Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze which factors determine the use of just‐in‐time (JIT) in companies. More precisely, the paper aims to study the role played by two variables of organizational context (size and age) and three infrastructure practices (advanced manufacturing...

Purpose – Recent operations management research suggests that adopting and implementing the right practices are essential to attaining “world‐class” performance. The purpose of this paper is to report the leading operations management practices and the strategy deployment framework that...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among supply chain management (SCM) practices and their impacts on firm financial and non‐financial performance. This paper contributes to SCM literature by exploring a structural model connecting the relationships among...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of quality management (QM) in the development of mass customization (MC) capability. QM is modeled as a second‐order construct reflected by six QM practices (small group problem solving, top management leadership for quality,...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use survey data collected from 453 respondents, from over 40 countries, to determine the current levels of use of benchmarking as an improvement technique. It identifies where and how benchmarking is implemented within organisations and compares the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is, first, to utilize institutional theory to assess motivation for the adoption of Six Sigma. Second, to examine the role of an organization's innovation implementation climate and the fit between the innovation considered and the values of the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the extent to which quality management is “culture‐specific”. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the results of a survey administered across 21 countries that seeks to examine quality priorities and practices by adopting...

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how buying companies manage the quality for their externally sourced business services. It explores how quality management for business services influences the performance of the buying company and what the major determinants of quality management are....

Purpose – This study aims to examine the effects of leadership behaviors on quality management (QM) practices and their effects on quality performance of manufacturing companies in Thailand. The hypotheses were that leadership leads to infrastructure practices, which in turn support quality...

Purpose – Quality management requires increasing employee involvement that could empower employees, leading to employee and customer satisfaction. Although the literature describes a picture of increasing job demands and work intensification, the evidence of an association between employee job...