Total Quality Management (TQM) is widely adopted in industry and well studied in academe. It includes a philosophy and set of practices for supply management. However, these elements evolved before widespread adoption of the Internet, which transforms the supply management landscape by...

We undertake an empirical study of the well‐known product‐process matrix using data collected from 128 plants. Our analysis indicates that the relationship between product structure and process structure is significant, but not strong. Furthermore, less than half of the plants operate near...

While research has identified potential benefits of specific technology development practices, the literature has largely failed to identify the contextual issues that influence these practices. This paper explores the contextual differences of plants to better understand what types of companies...

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 examine the strategic contingency of plant improvement capability and innovation capability. Design/methodology/approach – Two forms of fit between the two capabilities and competitive priorities were empirically tested. Data collected from a sample...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present and test a new model for competitive capabilities. Traditionally, a cumulative model has been viewed as having one sequence of building competitive capabilities in a firm in support of market needs, including quality, delivery, cost efficiency...

Manufacturing strategy has become a subject of increasing importance to practice and research. It involves two elements: content and process. The content of manufacturing strategy has recently received considerable attention. The process of manufacturing strategy has not received the same level...

A number of authors have used terms such as “world‐class manufacturing”, “high performance manufacturing” and others to describe comprehensive approaches to manufacturing performance improvement. They have broken new ground by introducing the notion of broad, organization‐wide...