Linking operations strategy to the corporate strategy process: a practice perspective (original) (raw)
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Operations strategy processes and performance
Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 2015
Purpose: This paper explores the significance and dynamics of alternative operations strategy processes towards developing a more complete picture of the strategy process-contextperformance nexus. The findings are based on the statistical analysis of empirical evidence drawn from the contract apparel manufacturing industry in a developing country.
Top-down, bottom-up, or both? Toward an integrative perspective on operations strategy formation
Journal of Operations Management, 2014
Operations strategy is formed via complex processes that transpire in multiple directions at multiple organizational levels. While most previous studies focus on the "macro-level" process of strategy formation from the dominant top-down perspective, this study investigates the "micro-level" process of strategy formation that governs interactions among competitive priorities, objectives, and action plans within operations. Using 111 (59 top-down and 52 bottom-up) action plans collected from six German manufacturing plants, we build on Kim and Arnold's (1996) framework and propose an integrated process model of operations strategy formation that encompasses both top-down planning and bottom-up learning. We also identify a contingency factor that affects their balance: centralized versus decentralized organizational structure. Finally, based on analysis of their respective strategic content, we provide evidence concerning the complementary roles of top-down and bottom-up action plans in operations strategy.
Conceptualizing operations strategy processes
International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 2007
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to present insights into operations strategy (OS) in practice. It outlines a conceptualization and model of OS processes and, based on findings from an in-depth and longitudinal case study, contributes to further development of extant OS models and methods which presently mainly focus on OS content, as distinct from process issues. Design/methodology/approach -The methodology combines action research and a longitudinal single site case study of OS processes in practice. Findings -The paper conceptualises an OS process as: events of dialogue and action; taking place in five dimensions of change -technical-rational, cultural, political, project management, and facilitation; and typically unfolding as a sequential and parallel, ordered and disordered, planned and emergent as well as top-down and bottom-up process. The proposed OS conceptualization provides a useful tool for describing and analyzing real-time OS processes unfolding in practice.
International Journal of Production Economics, 2009
Enterprises’ operations systems and environments, characterized by their complexity and dynamics, are challenging operations strategic management models. The study presented in this paper develops a process to integrate operations strategy content to operations performance measurement system design. Essentially, the developed methodology is based on Process Approach (Cambridge Approach) technique that systematizes procedures for generating a performance measures set coherent to operations strategy objectives and also produces a consistent strategy implementation process. To illustrate the development and the application of the proposed design methodology, findings of two case studies related to telecom engineering services companies are used. Results are discussed focusing on testing the proposed methodology in terms of its feasibility, usability, and utility. A refined process, organized in phases, steps, and procedures, is the final result of the presented study.
Strategy and organization research in operations management
Journal of Operations Management
In a September 2015 editorial (Guide and Ketokivi, 2015), the co-editors-in-chief of the Journal of Operations Management restructured the management of submissions into departments by substantive domain. This essay expands upon their brief description of the Strategy and Organization Department. While chiefly seeking to clarify what we see as the department's content domain, we also offer insights on how to maximize the contribution of operations management research to the strategy and organization literature.
Regional Formation and Development Studies 7(2): 133-141, 2012
Strategic management and operations management are widely used concepts. The role of operations management in planning and implementation the strategy is shown in this article. After a deep literature review the author presents those ideas which are crucial for the long-term planning of a modern company. Next to the change of the external environment the time factor is also considered as an important issue. The goal of companies within the framework of these conditions is to gain competitive advantage. The author shows ideas how to achieve this.
Purpose: To study how operations strategy innovation occurs in a project centered production and organisation Design/methodology/approach: A longitudinal case study encompassing the processes at the headquarters of the company and two projects using lean. Findings: The operation strategy development commence at a middle level in the organisation, is underpinned and embedded in production projects and only after several years embedded in the corporate operation strategy. Projects use lean principles in a differentiated manner. Research limitations/implications: A qualitative case study provides insight in the single occasion on operations strategy change only more case studies would probably reveal several paths of operations strategy development Practical implications: A conscious and systematic vertical integration and interaction is crucial in project based companies doing operation strategy development Originality/value: The present study contribute to the small body of studies of operations strategy development processes, providing insight in how project based companies renew their operation strategy
The relationships between operations strategies and operations activities in service context
International Journal of Service Industry Management, 2008
Advanced processing technologies, managerial practices, and information systems have merged as vital elements of modern day production. It has been argued that these changes in practice and technology have yielded a strategic manufacturing environ-ment in the 1990s which is very different from that which existed in the 1970s and 1980s. Examines and documents these changes through the findings of a study in the US power tool industry of the effectiveness of the product-process matrix in explaining the operations strategies of firms over the period . Utilizes data from a detailed literature-based survey, from on-site interviews with executives and tours of manufacturing plants in the industry to explore the strategies followed over time by main and niche power tool firms competing in the US market. Shows that, while the Hayes and Wheelwright product-process model captures many aspects of strategic operations decisions through 1980, changes have dramatically altered the competitive landscape and that many of the trade-offs central to the model are no longer central to the articulation and formulation of operations strategy.
The impact of inclusive and fragmented operations strategy processes on operational performance
International Journal of Production Research, 2010
The links between strategy and performance remains an elusive "holy grail" for researchers and practitioners alike. We do not seek to provide a prescriptive panacea in this paper but we find links between particular types of strategic formulation and operations performance in a range of key parameters. Our research focuses on the PC industry where there are high demands placed on the capabilities of the operations function. We suggest that such capabilities do not happen by accident but are developed by specific strategies whereby inhouse operations and business mainstream strategies, including supply, become closely linked in both planning and implementation.
Analysis of the Relationships between Operations Strategy Paradigms and Performance
2008
We investigate the relationships between performa nce and three paradigms of manufacturing strategy choice: fit, best practices, and capability development. Dependent variables of performance include efficiency, quality, and flexibility. Regression analyses are used to test hypotheses of paradigm-performance relationships in a large database of international manufacturers. The results suggest that paradigms of capabilities and best practices have direct relationships with efficiency, quality, and flexibility. However, fit did not seem to be directly associ ated to changes in any performance variable .