Andy C.L. Yeung

Organizational learning, innovativeness, and organizational performance: a qualitative investigation

In a knowledge-based economy, organizational learning and innovation are the most critical intangible assets that a manufacturer needs to acquire and exploit to achieve superior organizational performance. In this research we propose a model seeking to understand the links between organizational learning and innovativeness, and organizational performance measures. We postulate the impact of organizational learning on innovativeness, internal efficiency, customer satisfaction, and financial performance, and elaborate how such impacts are contingent on the organizational contexts of a firm. Case research was then carried out in three manufacturing companies to examine our proposed conceptual model. Our case studies showed that organizational learning happens when it is valued by senior management, and supported by an appropriate learning infrastructure and culture, leading to organizational efficiency. However, relationships among learning, innovativeness, and performance are unlikely to be established for a manufacturer pursuing a low-cost strategy or producing mature products. The proposed model and the empirical evidence provide an important foundation to develop a comprehensive theory for formulating effective learning strategies contingent on organizational context.

An empirical taxonomy for quality management systems: a study of the Hong Kong electronics industry

Abstract This study investigates the existence of different patterns of quality management systems (QMS) and the relationship between such patterns and organizational performance by conducting a quantitative and qualitative study of 225 international and local firms in the electronics industry in Hong Kong. A cluster analysis of the survey data results in the identification of four patterns of QMS, which are labeled as undeveloped, frame, accommodating and strategic, respectively, according to the characteristics that each pattern displays. These four types of QMS were found to be associated with various organizational performance measures according to the stage of their development. The study suggests that organizations can improve their time-based operational performance by establishing a frame quality system. However, the overall performance of an electronics company can be enhanced only by the establishment of a strategic quality system (SQS), which requires the involvement of top management. Our investigation further suggests that the development of a QMS is influenced by top management’s view on quality management. If quality management is viewed as an assurance system or a defensive strategy for answering customer requirements, a more advanced system will not be developed. The taxonomy developed here also enables researchers to understand the differences of major functions of quality systems at various stages of their development, the obstacles that management faces in the transformation process, and the corresponding strategies to be adopted.

How supply quality management improves an organization's quality performance: a study of Chinese manufacturing firms

Because of unfavourable economic conditions, organizations worldwide have to constantly reconstruct their business strategies in order to survive. Recent studies have stressed the importance of supply quality management (SQM) for the general competitiveness of manufacturers. However, very little empirical research has been carried out that specifically examines how SQM practices lead to improvements in quality across an organization. To scrutinise the impact of SQM practices, a survey was conducted of 138 leading manufacturing companies in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), a manufacturing hub in southern China dubbed ‘the factory floor of the world’. By using path analytic techniques, a model was constructed to portray the relationships among SQM practices and organizational quality performance. This model could act as a tool of reference for companies seeking to improve their SQM systems, and help them in their efforts to raise quality across the company. This paper demonstrates that quality-conscious management practices speed up the implementation of SQM practices. This paper finally reveals the influential effect of SQM practices on both supply quality and organizational quality performance.

Customer heterogeneity in operational e‐service design attributes: An empirical investigation of service quality

Purpose – This study aims to empirically examine whether heterogeneity in personal customer profiles translates to heterogeneity in the valued operational e‐service design attributes. It focuses on a key operational e‐service design attribute – service quality – by investigating whether customers with different profiles (demographics, pattern of use of the service, and pattern of channel use) attach different levels of importance to different dimensions of web site quality.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on path analysis of data collected from multiple sources in a commercial e‐service setting (e‐banking): data from an online survey of the customers of the e‐service; data stored in the transaction and log files generated by the operation of the e‐service over time; and data from the e‐service providers customer database and back office IT systems.Findings – The results suggest that: customer demographics, pattern of service use, and pattern of channel use have no influence on the importa...

Integrating customer expectations into the development of business strategies in a supply chain environment

Customer expectations in the clothing industry are often erratic and change rapidly because styles and fashions continually change. As a result, it is particularly important in such an industry to develop a customer-oriented supply chain management (CoSCM) framework. This CoSCM framework needs to integrate customer expectations into the development of business strategies along various business units in a supply chain, then narrow the gap between customer expectations and operational performance. Specifically, this paper studies the operating characteristics of the clothing industry in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, Southern China. It reports the findings solicited from industrial practitioners in the PRD clothing industry using the Delphi method. The paper concludes by presenting a CoSCM framework that can be used as a reference framework for the PRD clothing industry to enhance customer satisfaction.

Market competitiveness and quality performance in high‐contact service industries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore conceptually and examine empirically the impact of market competitiveness on employee satisfaction, service quality, and customer satisfaction in high‐contact service industries.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study was conducted in high‐contact service shops in Hong Kong. Dyadic data were collected from 210 high‐contact service shops and were analysed using structural equation modelling.Findings – The results confirm that market competitiveness has a direct impact on service quality, not employee satisfaction. The findings also reveal that service quality affects customer satisfaction, which in turn leads to employee satisfaction, forming a “quality‐customer satisfaction‐employee satisfaction cycle”.Practical implications – The results recommend that firms take a long‐term perspective towards investment in understanding the competitiveness of the market. Such an understanding helps managers identify and implement appropriate quality‐improvement...

Environmental Incidents and the Market Value of Firms: An Empirical Investigation in the Chinese Context

We examine firms listed on the Shanghai/Shenzhen Stock Exchange to investigate stock market reactions to 294 Chinese manufacturing firms involved in 618 environmental incidents between 2006 and 2013. Through our event studies, we find empirical evidence of a significantly negative stock market reaction to announcements of environmental incidents. Our empirical analysis reveals that Chinese firms with a higher government share (of ownership) and recognition of social responsibility tend to be less affected by such incidents; however, Chinese firms with stronger personal political ties (i.e., top management teams or board members with concurrent or prior government appointments) are actually affected more when environmental incidents occur. Moreover, environmental incidents caused by Chinese firms can have a significantly negative impact on the market value of their overseas customers. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2017.0680.

Employee learning in high-contact service industries

Employee learning is imperative in the dynamic service environment; yet, much is still unknown about its strategic importance. The purpose of this paper is to extend the understanding of learning by focusing on the strategic importance of learning goal orientation (LGO) in customer-contact employees in service industries characterized with high customer contact.,This paper adopts the multi-method approach by conducting two studies in the high-contact service sector. Study 1 is a large-scale, multiple-respondent survey that investigates the associations between LGO and its antecedents and performance outcomes. To supplement study 1, study 2 embraces case studies that identify the managerial supportive practices and outcomes of customer-contact employees’ learning behaviors.,The results of study 1 demonstrate that employees’ affective organizational commitment does not yield higher-quality services unless the service employees are learning oriented. The findings of study 1 also indicate that management commitment to service quality has positive effects on both LGO and affective organizational commitment. In study 2, the results reveal the practical methods that managers can employ to effectively promote such activities.,This research offers novel insights into research on learning by showing the strategic importance of LGO to enhancing high-contact service firms’ performance and the practical means of fostering LGO in customer-contact employees.