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The past three decades have seen the transformation of manufacturing involving its global dispersion and fragmentation. However, a number of recent developments appear to suggest that manufacturing may be entering a new era of flux that will impact the configuration of production around the globe. The purpose of this paper is to address the major emerging themes that may shape this configuration and concludes that most of them are still in their initial stages and are not likely to create a radical shift in the next few years in how manufacturing is configured around the world. These themes were presented in a special session on “Manufacturing in the World – Where Next?” at the 2013 EurOMA Conference in Dublin, Ireland.

The paper provides a series of perspectives on some key considerations pertaining to the future of manufacturing. An evaluation of their likely impact is offered and insights for the future of manufacturing are presented.

The importance of a focus on the extended manufacturing network is established. The need for customer engagement and a forward looking approach that extends to the immediate customer and beyond emerges as a consistent feature across the different perspectives presented in the paper. There is both the potential and need for the adoption of innovative business models on the part of manufacturers.

The paper presents in-depth perspectives from scholars in the field of manufacturing on the changing landscape of manufacturing. These perspectives culminate in a series of insights on the future of global manufacturing that inform future research agendas and help practitioners in formulating their manufacturing strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of cultural collectivism on the efficacy of lean practices. Furthermore, this study assesses whether or not potential cultural disadvantages related to the level of individualism at the national level can be compensated for at the organisational culture level.

Hofstede’s cultural dimension of individualism is used to test whether practicing a collectivistic culture at the organisational level can fully compensate for the potential disadvantages of being geographically situated in an individualistic culture when practicing lean manufacturing.

Results suggest that cultural collectivism at the national and organisational level have a significant impact on the efficacy of lean practices. Furthermore, the negative impact of being situated in an individualistic country cannot be fully compensated for through practicing a collectivistic organisational culture when practicing lean.

This study represents a comprehensive attempt to simultaneously assess the collectivism cultural components of lean practices at the national as well as at the organisational level.

This study aims to combine theory and practice to develop an integrated supply chain resilience framework by investigating the inter-dependencies between the strategic literature based concept of supply chain resilience and operational practitioner based disaster management processes.

Utilising an in-depth qualitative case of a collaborative agency, this study identifies best practices within disaster management for insights on the operationalisation of supply chain resilience.

The empirical data leads to the development of an integrated supply chain resilience framework capturing the interplay of disaster management processes and capabilities required to build supply chain resilience. The critical importance of mitigation processes in building supply chain resilience is highlighted.

The generic supply chain resilience framework represents a valuable guide for managers when directing resources and planning for building the capabilities required in each phase of disaster management, while remaining strategically focused. The value of the framework is demonstrated by a retrospective analysis of aid operations in response to Hurricane Katrina.

The study's results are the first to bridge theory and practice on supply chain resilience. By utilising the unique humanitarian aid disaster supply chain management context, a two-way knowledge and learning flow between humanitarian and commercial organisations is established.

This article proposes examining how small to medium‐sized organisations (SMEs) are responding to the challenge of harnessing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and internet technologies to enhance performance and improve competitiveness and aims to identify the barriers preventing organisations from harnessing these technologies.

A case‐based research strategy was chosen. Four leading SMEs were interviewed to determine their approach to extended ERP and the barriers encountered. The primary data collection was based on structured in‐depth interviews with key respondents who were involved in the implementation of extended ERP and closely involved in day‐to‐day operations.

While each of the SMEs had already taken some steps to extended ERP, they adopted a cautious approach to the future. In short, SMEs considering extended ERP should determine the impact on all organisations before proceeding and should also apply the lessons learned from their initial ERP implementation.

Single company case studies could be used to uncover some of the causal mechanisms behind the processes observed. Within‐sector case studies could be used to highlight the issues faced by particular sectors. Cross‐sector case studies could be used to validate the article's conclusions as well as to elucidate differences among sectors.

Managers of SMEs embarking on extended ERP should consider the following challenges: business processes, whether internal or external, must be examined and redesigned as necessary to take advantage of the new technology; an effective change management and communications programme must be run; the lessons learned from the original ERP implementation should be revisited and mistakes made in the past avoided; and a strong business case needs to be developed, with clear objectives and critical success factors.

While the internet has facilitated a shift towards dynamic communication and improved integration, the complexity of integrating electronic supply chain management, e‐procurement and customer relationship management poses an enormous challenge for organisations. This research study indicates that there are multiple ways in which extended ERP can be achieved to add value to SMEs but it is not simply a matter of adding a new application.

The internet and web‐based technologies have enabled the integration of information systems across organisational boundaries in ways that were hitherto impossible. The measurement of e‐business (EB) value has been traditionally considered as a single construct. However, the desire to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impact of EB applications from a theoretical perspective has resulted in the modelling of multiple EB constructs. The impact of EB enabled collaboration on operational performance was also investigated. The purpose of this paper is to explore the enabling role of multiple dimensions of EB investigating if all EB applications impact directly and positively on supply chain collaboration.

A web‐based survey was carried out to collect data within the German automotive industry. Structural equation modelling was conducted to test the measurement and structural model.

The results provide justification for the modelling of EB in multiple dimensions. Furthermore, some EB applications impacted positively on supply chain collaboration whilst some did not. The results also proved that EB enabled collaboration impacted directly and positively on the multiple dimensions of operational performance tested.

EB applications cannot be viewed by practising managers as being universally beneficial in improving collaboration across a buyer‐supplier boundary. However, the results reveal that, by carefully selecting the most appropriate EB applications, operations improvement benefits can be realised across a range of operational metrics due to enhanced supply chain collaboration.

The deconstruction of EB into multiple constructs will enable the measurement of EB value to be more accurately assessed. Furthermore, the direct impact of EB‐enabled collaboration to facilitate interaction and integration and its impact on operational performance adds to the body of knowledge within the larger research field of supply chain collaboration.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of a manufacturer’s absorptive capacity (AC) on its mass customization capability (MCC).

The authors conceptualize AC within the supply chain context as four processes: knowledge acquisition from customers, knowledge acquisition from suppliers, knowledge assimilation, and knowledge application. The authors then propose and empirically test a model on the relationships among AC processes and MCC using structural equation modeling and data collected from 276 manufacturing firms in China.

The results show that AC significantly improves MCC. In particular, knowledge sourced from customers and suppliers enhances MCC in three ways: directly, indirectly through knowledge application, and indirectly through knowledge assimilation and application. The study also finds that knowledge acquisition significantly enhances knowledge assimilation and knowledge application, and that knowledge assimilation leads to knowledge application.

This study provides empirical evidence of the effects of AC processes on MCC. It also indicates the relationships among AC processes. Moreover, it reveals the mechanisms through which knowledge sourced from customers and suppliers contributes to MCC development, and demonstrates the importance of internal knowledge management practices in exploiting knowledge from supply chain partners. Furthermore, it provides guidelines for executives to decide how to manage supply chain knowledge and devote their efforts and resources in absorbing new knowledge for MCC development.

Examines organisational learning in a lean supply arrangement between a multinational buyer and its local suppliers. Looks at how organisations learn and unlearn. Reviews buyer‐seller relationships. Presents a lean supply model that combines the essence of learning and buyer‐seller relationship literature. Uses as a case study the buyer‐seller relationships between the Irish subsidiary Apple Computer and two of its local suppliers. Discusses how the relationships represent co‐existence of competition and co‐operation.

Considers the concept of the “listening” organisation and its influence on service and business performance. Specifically reports on empirical research which investigated the link between service quality information practices, the listening organisation and service and business performance. In this respect, builds on an earlier model of service management developed by the London Business School and Warwick Business School in the UK. This extended model employs two composite performance indexes as moderator variables. Surveyed 438 service organisations in the Republic of Ireland; the loglinear model used to analyse the data shows a clear pattern. By taking listening practices, including information technology, as a holistic view of a constellation of information‐related practice type factors, demonstrates that there is a close relationship with service performance, which in turn influences business performance. Furthermore, technology type and competitive intensity, moderate this relationship. Establishes that the relationship between listening practices and service performance is much more important for the sophisticated task technology sector and that competitive intensity has a very minor interactive effect on the relationship. The results of the survey mirror recent empirical research in market orientation and organisational learning.

The interest in global purchasing has increased significantly in recent years, but the impact on product innovation is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyse the impact of global purchasing on product innovation sourced from suppliers, while taking into account how firms integrate their suppliers.

The data used in this study are from the International Purchasing Survey, an international online survey on purchasing and supply management conducted in 2009. The data are analysed using factor and regression analyses.

The paper shows that global purchasing has no direct impact on product innovation performance. However, supplier integration is more strongly associated with product innovation performance for firms purchasing globally compared to firms purchasing regionally.

The implication is that when companies purchase globally, they must have a highly developed purchasing department in order to sustain a high level of innovation. For firms purchasing only regionally, the role of the purchasing department is diminished, at least in terms of contributing to innovation.

This paper contributes to the discussion of potential advantages and disadvantages of global purchasing. First, the paper provides an explanation for the ambiguous results of previous research. Product innovation does not depend on whether firms are purchasing globally or not, it depends on how they purchase. This paper has showed that when purchasing globally, the role of the purchasing department becomes crucial for product innovation. The proficiency and activities of the purchasing department largely determine the success, in terms of supplier product innovation, of global purchasing.

The purpose of this study is to assess how differences in national culture influence the impact of investments in manufacturing practices on operational performance. The paper addresses the following research question: does national culture affect the efficacy of investments in manufacturing practices?

Hofstede's model of national culture is used to test whether there are operational performance differences when organisations in different cultural contexts invest in identical manufacturing practices. The research question is explored and answered by assessing the moderating role of national culture using ordinary least square analysis.

The results suggest that some dimensions of national culture significantly moderate the impact of investments in manufacturing practices on manufacturing performance.

This study represents a comprehensive attempt to explain differences in the impact of manufacturing practices investments on operational performance improvements in terms of cultural differences.