Eloísa Díaz-Garrido

Typologies and taxonomies of operations strategy: a literature review

Purpose – This paper aims to review state‐of‐the‐art literature on typologies and taxonomies of operations strategy in order to propose generic operations strategies in industrial companies from a theoretical viewpoint.Design/methodology/approach – Typologies and taxonomies are defined and characterised; both concepts delimit the generic configurations model. Then examine the state of the research on configuration analysis relating to operations strategy is examined. For this purpose articles published in 17 important journals in the field of production and operations management from the 1980s to the year 2006 are analysed.Findings – This review allows one to identify three generic operations strategies commonly accepted in the literature.Research limitations/implications – This research deserves much more attention, both theoretical and empirical, in order to analyse the existing classifications and develop new classifications of operations strategy.Practical implications – Knowledge of generic operation...

A taxonomy of manufacturing strategies in Spanish companies

Purpose – The literature on manufacturing strategy has focused on analysis of content and process. Limited attention has been given to the concept of manufacturing strategy in taxonomical terms. The purpose of this study is to highlight a taxonomy of manufacturing strategies in Spanish industrial companies.Design/methodology/approach – A cluster analysis was performed. The classification variable used was based on competitive priorities relating to cost, quality, flexibility, delivery, service and environmental protection. The sample group consisted of 353 companies, belonging to different sectors.Findings – Empirical analysis results demonstrate the existence of two manufacturing strategies and significant differences in structure and infrastructure policies but not in performance.Research limitations/implications – The results of the study are not generalizable, given the nature of the sample. Future studies should consider larger samples, including more countries and contexts.Practical implications – A...

Relation between management's behavioural intentions toward the environment and environmental actions

Drawing on Ajzens Theory of Planned Behaviour, this paper analyses whether there is a relation between managements behavioural intentions toward an environmental problem and the companys specific actions in this area, and also considers the impact of the company size on these actions. For the data, a questionnaire was sent to 184 managers employed in industrial companies located in Spain which belonged to the automobile industry. The empirical analysis produces positive and significant regression coefficients and provides support for the hypotheses proposed. Specifically, the results show that the environmental actions carried out in the company respond at least in part to managements behavioural intentions toward these issues and the size of the firm.

Posicionamiento estratégico de las empresas industriales en las prioridades competitivas de operaciones: desarrollo y aplicación de un indicador de medida

The model of competitive priorities in operations is one of the main pillars of research in operations strategy. These priorities are a part of the content of this strategy, together with the decisions in structure and infrastructure. Different approaches have been appearing in the specialised literature to try to explain how companies compete while considering these priorities. The objective of the current work is to propose a new indicator that positions firms with respect to the competitive priorities, and to analyse how the position relates to business results. This indicator allows us to determine the degree of development of capabilities in the operations competitive priorities that constitute the basis of competence in industrial firms. We apply the proposed indicator to a sample of Spanish industrial firms.

Determinants of environmental strategy in the automotive sector: Analysis of key factors

ABSTRACT The objective of this study is to provide empirical evidence on the determinants of environmental strategy. The authors analyze the key factors that lead the firm to implement a particular environmental behavior that translates into a specific environmental strategy. The factors considered are firm size, managements attitude toward the environment, and the perceived importance of the stakeholders in influencing the firms environmental practices. The study focuses on the Spanish automotive sector. Using a typology of environmental strategies commonly used in the literature, the firms are classified into four groups: reactive, defensive, accommodative, and proactive. The relations between these strategies and the determinant factors are analyzed. The analysis also considers the different components of the value chain in the automotive sector. The results show a positive relation between the level of development of the firms environmental strategy and the factors analyzed. The factors characterizing a proactive compared to a reactive environmental strategy are larger firm size, managers more committed to the environment, and greater perceived importance of the stakeholders in influencing the firms environmental practices. This evidence reveals the key factors that encourage firms to adopt a particular environmental strategy in this sector. Finally, concern for the environment has spread throughout the entire value chain, affecting the environmental strategy of both suppliers and car manufacturers.