A study of the effect of manufacturing proactivity on business performance

Abstract

Purpose -This research paper analyses the link between manufacturing proactivity, understood as the tendency of a company to implement the most modern and advanced production management practices and business performance. Design/methodology/approach -Over a sample of 186 industrial companies, two dimensions of proactivity were identified; one reflecting a cultural orientation and the other denoting a technical approach to progress. Findings -Both dimensions, especially the cultural one turned out to have a positive effect on financial and operational performance. Among other things, these results point out the potential of the production and operations function as a source of competitive advantage for the company. Originality/value -The aggregated analysis of several advanced production management practices, the proposal of different causal explanation of the relationship between manufacturing proactivity and business performance, and the combination of primary (postal questionnaires) and secondary (financial databases) data sources can be considered distinguishing features of this research.

Differences in Organizational Factors by Lean Duration

“…Organisations adopt lean production as a bundle of associated practices, such as total quality management, justin-time, continuous improvement, quality circles, and total productive maintenance (see Bonavia and Marin 2006;Browning and Heath 2009;Cua et al 2001;González-Benito 2005;Katayama and Bennett 1996;Shah and Ward 2003;Slack 2005;Sohal and Egglestone 1994;Zhang et al 2006). Some authors claim that the benefits from introducing lean production are much greater if advantage is taken of synergies between different lean production practices (e.g., Cua et al 2001;Fullerton and McWatters 2001;Pont et al 2008;Shah and Ward 2003;Santos 2000).…”

“…Work systems conducive to lean production involves several core characteristics, such as a multi-skilled workforce taking a high degree of responsibility for work within their areas, the interaction of groups of individuals from parallel structures in the formal organisation with a requisite variety in knowledge and capabilities, and active shop-floor problem-solving structures that are central to kaizen (Forza 1996;Fullerton and Wempe 2009;González-Benito 2005). These characteristics demand employee participation in decision making (PDM) to be an integral aspect of a successful lean production process (Co et al 1998;Conti et al 2006;Fullerton and Wempe 2009).…”

“…Organisations world-wide must compete in open and global markets where survival and success depend to a large extent on distinctive internal capabilities (González-Benito 2005). To survive and gain competitive advantage in this ever expanding and competitive global marketplace, firms have to provide quality products and services demanded by customers, delivered faster and at a lower price, through high levels of performance and commitment (Gollan 2005).…”

Inovação e desempenho organizacional: um estudo das publicações científicas da base Web of Knowledge

“…Pode ser entendido como a tendência da empresa em aplicar práticas de produção mais modernas e avançadas de gestão e de desempenho empresarial (Gonzalez-Benito, 2005). Segundo Gunday et al (2011) as melhorias em velocidade, qualidade, flexibilidade e eficiência de custos nas operações diárias conduziriam logicamente a melhoria da posição de mercado e maior retorno financeiro.…”

“…Motivadas pelo aumento da concorrência nos mercados globais, às empresas começaram a compreender a influência e importância da inovação, uma vez que maiores graus de competição poderão resultar em taxas mais aceleradas de mudança tecnológica (UTTERBACK e SUAREZ, 1993). Assim, as inovações constituem um componente indispensável no desenvolvimento das estratégias corporativas, por atuarem nos processos de fabricação, melhorando o desempenho organizacional e a imagem transmitida aos clientes (JOHNE; Davies, 2000;Gonzalez-Benito, 2005).…”