Product and Process Modularity's Effects on Manufacturing Agility and Firm Growth Performance

Modularity in product design has been hailed as a way to speed new product development (NPD), to reduce NPD cost, and to enhance customization possibilities for consumers. Modularity in process design may speed new product manufacturing setup times, reduce costs, and enhance the profitability of the lower volumes that customization often entails. However, empirical evidence is scarce that either product or process modularity—individually, jointly, or sequentially—actually produce these or other proposed benefits (e.g., performance growth). This study builds on general modular systems theory (GMST) by examining the theoretical relationship between product and process modularity and the effects of each on firm growth performance. Using structural equation modeling, partial versus complete mediation by manufacturing agility is also scrutinized. In one pair of models, product modularity and process modularity are separate direct antecedents to manufacturing agility, which is modeled to affect firm growth performance; in a second pair of models, product and process modularity are related antecedents to manufacturing agility, with product modularity preceding process modularity. Results from the best‐fitting model show that product modularity directly and positively affects process modularity, manufacturing agility, and firm growth performance. Process modularity was unrelated to manufacturing agility, and neither process modularity nor manufacturing agility predicted growth performance. Consistent with GMST, the study provides empirical evidence of the power of one element of a modular system to orchestrate a fit between a firm's product and manufacturing strategies and to directly drive system performance. Thus, modularity in product design is revealed as the key to understanding GMST effects concerning how changes in one system generate changes in other systems.     

Detailed cost estimating in the automotive industry: Data and information requirements

The automotive industry operates in a very competitive market which requires controlling product costs, improving the product quality and shortening the development lead time. Cost estimation requires quality data and information, therefore this research project identified several issues that hinder this activity, namely a lack of resources and information acquiring and validation difficulties. This research paper presents the various data and information requirements for detailed cost estimating in automotive industry. The research project has identified the common cost estimation process model within the identified industry sector. The study identified the types of data and information requirements for cost estimating. It has also constructed the relevant data infrastructure as the basis for a Web Portal, which is the physical presentation of the information infrastructure. Multiple sources of data collection techniques were employed to identify the types of data needed for detailed cost estimates within a manufacturing company. These techniques include participant observation, semi-structured interviews, process models and document analysis of six different UK based automotive companies. Methods of process modelling like IDEF3 and knowledge capture technique known as X-Pat (eXpert Process Knowledge Analysis Tool) were employed in this study.This study makes several contributions concerning both conceptual and practicable information issues that have long vexed detailed cost estimating practices in the automotive industry. The study conceptually defines the detailed bottom-up information (i.e., individual cost elements and the links between them) needed for an accurate estimate of cost, and shows why each element of information is needed and where it fits into the cost model. To respond to the practicable information vexations, the study shows where to find the necessary cost information and proposes a validation method. The research creates useful knowledge in the form of an improved understanding of information requirements for cost estimates. The benefits to the industry of better cost estimates based on this research at the conceptual design stage include improved cost control and enhanced ability to adjust to anticipated market trends.     

The impact of alternative operationalizations of industry structural elements on measures of performance for entrepreneurial manufacturing ventures

Using a sample of 115 manufacturing ventures, this study examined elements of industry structure which prior theory and research in the fields of industrial organization economics, strategic management, and entrepreneurship suggest are the most important structural characteristics of industries. Future researchers should carefully select the particular operationalization of industry structure as our research demonstrates that the influence of industry structural elements on measures of firm performance is strongly dependent upon the particular operationalization utilized. In addition, measures of industry structure were found to have a differential impact on alternative measures of firm performance, suggesting that different performance measures are not interchangeable proxies for one another. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cost estimation support tool for vertical high speed machines based on product characteristics and productivity requirements

This work concerns a machine tool selection problem, which consists of selecting the most suitable machine to satisfy manufacturing company requirements.The main goal of this work is to develop a cost estimation support tool for vertical high speed machining centres based on final part and productivity requirements of the company linked with machine tool characteristics available in the catalogues in order to apply the cost model and to calculate machine tool cost estimations.The cost model presented is based on multiple regression analyses and provides reasonably accurate market cost predictions. Applying the proposed cost model will help the user to determine the approximate market cost of the machine and can be especially interesting for decision makers in the preliminary stages of a selection process because it avoids long and costly studies.     

Methodology for realignment of supply-chain structural elements

Supply-chain competitiveness is a holistic matter that requires each partner within the supply chain to align their structural elements. With this idea in mind, the following paper presents the manufacturing organization from a supply-chain standpoint (supply chain structural elements), discusses the importance of the alignment within and among supply-chain structural elements, and proposes a quantitative methodology to achieve a proper alignment, from cost, time, easiness, and expertise perspectives. The methodology is applied to a real case in order to probe its usefulness to the supply-chain strategist. Future research will extend the methodology for the case of hybrid business models.     

The anatomy of productivity growth slowdown and recovery in Canadian manufacturing, 1970–79

A micro-database that tracks individual establishments (plants) in the Canadian manufacturing sector through the 1970s is used to analyse the productivity growth slowdown and partial recovery that occurred over that decade. The data allow us to distinguish between the performance within individual plants and ‘structural’ changes, such as entry and exit and intra- and inter-industry shifts in the distribution of output as contributing factors to changes in productivity growth. The main finding is that fluctuations within plants were responsible for nearly all of the slowdown, and for most of the partial recovery, though the latter was also helped by a reallocation of output shares within manufacturing towards lower cost industries.     

Communication protocols for order management in collaborative manufacturing

Collaborative manufacturing requires efficient and cost effective communications among the partners. To provide efficient and reliable communications, this research modularizes the design of communication protocols for order management in collaborative manufacturing. Ten protocol modules have been defined and designed in this research.With the 10 protocol modules, companies can easily construct the protocols to regulate the interactions between partner companies. This research designs five protocols associated with order management in collaborative manufacturing. The protocols are also implemented in a distributed computing environment. The results indicate that the modularized protocols ensure the reliability and efficiency of communications, and reduce the complexity in protocol design.     

The impact of time on the strategy-performance relationship: Implications for managers

This study examined the influence of cycle time and the application of strategic information technology (SIT) on the relationship between business strategies identified during the course of the research (i.e., marketing differentiation, innovation differentiation and overall low cost) and firm performance (i.e., ROA, ROS). Data from a cross-industry sample of 116 executives in manufacturing and service businesses were collected using a web-based survey, conducted in cooperation with InformationWeek, a leading information technology industry magazine. Results of a path analysis indicated a significant, positive relationship of a market differentiation strategy to SIT to cycle time to performance. Strong positive direct relationships were evident for SIT to cycle time and for cycle time to performance. No other significant relationships were observed.     

The adoption of radical manufacturing technologies and firm survival

The emergence of dramatically innovative, or radical, new manufacturing technologies can force pivotal and life‐threatening decisions for industry competitors. These technologies can represent a huge cost for adopting firms, but may also offer the chance to achieve competitive advantage through superior manufacturing. While prior research has considered a range of production process decisions (e.g., JIT, mass customization) and outcomes for end‐product technologies, little attention has been given to adoption decisions relative to core manufacturing technologies. This study examines an industry's adoption of major manufacturing technologies over several decades and demonstrates that two groups of contingencies related to adoption (e.g., timing and cumulative effects) have a significant impact on firm performance. Based on a sample of over 1,000 firms, the results provide insights into the effects of adoption timing and ‘manufacturing technology bundles’ on firm survival. We also find that adoption of manufacturing technologies prior to the inflection point of the estimated Bass diffusion curve for each technology leads to significant reduction in firm mortality. Thus, we are able to demonstrate the ability of the Bass model to predict the survival outcomes of firms facing manufacturing technology adoption decisions. The strategic implications of these pivotal decisions are considered. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship between supplier management and firm's operational performance: A multi-dimensional perspective

This paper presents an empirical study on the multidimensional relationships between supplier management practices and firm operational performance. Specifically, we focus on three supplier management practices, namely strategic long-term relationship, supplier assessment, and logistics integration, and test their effects on four operations performance measures, namely quality, delivery, flexibility, and cost. We use data collected from 232 manufacturing firms in Australia to conduct the study. Ten hypotheses were tested simultaneously using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. The results show that different supplier management practices have different unique effects on different operations performance measures. Supplier assessment has a positive relationship with quality performance. Both strategic long-term relationship and logistics integration have positive relationships with delivery, flexibility, and cost performance. From a theoretical perspective, this study demonstrates the relative contributions of different kinds of resources (i.e., supplier management practices in our case) to different performance measures. Our research findings provide practical insights for managers to understand the effectiveness, as well as the limitations, of different supplier management practices in enhancing different operations performance measures of firms.     

Profitability,concentration and trade flows: Issues of non-linearity and exogeneity

This paper deals with the econometric estimation of a traditional profitability model employing cross-section data for 110 4-digit Canadian manufacturing industries for the period 1972–1976. A series of estimations and statistical tests suggest that the relationship between industry price—cost margins and the Herfindahl index of concentration is non-linear, non-monotonic but exhibits an everal upward trend across concentration classes. Empirical evidence regarding the disciplinary effect of imports does not support the import competition hypothesis.     

Order, positioning, scope and outcomes of market entry

This research aims to analyze the relationships between three dimensions of the market entry strategy for new products - order, positioning and scope - and four dimensions of performance - customer satisfaction, competitive position, costs and profitability. The consideration of internal links between the entry dimensions, together with their effect on the different performance variables, will enable us to determine the existence of mediating effects, which up until now have barely been examined in the literature. We test our model on a cross-sectional sample of 136 manufacturing firms, applying structural equation modeling based on the Partial Least Squares (PLS) methodology. Our findings reveal that all the three strategic decisions included in our model of market entry do affect performance, although their influence changes according to the performance dimension being measured.     

Cost Accounting and Performance Measurement in a Just-in-Time Production Environment

There are normative statements in the literature, backed up by case observations and anecdotal evidence, which indicate that manufacturing companies operating just-in-time (JIT) production management systems should also change their cost accounting systems and place greater reliance on non-financial performance indicators. This study provides empirical evidence suggesting that JIT manufacturing companies which have made some degree of modification to their costing system demonstrate higher performance than JIT companies which have not made changes. The results also suggest that greater use of non-financial performance indicators is associated with higher performance irrespective of the production management system adopted.     

Technology Exploitation Paths: Combining Technological and Complementary Resources in New Product Development and Licensing

Technological resources in the form of patents, trade secrets, and know‐how have become key assets for modern enterprises. This paper addresses a critical issue in technology and innovation management, namely, the commercial exploitation of technological resources resulting from research and development (R&D) investments. Extracting economic value from these resources by maximizing the benefits for shareholders is an extremely challenging task because technological resources are intangible, idiosyncratic, uncertain, predominantly tacit, and with poorly defined property rights. In their attempt to extract the maximum value from their technological resources, firms increasingly combine their internal exploitation through new product development (NPD) with external exploitation through licensing. However, most existing studies on NPD and technology licensing have treated the two exploitation paths independently and in isolation, which has resulted in two separate research streams using different theories and addressing different managerial challenges. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to filling this gap by developing and testing a comprehensive conceptual framework that simultaneously considers the antecedents affecting the successful implementation of NPD and licensing strategies as well as their consequences on firm profitability. The paper in particular investigates the effects of the interplay between technological resources and three types of complementary resources, marketing, manufacturing, and relational. We test the model using structural equation modeling on a sample of 733 Spanish manufacturing firms observed from 2003 to 2007. The data provide support for the existence of different paths to market firm technologies: an internal path, whereby the ownership of technological resources fully explains NPD performance, and an external path, whereby high intensity of marketing and relational resources reinforces the positive effect of technological resources on licensing performance. This sustains the relevance of the resource‐based value‐enhancing effects of complementary resources in licensing, as opposed to the motivation‐reducing effects advanced by transaction cost‐based literature. Moreover, the empirical analysis shows a substitution effect between NPD and licensing, whereby their simultaneous pursuit at intense levels is associated with lower profit margins. This provides evidence of the much theorized, but seldom tested, rent dissipation effect. These findings offer several contributions to research on licensing, NPD, open innovation, and the resource‐based view of the firm. On a managerial level, they suggest that achieving maximum value from proprietary technologies may not entail exploiting them both through external and internal paths. Managers are also informed that the resource combinations that enhance licensing performance include marketing and relational resources.     

The Manufacturing Strategy and Competitive Priority of SMEs in Taiwan: A Case Survey

This research investigates the competitive priorities and manufacturing strategic decisions of small and medium enterprises (SME) in Taiwan. The method of case survey is used to tap 33 published case reports on SMEs' operations. It is revealed that quality is perceived the most important among the seven competitive priorities, i.e. quality, dependability, cost, flexibility, innovation, service, and time. The relative importance of the ten strategic decisions is found in the following sequence: product development, workforce, organization, control system, technology, quality program, facilities, vertical integration, capacity, performance measurement. Managerial implications drawn from the research findings are discussed. Observations about the owners of SMEs are also briefed.     

基于DEA-Tobit的装备制造业上市公司经营绩效研究——来自2005～2010年装备制造业的经验数据分析

本文以2005～2010年中国装备制造业上市公司为研究主体,以其经营绩效为研究对象,利用主成分法和因子分析对指标进行筛选并剔除,构建装备制造业上市公司绩效指标体系.运用DEAMalmquist指数法对经营绩效进行评价并得出装备制造业全要素生产率的提高主要得力于技术进步,而技术效率也是影响全要素生产率的因素的结论.通过Tobit回归找出其他因素对经营绩效的影响程度.实证表明,装备制造业整体绩效并不理想,要想使装备制造业健康持续发展就需同时兼顾技术效率、技术进步的提高,同时重视公司内部的管理与决策能力,实现规模经济.     

Strategic (MIS)FIT: The Implementation of TQM in Manufacturing Organizations

This paper explores how fit with the organization's strategic orientation relates to performance following total quality management (TQM) implementation. Conceptualizing the organization as a system of interrelated activities, we propose that TQM is an ‘elaborating element’ that achieves internal fit when the core elements of the activity system are orientated toward a ‘cost leadership’ rather than ‘differentiation’ strategic position. When internal fit occurs, TQM drives tighter interactions among core elements in the activity system, resulting in greater performance. Using longitudinal data from a sample of 780 manufacturing organizations, we find that TQM is positively related to performance for cost leaders, but negatively related to performance for differentiators. Our findings support the contingency perspective whereby internal fit serves as an overarching contextual factor influencing TQM success. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国原油开采项目经济评价方法的探讨

原油开采项目的经济评价方法可以规范为现金流量的动态经济评价方法。《石油工业建设项目经济评价方法与参数（第二版）》对石油工业建设项目经济评价方法进行了规范,但经济评价方法仍然存在许多可以探讨的问题,文章就计算价格、项目投资估算、流动资金估算、成本测算模型、销售税金测算、销售税金测算、评价报表,评价指标和不确定性分析等问题进行了初步的分析研究 。     

R&D Cooperation in a Transaction Cost Perspective

This paper investigates R&Dcooperation between buyers and suppliers, drawing bothon transaction cost theory and resource-based theoryof the firm. Results of logistic regression analyses,using a unique firm-level database containing 689manufacturing firms located in a Dutch region, supportassumptions of transaction cost theory. Frequentknowledge transfer and moderate and high levels ofasset specificity increase probabilities of R&Dcooperation. In particular, Williamson's assumptionsconcerning the moderating influences of uncertainty onbilateral governance are confirmed. Extending theoriginal transaction cost model with indicatorsderived from resource based theory of the firmincreases the performance of the model.