Erkan Bayraktar

The impact of supply chain management practices on performance of SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine the underlying dimensions of supply chain management (SCM) practices and to empirically test a framework identifying the relationships among SCM practices, operational performance and SCM‐related organizational performance with special emphasis on small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey.Design/methodology/approach – Data for the study were collected from a sample of 203 manufacturing SMEs operating in the manufacture of fabricated metal products and general purpose machinery (NACE codes 28 and 29) within the city of Istanbul in Turkey. The research framework was tested using partial least squares method, which is a variance‐based structural equation modeling approach.Findings – Based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA), SCM practices were grouped in two factors: outsourcing and multi‐suppliers (OMS), and strategic collaboration and lean practices (SCLP). The results indicate that both factors of SCLP and OMS have direct positive and significa...

Measuring the efficiency of customer satisfaction and loyalty for mobile phone brands with DEA

The concept of customer satisfaction and loyalty (CS&L) has attracted much attention in recent years. A key motivation for the fast growing emphasis on CS&L can be attributed to the fact that higher customer satisfaction and loyalty can lead to stronger competitive position resulting in larger market share and profitability. Using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, in this study we analyzed and compared CS&L efficiency for mobile phone brands in an emerging telecommunication market, Turkey. The constructs of European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) model are treated and used as input and output indicators of our DEA model. Drawing on the perceptual responses of 251 mobile phone users, the DEA models reveal that from the top six mobile phone brands in Turkey, Nokia features as the most efficient brand followed by LG and Sonny Ericsson in terms of CS&L efficiency, while Motorola, Samsung and Panasonic rank as the least efficient brands.

An instrument for measuring the critical factors of TQM in Turkish higher education

Driven by increasing competition and intensifying market forces, higher education institutes (HEIs) find total quality management (TQM) as one of the indispensable tools to adapt to the evolving new educational environment and to fulfil the expectations of their stakeholders. Based on a thorough review and synthesis of the quality management literature, this paper identifies 11 critical areas of TQM in an HEI. Operational measures of the critical factors are developed that can be used individually or in concert to produce a profile of institution-wide quality management. These measures are tested for reliability and validity using perceptual data collected from a sample of 144 academics from 22 HEIs in Istanbul, Turkey. Decision makers will be able to use this instrument to identify the extent of TQM implementation in their institutions, while researchers will be able to use it for furthering TQM research in HEIs.

Evolution of operations management: past, present and future

Purpose – This paper seeks to analyze the evolution of shift in the area of operations management (OM) and attempts to anticipate potential developments in the relevant areas of OM.Design/methodology/approach – A hybrid approach is adopted to understand how the field of OM has evolved over time relying on the perspectives of both academics and business practitioners. This evolution of shift in the area of OM is examined based on a thorough literature review and the authors’ industrial experience.Findings – From the days of functional point solutions relying on concepts like reorder point to finite capacity planning, OM research at present deals with a set of important problems facing both private and public sectors at the organizational level. Most prominent of these include e‐business, supply chain management, production planning and scheduling, product development, decision support systems, information‐based strategy, systems development and implementation, risk and environmental management. OM has also...

Information system design for a hospital emergency department: A usability analysis of software prototypes

STUDY OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usability of emergency department (ED) software prototypes developed for Tablet personal computers (Tablet PCs) in order to keep electronic health records (EHRs) of patients errorless and accessible through mobile technologies. In order to serve this purpose, two alternative prototypes were developed for Tablet PCs: Mobile Emergency Department Software (MEDS) and Mobile Emergency Department Software Iconic (MEDSI) among which the user might choose the more appropriate one for ED operations based on a usability analysis involving the target users. METHODS The study is based on a case study of 32 potential users of our prototypes at the ED of Kadikoy-AHG in Istanbul, Turkey. We examined usability of the prototypes for medical information systems by means of Nielsens heuristic evaluation and cognitive walkthrough methods relying on 7-point scales, and scenario completion success rate and average scenario completion time, respectively. RESULTS The implementation of MEDSI in our case study confirmed the view that the usability evaluation results of iconic GUIs were better than those of non-iconic GUIs in terms of Nielsens heuristic evaluation, effectiveness and user satisfaction. For the whole sample, paired t-test scores indicated that there was a significant difference (p<0.01) between mean values of Nielsens usability scores toward MEDS and MEDSI indicating that MEDSI was evaluated more favorably than MEDS. As for effectiveness of the prototypes, significant differences (p<0.01) were noted between MEDS and MEDSI in terms of both overall scenario completion success rate and average scenario completion time. Similarly, for the full sample of users independent sample t-test scores indicated that MEDSI was perceived significantly more favorable (p<0.01) than MEDS in terms of overall user satisfaction. CONCLUSION The study provides two important contributions to the extant literature. First, it addresses a topic and methodology that serves potentially interesting to the biomedical informatics community. Drawing on good background information and appropriate context, it involves various aspects of usability testing. Another contribution of the study lies in its examination of two different prototypes during the design phase involving the target users.

An efficiency comparison of supply chain management and information systems practices: a study of Turkish and Bulgarian small- and medium-sized enterprises in food products and beverages

Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) this study attempts to compare the relative efficiencies of supply chain management (SCM) and information system (IS) practices of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in food products and beverages in two neighbouring South East European countries, Turkey and Bulgaria. While there exist some significant differences between the efficiency level of SCM practices and the country of origin of the sample firms, no significant differences were found between the efficiency levels of both IS practices and the composite variable of SCM&IS practices, and the country of origin of the SMEs. Turkish SMEs tend to achieve higher efficiency level with respect to the implementation of SCM practices. There are also significant differences in returns to scale for each group of input variables with respect to the country of origin of the SMEs. The analysis of the improvement potential of inputs indicates that Bulgarian SMEs place more emphasis on managing most of the SCM practices to enhance their SCM efficiency. However, no statistically significant differences in general were noted between both groups of firms with regard to the level of resources and efforts exerted on IS and SCM and IS practices. In terms of the overall average of output deficits, Turkish SMEs were found to have significantly higher output deficits than Bulgarian SMEs with respect to all three groups of input variables.

How do supply chain management and information systems practices influence operational performance? Evidence from emerging country SMEs

This study first provides a comparative analysis of the impact of supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) practices on operational performance (OPER) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in two neighbouring emerging country markets of Turkey and Bulgaria. Then, we investigate moderating effects of both SCM–IS-linked enablers and inhibitors on the links between SCM and IS practices and OPER of SMEs. To this end, we first empirically identify the underlying dimensions of SCM and IS practices, and SCM–IS-related enabling and inhibiting factors. Second, a series of regression analyses are undertaken to estimate the impact of the studys constructs on OPER of SMEs. The results are discussed comparatively within the contexts of both Turkish and Bulgarian SMEs and beyond. The study makes a significant contribution to the extant literature through obtaining and analysing cross-national survey data of SCM and IS practices in emerging country markets.

Measuring the relative efficiency of quality management practices in Turkish public and private universities

Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) in conjunction with stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), the aim of this study was to measure the relative efficiency of quality management (QM) practices in Turkish public and private universities. Based on the extant literature, a set of nine critical QM factors and seven performance indicators for Turkish universities were identified as input and output variables, respectively. SFA confirmed the existence of significant relationships between QM factors and performance indicators. DEA findings indicated that private universities with higher levels of QM efficiency on stakeholder-focus indicators achieved better performance in terms of fulfilling the expectations of their stakeholders. In contrast, public universities were more successful in managing QM practices for a superior teaching and research performance. Finally, after eliminating the managerial discrepancies, no significant structural efficiency difference was found between these two groups of universities through stakeholder-focus model, though some significant variation was noted in both factor-efficiency and total-efficiency models. As for total-efficiency model, we may infer that the structural differences found in favour of public universities for factor-efficiencies are counterbalanced by private universities which tend to focus more on their stakeholders in managing QM applications.

Supply Chain and Information System Services: An Efficiency Comparison between Turkish and Bulgarian SMEs

Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) this study attempts to compare the relative efficiencies of supply chain management (SCM) and information system (IS) services of the SMEs operating in Turkey and Bulgaria. Some significant differences have been found between the efficiency levels of SCM services, IS services and SCM&IS services, and the nationality of the sample firms. Turkish SMEs tend to achieve higher efficiency level with respect to each group of input variables. There are also significant differences in returns to scale for each group of input variables with respect to the country of origin of the firms. In general, it would not be unreasonable to argue that Bulgarian SMEs have better potential to improve their operational performance by exerting relatively less effort through incrementing their level of SCM and IS services. The analysis of the improvement potential of inputs indicates that Bulgarian SMEs place more emphasis on managing most of the SCM services to enhance their SCM efficiency. However, no statistically significant differences in general were noted between both groups of firms with regard to the level of resources and efforts exerted on IS and SCM&IS services. In terms of the overall average of output deficits, Turkish SMEs were found to have significantly higher output deficits than Bulgarian SMEs with respect to all three groups of input variables. In other words, the capability of Turkish SMEs to transform input variables into operational performance is far lower than that of Bulgarian SMEs.