Search results

European countries, which have many common policies and goals, are also having some disparities in their economic performance due to the existence of underlying country-specific reasons. The manufacturing sector is the key sector that promotes growth and increases the well-being of society. Thus, it is important to understand how these countries differ in engaging in industrial activities. Focusing on the manufacturing sectors of these economies, we aim to see the disparities between European Union (EU) countries in terms of their composition of manufacturing trade and the countries they are trading with. This chapter outlines some key stylized facts regarding trade over the past two decades by investigating the manufacturing data for EU countries.

Sustainable management practices are crucial environmental initiatives implemented by manufacturing organisations to mitigate growing social and ecological problems and progress operational and economic successes. The theory of constraints highlights the essence of adopting sustainability practices, including green management, lean management, top management commitment and reverse logistics, to address production constraints and achieve manufacturing performance. However, more empirical evidence is required to determine whether sustainability practices affect manufacturing performance metrics in economies like Ghana. This research establishes whether adopting sustainable management practices impacts manufacturers’ operational and sustainable performance.

This deductive research adopts an explanatory research design. Survey data was administered to 285 managers in 5,329 manufacturing businesses in Ghana. The data was processed and analysed with SmartPLS4.1 and structural equation modelling.

Green management and top management commitment positively predict the performance aspects of manufacturing organisations in Ghana. Also, reverse logistics and lean management practices improve firms’ operational, social and environmental performance, except for economic performance. It is concluded that manufacturing businesses that embrace sustainable management practices can improve their performance.

Although the study’s objectives were primarily achieved, it was geographically restricted to Ghana, a developing country. Also, it was carried out within the boundaries of explanatory design and structural equation modelling.

It provides comprehensive information to assist owner-managers in prioritising heavy investments in appropriate sustainable management practices. It will also encourage them to develop a sustainability culture within their firms and supply chains to fast-track and sustain the adopted practices. These measures will enable manufacturing organisations to effectively handle growing sustainability problems to leverage their sustainable and operational performance.

This study analyses the interplay between sustainable management practices and manufacturing performance dimensions in a developing economy. Hence, the outcomes would serve as valuable guidelines for selecting relevant practices to foster sustainable production and meet performance objectives.

The main purpose of the current study is to get a better understanding of how the set of crucial categories of nostalgia can negatively impact on green manufacturing intentions in the food industry field, taking three food factories as a case study.

Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire to fulfill the study’s objectives. The questionnaire has previously undergone testing.

The study results showed that nostalgia categories, especially personal nostalgia, significantly hinder the intention to create green manufacturing system requirements. This, in turn, reduces the intention to produce green products and, consequently, to buy and consume them by an audience that is dominated by nostalgia traits.

This paper’s originality enables the introduction of a brand-new contribution in terms of providing sponsoring facts and information, which goes a long way toward filling the gap in the literature regarding the essential effect that can be achieved by way of the set of nostalgia categories. This includes using a modern look inside the inexperienced manufacturing intentions for processed food products. The current study focused on food sector factories in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to accomplish this goal.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the unique and interactive effects of hard lean practices (HLPs) and soft lean practices (SLPs) on corporate social performance (CSP), as well as the moderating effect of lean maturity on the relationships between each type of practices and CSP.

Adopting a purely quantitative approach, a survey-based questionnaire methodology was used as a tool to collect data from 127 manufacturing companies located in Tunisia, and a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was employed to analyze the collected data and validate the research hypotheses.

The study findings indicate that, firstly, HLPs negatively affect CSP; secondly, SLPs positively influence CSP; and thirdly, the interaction effect of HLPs and SLPs is negative regarding CSP. Additionally, the moderating effect of lean maturity on the relationship between HLPs, SLPs and CSP was found to be insignificant.

This study is limited to manufacturing companies in Tunisia, and its results cannot reflect other geographical contexts.

The current research provides valuable insights for practitioners by showing the importance of SLPs, in particular, in enhancing CSP.

This research provides new insights into the various findings and conclusions reached by previous studies in the literature regarding the impact of lean manufacturing practices on CSP by highlighting the unique and interactive effect of HLPs and SLPs on CSP.

The literature has generally examined supply chain disruptions and mitigation, assuming that resilience capabilities are universal. This assumption undermines the productivity and competitiveness of manufacturing firms in developing economies due to differences in contextual attributes and challenges. In this study, we advance the current knowledge in the literature and explore context-driven disruptions in developing economies to provide a foundational step for disruption-mitigation fit to enhance operational efficiency and business continuity.

This study adopts a qualitative multi-case study approach and explores the operational environment of manufacturing firms in developing economies to unpack context-driven disruptions and strategies for managing disruptions. An in-depth exploratory multiple case study of 8 manufacturing firms was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 31 key informants across the case firms.

Findings indicate that manufacturing firms in developing economies face operational disruptions and challenges specific to their business environment, contrasting with those experienced in developed countries and documented in the literature. This contrast suggests that mitigation strategies designed for disruptions in developed economies may prove ineffective in addressing emergent and context-driven disruptions in developing countries.

Since this paper is based on an in-depth single case study, its findings may not be empirically generalisable to other sectors and countries beyond Africa.

Considering the interconnectivity of global supply chains, this study highlights the need for firms and managers in developed economies to be cognisant of context-specific disruptions affecting firms in developing economies. The study provides valuable insights into how manufacturing firms can build resilience by embedding context-specific planning practices into their strategic supply chain agenda.

With Africa’s lack of production contribution to the global manufacturing value-added, this study underscores the need for manufacturing firms in developing economies to be proactive, pragmatic, and strategic in devising planning consistent with their operations and the dynamic business environment.

Manufacturing companies still struggle to integrate additive manufacturing (AM) technologies with existing traditional manufacturing technologies. This paper explores AM technology integration into a global manufacturing company from an operational capability perspective.

The research was conducted using a single case study in collaboration with a global heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer. Data were collected through a focus group and interviews representing management and engineering roles. Additional data were collected from meetings, company documents, field notes and observations. Subsequently, the collected data were analyzed thematically.

The findings reveal that, despite the company embarking on its AM technology integration journey, it encountered challenges, including cognitive fixation, manufacturing fixation, situational awareness, ambiguous ownership and the make-or-buy dilemma. Furthermore, the findings showed that the company developed operational capabilities – such as developing proficiency in AM know-how, continuous use of AM technology, operational practices for AM technology, cross-collaboration for AM initiatives and business cases for AM technology – to address these challenges. A facilitation model was developed, outlining essential actions prioritized for the short-term, mid-term and long-term. These actions leverage the operational capabilities to address challenges in AM technology integration.

This paper offers an in-depth exploration of AM technology integration in a global heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer. It introduces a novel application of operational capability theory and proposes a facilitation model for managers and academics in pursuit of achieving AM technology integration.

The globalization of markets poses great challenges, and thus, the manufacturing businesses trying to expand their operations to cater to a global audience have to undergo significant transformations. Therefore, this research aims to identify key challenges and elucidate the critical success factors (CSFs) required for the global growth of manufacturing companies on a worldwide scale.

A range of interval-valued spherical fuzzy sets (IVSFs) and flexible methodologies such as the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) have been employed to evaluate the issues in detail. It calculates the effectiveness delivered by each critical success factor (CSF) and identifies the factors acting as a barrier to global market penetration.

This research highlights the transformative potential of smart manufacturing in developing economies, identifying CSFs such as government support, cost optimization and resilient supply chain management as essential for overcoming obstacles like over-reliance on foreign technologies, regulatory rigidity and skill gaps. The integration of IVSFS with AHP and DEA models offers actionable insights to foster localized innovation, reduce foreign dependencies and promote user-centric designs, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

This study shows that IVSFs, AHP and DEA can be used together to estimate the global challenges of manufacturing firms in developing markets. The combination of efficient decision-making and these strategies is novel as it provides ways in which businesses in developing countries can deal with their obstacles and improve their competitiveness on the global stage.

Given the unprecedented rise in environmental problems today, global manufacturing businesses are strategically diverting their attention toward green sustainability. Green sustainability emphasises environmental management throughout manufacturing processes to address firms’ sustainable performance. This study investigates whether green sustainability and eco-regulatory compliance, as strategic management approaches, influence manufacturers’ economic, social and environmental performances.

Using structured questionnaires, this quantitative-based explanatory research obtained a usable dataset of 385 from manufacturing firms in Ghana, a developing country. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modelling.

The study found green sustainability and eco-regulatory compliance to influence manufacturers’ sustainable performance positively. Also, eco-regulatory compliance partially mediated the green sustainability-sustainable performance nexus in a developing economy, particularly Ghana.

The study’s conceptual model is limited to manufacturing industries in developing economies, particularly Ghana. It was also limited to the natural resource-based view, quantitative approach and cross-sectional design.

The study found green sustainability and eco-regulatory compliance to influence manufacturers’ sustainable performance positively. Also, eco-regulatory compliance partially mediated the green sustainability-sustainable performance nexus in a developing economy, particularly Ghana.

The study raises awareness among industry players, consumers and the public about the significance of green sustainability practices in manufacturing. This will foster support and heavy investments in eco-friendly manufacturing businesses. Also, the study promotes local initiatives that advocate for sustainability, contributing to higher community involvement in environmentally conscious efforts. It contributes to waste and pollution (emission and water) minimisation while improving water, land and air quality by emphasising green sustainability and eco-regulatory compliance throughout manufacturing operations.

The study contributes significantly to the growing debate on sustainability in manufacturing by unearthing how green sustainability and eco-regulatory compliance enhance firms’ sustainable performance. It also demonstrates the intervening role of eco-regulatory compliance in the green sustainability–sustainable performance interplay.

This paper investigates whether resilience capabilities influence manufacturing performance dimensions. Specifically, it empirically analyses how supply chain agility, alertness, adaptability and preparedness affect manufacturing firms’ operational and sustainable (economic, social and environmental) performance aspects.

The paper employed a deductive approach and an explanatory design. It gathered survey data from 285 managers in 5,329 Ghanaian manufacturing firms and analysed it using structural equation modelling.

The study found resilience capabilities comprising agility, alertness and adaptability to significantly and positively predict changes in manufacturing firms’ sustainable (environmental, economic and social) and operational performance. However, the preparedness capability positively impacts the firms’ operational and environmental performance, not economic and social.

This paper is restricted to Ghana’s manufacturing industry. Underpinned by the dynamic capabilities theory and extensive empirical reviews, the model was developed with four resilient capabilities and four manufacturing performance dimensions.

The study highlights the relevance of resilience in today’s highly disruptive manufacturing environment for achieving sustainable and operational performance. It encourages manufacturing firms to prioritise heavy investments in alertness, adaptability and agile capabilities to overcome supply chain disruptions and enhance sustainable and operational excellence. It also offers significant insights for policymakers, managers and industry players to advance resilience capabilities and swiftly detect and recover from emerging disturbances in manufacturing supply chains, leading to higher performance.

The study contributes to resource conservation and a more sustainable future by projecting resilient capabilities in today’s disruptive environments. The shift towards SCR can influence public attitudes and opinions toward manufacturing and contribute to firms’ sustainability goals.

This study is the first to investigate the linkages between resilient capabilities and performance aspects simultaneously in less developed economies like Ghana. In these economies, manufacturing supply chains often face varying risks that continue to disrupt their operations and sustainability goals.

This study aims to investigate the corporate governance (CG) determinants of sustainable manufacturing practice using zero-defect manufacturing (ZDM) from the stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory perspectives.

Using a panel research design, the study analyses empirical data from Global 500 companies covering a 15-year period.

The results show that Board Independence, Meeting Attendance by Board Members, Board Gender Diversity and Board Skills on Sustainable Manufacturing are positively associated with ZDM Practice, while Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Duality of Power has a negative impact. In the millennium development goals period, the foremost drivers of ZDM Practice are Board Independence, Board Gender Diversity and Board Skills on Sustainable Manufacturing, while this shifted to Board Independence and Board Gender Diversity in the sustainable development goals period.

The study provides empirical evidence that organisations seeking to improve sustainable manufacturing practice may consider strengthening their CG structures to demonstrate responsible manufacturing in line with stakeholders’ expectations and to preserve corporate legitimacy. The results are robust to alternative proxies, potential endogeneity concerns and sample selection bias.