors consider not only this perspective but also the effects of factors related to employees on performance in CP when they are aligned with the OS.
Purpose Assessment of manufacturing systems provides a baseline for manufacturing strategy (MS) formulation. The purpose of this paper is to develop and propose a maturity assessment model for manufacturing systems (MAMMS). The MAMMS provides a maturity index, in order to establish manufacturing system performance on five possible levels: preinfantile, infantile, industry average, adult, and world class manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach Three main steps were taken: MAMMS design; maturity-level assessment in two companies; and MAMMS validation. Based on an action-research process, several research tools, such as surveys, expert panels, and immersion in two manufacturing companies, were used. Findings By integrating 79 variables into a maturity index, the maturity level for two manufacturing companies was obtained. Considering three main components (competitive priorities, manufacturing levers, and manufacturing’s strategic role), the analyzed companies showed a performance at the average industry level. According to participants, the MAMMS is a valuable tool to support decision making in MS. Practical implications Empirical evidence supports the relevance of the proposed MAMMS and its practical usefulness. In particular, the maturity index identifies strengths and weaknesses in the manufacturing system, providing a baseline from which to deploy MS. Originality/value The literature review shows a lack of contributions regarding maturity models, particularly, the non-existence of maturity assessment models for manufacturing systems. The proposed MAMMS is a valuable tool to support decision making in MS. Also, this paper contributes to understanding the action-research paradigm, for further research in operations management.
El objetivo del presente artículo es explorar el contenido (prioridades competitivas y áreas de decisión estratégica) y el proceso (patrón en la toma de decisiones) en función del desempeño y características de la empresa (tamaño, mercado objetivo y tipo). La estrategia de manufactura se ocupa del planeamiento a largo plazo del sistema de producción y la literatura se ha centrado en el contenido y pocas investigaciones han analizado conjuntamente estos dos elementos. Para este estudio se realizó una investigación empírica mediante la aplicación de una encuesta en 36 empresas manufactureras colombianas. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que no hay diferencias significativas de desempeño en relación con las características estudiadas. No obstante, se identificaron tres grupos de empresas (clusters) en relación con su desempeño en las prioridades competitivas. Con respecto al patrón en la toma de decisiones (de arriba hacia abajo, de abajo hacia arriba o mixto) no se observaron diferencias en el desempeño.
Operations strategy is a mature field and requires novel insights for further research and practitioners in companies. To fill this gap, 280 articles were analyzed, by way of a systematic literature review, considering two approaches: topic perspectives (content, process, and competitive priorities), and research paradigms (analysis perspective, general methodology, research design, research typology, and alternative paradigms). Eight challenges were identified and discussed to make novel contributions to cutting-edge knowledge. Among other things, it was found that people’s perceptions of object reality prevail as the dominant paradigm, regarding the source and type of information used. In this sense, the literature suggests additional investigation through the direct observation of object reality and experimental studies, in which the action research approach could play an important role as an alternative paradigm. Additionally, considering Industry 4.0 advances, new research opportunities have emerged which permit artificial reconstruction of object reality to support decision-making. The main contribution of this study is to discuss eight challenges by which to improve research relevance and make both academic and practical contributions. Moreover, several useful data for researchers are provided, including statistics regarding response rates in survey research (dominant paradigm). Finally, these findings can be used to perform further research with additional functional strategies in the companies.
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