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An empirical investigation of the antecedents and consequences of manufacturing goal achievement in North American, European and Pan Pacific firms
Author(s) -
Narasimhan Ram,
Jayaram Jayanth
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of operations management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.649
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1873-1317
pISSN - 0272-6963
DOI - 10.1016/s0272-6963(97)00036-3
Subject(s) - empirical research , conceptual model , manufacturing , conceptual framework , sample (material) , process (computing) , business , structural equation modeling , set (abstract data type) , marketing , industrial organization , process management , knowledge management , computer science , sociology , social science , philosophy , chemistry , epistemology , chromatography , database , machine learning , programming language , operating system
Descriptions of the content of manufacturing goals, and in particular, the variations in the professed goals of manufacturing among firms are abundant in the manufacturing strategy literature. However, few empirical studies have addressed the process (i.e., causal linkages pertaining to and among supply management, process improvements, and information systems) relating to and affecting the degree of manufacturing goal achievement. The major objectives pursued in this study are: 1) To propose a conceptual model that examines the antecedents and consequences of manufacturing goal achievement and test its empirical validity; and 2) To verify whether the conceptual model is valid across North American, European and Pan Pacific regions using the GMRG database. This study examines relationships among supply management, process improvements, information systems, manufacturing goals, customer responsiveness, and firm performance across a sample of 576 manufacturing firms competing in the global arena, and tests the posited structural equation model. The results consistently support the validity of the proposed conceptual model in all three regions. The results also provide empirical support for the conclusion that manufacturing firms in the three geographical regions examined in this study emphasize different manufacturing goals. The results suggest that this differential emphasis on manufacturing goals leads firms to mobilize a different set of resources suggesting differences in manufacturing strategy. The paper suggests additional research issues that can be pursued.