Drawing on arguments from institutional theory, we examine the implementation and use of a supplier development program by a major North American automotive manufacturer. While all suppliers adopted the program as an apparent response to coercive institutional pressures from their customer, the study focuses on the effects of such pressures on internal information processing and the behavior of the actors involved. The study therefore addresses a significant gap in the institutional theory literature concerning the question of how managers reconcile potential conflicts between externally imposed institutional demands and internal operational efficiency constraints. Specifically, the supplier development process is conceptualized using two different approaches: one based on assumptions of rational efficiency, the other based on assumptions of institutional image construction. Five propositions were tested using quantitative data from the customer and interview data from the suppliers. Overall, the two propositions based on image construction were supported while only one proposition of the three for the rational decision making approach was partially supported. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding how a firm's institutional context influences the implementation and use of operation management strategies. #
Many companies experience difficulty in implementing Just‐in‐Time (JIT) in their manufacturing system. Based on observations, the article argues that the problem is partly due to confusion about JIT and its implications and partly due to a desire to implement JIT within an existing organisational structure. A four‐level classification system is presented as a way of summarising the different degrees of JIT implementation and their difficulties.
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A behavioral study of the just‐in‐time (JIT) situation in the circuit pack area of an electronics firm was carried out. The primary focus of the study was to examine how workers perceived JIT in their work area. A total of twelve people were interviewed—eight operators and four supervisors. The results of the study indicated that there had been many positive accomplishments, including the overall positive perception of the participants about JIT. There were, also, problems with the JIT situation, often related to the environment of the circuit pack area. Specifically, participants perceived the performance evaluation system as the most significant problem with JIT; it systematically caused a state of “push” instead of “pull.” Uncooperativeness of operators was noted by the operators themselves as a problem within the circuit pack area. It is concluded that JIT manufacturing increases the need to effectively handle problems in the organization's environment as well as within the sub‐area itself due to the lower levels of inventory. This reduction of inventory increases the interdependence of activities in the organization, thereby necessitating an efficient and effective problem‐handling capability. A discussion of why large functional organizations are less appropriate than smaller product organizations as a JIT environment is presented (e.g., effective problem handling requires increased coordination in the organizational structure, which is usually absent in large functionally designed organizations). To overcome this limitation, an organizational team approach is proposed as a temporary means of dealing with the increased interdependencies.
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