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This paper offers a framework in order to examine the temporal sequences of the activities and decisions of the textile apparel chain and to present the prospects for improvement initiatives throughout the various production and distribution chain phases, whether in terms of technology or of organisation and management. This paper focuses on the methods, techniques and approaches that could be adopted throughout the entire chain in order to obtain a set of coherent improvements to achieve quick response (QR). The fundamental improvement stages are considered to be: reduction of lead times in supplying fabric; reduction of lead times in producing a garment; and innovative relationships with the distributors. The structural and infrastructural changes required for a QR approach are also analysed, and the need for a systemic view of the chain is highlighted.

The operational capability of mass customization (MC) allows consumers to obtain products tailored to their idiosyncratic needs. This study aims to provide insights into the potential of this capability for countering a product's liability of foreignness – the negative effect of the out-group status of a product's country of origin (COO) on consumers' evaluations of the product.

Based on the social identity approach, it is hypothesized that this liability is reduced when a consumer product is mass-customized rather than standardized as per a mass-production strategy. This hypothesis is tested using a mixed between- and within-subject experiment.

When evaluating mass-produced sneakers, native German-speaking (Italian-speaking) South Tyrolean consumers rated the quality of Italian (German) sneakers significantly lower than that of German (Italian) sneakers. However, when the sneakers were mass-customized, this difference in perceived product quality was non-significant for both groups of consumers, supporting the research hypothesis.

Future research could replicate this study in other samples, with other product types, COOs and countries of destination, as well as at different degrees of product customization.

Business-to-consumer firms contemplating the development of their MC capability are made aware that the benefits of this operational capability might go beyond the typical advantages highlighted by the existing literature.

This paper joins the discussion on MC value by offering a theoretical explanation and empirical support for another mechanism through which the operational capability of MC can create value, at least in business-to-consumer industries: by countering a product's possible liability of foreignness and thus increasing perceived product quality in export markets.

The purpose of this paper is to test the effect of supply chain linkages and information sharing on supply chain performance and export performance of textile and clothing (T&C) firms in Egypt.

A theoretical framework developed from the literature was suggested and tested using an online survey. The focus of this research is the export side of the T&C industry in Egypt. The sampling frame consisted of 310 T&C exporting firms, from which 63 samples were obtained. Linear regression was used to measure the relationships.

The results showed upstream (supplier) and downstream (customer) linkages and Information sharing to be positively related to both supply chain performance and export performance. The best predictors of export performance were found to be (in order of decreasing importance): supply chain performance; supplier linkages; and linkages (supplier and customer taken together).

The results of this study give T&C firms in Egypt greater insight on how they may become globally competitive and leverage their proximity to key T&C markets. Egyptian T&C firms should invest in long‐term relationships with their suppliers and invest in business processes that involve their customers and that provide for a higher quality and level of information sharing.

There are no studies that empirically demonstrate how a management paradigm change towards a focus on supply chain management practices influences the performance of the T&C industry in the global market. The paper adds to the literature supporting the positive effect of supply chain management practices on firm performance. Also, new indicators for measuring export performance are suggested and tested.

In order to improve performance at the operational level, more and more firms are developing explicit linkages with suppliers and with customers. While the question of “what beneficial impact do linkages with suppliers and with customers have for a firm” has been addressed in numerous studies, the equally important question of “why” this beneficial impact arises deserves further discourse and explication. This paper borrows and applies the Resource‐Based View of the Firm, a theoretical perspective prevalent in the strategic management literature, to develop a conceptual framework to describe, explain, and predict the advantages of a firm's linkages with entities in its supply chain on its internal operations. The proposed framework can be used to justify decisions to develop, strengthen, and protect relationships with suppliers on the upstream side and with customers on the downstream side. The framework can also be used to evaluate practices implemented to link a firm to its suppliers and customers and to provide a decision roadmap for firms to better understand how to maximize operational performance benefits from these supply chain linkages.

Considers the improvement initiatives which companies implement in operations, in the areas of design, supply and production (for example, design computerization, linkages with suppliers, JIT, quality improvement, flexible automation, etc.). By means of a survey examines the question of the existence of different paths followed by companies to innovate their operations and obtain better performance levels. Identifies four different paths, which have been labelled pioneers, innovators, followers and discriminators on the basis of the number of initiatives undertaken, an earlier or later start‐up, the sequence of their start‐ups and the level of penetration reached within the plant. Examines the four paths in relation to the characteristics of the business environments in which the companies examined operate and their performance levels.

Develops the theory on the role of information systems within quality management. Proposes a reference model for the study of quality information systems within quality management. The model includes three dimensions: quality management practices, quality information systems (distinguishing between information flows and information technologies) and quality performance. Proposes associated measures. Measures validity, and tests reliability on a sample of 34 manufacturing plants, with more than 100 employees, in the electronics, machinery and auto‐supplier industries. Also tests construct validity and internal consistency of model dimensions. The results show that the measures are valid and reliable and the model dimensions are valid constructs with a good internal consistency. The model proposed and the associated measures can therefore be used to study the relationships between quality management practices, quality information systems and quality performance.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between quality management practices and their impact on performance.

First, critical quality management practices are identified and classified in three main categories: management, infrastructure, and core practices. Then, a model linking these practices and performance is proposed and empirically tested. The empirical data were obtained from a survey of 133 Tunisian companies from the plastic transforming sector.

The results reveal a positive relationship between quality management practices and organizational performance. Moreover, the findings show a significant relationship between management and infrastructure practices. In addition, the results illustrate a direct effect of infrastructure practices on operational performance and of core practices on product quality.

The conceptual model proposed and tested in this study can be used by researchers for developing quality management theory. In addition, this model may offer a flow chart to practitioners for effective quality management implementation.

The proposed model is the first one to distinguish the direct effects of infrastructure practices on performance from the indirect effects of these practices through the core practices. Besides, the use of path analysis method to study the direct and indirect relationships between quality management practices and their effect on performance dimensions.

The development of mass-customization capability (MCC) is crucial for a growing number of manufacturing firms nowadays and presents great challenges, especially in the area of operations management. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into which individual competencies (ICs) of an operations manager (OM) are important to the MCC of the manufacturing organization the OM works for.

A multiple-case study was designed, involving eight machinery manufacturers in one European country, to collect data on their MCC and on the ICs of their OMs. Empirical case data were triangulated with analytical conceptual arguments grounded in the existing literature.

The study provides empirical evidence of, and logical explanations for, the fact that OMs working in high-MCC manufacturing organizations use the ICs of negotiation, information seeking, efficiency orientation, analytical thinking and pattern recognition significantly more often than OMs employed by low-MCC organizations.

Future research could replicate this study in other industries and countries, as well as for other managerial roles.

The study provides indications for OM selection and training in companies that are pursuing a mass-customization strategy.

While the literature on technological and organization-level enablers of MCC has grown considerably, the understanding of its individual-level enablers is still limited and concerns mostly the workforce. This is the first study that relies not on practitioners’ opinions, but on data regarding manufacturers’ MCC and their managers’ ICs to shed light on which managerial competencies are important to a manufacturer’s MCC.

Consumers have the multiple options to choose their products and services, which have a significant impact on the pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and further increases the challenges for the service providers to predict their buying pattern. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is to propose a structural hierarchy model for analyzing the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market by taking an Indian context.

To accomplish the objectives, the research is conducted in two phases. An extensive literature review is performed in the first phase to list the factors related to the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and then fuzzy Delphi method is applied to finalize the factors. In the second phase, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is employed to find the priority weights of finalized factors. The fuzzy set theory allows capturing the vagueness in the data.

The findings obtained in this study shows that consumers are much conscious about innovative and trendy products as well as brand and quality; therefore, the service providers must think about these two most important factors so that they can able to retain their consumer in their online portal.

The analysis shows that “innovative and trendy” is the first priority factor for the consumers followed by “brand and quality” and “fulfilment and time energy.” The proposed model can help the marketers and service providers in predicting customers’ preferences and their changing pattern efficiently under vague surroundings. The outcomes of this research work not only help the service provider to update their products and services according to consumers’ needs but can also help them to increase profit and minimize their risk.

This work contributes to consumer research literature focusing on problem evaluation in the context of changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital era.

This paper aims to explore the use of the knowledge management (KM) perspective for configuration projects. Configuration projects implement configurators as information technology systems that help companies manage the specification process of customised products. An effective method of retrieving and formalising knowledge for configurators is essential, because it can reduce the risk of unsuccessful implementation and the time and effort required for development. Unfortunately, no standard KM frameworks are available specifically for configuration projects. This study identifies the knowledge necessary for different phases of a configuration project (which knowledge, for what purpose and from what sources), examines how it is transformed during a configuration project (what KM activities and tools are used) and establishes how the knowledge can be documented for future maintenance and updates.

This paper proposes a four-step framework for making the KM process more efficient in configuration projects. The framework is based on the literature, developed in collaboration with industrial partners and tested on four configuration projects in two engineering companies. The framework is a structured KM approach designed to save time for both domain experts and the configuration team. The authors have used a qualitative exploratory design based on multiple data sources: documentation, workshops and participant observation.

The proposed framework comprises four steps: determination of the system’s scope, to establish the project’s goal based on stakeholders’ requirements and prioritise the required products and processes; knowledge acquisition, to classify the knowledge according to the desired output and identify different knowledge sources; modelling and knowledge validation; and documentation and maintenance, to ensure that the KM system can be maintained and updated in the future.

Because the framework is tested on a limited number of cases, its generalisability may be limited. However, focusing on a few case applications allows us to assess the effectiveness of the framework in detail and in depth to identify the practical challenges of applying it. The results of the tests support the framework’s validity. Although the framework is designed mainly for engineering companies, other industries could benefit from using it as well.

The individual steps of the framework create a structured approach for the KM process. Thus, the approach can save both time and resources for companies, without the need for additional investment.

A standard framework is lacking in the literature on KM for configuration projects. This study fills that gap by developing a KM framework for configuration projects, based on KM frameworks developed for IT projects, and KM tools.