Laura B. Forker, Shawnee K. Vickery and Cornelia L.M. Droge
Quality is consistently listed as one of manufacturing’s top competitive priorities and has become a prerequisite for success in the global marketplace. Quality helps a firm gain…
Abstract
Quality is consistently listed as one of manufacturing’s top competitive priorities and has become a prerequisite for success in the global marketplace. Quality helps a firm gain a competitive advantage by delivering goods to the marketplace that meet customer needs, operate in their intended manner, and continuously improve quality dimensions in order to “surprise and delight” the customer. While quality’s significance has been emphasized for years, the contribution of quality to business performance has been largely unexplored. Results of a survey sent to the furniture industry show that quality dimensions ‐ especially design quality and product improvement ‐ are highly correlated with business performance. Quality remains the foundation of competitive advantage, even if a firm’s short‐term attention has drifted to speed‐to‐market, cost reduction and other concerns.
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Diane Halstead, Cornelia Dröge and M. Bixby Cooper
Focuses on a group of unsatisfied carpet owners. Examines the rolesof the carpet warranty and the post‐purchase service received during thecomplaint process in terms of their…
Abstract
Focuses on a group of unsatisfied carpet owners. Examines the roles of the carpet warranty and the post‐purchase service received during the complaint process in terms of their effects on customers′ satisfaction with complaint resolution. Presents some suggestions for customer service policies, complaint handling procedures, and warranty fulfilment service.
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Cornelia Dröge and Richard Germain
Examines empirically which of a range of variables affect managers′perceptions of the management information system (MIS) designed tosupport logistics. The results suggest that…
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Examines empirically which of a range of variables affect managers′ perceptions of the management information system (MIS) designed to support logistics. The results suggest that the adoption of computer software, the use of specific informational control devices and some aspects of logistics organisation have an effect in both smaller and larger firms. Other variables, such as the title and tenure of the senior logistics executive, do not systematically predict variance in managers′ perceptions of logistics MIS.
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Patricia J. Daugherty and Cornelia Dröge
In recent years, more firms have chosen to use outside servicevendors to provide at least a portion of their logistical supportrequirements. The analysis presents projected usage…
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In recent years, more firms have chosen to use outside service vendors to provide at least a portion of their logistical support requirements. The analysis presents projected usage trends for selected services as identified by logistics executives. Differences in anticipated usage levels of external logistical services were found when firms of different organisational structure were examined.
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Cindy Claycomb, Richard Germain and Cornelia Dröge
Despite anecdotal evidence of the performance implications of just‐in‐time (JIT) implementation, little empirical research has been conducted. Examines total system JIT’s…
Abstract
Despite anecdotal evidence of the performance implications of just‐in‐time (JIT) implementation, little empirical research has been conducted. Examines total system JIT’s empirical relationships with a variety of performance outcomes. Total system JIT encompasses JIT purchasing, JIT production, and JIT selling. In a mail survey of 200 logistics executives, total system JIT was found to be: inversely related to weeks of inventory (inclusive of inbound, in‐process, and outbound); inversely related to the number of layers in various functional areas (e.g. marketing); and positively related to three different indicators of financial performance (ROI, profits, and ROS). Results, managerial implications, and further research are discussed.
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Nukhet Harmancioglu, Cornelia Droge and Roger J. Calantone
This study aims to scrutinize the meaning and domain of “innovation” by providing an extensive theory‐driven review of the new product literature in marketing, management and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to scrutinize the meaning and domain of “innovation” by providing an extensive theory‐driven review of the new product literature in marketing, management and engineering. The overall objective is to classify the recent literature on innovation and to illustrate theoretically derived discourses in the study of innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper organizes this literature by providing typologies of discourses, which define innovation. Based on our review of 238 articles from a comprehensive set of journals publishing innovation research, we propose a theoretical divide in the innovation literature.
Findings
Theoretical underpinnings, namely adoption/diffusion theory versus the resource‐based/contingency theory view, form one dimension of the typology. Jointly considered with the other two dimensions – level of analysis and customer vs firm perspective – a framework is formed of the different discourses and conceptualisations in the innovation literature.
Originality/value
Past researchers have always proposed a definition of innovation that was embedded in a typology of innovation types; in contrast, the paper allows the theoretical discourses to unveil meanings of innovation and associated constructs (and hence it starts with theory specification, not construct definition). It argues for starting with theory as the basic division and proposes a theory driven typology. Through its theoretical genesis, the paper wishes to create a shared understanding among academics and practitioners of what constitutes innovation and constructs within the related theoretical net.
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Sangphet Hanvanich, Cornelia Dröge and Roger Calantone
The knowledge‐based view of the firm suggests that knowledge is the firm’s key resource for creating and sustaining economic rent. This perspective raises an important question…
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The knowledge‐based view of the firm suggests that knowledge is the firm’s key resource for creating and sustaining economic rent. This perspective raises an important question for marketers: What is marketing knowledge? We argue first that marketing knowledge resides in three key marketing processes: product development management, customer relationship management, and supply chain management. Second, we argue that marketing knowledge is the extent of understanding of these three marketing processes, an extent which can be measured by evaluating awareness of factors, control of factors, and application of knowledge in new markets. We empirically test this conceptualization of marketing knowledge and, as a predictive validation, examine its relationship with marketing innovation.
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Sime Curkovic, Shawnee K. Vickery and Cornelia Droge
This paper examines the competitive dimensions of quality for first tier suppliers in the automotive industry. A theoretically relevant set of quality variables is identified from…
Abstract
This paper examines the competitive dimensions of quality for first tier suppliers in the automotive industry. A theoretically relevant set of quality variables is identified from the literature. The results of a factor analysis show that quality is a two dimensional construct in the automotive supply industry. The core dimensions of quality are: product quality, which is primarily focused on design superiority and performance of the physical product; and service quality, which comprises both pre‐ and post‐sale service. The study reveals that both product quality and service quality are related to overall firm performance, regardless of whether asset based, investment based, or market based measures are used.
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Cindy Claycomb, Cornelia Dröge and Richard Germain
This research challenges the idea of an unconditional and positive influence of knowledge on performance without regard to environmental uncertainty. We focus on applied product…
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This research challenges the idea of an unconditional and positive influence of knowledge on performance without regard to environmental uncertainty. We focus on applied product quality knowledge spanning the supply chain (i.e. supplier, internal, and customer quality sources are considered). A survey of 208 manufacturing firms examined the moderating influence of product churning (uncertainty) and demand unpredictability on the association between applied product quality knowledge and firm performance. We also controlled for firm size and production technology. Firms that can determine a fit between their product quality knowledge application and the types of environmental uncertainty they face will perform better in terms of market and financial performance indicators.