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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of lean operations practice and design on the Chinese manufacturing performance, using lean assessment data from 65 plants in various industries.

Exploratory factor and regression analyses are used to examine the associations among operations practice, production design, and operations performance. Three constructs are developed, two for operations practice (human resources and supply chains) and one for production design.

Factor analysis shows that three factors are sufficient to represent the lean performance dimensions of flow, flexibility, and quality. Regression analysis shows that the lean performance factors are strongly related to operations practice and production system design. Using lean factors and operations practice/design, our results indicate significant gaps in lean manufacturing practices among different industries, with the petroleum and hi‐tech industries performing relatively best. In addition, the garment industry performs very well in flexibility, indicating it does not compete just on price, but also on rapid response. Finally, all industries perform well in quality, underlining the emerging economy character of China. These results support other recent findings of the positive impact of lean operations on the performance of the Chinese manufacturing sector.

The paper's findings, which are based on the experience of selected manufacturing plants in China, should not be interpreted as indicative of the characteristics of the Chinese manufacturing plants in general.

This paper advances the evidence on the role of lean manufacturing in two ways. First, to derive more robust statistical results, the paper relies on primary lean assessment data, as opposed to secondary opinion survey data common to most other studies. Second, to obtain more general findings, the paper makes use of a wider set of relevant variables, both for assessing manufacturing practice and performance, than is usual in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct influence of three types of operations management practices, namely total quality management (TQM), lean manufacturing (LEAN), and supply chain management (SCM) on operational performance.

Cluster analysis is used to classify data collected from Thai manufacturing firms into three business strategy clusters of cost leadership, differentiation, and focussed strategy. Next, multiple-regression analysis was used to test the relationships between operations management practices and performance in each of the three strategy clusters.

Results show that all three operations management practices were significantly associated with performance including the interaction of TQM and SCM. Also, the interaction of LEAN and SCM significantly affected performance for firms pursuing focussed business strategy.

Manufacturers in developing nations can use this result to deploy appropriate operations management practices to enhance their competitive edge.

This study explores the cross-functional alignment between strategies and practices, which have been transferred from developed to developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of organizational knowledge and innovation practices on the outcomes of operations strategy.

The study employs a survey‐based method to test a theoretically grounded set of hypotheses using regression techniques.

The results indicate that cost, quality, delivery and flexibility outcomes are influenced by specific organizational knowledge and innovation practices. Also, the findings show that innovation performance mediate the relationship between knowledge practices and operations strategy.

Acquiring knowledge is not enough. Managers need to facilitate dynamics of knowledge sharing and utilization to cultivate a better level of technical and administrative innovation performance, which in turn will result in favourable operations strategy outcomes.

The paper is one of the first studies that highlight knowledge and innovation practices in relation to operations strategy in one study applied to a developing country context.

In this study, the performance assessment of credit unions is developed, seeking to demonstrate how the content of their operations strategy is present in the structuring of unique models of organisational performance assessment. The main objective is to compare sources of knowledge through the content analysis of the service operations strategy as proposed by the literature and validated by specialists.

This research is a qualitative study that uses the knowledge of specialists to frame a performance assessment structure applied to credit unions. The research strategy is based on multicriteria analysis, and the selected techniques are based on the MCDA-C procedure, that is, the processes of structuring, evaluating and recommending improvements.

The research results provided: a data set external to the context that serves as theoretical support for the comparisons made; the structuring of 4 unique organisational performance assessment models carried out through the MCDA-C procedure; conceptual interpretation using the lens of the operations strategy in the cognitive maps of the assessment models, which identifies the operations strategy carried out; and comparison of the result models that show their uniqueness.

The comparison between the origins of knowledge is highlighted, and the demonstration of the content was proposed by the literature and by specialists to evaluate the performance in operations. This was then compared with the content constructed with credit union managers in structuring models based on the singularities of the respective contexts. The theory was compared to practice, and it was demonstrated how the content of the operations regarding the performance could be used in decision contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to offer an alternative explanation for inconclusive results in the existing literature on the information sharing-firm performance link by examining a moderated mediation model in which operations capabilities mediate the interactive effects of information sharing and market intelligence responsiveness on firm performance within a supply chain context. Drawing on the indirect view of dynamic capability theory, the authors propose that information sharing redeploys and reconfigures operations capabilities, thus leading to superior firm performance, even with a high level of market intelligence responsiveness.

The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping methods with a sample of 154 Chinese manufacturing firms. A survey-based, two-informant design was used to collect data.

The results revealed that operations capabilities fully mediate the relationship between information sharing and firm performance. The information sharing-operations capabilities link is positively moderated by market intelligence responsiveness. Moreover, operations capabilities positively mediate the interactive effects of information sharing and responsiveness on performance.

The study shifts the research focus from the moderating effect of market intelligence responsiveness in the information sharing-performance link to the interactive effects between information sharing and responsiveness on performance via operations capabilities, thus offering a finer-grained picture of the essential information sharing-performance link. To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the first to advocate and substantiate the theoretical claim that even with a high level of responsiveness, a firm’s performance relies on its operations capabilities, which are renewed and enhanced by information sharing, rather than on information sharing itself.

This work analyses make or buy decisions from the transaction cost economics perspective and the resource‐based view of the firm. The aim is to analyse the extent to which the presumptions of the two theories are valid in the service sector in terms of specific assets.

The study was conducted on a representative sample of hotels in Scotland, UK. Each of the surveyed hotels was asked for information about 13 operations or hotel processes. A comprehensive model is developed that establishes the relationship between asset specificity and operation performance and hotel or business performance, moderated by the form of governance (make or buy). Moreover, the relationship between asset specificity and outsourcing in the hotel sector is also examined. The different hotel processes are classified according to the asset specificity. The factors that could lead to an increase in the outsourcing strategy are also analysed.

The results indicate that, the relationship between asset specificity and operation performance is weaker when the operations are executed in‐house. In the case of the relationship between specific assets and performance, the findings regarding non‐financial performance are not contradictory since it is slightly higher when the operation is outsourced. The factors determining an increase in outsourcing would be those related to the quality of the operation and to non‐financial performance.

Previous studies have not considered the relationship between specificity and business performance, which gives extra incentive to complement and expand the literature on service operations. Future research should analyze other theories on organisations and outsourcing. The findings should also be tested in other geographical regions and use sources of information other than the hotel managers.

The work generates knowledge and aids managers in their “make or buy” decisions for the principal processes in the hotel industry according to the asset specificity.

The paper develops a specificity‐outsourcing matrix and identifies each of the hotel operations. Apart from testing the model in the hotel sector, which is an important sector of the service industry, the work offers a better understanding of outsourcing decisions based on the two basic theories used in the literature on services management. The paper also makes an innovative contribution by analysing relationships between operation specificity and performance that are previously untested in the service sector.

Performance measurement involves gaining useful information about performance. The purpose is to develop a conceptual framework to assist wholesale managers in selecting useful information to evaluate operational performance. The proposed framework identifies core operations, measures of operational performance and factors that affect the performance of wholesale organisations.

The research essentially relies on the available literature to develop a conceptual framework and define related components. Research primary data were used to validate the framework components and to implement the framework in wholesale organisations by allocating performance factors to the different components of the proposed framework. Using a semi-structured interview design, ten face-to-face interviews were conducted with managers of ten different wholesale organisations.

The research identifies five core operations that affect the operational performance in wholesale organisations, four measures for evaluating efficiency and effectiveness in every core operation and 28 factors that influence operational performance in wholesale organisations.

Operational performance is monitored by evaluating the achievement of efficiency and effectiveness in operations. The research introduces a performance measurement framework that identifies the required information to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of core operations in wholesale organisations.

Trade and transport facilitation is a challenging area for international logistics and supply chains. A major problem in the area is the lack of a specific framework to support measurement and analyses of performance aspects concerning border‐crossing operations. The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for the area comprising strategic performance objectives of operations.

The framework derived from a theoretical and empirical basis. The empirical method involved a Delphi study with 11 experts with recognised knowledge in the area of international logistics and supply chain. The framework was validated through a substantive validity test conducted in a pilot study with 20 managers from organisations operating in a major international seaport overseas.

The study developed a framework structured by critical operations performance factors operationalised in terms of trade and transport facilitation aspects.

The framework was pre‐tested in a specific context in Brazil. Its construct validity and reliability require further testing and refinement.

The framework provides reference for the definition of priorities and targeted initiatives in specific areas of trade and transport operations at border‐crossing levels. The initiatives can be aligned with relevant strategic performance objectives of operations in general.

The theoretical, empirical, and practical issues addressed in the research provide an insightful basis for future research and managerial initiatives. The framework defined in the study offers robust measures that allow academics and practitioners to understand and address critical aspects inherent in the operational dimension of trade and transport facilitation.

As hospital costs continue to rise, increasing attention is being paid to the way these organizations are and should be managed. This attention typically comes in the form of focus on costs of services, quality (often measured through mortality rates) and length of stay. Hospital management has a broad array of choices at their disposal to address these challenges. As service operations, hospitals present a significant opportunity to apply the many tools and techniques from the field of operations strategy to this important industry. The objective of this paper is to use the operations strategy framework to assess the relationship between a set of operational elements and hospital performance in terms of average length of stay (ALOS), so that hospital managers improve the effectiveness and efficiency of patient care of their hospitals.

Using the structural and infrastructural operations strategy framework, this study examines the relationship between several strategic variables and hospital performance. To analyze these relationships the paper employs data from the population of hospitals in New York State. The performance measure is the ALOS for patients, adjusted for the mix and severity of cases in each hospital.

The paper finds that a direct relationship exists between the dependent variable and location, capacity, and teaching status, and failed to find a direct relationship for capital expenditures, salary, and staffing levels. However, the paper did find significant interaction effects between capital expenses and both salary and staffing levels.

There appear to be trade‐offs between capital expenditures and workforce decisions that have significant implications in light of current and expected hospital staffing shortages. The findings indicate that reductions in staff may not be perfectly replaced by corresponding increases in capital expenditures.

This paper further expands the body of research that addresses the important challenges hospitals face from an operations management perspective.

This study explores the individual and joint effects of operations, marketing, and logistics functions on the level of business performance. The main purpose is to test whether the business performance achieved when logistics function is in complete coordination with operations and marketing functions is superior to the performance when the functions operate in a less coordinated manner.

Study hypotheses regarding the links between coordinated and non‐coordinated performances and overall business performance are evaluated through a survey of automobile manufacturers in northwest Turkey. Separate regression analyses are conducted to test the hypotheses.

It is shown that overall business performance achieved when there exists an effective coordination between the functions can be well above the performance achieved when the tasks are performed individually. Specifically, results from regression analyses performed to test the validations of study hypotheses indicate two important implications: coordination between operations and logistics functions in the specific sample is the most prominent issue for achievement of high performance; and logistics function carries an important role in linking the two most important functions of a company namely, operations and marketing.

This study adds some value to the current literature such that it empirically shows the links between coordinated and non‐coordinated functional performances and overall business performance, and eventually raises the importance of logistics function in a manufacturing‐oriented business environment.