Exploring the effects of international sourcing on manufacturing versus service firms

As the extent of international sourcing rises and the number of functional activities spreading across-national borders increases, there is a call for a better understanding of its impact on structural change. In this work, we explore the effects of international sourcing comparatively and look for differences between manufacturing and service firms. This study is based on a unique Slovenian data set that links the recently conducted Eurostats survey on international sourcing with a detailed financial firm-level data. The results from the matching methodology suggest that service firms involved in international sourcing gain an improvement in the quality and technological learning, resulting in the employment growth and development. This is not the case for manufacturing firms driven primarily by cost cutting. In our view, a better understanding of these effects is vital for both manufacturing as well as service firms that are influenced by this new trend.     

The effect of credit on growth and convergence of firm size in Kenyan manufacturing

Few studies test for the effect of credit and convergence on firm growth in the context of a developing economy. The use of bank credit can affect firm growth in two opposite ways. The effect may be positive if credit allows a firm to address its liquidity constraint and increase investment and profitability. However, if macroeconomic shocks such as unexpected increases in interest rates make firm debts unsustainable, as experienced in Kenya in the 1990s, indebted firms may shrink or even collapse. Using microeconomic data on the Kenyan manufacturing sector, this study finds that conditional on survival, the firms that use credit grow faster than those not using it. There is also evidence that small firms grow faster than large ones, confirming the convergence hypothesis. These results are robust to alternative estimation procedures controlling for both endogeneity and selection bias.     

中国出口制造业投入服务化水平测度——基于贸易增加值视角

本文根据2018版OECD-ICIO数据,采用贸易增加值测算法测度了2005-2015年中国出口制造业投入服务化水平,我们发现:在考虑出口二元结构的条件下,2005-2015年中国制造业整体投入服务化水平平均值为26.89%,呈上升趋势;国内投入服务化水平高于国外且呈现出不断"以国内服务替代国外服务"的变动趋势;相比于一般贸易,加工贸易出口制造业投入服务化水平更高但增速较缓,加工贸易国内服务投入比重较低但服务化增速较快;相比于资本和知识密集型制造业,劳动密集型制造业的高端生产性服务尤其是国内高端服务投入比重较低。     

Image risks of servitization in collaborative service deliveries

Although servitization is seen as a potential process for reputable goods manufacturers to expand their business, it also involves risks to company image. External partners, such as suppliers and third parties, have played an increasing role in manufacturing firms' service business, but their image effects are poorly understood. This paper discusses the image risks of servitization in manufacturing companies, particularly when they operate collaboratively with third parties. An embedded case study was conducted in two units of a case company in the engineering industry. The results revealed that a good company image plays a key role in customers' selection of service providers, but this image is strongly influenced by third-party performance during service delivery. As a key contribution, this study suggests that third-party image risks are strategic issues that can direct and guide the servitization process at the level of strategy, operations, and company identity.     

制造业服务化与全球价值链位置提升--基于制造业企业的分析

近年来,制造业企业通过服务化转型实现了生产效率的提升。本文利用匹配的中国工业企业数据库和中国海关贸易数据库数据,实证分析了制造业企业服务化对制造业企业全球价值链位置的影响。研究发现,制造业企业的服务化显著促进了企业全球价值链位置的提升,这种作用主要通过促进技术创新和提高生产成本两个机制来实现。结合互联网的进一步分析发现,制造业企业通过与互联网深度融合,可以有效提升企业的全球价值链位置。因此,加快制造业企业的服务化转型,推动工业互联网的发展,是中国制造业企业提升全球价值链位置的重要途径。     

Managerial approaches towards service quality: the case of three service organisations

Using a multiple case study, this paper is concerned with assessing the impact of senior management's approach and attitudes on service quality and its implications for middle and firstline managers. Date from 52 semi-structured interviews representing a variety of managerial levels suggests that there exist many conflicts and differences in senior management's orientation and approach towards quality management (QM) with that of middle and firstline managers. The results further indicate that getting such consistency appropriate to the needs of top, middle, and firstline management, and of the QM itself, is one of the key problems of current management of service quality. However, the findings highlight that where there is consistency between senior managers' underlying approaches towards service quality goal with that of middle and firstline managers, service quality programmes will highly likely produce expected results. Finally, the implications of these findings as well as future research are put forward.     

Operationalisation of service innovation: a systems thinking approach

This paper initialises an effort to explore the impact of an innovative systems thinking approach for service operations design on creating innovation. A qualitative exploratory case study approach in two of the UK’s service sector departments was conducted, using face-to-face semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and extractions from both observations and documents. The results identify that operationalising service innovation is positively linked with applying the Vanguard Method for service operations design. Twelve micro-determinants for service innovation operationalisation have been identified that reside at three different levels in the service organisation, namely employees level (i.e. Micro), the functional level (i.e. Meso), and corporate level (i.e. Macro). The value of this paper is the introduction of a step-by-step guidance on how to build service operations design to operationalise service innovation, the paper also theorises service innovation with systems thinking methodology that emphasises holistic, multi-disciplinary, and integrative characteristics of the service system.     

Does servicification of manufacturing increase the GVC activities of firms? Case of India

Does greater use of services’ inputs in manufacturing increase the global value chain (GVC) activities of the firms? In this study, we analyse the effects of servicification on the GVC activities of manufacturing firms in India. Using panel data of 4608 Indian manufacturing firms from 2001 to 2018, we examine the effects of servicification of manufacturing firms on their decision to participate in GVCs. The study examines the overall service inputs in manufacturing activities and its impact on GVC activities of firms. The results indicate that servicification of manufacturing tends to have a positive impact on GVC activities of firms. We also observe positive impact on Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the GVC through the servicification of manufacturing. Further, the results also indicate the differential impact of servicification between high- and low-technology industries.     

The influence of guanxi on physical distribution service quality availability in e-commerce sourcing fashion garments from China

The purpose was to investigate the influence of guanxi (personal relationships) on availability within physical distribution service quality (PDSQ) for sourcing high street fashion garments from China via e-commerce. The research reviewed articles on guanxi and although it is still widely considered important its contribution and nature appears to be changing as Chinese business practises and sourcing policy have matured over time. Qualitative research was used in two Chinese based case study companies with detailed access through semi structured face-to-face and telephone interviews. The findings suggest that personal relationships through guanxi can facilitate e-commerce availability of fashion product, particularly where there is limited lead time in the sourcing activity, although its form and application in each case study company and their respective supply network was not as widespread as had been previously reported. The form of guanxi was observed as personal relationships but some aspects of co-operative relationships were also found. Since the paper is based on a phenomenological ontology the findings are largely exploratory. Future research should focus on understanding physical distribution service quality and personal relationships in other sectors. Guanxi by definition is an unstructured array of socially-based relationships without a simplistic rationale or logic. By understanding how guanxi is applied in a supply chain management context will aid those practitioners involved in an e-commerce Chinese business practise.     

The Impact of Knowledge Acquisition and Absorptive Capacity on Technological Innovations in Developing Countries: Evidence From Egyptian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

The author examines the determinants of technological innovations in Egyptian manufacturing and service small and medium-sized enterprises. Three categories of determinants are explored: (a) firms’ exposure to external knowledge and technologies, (b) firms’ absorptive capacity, and (c) financial and market barriers to innovation. A large dataset derived from the 2009 Egyptian innovation survey is used to estimate two binary logit models of factors explaining firms’ propensity to innovate in the manufacturing and service sectors. Results show that Egyptian manufacturing and service small and medium-sized enterprises follow similar paths to innovate and confirm the assumption that the catching-up reality in most developing countries makes the patterns followed by firms to innovate fundamentally different from those applied in countries at the technology frontier.     

Impact of ownership and location factors on service multinationals' internalisation

Foreign direct investment in the service sector has been gaining importance in the past decade as more countries transform themselves into post-industrialised economies. The transition from a centrally planned economy to market-based economy has generated a surge of foreign direct investment from industrialised countries to Central and Eastern European Countries. This paper examines the impact of ownership and location factors on the extent of internalisation for service multinationals seeking to enter into the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, as these countries launch their economies towards increased privatisation, deregulation, and liberalisation. Using foreign direct investment data of 76 firms during 1990–2000, we find significant support for our main hypotheses.     

The influence of competition on international sourcing strategies in the service sector

Rising importance of service industries and international trade in services led to increased competition in the service sector. The aim of this study is to analyze the international sourcing behavior of service firms as a strategic means to contend with competition. Our theoretical predictions suggest that there is a U-shaped relationship between a service firm’s domestic competitive position and its pursuit of international sourcing: the relationship is first negative and at later stages positive. The international sourcing behavior of domestic competitors and inward investments of foreign rivals are expected to positively affect a service firm’s international sourcing magnitude. A large-scale empirical analysis using a panel of 579 German service firms supports our hypotheses.     

Beyond ideal-type depictions of entrepreneurship: some lessons from the service sector in England

To evaluate critically the ideal-type depiction of entrepreneurs as wholesome super heroes that permeates the entrepreneurship literature, this paper analyses whether entrepreneurs in the service sector are involved in off-the-books transactions. Reporting data from interviews conducted in England with 91 early-stage entrepreneurs (defined here as individuals starting-up an enterprise in the past 3 years) and 81 more established self-employed in the service sector, the finding is that 77 and 74%, respectively engaged in off-the-books transactions. The outcome is a call to move beyond ideal-type representations of entrepreneurs and towards a fuller comprehension of the lived practices of entrepreneurship.     

The rise of 3-D printing: The advantages of additive manufacturing over traditional manufacturing

The use of additive manufacturing technologies in different industries has increased substantially during the past years. Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line that enabled mass production of identical products in the 20^th century. Currently, additive manufacturing enables and facilitates production of moderate to mass quantities of products that can be customized individually. Additive manufacturing technologies are opening new opportunities in terms of production paradigm and manufacturing possibilities. Manufacturing lead times will be reduced substantially, new designs will have shorter time to market, and customer demand will be met more quickly. This article identifies additive manufacturing implementation challenges, highlights its evolving technologies and trends and their impact on the world of tomorrow, discusses its advantages over traditional manufacturing, explores its impact on the supply chain, and investigates its transformative potential and impact on various industry segments.     

Key service drivers for high-tech service brand equity: The mediating role of overall service quality and perceived value

Abstract

This study investigates how different aspects of service quality could have effects on overall perception of service quality, perceived value, and service brand equity. Based on a survey of active users of mobile telecommunications services in Taiwan, we obtained the following findings. First, we found that empathy, network quality, reliability, and assurance, but not tangibles and responsiveness, have a significant effect on service quality and value perception. Second, the effect of overall service quality on brand equity is partially mediated by perceived value. Third, overall service quality has differential mediation effects on the relationships between specific service quality dimensions and perceived value. Finally, empathy and network quality have direct effects on brand equity. For managers, our study suggests the importance of identifying key service drivers for building strong service brand for high-tech service firms. The identification of key service drivers could then enable these firms to make strategic decisions on services investments. It also demonstrates the importance of the humanisation of technology for services firms. This study is original in that it explores the path from specific services qualities to service brand equity.     

The Strategy of Combining Products and Services: A Literature Review

This article provides the analyses of the academic literature on offering a combination of products and services. Trend analyses were performed from 1995 through the end of 2016 on the various parameters such as journals publishing this type of research, changes in the use of keywords, citation frequency, and research contribution from different authors, disciplines, and nations. The analyses presented a clear trend that research in combining product and services accelerated after the year 2000 indicating a focus on research in this area in the 21^st century. This highlights many emerging trends in this area.     

The welfare impacts of a revenue-neutral switch from tariffs to VAT with intermediate inputs and a VAT threshold

The debate about replacing tariffs with value-added tax (VAT) in developing countries has paid little attention to the role of VAT as an input tax on the informal sector and has overlooked the usefulness of changing the VAT threshold in a revenue-neutral switch from tariffs to VAT. This paper contributes to the literature by addressing these two issues via a heterogeneous firm model of a small open economy with endogenous firm entry and VAT compliance. The results found indicate that the VAT collected on intermediate inputs consumed by the informal sector not only reduces the benefits of evading VAT, but also diminishes the production distortion between the formal and the informal sectors. The use of a change in the VAT threshold to offset lost tariff revenue leads to welfare gains; however, the source of such gains is different from that of a change in the VAT rate. While an increase in the VAT rate expands informality, a revenue-equivalent decrease in the VAT threshold reduces informality. These novel results suggest that the VAT threshold plays an important role in the design of revenue-neutral tax reforms.     

The role of intermediate demand and technology for international competitiveness of the KIBS sector: evidence from European Union countries

In this paper, it is tested whether intermediate consumption of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in the economy and technology advancement in the KIBS sector (measured by R&D expenditures) affect the international competitiveness of a country's KIBS sector. First, the definition of KIBS trade, in light of the available data from the balance of payments statistics, is presented. Then, using a panel data set from the EU countries over the period 2000–2009, a panel cointegration approach to estimating the model is adopted. The empirical study shows that among the old EU countries only those with high income are competitive in KIBS exports. Estimation results demonstrate that their competitiveness in KIBS exports is positively determined by domestic and imported KIBS intensity in the economy, as well as by the KIBS sector's technology advancement. The new EU countries usually were not competitive in KIBS exports, and those which were successful in this field seem to have derived their success mainly from international outsourcing rather than from building their own capacities. Their competitiveness in KIBS exports was positively determined by the KIBS sector's endowment in human capital, or via domestic KIBS intensity in the economy together with lower labour costs.     

The impact of service innovation on firm performance

This study empirically examines the impact of service innovation on performance in developing countries such as China. We construct a more integrative model linking service innovation, service quality and performance and collect 277 samples in the Chinese tourism sector. The findings are: First, service innovation affects firm performance through direct and indirect paths where service quality plays a positive mediating role, and the direct impact is larger than the indirect one; Secondly, the innovation mode is cost-reductive, which focuses on eliminating internal cost rather than improving service quality; Third, the assessment of service quality emphasizes the dimensions of assurance and reliability.