The moderating effect of industry clockspeed on Lean Manufacturing implementation in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the moderating impact of industry clockspeed (IC) on the relationship between Lean Manufacturing (LM) practices and operational performance. A model for evaluating the impact of LM is developed and the moderating effect of IC is taken into consideration as a fundamental variable that affects the causal relationship between LM practices and operational performance. Design/methodology/approach A structural equation model was proposed and investigated across two groups based on IC level (Group 1: low IC and Group 2: high IC). A structured survey questionnaire was used to collect empirical data from 600 companies listed by the Confederation of Zimbabwean Industries. A total of 214 usable questionnaires were obtained giving a response rate of 35.6 percent. The data were analyzed using Smart PLS 3 and SPSS version 25. Findings The results revealed that LM practices directly and positively affected operational performance and IC had a positive moderation effect on the relationship between LM practices and operational performance. The results indicated that the structural equation model remained invariant across the groups. This showed that IC had a moderating effect on the relationship between LM practices and operational performance for both low IC and high IC industries. Originality/value The study analyzed the moderating effect of IC in Zimbabwean industries. The study will provide further evidence to managers on the impact of LM practices on operational performance in developing countries.

The moderating role of industry clockspeed on the relation between supply chain integration practices and new product flexibility

“…It must align internal resources, capabilities, and strategies with external factors, such as strategic alliances with customers and suppliers, to ensure that changes in the product mix are coherent with industry changes [ 15 , 35 ]. Thus, in line with the researchers’ suggestions, we explain the moderating role of IC on the relationship between SCI practices and NPF [ 15 , 16 ].…”

“…A firm develops an internal and external integrated mechanism to collect information, coordinate and monitor the partners' performance and develop a coordinated response to the customers’ needs [ 21 ]. Therefore, IC is expected to moderate the relationship between SCI practices and NPF [ 16 ].…”

“…Besides, several authors recommended exploring and understanding the boundary conditions between synergetic practices and outcomes, such that the contingency factors which hinder or amplify the integration process of outcomes [ 12 , 13 ]. Among many factors, industry clockspeed (IC) is a contextual factor that might hinder or amplify the effectiveness of synergetic practices to achieve NPF [ 15 , 16 ]. IC refers to the speed of industry change [ 17 ] and captures the rate at which new products are introduced into the market [ 18 ].…”

A systematic literature review of lean manufacturing implementation in manufacturing-based sectors of the developing and developed countries

“…Studies conducted by researchers in the developed countries showed an improvement in product quality and delivery time (Papalexi et al , 2015; Nguyen and Do, 2016); productivity (Marin-Garcia and Bonavia, 2015); market share, sales, profit margins, cost, labour productivity and lead time (Chavez et al , 2015); reduction of cycle time, inventory and bottlenecks (Lacerda et al , 2016); product mix improvement (Bevilacqua et al , 2016); turnover (Bevilacqua et al , 2017) and reduction in waste and inefficiencies (Belvedere et al , 2019). The studies conducted by the researchers in the developing world also showed an improvement in operational performance variables such as profitability, sales and customer satisfaction (Nawanir et al , 2016); lead time and turnover improvement (Marodin et al , 2016); inventory reduction (Marodin et al , 2017; Panwar et al , 2017; Marodin et al , 2016); financial performance (Sahoo and Yadav, 2018); speed, flexibility and dependability (Maware and Adetunji, 2019a; Maware and Adetunji, 2019b); productivity and quality (Marodin et al , 2018; Panwar et al , 2017; El-Khalil, 2020).…”

Development of an Afrocentric Effective Leadership (AEL) Model for Zimbabwean SMEs

“…VIF was used to measure the collinearity of the latent variables and the VIF values ranged between 1 and 2.015 and were all greater than 0.2 but lower than 5 (Hair et al, 2017). If the 29 Article DOI: 10.52589/IJEBI-4BPRAF3I DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.52589/IJEBI-4BPRAF3I www.abjournals.org VIF value is lower than 5, it shows that the model has no collinearity problem (Maware & Adetunji, 2019). As such, the results showed that the AEL model had no collinearity problem.…”