Search results

The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and it provides a comparison to an earlier review of the management accounting (MA) literature (Wouters & Morales, 2014).

This structured literature search covers papers published in 23 journals in IOM in the period 1990–2014.

The search yielded a sample of 208 unique papers with 275 results (one paper could refer to multiple cost management methods). The top 3 methods are modular design, component commonality, and product platforms, with 115 results (42%) together. In the MA literature, these three methods accounted for 29%, but target costing was the most researched cost management method by far (26%). Simulation is the most frequently used research method in the IOM literature, whereas this was averagely used in the MA literature; qualitative studies were the most frequently used research method in the MA literature, whereas this was averagely used in the IOM literature. We found a lot of papers presenting practical approaches or decision models as a further development of a particular cost management method, which is a clear difference from the MA literature.

This review focused on the same cost management methods, and future research could also consider other cost management methods which are likely to be more important in the IOM literature compared to the MA literature. Future research could also investigate innovative cost management practices in more detail through longitudinal case studies.

This review of research on methods for cost management published outside the MA literature provides an overview for MA researchers. It highlights key differences between both literatures in their research of the same cost management methods.

Lean manufacturing, a philosophy that revolutionized the manufacturing industry, is often linked to the Toyota Production System (TPS). At the core of a lean company, one can observe proper implementation of lean manufacturing tools and practices such as just-in-time, work teams, cellular manufacturing, lean layout, etc. The goal of lean production is to minimize the waste producing activities while offering the same or enhanced quality to customers.

The aim of this research is to investigate the implementation degree of lean manufacturing and its tools and practices focusing on the case of an SME in Albania as a concrete example. Higher attention is given to some of the pillars of lean manufacturing such as just-in-time and cellular manufacturing.

In this case study, researchers observed a variety of features of lean production. Just-in-time was implemented to a certain extent and cellular manufacturing at a more surprising level, which was facilitated especially by the U-shaped facility layout designs observed during the site visits. The value stream mapping showed a proper group technology in place and the management displayed signs of engagement and future advancement desire regarding this philosophy.

The traditional product-costing continuum is too limited to account for the new mass customization approach currently used by many corporations in many industries. Mass customization has changed the nature of many transactions, activities and, indeed, the very essence of many manufacturing companies, who have become more of assemblers than manufacturers. These new developments necessitate establishing new way of accounting for proper planning and control. After tracing the development of the mass customization approach from modular manufacturing into common platforms applied in one firm, and then shared by a group of firms, the paper explains the benefits of these approaches to both manufacturers and their suppliers. The central theme of this paper is to develop a product costing system for mass customization. It begins with the traditional product-process matrix in operations management literature and adds to it two elements: firm size and the modular manufacturing method. The rationale for this addition is that modular manufacturing is the best mass customization method; firm size and mass customization are inherently related as indicated by the typical evolutionary pattern of production processes. At this point, the operations management taxonomy is renamed the modular-process matrix; this matrix displays three groups of major activities: manufacturing, supplemental manufacturing, and assembling activities. These three activity groups provide the basis for developing a new set of accounts and a ledger system to account for specific customer orders developed by mass-customization processes.

The chapter examines the sources of total factor productivity growth (TFPG) of the 2-digit manufacturing industries as well as total manufacturing industry of Gujarat during the period from 1981–82 to 2010–11, using a stochastic frontier approach. The empirical finding clearly states that although factor accumulations as well as resource allocations in most of the 2-digit manufacturing industries of the state have been improved during the postreform period, technological progress (TP) and technical efficiency change (TEC) of the same have deteriorated in most industries of the state during that period. As a result TFPG in the major manufacturing industries as well as total manufacturing industry of the state have declined because the combined effect of their improvement in scale effect (SC) and allocation efficiency effect (AEC) could not offset the declining effect of both the TP and TEC of the same during that period. In this context, the government should take some policy initiatives to improve productive efficiency of the organized manufacturing industries in Gujarat. Once efficiency increases, it enhances competitiveness, thereby increasing productivity growth and its different sources of organized manufacturing industries of the state.

This study attempts to analyze energy intensity, capacity utilization (CU), output and productivity growth of aggregate manufacturing sector in India during the period 1980–1981 to 2016–2017. A decadal analysis as well as a comparison between pre- and post-liberalization period of productivity growth is also made. Total factor productivity growth (TFPG) is also adjusted with CU to obtain adjusted TFPG. The trend in energy intensity is also analyzed to answer the question of sustainability. Results shows that TFPG declined in the post-reform period, highlighting the fact that liberalization process has its adverse impact on productivity growth. From the study it is observed that a declining trend in adjusted TFPG in the post-reform period, but the rate of decline is higher. Energy intensity and CU of the Indian manufacturing industries is found to be increasing over the study period. Increasing energy intensity, quite significantly, would increase the level of pollution generated by the manufacturing industries. So, interestingly enough, this may lead to conclude that the growth of the manufacturing industries is not in line with the basic essence of sustainable development.

Many manufacturing firms (e.g. Apple and Nike) now outsource some or all of their manufacturing activities to independent suppliers rather than continuing to undertake them in-house. Clearly these firms perceive this externalisation of production to be a performance-enhancing strategy, but what are the performance consequences in practice? In this chapter, we review and critique the extant academic literature on the performance consequences of manufacturing outsourcing, and note that the empirical findings have yielded mixed results. We argue that outsourcing has potential impacts upon a number of ‘performance’ outcomes, including inter alia financial performance, productivity/efficiency, sales/market share, costs of production, business performance and innovation. We further argue that many of the empirical studies have flawed designs, and make a series of methodological recommendations to guide future empirical work.