Editorial

Citation

Taylor, A., Vereecke, A., Voss, C. and Webster, M. (2006), "Editorial", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 26 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijopm.2006.02426caa.001

Editorial

In this issue of IJOPM we publish three papers based on the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS). We are grateful to Prof. Dr ir. Ann Vereecke at Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School and Professor Chris Voss at London Business School for handling the review process for these three papers and for providing the following perspective on the IMSS.

The IMSS was based on an original study in Sweden and the first survey was conducted in 1992-1994, led by Per Lindberg of Chalmers University and Chris Voss of London Business School. The framework of the study is based on a manufacturing strategy perspective. This means that emphasis is placed on understanding the strategies and market priorities of the business units, the strategy's translation into manufacturing objectives, the manufacturing practices, and the areas of current and future manufacturing improvement activities. The questionnaire is divided into the following sections:

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  Description, strategy and performance of the business unit. This section explores strategies, markets, primary modes of competition and cost structure data of the business unit.

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  Description, strategy and performance of the dominant activities of the plant. This section explores the manufacturing strategy, process design and manufacturing performance of the main activity in the plant.

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  Current manufacturing and supply chain practices, and past and planned improvement programmes. This section explores the structure (facilities, technology, and degree of integration) and infrastructure (organization, planning and control systems, quality, and product development) of the plant. It also focuses on the use and the results from action plans and improvements programs, such as the implementation of IT systems, the introduction of automation, the implementation of quality systems, empowerment, etc.

The design of the study is based on two broad underlying hypotheses:

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  H1. Different strategic contexts of different firms lead to different manufacturing choices and patterns of responses.H2. Different national contexts (macroecomic and sociocultural) of different firms lead to different manufacturing choices and patterns of responses.

Within these, there are many underlying second-level hypotheses that may be tested.

The IMSS focuses on companies in the engineering/assembly industries (ISIC 38). This includes manufacturing of metal products, machinery, electrical equipment, transportation equipment, and measuring and controlling equipment.

Following the initial survey, three further rounds have been held with the latest being finished at the end of 2005 with analysis due to start in mid-2006. Over time the survey has evolved, with a careful balance being struck between the benefits of stability and longitudinal data and the need to reflect new areas of interest and research. For example, over the years, more data has been collected on supply chain aspects, one of the main new areas of research in the late 1990s. The three papers in this issue of IJOPM are based on data collected in the third round, which was completed at the end of 2002, and which includes 16 countries worldwide.

The output arising from this carefully thought out survey and its large database has been prodigious. The first round resulted in a major book, with chapters contributed by most of the partners in the survey (Lindberg et al., 1998). Since then the first three rounds of the survey have produced 32 papers in refereed journals, 81 conference papers, numerous book chapters and country reports and have been the basis of at least three PhD theses. The output of the surveys can be counted, not just in volume, but also in terms of quality. Over ten papers have appeared in this journal.

Research has also been published in prestigious US journals such as Management Science and the Journal of Operations Management. A paper by Frohlich and Westbrook (2001) won the best paper of the year award in the Journal of Operations Management, as well as being the most downloaded paper that year. A paper by Zotteri et al. (2000) achieved the best paper award at the EurOMA Conference in Gent. Three years later, at the EurOMA Conference in Como, the award was granted to Cagliano et al. (2003). In 2004, the best paper award at the EurOMA Conference in Fontainebleau was again won with an IMSS-based paper, this time by Vereecke and Muylle (2004).

Finally, the IMSS has developed into an international community that meets regularly, works across borders and helps to develop new researchers around the world. The three papers in this issue reflect both the underlying nature of the IMSS, and the diverse nature of the topics that can be researched.

The paper by da Silveira and Cagliano examines inter-organizational information systems, and in particular looks at the differences between dyadic and multilateral systems. They explore the potential impact of the internet on supplier coordination. More specifically, using a typology of information systems, they explore the impact on coordination and performance. They found that the impact of each type of system depended on whether the context was stable or dynamic. Although such relationships have been hypothesized before, this is the first study to demonstrate this empirically.

The paper by Grössler, Grübner and Milling examines the interesting manufacturing strategy issue of how organizations deal with external complexity. A useful part of this paper is the exploration of what complexity is, and how it can be measured; in particular, they separate external from internal complexity. They first demonstrate how complexity influences manufacturing strategy choices and then examine the adaptation strategies used by organizations to deal with complexity.

The paper by Cagliano, Caniato and Spina is a link between the traditional manufacturing strategy discipline and the new focus on supply chain management. In particular, they explore the relationship between the adoption of ERP and what is now known as lean manufacturing, and supply chain information integration. The strong link demonstrated between lean production and supply chain integration indicates that there is a clear need not to separate too far what have become two different areas of research. They also raise interesting questions about ERP systems which do not seem to have the expected impact.

There are a number of links between these three diverse papers that are based on IMSS data. First they are all consistent with exploration of H1, “Different strategic contexts of different firms lead to different manufacturing choices and patterns of response.” Each is looking at a different set of choices and responses. Second, each sets out to do rigorous analysis of the data, using a range of analytical techniques from hierarchical regression to structural equation modeling.

With this set of three IMSS-based papers we hope to stimulate the IMSS network to continue generating publications based on rigorous analysis of the IMSS data. We also hope to encourage researchers from other countries to join the network and collect data on the strategy, the practices and the improvements in manufacturing in their country. And finally, we hope that the hypotheses tested in these papers, and the results and conclusions from these research projects will provide food for thought to other researchers. They may want to empirically test the hypotheses on other industries, or build on and expand the insights that emerge from the three papers.

The final two papers have a public sector theme. The paper by Schiele and McCue advances our understanding of the concept of meaningful purchasing involvement in the acquisition of services. Previous research has found that supply involvement in the acquisition process can vary substantially, ranging from the role of merely taking orders to meaningful involvement. Meaningful involvement, as defined in the literature, represents the timely and useful collaboration of purchasing's knowledge and expertise in all aspects of the acquisition process. This research uses a case-based approach to develop an improved understanding of the conditions under which municipal purchasing departments can be meaningfully involved in acquisition processes for consulting services. Data was collected at five Canadian municipalities and involved a detailed examination of ten cases where the supply function demonstrated meaningful involvement in the acquisition process. These findings, along with organizational behaviour literature on trust, were used to develop a conceptual model that may be used to test the validity of the theory developed. Meaningful involvement requires a team approach, and purchasing cannot “go it alone”. Thus the paper considers how purchasing can provide value in ways beyond compliance and cost reductions.

Finally, McFadden, Stock and Gowen address the vital topic of patient safety in the delivery of healthcare services. They draw on the TQM and medical safety literatures to test McFadden et al.'s (2004) model of the successful implementation of patient safety initiatives. Patient safety initiatives are activities intended to prevent or ameliorate adverse outcomes or injuries stemming from the healthcare process. Recent reports have suggested high levels of medical errors, accounting for more than 98,000 error-related deaths per annum in the US alone, of which 58 per cent were deemed to have been preventable. Using extensive survey data from 252 hospitals throughout the US, they highlight the factors that facilitate or impede the implementation of patient safety initiatives. Moreover, their data suggest that such initiatives yield substantial benefits to hospitals in terms of quality improvement, increased customer satisfaction, net cost savings and reduction in the frequency and severity of errors. These issues are of international importance in the healthcare sector; every adverse outcome from a medical episode that is attributable to preventable error represents a human dilemma for those concerned. The authors' contribution is important in demonstrating how operations management might make a difference.

More information on how to be involved in the IMSS network can be obtained by contacting either Ann Vereecke (Ann.Vereecke@vlerick.be) or Chris Voss (CVoss@london.edu).

Andrew Taylor, Ann Vereecke, Chris Voss and Margaret Webster