Mikko Ketokivi

Bridging Practice and Theory: A Design Science Approach

Despite ambitious efforts in various fields of research over multiple decades, the goal of making academic research relevant to the practitioner remains elusive: theoretical and academic research interests do not seem to coincide with the interests of managerial practice. This challenge is more fundamental than knowledge transfer, it is one of diverging knowledge interests and means of knowledge production. In this paper, we look at this fundamental challenge through the lens of design science, which is an approach aimed primarily at discovery and problem-solving as opposed to accumulation of theoretical knowledge. We explore in particular the ways in which problem-solving research and theory-oriented academic research can complement one another. In operations management (OM) research, recognizing and building on this complementarity is especially crucial, because problem-solving-oriented research produces the very artifacts (e.g., technologies) that empirical OM research subsequently evaluates in an attempt to build explanatory theory. It is indeed the practitioner - not the academic scientist - who engages in basic research in OM. This idiosyncrasy prompts the question: how can we enhance the cross-fertilization between academic research and research practice to make novel theoretical insights and practical relevance complementary? This article proposes a design science approach to bridge practice to theory, not vice versa, theory to practice.

Manufacturing practices, strategic fit and performance: A routine-based view

This article challenges and advances the extant manufacturing practice‐performance research in three ways. First and most fundamentally, the article offers a sound theoretical foundation for the proposition that manufacturing practices have competitive value. Second, typical studies do not pay enough attention to the multidimensional nature of performance and often collapse strategic position (performance) into a one‐dimensional index. The article will show that this does not do justice to the multidimensional nature of operational performance. Third, extant research, aside from a few exceptions, pays little attention to the strategic contingencies involved in adopting and implementing specific practices. The overarching goal of this article is to move us toward better‐informed empirical inquiry of the strategic contingency argument in operations strategy research. The article builds a theoretical argument of manufacturing practices, strategic contingency and performance and tests it in a sample of 164 manufacturing plants using a series of regression analyses. Results show that both the best practice and strategic contingency arguments have merit in explaining operational performance; however, the contingency argument has stronger support.

Cross‐functional integration and performance: what are the real benefits?

Purpose – Conventional wisdom has it that cross‐functional integration is a “must”. The purpose of this paper is to take an information‐processing approach to integration and elaborate the conventional wisdom by theoretical examination of both the concept of integration as well as theoretical and empirical elaboration of its link to operational performance.Design/methodology/approach – The authors develop six propositions on how cross‐functional integration affects performance and test the propositions in an international sample of 266 manufacturing plant organizations in nine countries.Findings – The results strongly suggest that disaggregation of performance is important, because the effects of cross‐functional integration on performance are contingent: even though the effects of achieved integration on several dimensions of operational performance are positive, the performance effect varies from one dimension to the next. This is an important finding given that performance has typically been treated at...

A prospective latent analyses study of psychiatric comorbidity of DSM-IV bipolar I and II disorders

OBJECTIVE To test two hypotheses of psychiatric comorbidity in bipolar disorder (BD): (i) comorbid disorders are independent of BD course, or (ii) comorbid disorders associate with mood. METHODS In the Jorvi Bipolar Study (JoBS), 191 secondary-care outpatients and inpatients with DSM-IV bipolar I disorder (BD-I) or bipolar II disorder (BD-II) were evaluated with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders, with psychotic screen, plus symptom scales, at intake and at 6 and 18 months. Three evaluations of comorbidity were available for 144 subjects (65 BD-I, 79 BD-II; 76.6% of 188 living patients). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine correlations between mood symptoms and comorbidity. A latent change model (LCM) was used to examine intraindividual changes across time in depressive and anxiety symptoms. Current mood was modeled in terms of current illness phase, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Young Mania Rating Scale, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; comorbidity in terms of categorical DSM-IV anxiety disorder diagnosis, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) score, and DSM-IV-based scales of substance use and eating disorders. RESULTS In the SEM, depression and anxiety exhibited strong cross-sectional and autoregressive correlation; high levels of depression were associated with high concurrent anxiety, both persisting over time. Substance use disorders covaried with manic symptoms (r = 0.16-0.20, p < 0.05), and eating disorders with depressive symptoms (r = 0.15-0.32, p < 0.05). In the LCM, longitudinal intraindividual improvements in BDI were associated with similar BAI improvement (r = 0.42, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Depression and anxiety covary strongly cross-sectionally and longitudinally in BD. Substance use disorders are moderately associated with manic symptoms, and eating disorders with depressive mood.

Depression and smoking: a 5-year prospective study of patients with major depressive disorder.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and smoking are major public health problems and epidemiologically strongly associated. However, the relationship between smoking and depression and whether this is influenced by common confounding factors remain unclear, in part due to limited longitudinal data on covariation.

Order Management in the Customization‐Responsiveness Squeeze*

Make-to-order (MTO) products may be either customized or standard, and customization can occur either at the configuration or component level. Consequently, MTO production processes can be divided into three customization gestalts: non-customizers, custom assemblers, and custom producers. In this article, we examine how the multilevel nature of customization affects order management in processes that produce complex MTO products. We first empirically validate the existence of the three customization gestalts and subsequently, analyze the order management challenges and solutions in each gestalt in a sample of 163 MTO production processes embedded in seven different supply chains. In the analyses, we follow a mixed-methods approach, combining a quantitative survey with qualitative interview data. The results show that important contingencies make different order management practices effective in different gestalts. Further qualitative inquiry reveals that some seemingly old-fashioned practices, such as available-to-promise verifications, are effective but commonly neglected in many organizations. The results also challenge some of the conventional wisdom about custom assembly (and indirectly, mass customization). For example, the systematic configuration management methods—conventionally associated with project business environments—appear to be equally important in custom assembly.

A strategic management system for manufacturing: linking action to performance

How the manufacturing function can reach its operational goals is one of the enduring questions in manufacturing strategy. We address this question in two ways. First, we examine the existing literature and empirical evidence on why the implementation of manufacturing strategies may fail. Second, in order to aid implementation of manufacturing strategies, we develop a conceptual framework and managerial tool that explicitly links operational actions with operational performance. Specifically, we focus on how the whole operations or manufacturing function should be viewed and managed from a strategic perspective, and how we should conceptualize the notion of manufacturing capabilities and competitive manufacturing. We illustrate the use of the tool by examination of a manufacturing strategy case study.How the manufacturing function can reach its operational goals is one of the enduring questions in manufacturing strategy. We address this question in two ways. First, we examine the existing literature and empirical evidence on why the implementation of manufacturing strategies may fail. Second, in order to aid implementation of manufacturing strategies, we develop a conceptual framework and managerial tool that explicitly links operational actions with operational performance. Specifically, we focus on how the whole operations or manufacturing function should be viewed and managed from a strategic perspective, and how we should conceptualize the notion of manufacturing capabilities and competitive manufacturing. We illustrate the use of the tool by examination of a manufacturing strategy case study.

Five-year outcome of bipolar I and II disorders: findings of the Jorvi Bipolar Study

The long‐term outcome of bipolar disorder (BD) has been extensively investigated. However, previous studies may be biased towards hospitalized patients with bipolar I disorder (BD‐I), and generalizability to the current treatment era remains uncertain. In this naturalistic study, we followed a secondary‐care cohort of patients with BD.

DEPRESSION AND SMOKING: A 5-YEAR PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and smoking are major public health problems and epidemiologically strongly associated. However, the relationship between smoking and depression and whether this is influenced by common confounding factors remain unclear, in part due to limited longitudinal data on covariation.

Temperament, character and personality disorders

OBJECTIVE To study, whether temperament and character remain stable over time and whether they differ between patients with and without personality disorder (PD) and between patients with specific PDs. METHODS Patients with (n=225) or without (n=285) PD from Jorvi Bipolar Study, Vantaa Depression Study (VDS) and Vantaa Primary Care Depression Study were interviewed at baseline and at 18 months, and in the VDS also at 5 years. A general population comparison group (n=264) was surveyed by mail. RESULTS Compared with non-PD patients, PD patients scored lower on self-directedness and cooperativeness. Cluster B and C PDs associated with high Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance, respectively. In logistic regression models, sensitivity and specificity of Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) dimensions for presence of any PD were 53% and 75%, and for specific PDs from 11% to 41% and from 92% to 100%, respectively. The 18-month test-retest correlations of TCI-R dimensions ranged from 0.58 to 0.82. CONCLUSIONS Medium-term temporal stability of TCI in a clinical population appears good. Character scores differ markedly between PD and non-PD patients, whereas temperament scores differ only somewhat between the specific PDs. However, the TCI dimensions capture only a portion of the differences between PD and non-PD patients.