David Xiaosong Peng

Competitive Priorities, Plant Improvement and Innovation Capabilities, and Operational Performance: A Test of Two Forms of Fit

Purpose – Examining the strategic contingency of plant improvement capability and innovation capability. Two forms of fit between the two capabilities and competitive priorities were empirically tested. Design/Methodology/Approach – Data collected from a sample of 238 manufacturing plants were used to test the hypotheses using regression. Findings – The results provide partial support for fit as mediation. However, there was no evidence supporting fit as moderation. We found that improvement capability and innovation capability are associated with different competitive priorities and also have varying impact on different operational performance dimensions. Research limitations/implications – There are two limitations to this research: only three operations management (OM) practices are included in each capability examined; somewhat limited measures of competitive priorities and operational performance.Originality/value – This study examines multiple forms of fit between competitive priorities and operations capabilities. The findings can inform managers to selectively implement OM practices for developing the needed operations capabilities given the chosen competitive priorities.

Impacts of Information Technology on Mass Customization Capability of Manufacturing Plants

Purpose – The impact of information technology (IT) on mass customization (MC) capability has been implied in the literature but seldom subjected to empirical examination. This study theoretically relates four types of IT applications with MC capability and empirically examines these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – This study identifies four types of IT that potentially support MC capability, including product configurator IT, new product development IT, manufacturing IT, and supplier collaboration IT. Drawing on organizational information processing theory, this study associates the four IT types with a manufacturer’s MC capability. A structural equation model is tested using survey data collected from a sample of manufacturing plants that focus on product customization. Findings – The empirical results indicate that three of the four IT types either strongly or marginally support a manufacturer’s MC capability. Research limitations/implications – Data used in this study are cross-sectional in nature. Also, a set of refined IT measures should be developed in future studies. Practical implications – The paper identifies managerial opportunities for investing in IT to support or enhance MC capability.Originality/value – The study is one of the first efforts to empirically examine the impact of multiple types of IT applications on MC capability. The study also develops a classification framework of IT applications in manufacturing plants.

Longitudinal Analysis of Inhibitors of Manufacturer Delivery Performance

This article examines demand, manufacturing, and supply factors proposed to inhibit manufacturer delivery execution. Extant research proposes many factors expected to harm delivery performance. Prior cross-sectional empirical research examines such factors at the plant level, generally finding factors arising from dynamic complexity to be significant, but factors arising from detail complexity to be insignificant. Little empirical research examines the factors using product-level operating data, which arguably makes more sense for analyzing how supply chain complexity factors inhibit delivery. For purposes of research triangulation, we use longitudinal product-level data from MRP systems to examine whether the factors inhibit internal manufacturing on time job rates and three customer-oriented measures of delivery performance: product line item fill rates, average delivery lead times, and average tardiness. Our econometric models pool product line item data across division plants and within distinct product families, using a proprietary monthly dataset on over 100 product line items from the environmental controls manufacturing division of a Fortune 100 conglomerate. The data summarize customer ordering events of over 900 customers and supply chain activities of over 80 suppliers. The study contributes academically by finding significant detail complexity inhibitors of delivery that prior studies found insignificant. The findings demonstrate the need for empirical research using data disaggregated below the plant-level unit of analysis, as they illustrate how some factors previously found insignificant indeed are significant when considered at the product-level unit of analysis. Managers can use the findings to understand better which drivers and inhibitors of delivery performance are important.

Impact of value-added service features in e-retailing processes: : An econometric analysis of web site functions

We examine the impact of three classes of website functions (foundational, customer-centered, and value-added) upon e-retailer performance. Using secondary panel data for 2007-2009 on operating characteristics of over 600 e-retailers, our econometric analysis finds that only the value-added service functions are positively associated with changes in e-retail sales revenues across time. We also observe a decreasing marginal impact of deploying additional value-added service features. To account for possible alternate explanations, we control for firm- and time-specific fixed effects, merchant types, merchandise categories, and order fulfillment strategies. By further decomposing e-retail sales revenues into website traffic, conversion rate, and average order value, we find that website functions affect e-retail sales revenues mainly through their impact on website traffic. Our investigation demonstrates the empirical research usefulness of the Voss (2003) conceptual e-service sand cone model. Our results identify for managers where to focus ongoing e-retailing system development efforts, yet suggest that focusing too many retailing capabilities on exploratory and experimental value-added service features may backfire, potentially leading to worsening e-retailer performance.

Impact of Value-Added Service Features in e-Retailing Processes: An Econometric Analysis of Web Site Functions: Impact of Value-Added Service Features in e-Retailing Processes

We examine the impact of three classes of website functions (foundational, customer-centered, and value-added) upon e-retailer performance. Using secondary panel data for 2007-2009 on operating characteristics of over 600 e-retailers, our econometric analysis finds that only the value-added service functions are positively associated with changes in e-retail sales revenues across time. We also observe a decreasing marginal impact of deploying additional value-added service features. To account for possible alternate explanations, we control for firm- and time-specific fixed effects, merchant types, merchandise categories, and order fulfillment strategies. By further decomposing e-retail sales revenues into website traffic, conversion rate, and average order value, we find that website functions affect e-retail sales revenues mainly through their impact on website traffic. Our investigation demonstrates the empirical research usefulness of the Voss (2003) conceptual e-service sand cone model. Our results identify for managers where to focus ongoing e-retailing system development efforts, yet suggest that focusing too many retailing capabilities on exploratory and experimental value-added service features may backfire, potentially leading to worsening e-retailer performance.

Impact of value-added features in e-retailing processes: An econometric analysis of website functionality

We examine the impact of three classes of website functions (foundational, customer-centered, and value-added) upon e-retailer performance. Using secondary panel data for 2007-2009 on operating characteristics of over 600 e-retailers, our econometric analysis finds that only the value-added service functions are positively associated with changes in e-retail sales revenues across time. We also observe a decreasing marginal impact of deploying additional value-added service features. To account for possible alternate explanations, we control for firm- and time-specific fixed effects, merchant types, merchandise categories, and order fulfillment strategies. By further decomposing e-retail sales revenues into website traffic, conversion rate, and average order value, we find that website functions affect e-retail sales revenues mainly through their impact on website traffic. Our investigation demonstrates the empirical research usefulness of the Voss (2003) conceptual e-service sand cone model. Our results identify for managers where to focus ongoing e-retailing system development efforts, yet suggest that focusing too many retailing capabilities on exploratory and experimental value-added service features may backfire, potentially leading to worsening e-retailer performance.