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The purpose of this research is to develop empirically grounded propositions for further research into UK manufacturing productivity.

Interviews were conducted with managers from strategic, tactical and operational levels from four manufacturing sectors to produce case studies. A modified strategic alignment theory framework was used to code, compare and contrast narratives on perceived productivity antecedents, definitions, compatibility with the definition from the UK Office for National Statistics, and vertical alignment issues within and across cases.

It was found that different key antecedents can facilitate and/or prevent strategic vertical alignment. Discussion reveals complex nuances in perceptions of manufacturing productivity and using the modified strategic alignment theory/productivity antecedent framework.

In revealing the alignment or otherwise of productivity definitions at different levels within the firm, the paper reveals nine propositions for future research including definitions, skills, metrics, performance measurement systems, people and system-centric perspectives, the value-added perspective of productivity and the role of innovation.

This paper aims to develop frameworks to support implementation and competitive leveraging of distinct sustainable supply chain operations. This derives from conceptual definition of the dynamic capabilities required to support Hart’s (1995) natural-resource-based view resources in the supply chain.

This conceptual study uses qualitative content analysis to extract capabilities from review and analysis of literature related to natural-resource-based view (NRBV) and sustainable supply chain management. Intercoder reliability assessments support conceptual development of such capabilities into dynamic capability frameworks.

Specific interrelations between each NRBV resource and corresponding supply chain strategies are conceptualised. From this, capabilities are categorised to corresponding resources, dynamic capabilities activities and internal–external focus. This results in definition of 107 dynamic NRBV capabilities.

Contributions are threefold: distinct frameworks for competitive sustainable supply chain management is offered; the NRBV benefits from enhanced practical guidance via the definition of its dynamic capabilities, addressing the theory-practice gap; and understandings of dynamic capabilities and their role in both the NRBV sustainable supply chain management is advanced.

This paper offers four frameworks to allow firms to tailor sustainability strategies to suit their needs and guide competitive leveraging. Definition of capabilities offers practical guidance to operationalise NRBV resources.

This is the first holistic interpretation of NRBV capabilities and explicit application of dynamic capabilities. This forms the basis of a broader research agenda for the NRBV in sustainable supply chain management.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of high-value manufacturing (HVM) concepts in Scottish SMEs and define how they are being used to gain competitive advantage.

Cross-sectional research carried out using a large-scale survey of 435 SMEs and semi-structured interviews of a subset of 50 SMEs.

Findings indicate that HVM is not a homogeneous state but an umbrella term for a number of operational models adopted by manufacturers that are progressively moving from simple price-based production; companies must, as a foundation, be operationally excellent in all lifecycle phases before extending their capability by offering a more comprehensive service; HVM is not a static state but a journey that differs in nature for each manufacturer depending on the nature of its market and customer.

The approach to theory must be more integrated combining aspects of marketing, strategic and operational theory. Research must be carried out using the supply chain, rather than the firm, as the unit of analysis.

Manufacturing efficiency has now become an order qualifier and competitive advantage should now be sought through the integration of design, production and service activities from strategic levels down to operational levels across all the functions of a business which link seamlessly to customer and supplier activities.

This paper contains insights into Scottish SMEs and their practice of HVM; defines the activity that makes up HVM at an operational as opposed to an economic or strategic level; proposes a model that characterises the stages of HVM that SMEs transition through.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the factors that enable and/or constrain the design and implementation of team‐based performance measurement systems.

This research study departed from an industrially‐led project. The research strategies used (i.e. case studies, industrial workshops and action research) are suited to the applied and empirical nature of the study. The paper reviews the existing literature on team performance measurement. It then presents the findings based on a exploratory phase and a theory refinement phase.

The results of this study suggest that there are eleven factors affecting the design and implementation of TPMS. It also suggests that these factors are inter‐related with each other. As a result, the impact of one factor can reduce and even eliminate the impact of other factors.

There are two main limitations of this research. Firstly, carrying out more than one longitudinal study would increase the validity of the findings. Secondly, evidence was mainly gathered from companies from the manufacturing sector.

These findings provide senior managers, human resource specialists and team leaders with the foundations to create the right conditions to design and implement TPMS.

The main contribution this paper makes is that it highlights the factors affecting the design and implementation of measurement system in the context of teams. This research identifies three factors (i.e. team maturity, focus and content of appraisal and reward systems, business process view) that are specific to TPMS design and that have not been fully addressed by previous research.

The initial objective of the research presented in this paper was to investigate human resource management (HRM) practices from a business process perspective. The paper first demonstrates the level of inconsistency in the field with respect to HRM models. The paper then develops the need for a more formal systems engineering‐based approach for modelling HRM practices from a business process viewpoint. The paper then goes on to describe the model developed for the HRM business process together with the methodology used to validate the model. The paper concludes with a discussion on the validity of the model, which further demonstrates the differing points of view in this complex and multidisciplinary field.

Purpose – To increase productivity in an automotive assembly plant to satisfy customer demand and also develop best practices for productivity improvement for robotic welding operation lines. Design/methodology/approach – Principles of lean manufacturing and constrained management have been applied to increase the plant's output in order. Constrained management was used to identify bottlenecks in the plant that limits the throughput and lean manufacturing helped to identify waste (muda) in the constrained production areas. Analytical tools such as matrices are used for mapping sequence of robotics movements to identify interference and desired path for welding line. Findings – Results of applying constrained management and lean manufacturing in tandem have revealed the plant's overall bottlenecks and means of increasing the throughput. Research limitations/implications – The research findings are from an automotive assembly plant in a mass production industry, and the results may not be applicable to other types of industry. Practical implications – A very useful best practice for the productivity improvement that is easy to use by plants' management to help them identify and manage bottlenecks, and to eliminate waste from the production system. Originality/value – This paper offers practical and easy‐to‐use productivity improvement tools based on lean and constrained management principles to help manufacturing managers to make their operations more productive.

To provide an overview of the most commonly used performance and productivity evaluation metrics in the semiconductor industry in order to understand both the impact of the different metrics and the relationship between them, and to identify emerging opportunities for future research.

A range of recently published works (1988‐2003), which aim to provide engineering‐oriented approaches for the analysis of manufacturing operations in the semiconductor industry, is reviewed and critiqued to help researchers and practitioners to well understand the impacts of implementing such performance metrics. After a background on performance management, the metrics are sorted into sections and analysed both individually and in comparison with one another.

Information about each performance index, mainly indicating how it is applied to semiconductor fabrication, as well as the internal and external factors that affect it. A list of relevant scientific works related to these topics is presented.

This paper only focuses on a review of manufacturing performance in the semiconductor industry. Nevertheless, the analysis does not limit the applicability of some concepts to other types of manufacturing industries.

A very successful source of information and analysis that has general applicability as a reference tutorial for practitioners and researchers within the operations and production management community, and especially for those working with the integrated circuit semiconductor industry.

By adding a management dimension, this paper is a useful synthesis of practitioners' insights and of the contents of research papers that have been traditionally engineering‐oriented. This analysis has general applicability as a reference tutorial for practitioners and researchers within the operations and production management community.

Faced with increasing global competition and growing customer expectations, manufacturers looking for significant performance improvements often look to one of the two choices: implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or applying the tools and techniques associated with lean production. In fact, many companies are today applying both approaches in an attempt to realise competitive advantage in the global marketplace. However, there seems to be an ongoing debate within the academic literature as to whether lean and ERP are complimentary or contradictory technologies. This paper aims to present a thorough and critical review of literature with the objective of bringing out pertinent factors and useful insights into the role and implications of ERP systems in lean production and to develop a research framework that can be used by researchers and practitioners for studying the value of integrating ERP with lean.

The research methodology employed is literature survey. Literature has been collected primarily through journals within the area of operations management. For rigorousness, textbooks, conference papers, white papers and dissertations have been excluded from the subsequent analysis. Though older literature has been considered to define the scope of this investigation, only literature published after the year 2000 has been considered in the analysis in order to be current in the research field.

The paper proposes a classification scheme for the current research on ERP and lean production, which identifies six major areas in the extant literature. The literature survey is used to find existing research gaps and provides a research framework for future research directions regarding applications and implications of ERP systems in lean production.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study the interactions between ERP systems and lean production.