Matthew A. Waller

Quality management in TQM versus non‐TQM firms: an empirical investigation

The TQM revolution of the 1980s has led to a formal adoption of TQM by many firms. However, several organizations fail in their campaigns because of a variety of reasons ranging from lack of top management commitment to focus on tools instead of approach. Through a focused survey of 359 manufacturing firms in a single industry answers two critical questions: is it necessary for a firm to embark on a formal TQM campaign to manage quality effectively?; and is it worthwhile for a firm to embark on a half‐hearted TQM campaign? Using a criterion of existence of a formal TQM campaign in a firm and quality of products offered by the firm, classifies firms into four groups: high performance TQM firms, low performance TQM firms, high performance non‐TQM firms, and low performance non‐TQM firms. Compares them along ten literature‐based, empirically‐validated TQM constructs and derives the following major conclusions: it is not necessary for a firm to implement a TQM campaign formally in order to practise elements of TQM philosophy and thereby manage quality well; a firm should implement a formal TQM campaign only if it plans to execute the TQM constructs to their full extent, or it is better off by not investing in the formal campaign; and the product quality of a firm improves with the extent of the rigour associated with TQM implementation. Discusses implications of these findings for TQM research and practice.

An institutional theoretic perspective on forces driving adoption of lean production globally : China vis‐à‐vis the USA

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the current state of implementation of lean production practices in China as compared to the USA. Moreover, an institutional‐theoretic framework is developed that explores the interplay among economic, socio‐cultural and regulative forces that may shape the adoption process of lean production practices in China.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws its conclusions from an analysis of survey data from samples of Chinese and US manufacturing executives. Lean production implementation is measured via a survey instrument, and the data are analyzed via regression analysis.Findings – The results suggest that the degree of implementation of lean production in China is equal to, if not greater than lean production implementation in the USA. While the results are fairly consistent across industries, they vary across different lean production practice bundles. In light of these findings, an institutional theory perspective is adopted to develop further insigh...

Elaborating a dynamic systems theory to understand collaborative inventory successes and failures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic paradigmatic lens through which the supply chain collaboration phenomena – including collaborative inventory management – can be understood and explained.Design/methodology/approach – As theory‐building research, the paper explores the environmental conditions and managerial processes that promote or hinder supply chain collaboration from a variety of theoretical lenses including contingency theory, the resource‐based view of the firm, the relational view of the firm, force field analysis, constituency based theory, social dilemma theory, and resource‐advantage theory.Findings – To demonstrate how an integrated theoretical framework can help us understand the dynamics of supply chain collaboration, the paper uses the framework to explicate the evolution and state of collaborative inventory management.Practical implications – The framework can accurately depict and explain highly publicized collaborative failures and successes. It is also possibl...

Case pack quantity's effect on retail market share: An examination of the backroom logistics effect and the store‐level fill rate effect

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of a key logistics and distribution variable, case pack quantity, on a consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturing firms performance. The paper builds theory with respect to case pack quantitys dichotomous impact on the retail shelf replenishment process and subsequent impact on market share depending on product rate‐of‐sale (ROS).Design/methodology/approach – The study empirically tests the case pack quantity phenomenon using monthly in‐store data collected over a two year time period, market share data and data provided by a leading US CPG manufacturer in the ready‐to‐eat cereal category. Regression analysis is used to determine if case pack quantity significantly impacts firm market share.Findings – According to compelling theoretical and empirical evidence, the number of units per retail shipping container (case pack quantity) has a significant impact on retail market share. The evidence indicates that the effect of case pack quantity ...

Measuring the impact of inaccurate inventory information on a retail outlet

Purpose – This research aims to consider the impact of common inventory system inaccuracies that occur in retail outlets on the inventory levels, fill rate, and service level of those outlets by simulating daily customer demand and random error in the inventory system.Design/methodology/approach – The simulation experiments vary the amount of inventory system error, the frequency of inventory record error correction, the size of the daily demand, the number of days in the replenishment systems review interval, and the replenishment systems customer service level.Findings – Inventory system error and the frequency with which the error is corrected are statistically significant for fill rate and service level. Thus, inaccuracies in inventory levels affect a retail outlets ability to service its customers, though at the single SKU level, the results do not indicate a practical impact due to countervailing effects.Practical implications – Retail outlets must be aware that error exists and can influence the...

Management perception of the link between product quality and customers’ view of product quality

With a global drive towards implementing total quality management (TQM), the number of TQM failures is also increasing. One of the major reasons cited for these failures is lack of management commitment. However, no attempt has been made to diagnose why it occurs. Examines one possible determinant of this lack of commitment. Claims that if managers perceive a link between their firm’s product quality and the customers’ view of their product quality, then they will be motivated to improve product quality. Tests this argument empirically using a sample of 248 purchasing managers. Finds that there is a strong relationship between managers’ perception of the quality of their product and managers’ perception of customers’ view of the firm’s product quality, and provides some evidence that management’s lack of recognition of the importance of product quality in serving the customers is probably not a reason for lack of management commitment to quality. Represents an early attempt to diagnose the underlying causes of the determinants of TQM failures.

Retail promotions and information sharing in the supply chain : a controlled experiment

Purpose – Communication between supply chain partners is critical for replenishment decision making. Decision support systems still require significant human decision making with regard to replenishment when promotions are involved. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the sharing of information about the magnitude and timing of retail promotions on cost efficiency in the supply chain. The authors compare performance against theoretical benchmarks and draw conclusions significant to managers.Design/methodology/approach – The subjects in Study 1, 30 undergraduate students at a large, US university, completed the experiment in a single session lasting approximately 60 minutes. The experiment involved a simple, multi‐period replenishment task, played as individuals, that was somewhat like the newsvendor game. Subjects in the experiment employed in Study 2 were senior‐level members of multiple departments from a large consumer products manufacturer in the USA. Participating departments included...

Consumer‐driven retail operations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and interaction effects of shelf space, case pack quantity, and consumer demand on shelf stockouts, i.e. stockouts at the shelf level when inventory is available in the backroom of a retail store.Design/methodology/approach – This study uses discrete‐event simulation based on data collected from the ready‐to‐eat breakfast cereal category with multiple stockkeeping units (SKUs) to model a retail supply chain consisting of a supplier, a retailer, and consumers.Findings – The results indicate that shelf space and case pack quantity have direct effects on shelf stockouts. Furthermore, evidence is found for interactions among shelf space, case pack quantity and consumer demand. Though many retailers adopt simple heuristics for shelf space allocation, such as a multiple of case pack quantity, this study suggests that such heuristics tend to over‐ or underestimate shelf space requirements when consumer demand is ignored.Originality/value – This stu...

Hidden effects of variable order review intervals in inventory control

Purpose – Whereas inventory theory traditionally assumes the periodic review inventory model (R, T), with an order‐up‐to level R, has a random demand and lead time coupled with a deterministic review interval T, firms often deviate from a strict adherence to a fixed review interval when they attempt to capture transportation scale efficiencies. Employing this policy introduces additional supply chain variability. This paper aims to provide an expression for the standard deviation of demand during the protection period, important in setting safety stock, as well as an expression for the amount of order variance amplification induced by a stochastic review interval.Design/methodology/approach – Analytical modeling is used to develop the expression for the standard deviation of demand during the protection period as well as the calculation for the amount of order variance amplification induced by a stochastic review interval.Findings – In terms of the variance of demand over the protection period, a stochast...

Supply Chain Inventory Replenishment: The Debiasing Effect of Declarative Knowledge

Previous experimental research demonstrates that inefficient replenishment decision making in the supply chain can be caused by specific judgment and decision biases. Based on the literature we use controlled experiments involving both student subjects and supply chain managers to test debiasing interventions that provide declarative knowledge, which is theorized to enhance the acquisition of procedural knowledge. We first investigate the effects of three debiasing components in a single-echelon setting: knowledge of bullwhip, inventory position (IP), and use of a target order-up-to quantity. Experiment 1 (N = 1,608 decisions by 67 student subjects) using a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design for the three components finds that the conceptual understanding of IP is salient for efficient replenishment decisions. We next examine the effects of the components in a simulated, multi-echelon, serial supply chain, which introduces the additional complexity of coordination risk. Experiment 2 (N = 3,072 decisions by 128 student subjects) using a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design finds that although subjects benefit from training components, there is evidence of cognitive overload with an increased quantity of information. Finally we test whether these debiasing components may be an effective training program for practicing supply chain managers who can be expected to have higher levels of procedural knowledge through experience gained in the field. Experiment 3 (N = 864 decisions by 36 supply chain managers) using a 2 × 1 design investigates the effects of an instructional training intervention which includes all three debiasing components and finds the intervention to reduce costs by 14%. We provide avenues for future research and successful practice.