Zu'bi M. F. Al-Zu'bi

Clockspeed effectiveness of lead users and product experts

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of collaboration with lead users (users that experience needs unknown to the public and therefore can innovate by finding solutions to those needs) and product experts (external new product development collaborators who have a commercial interest in the development of a new product) on the clockspeed of the development of new products and to determine which of the two has a higher impact.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 421 European manufacturers, and analysed using hierarchical regression analyses.Findings – Both lead users and product experts were found to have a positive and statistically significant impact on new product development speed. Also, collaboration with lead users will lead to greater new product development speed than with product experts.Research limitations/implications – When knowledgeable individuals are involved in the new product development process as lead users, they have a better impact on ne...

Benchmarking of TQM: the case of Hikma Pharmaceuticals company

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of internal benchmarking through the evaluation of quality management in two quality departments (Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC)) in a pharmaceutical company by utilizing total quality index (TQI). Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose a structured questionnaire was used to assess the gap between the ideal and current status of the quality management system. The mean differences between the current and ideal states for the eight critical factors were compared for the two departments using t-test. Findings – There is difference in the actual and ideal scores on three out of eight critical factors between the QA and QC departments. Practical implications – The internal benchmarking process which was applied in this case study can be applied in other pharmaceutical companies in order to improve the status of the quality management system and achieve competitive advantage. Originality...

A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF PRODUCT INNOVATION IN JORDAN’S PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR

Through this paper we aim to illustrate the latest proposals within EU legislation regarding airports, which are facing some difficulties in the EU legislative iter of approval. Airports, due to the liberalization and deregulation process, shifted from an appendix facility of air transport into a self-standing industry. The whole process was imprinted by the massive privatization and is leading now into a competitive and common market, at least in EU level. These proposals, regarding slot allocation, groundhandling and procedure for restriction of the noise related operations, are to be considered as a serious effort for a comprehensive regulation. In our view, de lege ferenda it is a welcome initiative which yet represents difficulties in reaching uniformity within Union airport market. Furthermore, it is time for the Commission to launch new package related to the State Aids in the Air Transport sector and specifically, those which deals with airports.

Examining the Impact of Lean Practices on Flexibility Performance: The Moderating Effect of Environmental Dynamism

This paper examined the effects of four core and internal lean practices on flexibility performance in Jordanian manufacturing companies. Lean practices included setup time reduction, continuous improvement, synchronization of operations, and pull system. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 157 manufacturing companies from different industry types. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that lean production posively and significantly affected flexibility performance. All lean practices proved to be positively and significantly related to flexibility performance. The most contributing lean practice was synchronization of operations followed by pull system and continuous improvement. The moderating effect of environmental dynamism was also examined. The results of the interaction terms showed that environmental dynamism positively and significantly moderated the relationship between synchronization of operations and flexibility performance. The findings of this study highlighted the important role of synchronization of operations, a widely neglected lean practice in the literature, in improving flexibility performance. Additionally, we contributed to the controversial issue in the literature concerning the impact of lean production on performance in a dynamic environment.