Alan R. Cannon

Change drivers in the new millennium: implications for manufacturing strategy research

Drawing on multiple sources, we identify technological, global and workforce trends that will affect the formulation and implementation of manufacturing strategy in the next decade. We then describe several theories from economics, sociology, and psychology and show how they can be used to enrich our interpretations of the effects of these trends. Throughout, we offer suggestions for future research in manufacturing strategy.

RFID in the contemporary supply chain: multiple perspectives on its benefits and risks

Purpose – This paper aims to point to established theory bases from other disciplines that may be used to illustrate the benefits, complexities and risks accompanying the adoption of radio‐frequency identification (RFID) technology.Design/methodology/approach – Three theory streams are explored with respect to RFID adoption at two levels: the level of the tagged unit; and the level of the adopting firm. Each theory stream is evaluated specifically with respect to RFID, and research questions are proposed.Findings – A variety of theoretical disciplines bring to light tension between uncertainty that spurs RFID adoption and uncertainty that accompanies RFID adoption.Practical implications – Insights are provided for managers wrestling with: the question of whether and/or how to adopt RFID; or concerns regarding the implications of their decision to adopt RFID. In addition, the theory bases explored in this research offer guidance regarding risks that accompany RFID adoption but are not commonly considered.O...

Linking servicescape to customer satisfaction: exploring the role of competitive strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between firm service characteristics and customer satisfaction as moderated by firm competitive strategy. Specifically, this research utilizes Porters depiction of generic competitive strategy to explain the strength of the relationship between a services particular servicescape choices and customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data for this research were obtained from 1,287 customers of ten service organizations representing three industry segments. Multiple regression analysis is utilized to test three hypotheses that propose firm competitive strategy moderates the strength of the relationship between service characteristics and customer satisfaction.Findings – The results support the assertion that firm competitive strategy has an impact on the strength of the relationship between customer satisfaction and servicescape characteristics. Of note, these findings indicate that the payoff for investment in physi...

Competitive strategy and plant-level flexibility

Choosing how and where to be flexible is a critical issue for manufacturers, particularly as competition becomes more intense and environments become more turbulent. Unfortunately, attempts by scholars to make useful prescriptions remain hampered by the fragmented nature of the literature on flexibility. The present paper integrates a review of that literature with concepts from organization theory and competitive strategy in proposing two types of flexibility—tactical and strategic—at the plant level. Using canonical correlation analysis and data gathered from multiple US industries, the relationship between competitive strategy and the perceived value of tactical and/or strategic flexibility is explored. Results tentatively indicate significant strategic effects on the choice of flexibility emphasis at the plant level.

Towards an understanding of the conceptual underpinnings of agile development methodologies

While the growing popularity of agile development methodologies is undeniable, there has been little systematic exploration of its intellectual foundation. Such an effort would be an important first step in understanding this paradigm’s underlying premises. This understanding, in turn, would be invaluable in our assessment of current practices as well as in our efforts to advance the field of software engineering. Drawing on a variety of sources, both within and outside the discipline, we argue that the concepts underpinning agile development methodologies are by no means novel. In the tradition of General Systems Theory this paper advocates a transdisciplinary examination of agile development methodologies to extend the intellectual boundaries of software development. This is particularly important as the field moves beyond instrumental processes aimed at satisfying mere technical considerations.

Crises and Revolutions in Information Technology: Lessons Learned from Y2K

In an environment in which information technology has become a critical link between and among suppliers and customers, organizations were recently threatened by potential systems failures that could have erased the gains of the past decade. Although experts predicted that Y2K could lead to devastating results, those dire predictions turned out to be false. However, we suggest that a careful analysis of IS decision making during the Y2K crisis can provide insights into how and why IS managers make decisions. We argue that two schools of organizational theory provide cogent perspectives on this problem. In particular, the literatures of organizational ecology and institutional theory explain not only the difficulties firms had in recognizing and reacting to the Year 2000 problem, but also the pressures placed on them by constituents aware of this phenomenon. Such conclusions underscore the value of multiple theory bases in exploring what appear to be unprecedented managerial challenges brought on by the changing role of IT.