World class manufacturing in make-to-order batch-production SMEs: An exploratory analysis in northern Italy

International Journal of Business Excellence

Volumn 11, Issue 2, 2017, Pages 241-275

  Petroni, Alberto ^a   Zammori, Francesco ^a   Marolla, Giuliano ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF PARMA   (Italy)

^b Siteia Parma   (Italy)

Author keywords

Italy; Make to order; MTO; Small and medium enterprises; SMEs; Statistical survey; WCM; World class manufacturing

Indexed keywords

EID: 85009179151     PISSN: 17560047     EISSN: 17560055     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2017.081434     Document Type: Article

References (107)

1. Achanga, P., Shehab, E., Roy, R. and Nelder, G. (2006) 'Critical success factors for lean implementation within SMEs', Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 460-471.
2. Amaro, G., Hendry, L. and Kingsman, B. (1999) 'Competitive advantage, customization and a new taxonomy for non-make-to-stock companies', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 349-371.
3. Ates, A., Garengo, P., Cocca, P. and Bititci, U. (2013) 'The development of SME managerial practice for effective performance management', Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 28-54.
4. Barnes, D. and Radnor, Z. (2008) 'Performance measurement and performance management: the operations management perspective', in Thorpe, R. and Holloway, J. (Eds.): Performance Management: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, pp. 89-106, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
5. Barocco, R., Andreoni, M.C. and Rangone, A. (2008) 'Business application in SMEs of Italian industrial districts: the textile and wood furniture cases', Service Business, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 303-319.
6. Bertolini, M., Braglia, M., Romagnoli, G. and Zammori, F. (2013) 'Extending value stream mapping: the synchro-MRP case', International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 51, No. 18, pp. 5499-5519.
7. Bicheno, J., Holweg, M. and Niessmann, J. (2001) 'Constraint batch sizing in a lean environment', International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 41-49.
8. Bouslah, B., Gharbi, A., Pellerin, R. and Hajji, A. (2013) 'Optimal production control policy in unreliable batch processing manufacturing systems with transportation delay', International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 264-280.
9. Box, T.M. (2011) 'Small firm strategy in turbulent times', Academy of Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 115-122.
10. Boyer, K.K. and McDermott, C. (1999) 'Strategic consensus in operations strategy', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 289-305.
11. Boyle, T.A. and Scherrer-Rathje, M. (2009) 'An empirical examination of the best practices to ensure manufacturing flexibility: lean alignment', Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 348-366.
12. Cagliano, R., Blackmon, K. and Voss, C. (2001) 'Small firms under MICROSCOPE: international differences in production/operations management practices and performance', Integrated Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 12, No. 7, pp. 469-482.
13. Cagliano, R., Caniato, F. and Spina, G. (2006) 'The linkage between supply chain integration and manufacturing improvement programmes', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 282-299.
14. Campbell, D.J. (2000) 'The proactive employee: managing workplace initiative', Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 52-66.
15. Camuffo, A. and Comacchio, A. (2004) 'The competent middle manager: framing individual knowledge in north-east Italian SMEs', International Journal of Innovation and Learning, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 330-350.
16. Carmignani, G. and Zammori, F. (2016) 'Lean thinking in the luxury-fashion market: evidences from an extensive industrial project', International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Special Issue: Innovation in Luxury Value Chain, accepted, in press.
17. Chiarini, A. (2012) 'Lean production: mistakes and limitations of accounting systems inside the SME sector', Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 23, No. 5, pp. 681-700.
18. Choi, T.Y. and Eboch, K. (1998) 'The TQM paradox: relations among TQM practices, plant performance, and customer satisfaction', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 59-75.
19. Claessens, S., Fan, J.P.H. and Lang, L.H.P. (2006) 'The benefits and costs of group affiliation: evidence from East Asia', Emerging Markets Review, Vol. 7, No. 1, p.26.
20. Claudia Cacia, C., Vecchi, A. and Della Piana, B. (2012) 'Towards a better understanding of family business groups and their key dimensions', Journal of Family Business Strategy, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 174-192.
21. Crampton, S.M. and Wagner, J.A. (1994) 'Percept-percept inflation in micro-organizational research: an investigation of prevalence and effect', Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 79, No. 1, pp. 67-76.
22. Davies, A.J. and Kochhar, A.K. (2000) 'A framework for the selection of best practices', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 20, No. 10, pp. 1203-1217.
23. De Toni, A. and Panizzolo, R. (1992) 'Repetitive and intermittent manufacturing: comparison of characteristics', Integrated Manufacturing System, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 23-37.
24. Digalwar, A.K. and Sangwan, K.S. (2007) 'Development and validation of performance measures for world class manufacturing practices in India', Journal of Advanced Manufacturing System, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 21-38.
25. Dora, M., Van Goubergen, D., Kumar, M., Molnar, A. and Gellynck, X. (2014) 'Application of lean practices in small and medium sized food enterprises', British Food Journal, Vol. 116, No. 1, pp. 125-141.
26. Field, A. (2005) Discovering Statistics using SPSS, 2nd ed., SAGE Publications, London, UK.
27. Flynn, B., Schroeder, R.G., Flynn, E.J., Sakakibara, S. and Bates, K.A. (1997) 'World-class manufacturing project: overview and selected results', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 17, No. 7, pp. 671-685.
28. Forza, C. (2002) 'Survey research in operations management: a process-bases perspective', International Journal of Operation & Production Management, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 152-194.
29. Fullerton, R.R. and McWatters, C. (2000) 'The production performance benefits from JIT implementation', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 81-96.
30. Garengo, P. and Biazzo, S. (2012) 'Unveiling strategy in SMEs through balanced scorecard implementation: a circular methodology', Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 79-102.
31. Garengo, P., Biazzo, S. and Bititci, U. (2005) 'Performance measurement systems in SMEs: a review for a research agenda', International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 25-47.
32. Gnanaraj, M., Devadasan, S., Murugesh, S.R. and Shalij, P.R. (2010) 'DOLADMAICS: a model for implementing lean Six Sigma in contemporary SMEs', International Journal of Services and Operations Management, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 440-464.
33. Grudowski, P., Wisniewska, M. and Leseure, E. (2015) 'Lean Six Sigma in French and Polish small and medium sized enterprises - the pilot research results', Key Engineering Materials, Vol. 637, pp. 1-6.
34. Gupta, Y., Lonial, S., and Mangold, W. (1991) 'An examination of the relationship between manufacturing strategy and marketing objectives', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 11, No. 10, pp. 33-43.
35. Hall, B.H., Lotti, F. and Mairesse, J. (2009) 'Innovation and productivity in SMEs: empirical evidence for Italy', Small Business Economics, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 13-33.
36. Hall, D. and Jackson, J. (1992) 'Speeding up new product development', Management Accounting, Vol. 10, pp. 32-36.
37. Hendry, L.C. (1998) 'Applying world-class manufacturing to make-to-order companies: problems and solutions', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 18, No. 11, pp. 1086-100.
38. Hendry, L.C., Kingsman, B.G. and Cheung, P. (1998) 'The effect of WLC on performance in make to order companies', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 63-75.
39. Hodge, G.L., Goforth, R.K., Joines, J.A. and Thoney, K. (2011) 'Adapting lean manufacturing principles to the textile industry', Production Planning & Control, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 237-247.
40. Holweg, M. (2007) 'The genealogy of lean production', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 420-437.
41. Hubert, C.J. and Olejnik, S. (2006) Applied MANOVA and Discriminant Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
42. Hudson, M., Smart, A. and Bourne, M. (2001) 'Theory and practice in SME performance measurement systems', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 21, No. 8, pp. 1096-1115.
43. Hung, S.C., Hung, S.W. and Lin, M.J.J. (2015) 'Are alliances a panacea for SMEs? The achievement of competitive priorities and firm performance', Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, Special Issue: Quality Excellence in Taiwan: Theories and Practices, Vol. 6, Nos. 1-2, pp. 190-202.
44. Hüttmeir, A., De Treville, S., Van Ackere, A., Monnier, L. and Prenninger, J. (2009) 'Trading off between heijunka and justin-sequence', International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 118, No. 2, pp. 501-507.
45. Inman, R.A., Sale, R.S., Green, K.W. and Whitten, D. (2011) 'Agile manufacturing: relation to JIT, operational performance and firm performance', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 343-355.
46. Jeang, A. (2011) 'Economic production order quantity and quality', International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 49, No. 6, pp. 1753-1783.
47. Kannan, V.R. and Tan, K.C. (2005) 'Just in time, total quality management, and supply chain management: understanding their linkages and impact on business performance', Omega, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 153-162.
48. Kasul, R.A. and Motwani, J.G. (1995) 'Performance measurements in world-class operations: a strategic model', Benchmarking for Quality Management & Technology, Vol. 2, No. 20, pp. 20-36.
49. Kingsman, B.G., Worden, L., Hendry, L.C., Mercer, A. and De Sosa, A. (1996) 'Responding to customer enquires in make to order companies, problems and solutions', International Journal of Production Economics, Vols. 46-47, pp. 219-231.
50. Kingsman, B.G., Worden, L., Hendry, L.C., Mercer, A. and Wilson, E. (1993) 'Integrating marketing and production planning in make-to-order companies', International Journal of Production Economics, Vols. 30-31, pp. 53-66.
51. Land, M.J. and Gaalman, G.J.C. (2009) 'Production planning and control in SMEs: time for changing', Production Planning and Control: The Management of Operations, Vol. 20, No. 7, pp. 548-558.
52. Laugen, B.T., Acur, N. and Boer, H. (2009) 'Best practices in manufacturing - exploration and replication', Paper presented at the 16th International Annual EurOMA Conference: Implementation - Realizing Operations Management Knowledge, June 2009. Göteborg, Sweden.
53. Laugen, B.T., Boer, H., Acur, N. and Frick, J. (2005) 'Best manufacturing practices, what do the best performing companies do?', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 131-50.
54. Lawler, E.E., Mohrman, S.A. and Ledford Jr., G.E. (1995) Creating High Performance Organizations: Employee Involvement and Total Quality Management, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
55. Lechner, C. and Leyronas, C. (2009) 'Small-business group formation as an entrepreneurial development model', Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 645-667.
56. Lee, C.Y. (2004) 'TQM in small manufacturers: an exploratory study in China', International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 175-197.
57. Lepak, D.P., Liao, H., Chung, Y. and Harden, E.E. (2006) 'A conceptual review of human resource management systems in strategic human resource management research', in Martocchio, J.J. (Ed.): Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, Vol. 25, pp. 217-271, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Greenwich, CT, USA.
58. Li, H.H.J.K. and Tan, K.H. (2004) 'SMEs business growth model: a medium to big effort', International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 195-207.
59. Mañez, J., Rochina-Barrachina, M., Sanchis, A. and Sanchis, J. (2013) 'Do process innovations boost SMEs productivity growth?', Empirical Economics, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 1373-1405.
60. Marangoni, G., Romagnoli, G. and Zammori, F. (2013) 'Multiple value stream mapping: how to implement work load control in complex systems', Paper presented at the IESM 2013 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Systems Management, 28-30 October 2013, Rabat, Morocco.
61. McNally, R.C., Cavusgil, E. and Calantone, R.J. (2010) 'Product innovativeness dimensions and their relationships with product advantage, product financial performance, and project protocol', Journal of Production Innovation Management, Vol. 27, No. 7, pp. 991-1006.
62. Morita, M. and Flynn, J. (1997) 'The linkage among management systems: practices and behavior in successful manufacturing strategy', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 17, No. 10, pp. 967-993.
63. Muda, S. and Hendry, L. (2002) 'Developing a new word class model for small and medium sized make to order companies', International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 78, No. 3, pp. 295-310.
64. Muda, S. and Hendry, L. (2003) 'The SHEN model for MTO SMEs: a performance improvement tool', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 23, No. 5, pp. 470-486.
65. Nahm, A.Y., Lauver, K.J. and Keyes, J.P. (2012) 'The role of workers' trust and perceived benefits in lean implementation success', International Journal of Business Excellence, Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 463-484.
66. Neely, A., Gregory, M. and Platts, K. (1995) 'Performance measurement system design: a literature review and research agenda', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 1228-1263.
67. Nunnally, J. and Bernstein, I.H. (1994) Psychometric Theory, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
68. Osei-Bonsu, N. (2016) 'Re-conceptualizing internationalization of SMEs as an entrepreneur process', International Business Management, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 38-50.
69. Piscitiello, L. and Sgobbi, F. (2004) 'Globalisation, e-business and SMEs: evidence from the Italian district of Prato', Small Business Economics, Vol. 22, No. 5, pp. 333-347.
70. Powell, T.C. (1995) 'Total quality management as competitive advantage: a review and empirical study', Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 15-27.
71. Pramod, V.R., Devadasan, S.R., Muthu, S., Jagathyraj, V.P. and Dhakshina-Moorthy, G. (2006) 'Integrating TPM and QFD for improving quality in maintenance engineering', Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 150-171.
72. Prasanna, M. and Vinodh, S. (2013) 'Lean Six Sigma in SMEs: an exploration through literature review', Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 224-250.
73. Pryor, M.G., Toombs, L.A., Cooke, J. and Humphreys, J.C. (2011) 'Strategic quality management: the role of process ownership, management and improvement', International Journal of Business Excellence, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 420-439.
74. Rabino, S., Simoni, C. and Zanni, L. (2008) 'Small & medium gold & fashion enterprises (SMEs) in Arezzo, Italy: competitive challenges and strategic implications', Journal of Global Marketing, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 141-159.
75. Raymond, L. and Croteau, A.M. (2006) 'Enabling the strategic development of SMEs through advanced manufacturing systems: a configurational perspective', Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 106, No. 7, pp. 1012-1032.
76. Rezaei, J., Ortt, R. and Trott, P. (2015) 'How SMES can benefit from supply chain partnerships', International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 53, No. 5, pp. 1527-1543.
77. Roh, J., Hong, P. and Min, H. (2014) 'Implementation of a responsive supply chain strategy in global complexity: the case of manufacturing firms', International Journal of Production Economics, Special Issue: Building Supply Chain System Capabilities in the Age of Global Complexity: Emerging Theories and Practices, Vol. 147, No. B, pp. 198-210.
78. Rose, A.M.N., Deros, B.M., Rahman, M.N.A. and Nordin, N. (2011) 'Lean manufacturing best practices in SMEs', Paper presented at the 2011 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 22-24 January 2011, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
79. Rungtusanatham, M.J., Choi, T.Y., Hollingworth, D.G., Wu, Z. and Forza, C. (2003) 'Survey research in operations management: historical analyses', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 475-488.
80. Rymaszewska, A.D. (2014) 'The challenges of lean manufacturing implementation in SMEs', Benchmarking, Vol. 6, No. 6, pp. 967-1002.
81. Schonberger, R.J. (1986) World Class Manufacturing: The Lessons of Simplicity Applied, Free Press, New York, NY.
82. Schonberger, R.J. (1996) World Class Manufacturing: The Next Decade, Free Press, New York, NY.
83. Sedani, C.M. and Lakhe, R.R. (2011) 'ISO certification and business performance: empirical findings of Indian SMES', International Journal of Business Excellence, Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 715-730.
84. Shah, P.P. and Shrivastava, R.L. (2013) 'Identification of performance measures of lean Six Sigma in small and medium sized enterprises: a pilot study', International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 1-21.
85. Shah, R. and Ward, P. (2003) 'Defining and developing measures of lean production', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 785-805.
86. Shah, R. and Ward, P. (2007) 'Lean manufacturing: context, practice bundles, and performance', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 129-149.
87. Simões, J.M., Gomes, C.F. and Yasin, M.M. (2011) 'A literature review of maintenance performance measurement: a conceptual framework and directions for future research', Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Vol. 17, No. 17, pp. 116-137.
88. Singh, B.J. and Khanduja, D. (2012) 'Essentials of D-phase to secure the competitive advantage through Six Sigma', International Journal of Business Excellence, Vol. 5, Nos. 1-2, pp. 31-51.
89. Singh, R.K., Garg, S.K. and Deshmukh, S.G. (2008) 'Strategy development by SMEs for competitiveness: a review', Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 525-547.
90. Soni, U., Jain, V. and Kumar, S. (2014) 'Measuring supply chain resilience using a deterministic modeling approach', Computers & Industrial Engineering, Vol. 74, pp. 11-25.
91. Soriano, D.R. and Dobon, S.R. (2009) 'Linking globalization of entrepreneurship in small organizations', Small Business Economics, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 233-239.
92. Sousa, R. and Voss, C. (2008) 'Contingency research in operations management practices', Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 26, No. 6, pp. 697-173.
93. Sousa, S.D., Aspinwall, E.M. and Rodrigues, A.G. (2006) 'Performance measures in English small and medium enterprises: survey results', Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 13, Nos. 1-2, pp. 120-134.
94. Srinivasan, S., Pauwels, K., Silva-Risso, J. and Hanssens, D.M. (2009) 'Product innovations, advertising, and stock returns', Journal of Marketing, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 24-43.
95. Swink, M., Narasimhan, R. and Kim, S.W. (2005) 'Manufacturing practices and strategy integration: effect on cost efficiency, flexibility and market based performance', Decision Science, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 427-457.
96. Taticchi, P., Asfalti, A. and Sole, F. (2010) 'Performance measurement and management in SMEs: discussion of preliminary results from an Italian survey', in Taticchi, P. (Ed.): Business Performance Measurement and Management, pp. 3-11, Springer, Berlin, Germany.
97. Tehseen, S. and Ramayah, T. (2015) 'Entrepreneurial competencies and SMEs business success: the contingent role of external integration', Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 50-61.
98. Vereecke, A. and Muylle, S. (2006) 'Performance improvement through supply chain collaboration in Europe', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 26, No. 11, pp. 1176-1198.
99. Vickerstaff, S. (1993) 'The training needs of small firms', Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 1-15.
100. Voss, C., Tsikriktsis, N. and Frohlich, M. (2002) 'Case research in operations management', International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 195-219.
101. Voss, C.A. (1995) 'Alternative paradigms for manufacturing strategy', International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 5-16.
102. Wayenbergh, G. and Pintelon, L. (2002) 'A framework for maintenance concept development', International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 77, No. 3, pp. 299-313.
103. Wiesner, R., McDonald, J. and Banham, H.C. (2007) 'Australian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs): a study of high performance management practices', Journal of Management and Organisation, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 227-248.
104. Yamashima, H. (2000) 'Challenge to world-class manufacturing', International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 132-143.
105. Yao, A.C. and Carlson, J.G.H. (2003) 'Agility and mixed-model furniture production', International Journal of Production Economics, Special Issue: Proceedings of the Eleventh International Symposium on Inventories, Vols. 81-82, pp. 95-102.
106. Zammori, F., Bigliardi, B. and Carmignani, G. (2014) 'Selecting inbound logistic policies: an ANP based multi criteria decision making approach', International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, Vol. 2, No. 19, pp. 212-225.
107. Zammori, F., Braglia, M. and Frosolini, M. (2009) 'A standard VMI agreement', Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 165-186.