The role of executive problem solving in knowledge accumulation and manufacturing improvements

Choo, Adrian S.; Nag, Rajiv; Xia, Yusen

doi:10.1016/j.jom.2015.03.001

Cited by 37 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…A similar recommendation is given by Ferradás and Salonitis [9] (2) In the relationship between Identification Stage and Improvement Stage, the indirect effects were visibly higher than the direct effect and that findings demonstrate that activities conducted at other stages are important mediator variables for a successful SMED implementation planning. These findings are in concordance with Choo et al [19], because improving a setup/changeover process is important to have enough statistical data of it.…”

Section: Conclusion and Industrial Implicationssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The only means to improve a setup/changeover process is to have enough statistical data of it, because a statistical analysis enables identifying the current status of the problem [19]. In this sense, statistical information may include data on the performed setup activities, including order of execution, time needed for making the tool changes, trends, and possible deviations from the process sequence [20].…”

Section: Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interrelations among SMED Stages: A Causal Model

et al. 2017

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Mexico has received a lot of foreign investment that has brought in a wide range of novel production philosophies, such as Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED). Despite its popularity and reported effectiveness, Mexican companies often quit SMED implementation as they consider it challenging. This usually happens when organizations are not familiarized enough with each one of the SMED stages or do not know how they are interrelated. In this article the interrelations among the different SMED implementation stages by means of a structural equations model are analyzed. Data for constructing the model were gathered from a survey administered to 250 employees from the Mexican maquiladora industry. The survey assessed the importance of 14 activities belonging to the four SMED stages. The descriptive analyses of these stages were conducted and integrated into a structural equations model as latent variables, to find their level of dependency. The model was constructed using WarpPLS 5 software, and direct, indirect, and total effects among variables are analyzed and validated. Results from the model revealed that Stage 1 of SMED implementation, known as the Identification Stage, has both direct and indirect effects on all the other SMED stages, being the most important stage.

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Section: Conclusion and Industrial Implicationssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interrelations among SMED Stages: A Causal Model

et al. 2017

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“…Finally, LI relates to the involvement of top management and major department heads to CI. By showing their personal commitment and adopting a systematic problem-solving approach, managers indicate CI is a priority and stimulate employees to focus on improvements (Boyer 1996) to make coherent actions that support the development of CI (Laohavichien et al 2011) and to face the root causes of problems (Choo et al 2015).…”

Section: As a Dynamic Capabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The organizational infrastructure of continuous improvement – an empirical analysis

2016

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To pursue constant incremental improvements, firms must develop the dynamic capability of continuous improvement (CI). Research suggests that an organizational infrastructure is necessary to sustain CI capability. Although there have been some attempts to delineate a comprehensive model for CI infrastructure, empirical investigation is still underdeveloped. The present study explores key dimensions of the organizational infrastructure-strategic alignment, teamwork for problem solving, and goals management systems. We analyze their effects on CI capability by using a database of 266 firms. We identify the variables that underlie the organizational infrastructure through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of measurement items, and then we perform a structural equation model linking the infrastructure to CI capability. Our findings suggest that strategic alignment and teamwork for problem solving affect CI capability. This study contributes to the operationalization of the organizational infrastructure and to the understanding of how it affects CI capability in operations management contexts.

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“…Specifically, examining the impact of R&D exploitative investments on incremental improvements can be another potential research direction (cf. Choo, Nag, & Xia, ). Finally, potential sources of uncontrolled endogeneity can still exist in our empirical analyses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Domestic and Foreign Knowledge Inflows on the Relationship between R&D Portfolio Mix and Innovation Outcomes: An Empirical Study of Manufacturing Firms in an Emerging Economy*

2019

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Manufacturing firms in emerging economies face research and development (R&D) challenges that are quite different from firms in developed economies. Firms in emerging economies complement their internal R&D capabilities by accessing two forms of external knowledge: domestic knowledge from local partners and foreign knowledge from multinationals. Accessing these knowledge sources requires distinct organizational capabilities, and they may differently moderate the relationship between internal R&D investments on exploration and exploitation and innovation outcomes. Exploitation R&D investments refer to investments made on refining products and processes, while exploration R&D investments refer to investments made on designing new products and processes. We examine this issue by combining two waves of surveys from 155 manufacturing firms in Thailand. Results show that relative exploration (i.e., the ratio of R&D investments made toward exploration over sum of exploration and exploitation) exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with the number of process and product innovations developed by the firm. This optimal mix, corresponding to the tipping point of an inverted U-shaped curve, shifts toward a higher level of relative 349 350 An Empirical Study of Manufacturing Firms in an Emerging Economy exploration (i.e., higher exploration and lower exploitation) when manufacturers have more access to domestic knowledge, and shifts toward a lower level of relative exploration (i.e., lower exploration and higher exploitation) when manufacturers have more access to foreign knowledge. Our findings are robust with similar effects on a firm's revenue generated from innovations. Taken together, these results demonstrate how external knowledge flows can moderate, in contrasting ways, the relationship between R&D portfolio mix and innovation outcomes. These findings also imply that inappropriately prioritizing R&D mix can lead to suboptimal innovation outcomes, offering further insights to both practicing managers and academics interested in emerging economy contexts.

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The role of executive problem solving in knowledge accumulation and manufacturing improvements

Cited by 37 publications

References 102 publications

Interrelations among SMED Stages: A Causal Model

Interrelations among SMED Stages: A Causal Model

The organizational infrastructure of continuous improvement – an empirical analysis

The Role of Domestic and Foreign Knowledge Inflows on the Relationship between R&D Portfolio Mix and Innovation Outcomes: An Empirical Study of Manufacturing Firms in an Emerging Economy*

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