Ravi Kathuria

Alignment of strategic priorities and performance: an integration of operations and strategic management perspectives

Abstract In theory, strategic priorities at the functional level align with and support business level strategies. Alignment of priorities is presumed to contribute to enhanced organizational performance, just as misalignment is expected to undermine performance. This study further develops and tests these theoretical conventions by examining the perceptions of general managers and manufacturing managers regarding manufacturing priorities of their business units. Based on a sample of matched pairs of manufacturing managers and general managers from 98 manufacturing plants, the hypotheses regarding the alignment–performance relationship are tested. Specifically, we tested whether the performance of the manufacturing unit is enhanced when general managers and manufacturing managers agree on strategic priorities. Furthermore, the influence of organizational factors on the relationship between alignment and performance of the manufacturing unit is studied. Results support our hypotheses that certain organizational variables moderate the relationship between alignment of priorities and manufacturing performance.

Strategy‐managerial characteristics alignment and performance: A manufacturing perspective

Prior research of the influence of “upper echelon” managers has confirmed the importance of matching the characteristics of senior executives with the requirements of their organizations’ strategies. Firms that achieved higher levels of strategy‐manager alignment at both the corporate and business unit levels were found to have correspondingly higher levels of organizational performance. This study extends prior research of the strategy‐managerial characteristics relationship to the functional level of the organization. Specifically, based on a sample of 196 managers from 98 companies, this study investigates whether manufacturing units pursuing dissimilar strategies are led by manufacturing managers with dissimilar attributes, and whether the strategy‐manager alignment is related to the performance of the manufacturing unit. Results provide evidence to support these hypothesized relationships.

Competitive priorities and strategic consensus in emerging economies: evidence from India

– The purpose of this paper is to understand the competitive priorities of manufacturers in India, and examine the level of agreement or strategic consensus between senior executives and manufacturing managers on manufacturing competitive priorities in light of the prevalent culture., – Survey data collected from 156 respondents from 78 manufacturing units based on a national sample in India are used to test the hypotheses using the paired samples t‐tests and multivariate analysis of variance., – A relatively high emphasis by both levels of managers on quality, compared to the other three competitive priorities, is noteworthy and consistent with the global trends. The emphasis on delivery is a close second. Differences in competitive priorities exist across managerial levels in India despite the high power distance and low individualism., – The effect of ownership as private or public company was examined and no significant differences found, but data could not be collected on the ownership structure such as wholly owned domestic firms, foreign subsidiaries, or joint ventures. and whether a firm is a supplier to a multinational company. It may also be noted that a majority of the manufacturing companies in this paper came from three industries – chemicals, fabricated metals, and electronic and electrical equipment – and, hence, the findings of the paper might have been unduly influenced by the prevalent practices in these industries., – The paper informs global managers and firms seeking to outsource to, or invest in, India that the Indian managers place significantly high emphasis on quality and delivery, but not as much on product variety or ability to make frequent changes to product design and production volume. The managers in India need to take note of prevailing differences in managerial priorities and efforts need to be made such that the priorities are aligned and manufacturing strategy may be unified and coordinated., – In the Indian context, this is the first study that deployed multiple respondents to understand the manufacturing competitive priorities, and also the first to examine strategic consensus in operations strategy.

Fairness-Trust-Loyalty Relationship Under Varying Conditions of Supplier-Buyer Interdependence

Relationship marketing plays a significant role in supply chain practice and academic studies. Using the resource advantage theory within the relationship marketing framework, we studied the mediating role of trust as a governance mechanism in the fairness-loyalty relationship under different types of interdependence structure between suppliers (wholesalers) and buyers (retailers). Our findings, based on data from retail pharmacies, demonstrate that only under conditions of symmetric independence, trust, as a governance mechanism, completely mediate the relationship between fairness and loyalty. Under conditions of both perceived independence (i.e., lack of interdependence) and asymmetric buyer dependence, however, trust does not mediate but fairness directly influences loyalty. Thus, fairness and trust influence loyalty, strengthening relationships in different ways under different conditions of interdependence. The implications for research and practice are discussed.

Experiential learning process : Exploring teaching and learning of strategic management framework through the winter survival exercise

This article examines an attempt to introduce experiential learning methods in a business strategy course. In organizational behavior and industrial/organizational psychology, experiential teaching methods have been so widely adopted that some authors have suggested dropping the distinction between experiential and traditional teaching. Although intuitively appealing, experiential methods have not yet become popular among professors teaching strategy to traditional-age undergraduate students. It seems that heavy reliance on case-based teaching has resulted in a lack of emphasis on experiential learning tools for strategic management. In this study, the Winter Survival Exercise was used to introduce, concisely and effectively, the strategic management framework to 97 traditional-age undergraduate strategic management students in three different sections over three semesters. Statistical analysis supported the efficacy of this teaching method. Implications for teaching business strategy using experiential methods as a complement to rather than a substitute for traditional case studies are discussed.

Leadership practices, competitive priorities, and manufacturing group performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of manufacturing leadership in enhancing manufacturing performance for different manufacturing configurations.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data collected from three levels of respondents in excess of 480, from 98 manufacturing units in the USA are used to test the study hypothesis using the cluster analysis and regression models.Findings – Effective leadership is positively associated with overall manufacturing performance beyond the fixed effects of organizational variables, such as competitive orientation and industry membership. The manufacturing leadership, however, does not seem to affect customer satisfaction.Research limitations/implications – The paper illustrates the use of behavioral theory of leadership in the context of managing operations with varying competitive orientations in different industries. Future research should, however, attempt to match different leadership practices/styles to different competitive orientations, a...

How fairness garners loyalty in the pharmaceutical supply chain: Role of trust in the wholesaler‐pharmacy relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how fairness garners loyalty by breeding trust in the pharmaceutical wholesaler‐pharmacy relationship. Specifically, the paper seeks to understand if the two dimensions of fairness – procedural and distributive – contribute differently in fostering the two types of trust – credibility and benevolence. The paper further aims to examine how the two dimensions of trust mediate the fairness‐loyalty relationship.Design/methodology/approach – Data from 156 retail pharmacies on their relationship with the pharmaceutical wholesalers are used to test the hypotheses. The mediation models are tested using the Barron and Kenny procedure.Findings – The findings of this paper show the importance of both procedural and distributive aspects of fairness on the part of pharmaceutical wholesalers as perceived by the pharmacies. Each aspect of fairness plays a more prominent role for fostering a particular type of trust, which, in turn, leads to loyalty.Research limitation...

International growth strategies of service and manufacturing firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences in growth strategies – domestic and international – of manufacturing and service firms. Hardly any literature exists that empirically investigates the differences on account of the distinctive characteristics of goods and services, and such studies rarely draw from the operations management field.Design/methodology/approach – Multiple analysis of variance is used to analyze longitudinal data from multiple secondary sources.Findings – Mixed services, such as banks, focus more on domestic growth and less on international growth. Manufacturers, such as chemical firms, focus more on international activities as compared to domestic activities. Mixed service firms seem to prefer collaborative approaches, whereas goods producers prefer wholly owned ventures.Research limitations/implications – The data collection methodology applied in this study may be applicable to many other topics of operations management. Future researchers may examine interna...

QUALITY AND WORK FORCE PRACTICES: THE MANAGERIAL PERFORMANCE IMPLICATION.

This paper examines the managerial performance impact of work force management practices appropriate for manufacturing environments when quality is highly emphasized. The hypotheses positing the relationship among work force management practices, managerial performance and the emphasis on quality are developed and tested using data from 483 individuals in 99 manufacturing plants in the United States. The results indicate that when the emphasis is high on quality, certain work force management practices -- consulting, supporting, mentoring, inspiring, recognizing, planning, informing, and clarifying -- seem to play an important role in managerial performance in manufacturing settings. These practices seemingly motivate workers to manufacture products that are accurate, consistent, durable, and reliable. Furthermore, workers are entrusted with the traditional responsibilities of manufacturing managers, such as monitoring and problem solving.