Mark A. Jacobs

The Effects of Product Modularity on Competitive Performance: Do Integration Strategies Mediate the Relationship?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of product modularity on four aspects of competitive performance: cost, quality, flexibility, and cycle time.Design/methodology/approach – Constructs were created from a comprehensive survey of the automotive sector. Regression is used to ascertain the relationship between the constructs of product modularity and performance with three different integration strategies as mediators.Findings – Modularity positively and directly influences each aspect of competitive performance for each integration strategy tested. Indirect effects were found for each integration strategy for cost and flexibility; and for manufacturing integration and cycle time.Practical implications – A product modularity strategy enables simultaneous improvements on multiple dimensions of competitive performance.Originality/value – This research is the first to empirically validate the effects of product modularity on competitive performance. Furthermore, it provides insight in...

Data-driven supply chains, manufacturing capability and customer satisfaction

Abstract While recent conceptual research and consultancy white papers have suggested that analysing and interpreting data in the supply chain could potentially lead to the creation of competitive advantage, its exploratory nature demands empirical investigation. Drawing upon the resource-based view, this study empirically investigates the linkages between data-driven supply chains, manufacturing capability and customer satisfaction. The survey data for this study were gathered from China’s manufacturing industry and analysed using structural equation modelling. Results suggest that data-driven supply chains are positively associated with multiple manufacturing capability dimensions (i.e. quality, delivery, flexibility and cost), which in turn, lead to customer satisfaction improvement. While delivery appears to have no significant effect on customer satisfaction, quality, flexibility and cost are significantly and positively associated with customer satisfaction. This study provides insight into the connection between supply chain big data intelligence and both operational and organisational performance improvement.

The impacts of IT capability and marketing capability on supply chain integration: a resource-based perspective

Although previous research has addressed the interface and logical association among marketing, information technology (IT) and supply chain management, there have been few, if any, attempts to investigate how IT capability and marketing capability influence supply chain integration (SCI). Thus, this study investigates the direct and interacting effects of IT capability and marketing capability on SCI. The hypothesised relationships were tested using survey data gathered from 329 firms in China’s manufacturing industry. The results reveal that both IT capability and marketing capability have a significant positive effect on SCI. Interestingly, no significant interaction effect was found, indicating that marketing IT capability and marketing capability influence SCI independently, and not synergistically. However, while IT capability and marketing capability do not interact, IT capability does mediate the impact of marketing capability on SCI.

Practice Summary: Using Excel to Build Dedicated Routes from Ad Hoc Routes

Continental Express Incorporated, a refrigerated carrier, sought to maintain its competitive strengths in an environment that is becoming increasingly more dynamic. Central to this pursuit is drive...