Arash Azadegan

Effective benchmarking of innovation adoptions

Purpose – Recent rapid pace in the introduction of innovations has made adopting new technologies, such as those used for electronic procurement, a routine practice. But successful technology adoption depends on a multitude of factors, including those related to the adopter, to the technology, to the provider and the network within which they operate. Without careful consideration of these factors, effectiveness of benchmarking of technology adoptions may be remiss of predictable outcomes. The paper aims to aid in understanding when and how benchmarking applies to technology adoptions by introducing a new conceptual framework.Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines facets of established theories of innovation adoption to develop a new broad‐based framework. It then applies the framework to develop propositions on the adoption of two distinct types of e‐procurement technologies (EPT), namely electronic data interchange and online auctions.Findings – Three prominent adoption theories that explain i...

Quality performance in a global supply chain: finding out the weak link

Much has been written on the intensive interconnection between supply chain management (SCM) and quality management (QM) with a particular focus on the systems-based view as the common thread between these two operation management topics. Absent in this debate has been any examination of the dynamics of SCM and QM practices and the resultant implications for the end customer in terms of product/service quality at a global level. In consequence, the nature and extent of their interconnection or interlinking and the resultant implications for the product/service quality has remained tangential. Using a qualitative study of two very large branded athletic and casual sports apparel and footwear manufacturers based in Asia with world-wide suppliers and distribution centres, this study aims to broaden the debate by arguing that partnering with suppliers of high QM capabilities in chains of relationships does not necessarily result in downstream benefits to both the manufacturer and end customers. We argue that both SCM and QM practices must advance from traditional firm-driven, fire fighting and product-focused mindsets to a more collaborative mode of inter-firm relations in that a much greater level of co-operation among both upstream and downstream chains is regarded as a key to competitive advantage.

The Effects of Strategic and Structural Supply Chain Orientation on Operational and Customer-Focused Performance

Supply chain orientation (SCO), or the implementation of a supply chain management philosophy, consists of two distinct, yet interdependent elements, namely strategic SCO and structural SCO. Strategic SCO involves integrating an SCM philosophy into the firms strategy development, while structural SCO encompasses operational-level behaviors and actions that reflect such a philosophy. This study extends the research on SCO by developing hypotheses on the contingent effects of strategic SCO and structural SCO on a firms operational and customer-focused performance. Drawing on the strategy-structure-performance framework, the study proposes that strategic SCO and structural SCO positively affect different dimensions of performance and that structural SCO plays a mediating role in the relationship between strategic SCO and performance. These relationships are tested using primary survey data and archival data from 183 manufacturers in the Midwestern US. Results confirm that strategic SCO is associated with both operational performance and customer-focused performance, but structural SCO is only related to operational performance. Structural SCO acts as a mediator in linking strategic SCO with operational performance and customer-focused performance and mediation effects are strengthened at higher levels of environmental dynamism.

Design creativity: static or dynamic capability?

Purpose – Viewing creativity through the theoretical lens of the resource‐based view, the paper attempts to answer a fundamental question: is design creativity a static or dynamic capability? If static, then firms need to acquire personnel who are already creative. If dynamic, then personnels creative talents should be developed through training.Design/methodology/approach – In an exploratory controlled experiment of 74 design engineers from ten firms, two forms of training emphasizing design creativity as static or dynamic capability were applied. Creative designs developed by the participants were judged by professionals inside each organization. Results were analyzed using structural equation modeling.Findings – The exploratory findings support the notion that design creativity is a static capability. In tandem, support for design creativity as a dynamic capability, contingent upon personality traits is apparent. Training may help develop some peoples creative skills.Research limitations/implications...

The influence of R&D partnerships on innovation in manufacturing firms: The moderating role of institutional attachment

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate how a manufacturers relationship with firms operating in different institutional logics can facilitate or hinder the outcomes of research partnerships.Design/methodology/approach – The paper tests the study hypotheses based on a survey of 345 Chinese manufacturers.Findings – Results reveal that a manufacturers partnerships with private firms and government institutions are both directly related to the manufacturers innovation performance. However, the effectiveness of the research partnerships depends on the different institutional logics within which these organizations operate.Research limitations/implications – This study used a binary variable to capture the existence or absence of the partnership types examined implying that this variable does not capture the quantity of R&D relationships the firm is engaged in or the time period of such engagements.Practical implications – It is important for management to take into account the joint effect of bot...

E-procurement in services: the lagging application of innovation

E-procurement packages hold great potential to streamline processes and reduce purchasing costs. Interestingly, there appears to be a significant lag in the adoption of services e-procurement packages vis-a-vis goods e-procurement packages. A review of the extant literature on services e-procurement suggests the following four-category schema: (1) articles focusing on application service providers (2) articles focused on application users (3) articles focused on spend categories, and (4) valuation and viability studies. This schema is then used to frame a discussion of possible explanations for this observed lag in the adoption of an innovative and beneficial technology.

Analyzing the Successful Development of a High‐Novelty Innovation Project Under a Time‐Pressured Schedule

Research has identified numerous determinants leading to the success of new product development (NPD) projects. However, which particular determinants carry more importance when developing high‐novelty projects under tight time constraints have yet to be clarified. We study the development of ECJ‐400 of Eclipse Aircraft Company, a highly innovative new jet airplane that was designed and built in a very aggressive 229‐day timetable. Through an in‐depth case analysis using interviews with members of the four companies involved in the design, manufacturing, and flight testing of the airplane, we enquire about the underlying factors that led to the successful creation of this product. Propositions were formulated and then depicted respectively through the development of a casual network diagram. Our study contributes to the NPD speed literature by highlighting the particular interrelationships between determinants that are influential toward highly novel time‐pressured NPD projects.

Assessing the impact of web‐based electronic commerce use on the organizational benefits of a firm

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of web‐based electronic commerce (WEC) use on organizational benefits (OBE).Design/methodology/approach – The researchers develop a research model based on a literature review. A large‐scale instrument was applied to empirically test the model. MANOVA was first used employing a general linear model. Then, univariate tests were performed to further analyze differences. The model was tested and validated using a sample of 180 firms in the USA.Findings – The findings empirically tested that there is a significant positive impact of WEC use on OBE. Findings also demonstrated the multi‐dimensional nature of both factors.Practical implications – This research develops and validates reliable measures for the WEC use and OBE. It also provides several indicators that can be used to measure the extent of usage of WEC for both transactional and strategic purposes, and OBE that span several dimensions, including information quality, business efficiency, and...

The influence of different knowledge workers on innovation strategy and product development performance in small and medium-sized enterprises

Despite significant interest on the topic of knowledge workers, the understanding of how they influence certain aspects of firm innovativeness remains limited. In particular, while different types of knowledge workers exist, their particular synergistic effects on new and improved product development within smaller firms has received less attention. Drawing on the knowledge-based view (KBV), we posit that innovation strategy plays an instrumental role in linking the effects of knowledge workers, thereby leading to greater product development outcomes from different types of knowledge workers. Moreover, some suggest that beyond a certain point, there is a diminishing return to increasing the proportion of knowledge workers in an organisation; however, the basis of this finding is within larger firms. This study investigates whether high-level (e.g. engineers and scientists) and low-level (e.g. technicians and machine operators) knowledge workers exert varying effects on performance in terms of new and improved product development. Data from 205 small and medium-sized high-tech manufacturing firms provide support that distinguishing among types of knowledge workers is important given that they impact new and improved product development differently. Furthermore, innovation strategy plays a synergistic role, positively mediating the effects of different types of knowledge workers on innovation outcomes.

Technology Selection: Application of the PROMETHEE in Determining Preferences: A Real Case of Nanotechnology in Iran

PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment) is a family of outranking methods. In this paper, we explore its application to technology selection by first providing a generic comparison of PROMETHEE with other ranking methods. We start our investigation by comparing the strengths and weaknesses of PROMETHEE to prevalently used methods in technology selection, such as Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP), technology selection framework and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical Process (FAHP with Fuzzy Delphi). We then explain how PROMETHEE can be applied to a particular technology selection application by detailing the steps for selecting among various nanotechnology application fields. Lastly, we compare PROMETHEE to other methods in this context and explain the advantages and constraints of its use.