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In many situations suppliers and customers are looking for ways to improve the co‐ordination of goods flow in both quantitative and qualitative ways. This is often called co‐makership. This article describes a case study of two companies setting up a co‐makership relationship. The relationship is evaluated on criteria like possible improvements, organisational impact and risk of the (increasing) (inter) dependence between the two companies. Both the benefits and the organisational impact of the relationship can be large. The risks of co‐makership are not easy to evaluate.

This paper seeks to explore the question of how to investigate the contribution of the operational network (comprising sales service, logistics, planning, production, etc.) to operational performance. In doing so, the paper aims to link concepts from organisational and social psychology to production planning and control.

The paper introduces the concept “operational network”, e.g. the network of people involved in customer and production order processing. Members of the operational network need some autonomy, but this autonomy may also lead to dysfunctional behaviour, due to conflicts of interest, ambiguities and individual preferences. The contribution of the operational network seems difficult to investigate. This is illustrated by an empirical study of the role of operational people in a semi‐process industry. This study shows that concepts of organisational psychology are very applicable here. However, most results relate perceived behaviour to perceived performance; it appeared to be difficult to relate actual organisation characteristics to actual performance. This paper discusses the research approach that is necessary to be able to fill the gap between “perceived” and “actual”.

To fill the gap between “perceived” and “actual” behaviour, it is necessary to formalize the behaviour of the members of the operational network by adopting an adequate planning and control framework. In most situations such a planning and control framework is not available. Therefore, a study of the role of the operational network needs to be accompanied by a participative design of the planning and control framework.

This paper conducts a convincing investigation into the contribution of the operational network to operational performance, a subject which hitherto has been only marginally addressed.

From an extensive review of the literature in the field of total quality management (TQM), 11 constructs of TQM implementation were identified. An instrument measuring these constructs was developed. The reliability and validity of the instrument were tested and validated using data from 212 Chinese manufacturing companies. Various methods were employed for this test and validation. Comparisons between this instrument and the three other quality management instruments were made. It was concluded finally that the instrument presented in this paper was reliable and valid. Researchers will be able to use this instrument for developing quality management theory. Industrial practitioners will be able to use this instrument to evaluate their TQM implementation so as to target improvement areas.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effects of postponement in the context of environmentally sound management.

The paper examined the environmental issues for a postponement strategy, with transport as a mediating factor. It also investigated the impact of related practices (e.g. just in time, e‐commerce, vendor managed inventory and factory gate pricing) on transport.

This paper discussed ways of developing a postponement strategy which could benefit the economy, and which are not limited to taking into consideration the trade‐off between inventory and transport costs. Some thoughts were also presented on possible ways of mitigating the effects of the increase in transport on traffic congestion and pollution levels.

The results of the research contribute to better designing the postponement strategy by placing more emphasis on environmental compatibility while conforming to the end market demand.

The paper emphasises the importance of environmental issues in a postponement strategy. It calls for a need to further understand the trade‐offs between optimal supply chain efficiency and its environmental impact.

The goal of this study was to examine individual, relational, and organizational determinants of negotiation behavior (problem solving, contending, yielding, and avoiding) between planning and marketing departments in manufacturing organizations. Results from a study among 41 managers and 85 planning and marketing employees within 11 firms showed that individual personality, perceived interdepartmental interdependence, and organizational strategy were each related to the negotiation behavior of department members. Desirable negotiation behavior—specifically, the problem‐solving approach—was more likely when individuals were extraverted and agreeable, when employees perceived high interdepartmental interdependence, and when organizations did not have a low‐cost strategy. Contending was more likely when individuals were extraverted and disagreeable, and yielding was more likely when department members perceived a power advantage vis‐à‐vis the other department. All four styles of negotiation behavior were more likely the less the organizations had a low‐cost strategy. These findings provide guidance to organizations in their efforts to encourage constructive negotiation behavior between departments.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of different dimensions of supply chain management practices (SCMP) on supply chain performance (SCP) in the electronics industry in Malaysia.

The study employed the quantitative method where convenience sampling and self‐administrated survey questionnaires were sent to 125 electronics firms in Malaysia. The research framework was tested using variance‐based structural equation model, the partial least squares (PLS) method.

The empirical results of PLS indicate that six of the seven dimensions of SCMP have a significant positive effect on SCP. Furthermore, agreed vision and goals shows a greater influence than other dimensions of SCMP.

This study took a narrow focus solely on the electronics manufacturing industry with a relatively small sample size of respondents. Also the data were only collected from single respondents in an organization. However, being the first study to explore the dimensions of SCMP and how those dimensions relate to SCP, the study shapes the pathway for future research.

The results offer insights to SCM practitioners and policy makers on the importance of SCMP to increase the competitiveness of manufacturing industry in terms of SCP.

This study employs a newly developed framework based on existing theoretical arguments to empirically examine the relationship between two important factors, the SCMP and SCP. This study is perhaps one of the first to address the effect of SCMP that includes combination of comprehensive practices and system approach towards the overall performance of the supply chain.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between quality management practices and their impact on performance.

First, critical quality management practices are identified and classified in three main categories: management, infrastructure, and core practices. Then, a model linking these practices and performance is proposed and empirically tested. The empirical data were obtained from a survey of 133 Tunisian companies from the plastic transforming sector.

The results reveal a positive relationship between quality management practices and organizational performance. Moreover, the findings show a significant relationship between management and infrastructure practices. In addition, the results illustrate a direct effect of infrastructure practices on operational performance and of core practices on product quality.

The conceptual model proposed and tested in this study can be used by researchers for developing quality management theory. In addition, this model may offer a flow chart to practitioners for effective quality management implementation.

The proposed model is the first one to distinguish the direct effects of infrastructure practices on performance from the indirect effects of these practices through the core practices. Besides, the use of path analysis method to study the direct and indirect relationships between quality management practices and their effect on performance dimensions.