Lester A. Digman

A framework for quality management practices in strategic alliances

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the role of quality management (QM) practices in the success of strategic alliances.Design/methodology/approach – Through a review of the literature, a conceptual model employing a relational view of inter‐organizational competitive advantage is proposed, which attempts to address the concept of quality management in strategic alliances and networks.Findings – Trust and co‐operative learning have emerged as critical factors that affect the success of strategic alliances. The proposed model, while integrating elements of quality management and strategic alliances, determines alliance success and alliance satisfaction as the outcomes of strategic alliances. Several propositions have been developed to address the relationship between different constructs in the model. The effects of trust and co‐operative learning on alliance performance are discussed, and key areas for research are identified.Practical implications – Companies can achieve a higher level of performanc...

Operations Planning with VERT

The Venture Evaluation and Review Technique (VERT) is a computerized, mathematically oriented network-based simulation technique designed to analyze risk existing in three parameters of most concern to managers in new projects or ventures--time, cost, and performance. As such, the VERT technique is more powerful than techniques such as GERT, which are basically time and cost oriented. VERT has been successfully utilized to assess the risks involved in new ventures and projects, in the estimation of future capital requirements, in control monitoring, and in the overall evaluation of ongoing projects, programs, and systems. It has been helpful to management in cases where there is a requirement to make decisions with incomplete or inadequate information about the alternatives. An example describing the application of VERT to an operational planning problem--the evaluation of electric power generating methods--is illustrated.

Managing Knowledge Capabilities for Strategy Implementation Effectiveness

The creation and the use of knowledge have increasingly been regarded as important issues for management. A wide range of studies have investigated this topic during the past decade. Notwithstanding these contributions, very little systematic attention has been paid to the linkages between knowledge capabilities and strategy implementation. Drawing from knowledge capabilities theory and strategy implementation literature, two aspects of knowledge capabilities in an organization and their effect on strategy implementation effectiveness are investigated: knowledge process capabilities (KPC) and knowledge infrastructure capabilities (KIC). This study hypothesized that KPC affects strategy implementation effectiveness (SIE) and that KPC affects KIC. The third hypothesis proposed the effect of KIC on SIE by examining the mediating role played by KIC in linking KPC and SIE. 1,321 middle-managers were sent questionnaires via electronic mail and 162 were returned. The findings indicated the presence of a mediation effect of KIC on the relationship between KPC and SIE. This study provides guidelines for middle-managers to better understand how to develop activities of KPC and KIC for SIE. It is hoped that the results of this study will enhance our understanding of the strategic importance of knowledge in an organization, especially in the area of strategy implementation.

Organizational factors related to technology transfer and innovation

This paper highlights those organizational factors which the research literature indicates as having an impact upon an organizations likelihood to exhibit innovative behavior. Measures of technical progressiveness, characteristics of firms receptive to outside information, the effect of organizational size, internal structure and procedures, and other factors are investigated, as are policies which encourage innovation. It is concluded that most research offers little of value to one desiring to make agiven organization more innovative (such as through effective internal communication of technical information), but is of value to an outsider attempting to identifywhich organizations are likely to be receptive to new technology.

A synthesis of pertinent research relating to technical information systems

This article investigates, evaluates, and summarizes pertinent research on technical information systems (TIS) — the vehicle by which technology is disseminated and acquired by potential users of that technology. Since the TIS is a critical element in the transfer process, it is recommended as the place to begin — employing the principles of systems analysis and design — to optimize transfer of technology.

Strategic Implementation Effectiveness: The Role of Knowledge Process and Infrastructure Capabilities

The creation and the use of knowledge have been regarded as important issues for management. A wide range of studies have investigated this topic during the last decade. Notwithstanding these contributions, little systematic attention has been paid to the linkages between knowledge capabilities and strategy implementation. Drawing from knowledge capabilities theory and strategy implementation literature, two aspects of knowledge capabilities in an organization and their effect on strategy implementation effectiveness are investigated; knowledge process capabilities KPC and knowledge infrastructure capabilities KIC. This study hypothesized that KPC affects strategy implementation effectiveness SIE and that KPC affects KIC. The third hypothesis proposed the effect of KIC on SIE by examining the mediating role played by KIC in linking KPC and SIE. 1,321 middle-managers were sent questionnaires via electronic mail and 162 were returned. The findings indicated the presence of a mediation effect of KIC on the relationship between KPC and SIE. This study provides guidelines for middle-managers to better understand how to develop activities of KPC and KIC for SIE. In this study, the authors enhance understanding of the strategic importance of knowledge in an organization, especially in the area of strategy implementation.

Multiple Performance Attributes with Constraints

VERT-3 provides the decisionmaker with a powerful tool for evaluating alternative or competing concepts, projects, or approaches. For example, projects or investments with useful life spans of varying lengths can be compared in terms of numerous measures of performance (results), cost, and time, and with full consideration of influences such as inflation and discounting. The following example represents a simplified actual project selection problem with multiple performance attributes and constraints.

New-Product Development Decisions

The problem discussed in this chapter illustrates the application of VERT-3 to a new-product development decision. The company in question has learned that one of its major competitors is working on a new product that, if successfully introduced, could provide the competitor with a significant advantage in the marketplace. If the competitor were to introduce the new product before this company’s own version of the product was ready, damage would be done to its present reputation and image of innovation and progressive leadership in the industry. In addition, the largest share of the market would automatically flow to the firm introducing the new product first.

Outputs and Reports

The output options, data, and reports generated by VERT are extensive and are perhaps some of the most important reasons why the technique is so useful in network analysis (see Brown 1975). Of course, since the analyst selects the outputs to assist the manager in the decision/risk analysis, only those outputs pertinent to the problem at hand and meaningful to the manager need be selected.

Analysis of Strategic Decisions

Stochastic network techniques—VERT, in particular—are “naturals” for analysis of strategic decisions. We have seen that VERT-3 can analyze alternative courses of action in advance by incorporating various relationships and probabilistic data and can generate stochastic output information in terms of performance, costs, time, and risks. While each of the problems examined thus far—development of the Z-car, the plant investment decision, the new-product development problem, decision trees, and the alternative energy sources analysis—could be viewed from a strategic perspective, certain decisions are perhaps more “strategic” in nature. Such decisions would pertain to mergers and acquisitions, diversification, business unit analysis, industry analyses, product life-cycle considerations, scenario analysis, and other situations.