Internal Process Performance Research Articles

Role of strategic alliance and innovation on organizational sustainability

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of strategic alliance (SA) and innovation on organizational sustainability using data from North American organizations listed in the Dunn-Bradstreet database. While organizational economic sustainability could be achieved in several ways, this research investigates the relationship of engagement in SA, product life cycle (PLC) and innovation with organizational sustainability from the perspective of the strategy-based balanced scorecard (BSC) that incorporates the mix of financial as well as environmental and social concerns in an environment.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports the results of an empirical study investigating the above relationships in Canadian and American organizations listed in the Dunn & Bradstreet database. The authors analyze the responses to the survey consisting of the questions about firm’s internal process, external environment, strategy, BSC perception and corporate performance of the companies who indicated that they use the BSC.FindingsConsistent with the authors’ predictions, results show that there are positive and significant relationships between PLC and SA, between innovation and sustainability, and between innovation and SA (though positive but not significant), thus providing support for the hypotheses. Though the methodology the authors applied is acceptable in management accounting research, the authors recognize that there are limitations of this study and further studies are necessary before the results can be generalized.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence encompassing the areas of SA, innovation and performance leading toward sustainability.

Influence of internal fluid velocities and media fill ratio on submerged aerated filter hydrodynamics and process performance for municipal wastewater treatment

Abstract Submerged aerated filters (SAFs) treat wastewater to achieve stringent organic carbon and ammonium (NH4+) effluent consents. Currently SAF design follows a black box approach, where inlet and outlet contaminant concentrations are monitored, with little consideration for internal hydrodynamic conditions. Although tracer tests have been used on bioreactors, integrated monitoring of internal fluid velocities, mixing characteristics and process performance has not been established for SAFs. Tracer tests were performed on a 7.74 m3 SAF, with internal recirculation at 100, 75, 50, 25 and 0% media fill ratios with and without biofilm on the media surface. Results suggested that, SAF internal hydrodynamic conditions directly influenced process performance and media fill ratios could be manipulated to provide optimum conditions for removal of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and NH4+. A 50% media fill ratio showed optimum hydrodynamic conditions for BOD5 removal, with a removal efficiency of 70% (mass removal of 1.59 kg m−3 d−1). A 100% media fill ratio showed optimum hydrodynamic conditions for NH4+ removal, with a removal efficiency of 60% (mass removal of 0.14 kg m−3 d−1). Therefore optimisation of internal hydrodynamic conditions is key for selective contaminant removal and achieving high effluent quality.

Gauging the impact of knowledge management practices on organizational performance – a balanced scorecard perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to explore knowledge management (KM) literature to understand the relationships among different KM practices and organizational performance (OP) in terms of the four balanced scorecard (BSC) outcomes, i.e. learning and growth, internal process, customer satisfaction and financial performance, as a measure of OP.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles has been carried out of theoretical and empirical articles to understand the linkages between KM practices and OP, accessed mainly through sources, such as ProQuest, EBSCO host, Google Scholar and other e-databases. Measures of OP have also been extracted from the literature and grouped under the four BSC outcomes to gauge the gravity of the effect. An integrated conceptual framework helps to explore the relationship between the said variables.FindingsThis study provides a conceptual model of the effect of various KM practices on different aspects of OP measured through BSC. It contributes to organizations by helping them understand the importance of integration of the KM efforts to obtain desirable results. It will, for the first time, put the entire organization in perspective and help managers draw a bigger picture to understand the overall effect of KM practices.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the KM practices shortlisted for this research are extensive but the list may not be exhaustive. Second, the model is not empirically proved. Findings of the study would help in creating a roadmap to enhance performance by a successful implementation of KM practices.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to KM literature by adding the fact that KM practices not only affect learning and growth perspective of an organization but also have far-reaching effects on OP in terms of customer service perspective, internal process perspective and financial perspective.

Accelerated anti-lopsided algorithm for nonnegative least squares

Nonnegative least squares (NNLS) problem has been widely used in scientific computation and data modeling, especially for low-rank representation such as nonnegative matrix and tensor factorization. When applied to large-scale datasets, first-order methods are preferred to provide fast flexible computation for regularized NNLS variants, but they still have the limitations of performance and convergence as key challenges. In this paper, we propose an accelerated anti-lopsided algorithm for NNLS with linear over-bounded convergence rate $$\left[ \left( 1 - \frac{\mu }{L}\right) \left( 1-\frac{\mu }{nL}\right) ^{2n}\right] ^k$$ in the subspace of passive variables where $$\mu $$ and L are always bounded as $$\frac{1}{2} \le \mu \le L \le n$$ , and n is the dimension size of solutions, which is highly competitive with current advanced methods such as accelerated gradient methods having sub-linear convergence $$\frac{L}{k^2}$$ , and greedy coordinate descent methods having convergence $$\left( 1 - \frac{\mu }{nL}\right) ^k$$ , where $$\mu $$ and L are unbounded. The proposed algorithm transforms the variable x into the new space satisfying the second derivative equals constant $$\frac{\partial ^2 f}{\partial x_i^2} = 1$$ for all variables $$x_i$$ to implicitly exploit the second-order derivative, and to guarantee that $$\mu $$ and L are always bounded in order to achieve over-bounded convergence of the algorithm, and to enhance the performance of internal processes based on exact line search, greedy coordinate descent methods, and accelerated search. The experiments on large matrices and real applications of nonnegative matrix factorization clearly show the higher performance of the proposed algorithm in comparison with the state-of-the-art algorithms.

Using the balanced scorecard in assessing the impact of BI system usage on organizational performance

There is currently a trend towards the integration of business intelligence (BI) systems with existing information systems in order to improve decision-making capabilities in organizations. Even though much attention has been paid to the factors influencing the adoption of BI systems, in practice there is still limited research investigating the business value of BI systems in a post-adoption environment. The motivation for this study is to examine the impact of BI system usage on organizational performance. This study develops a multidimensional measurement for assessing organizational performance, based on the balanced scorecard (BSC) approach developed by Kaplan and Norton. Data for the study were collected from 139 companies in the semiconductor industry in Taiwan and the relationships proposed in the framework were tested using Partial Least Squares method. The results indicate that higher levels of BI system usage will lead to improved financial performance indirectly through enhanced internal process, learning and growth and customer performance (non-financial performance). Moreover, higher levels of BI system usage can also lead to improved internal process, customer, and learning and growth performance in organizations. The results also show that internal process and customer performance have positive significant impact on financial performance. While learning and growth does not directly lead to the improvement of financial performance, it indirectly influences financial performance through the mediating effect of internal process performance. The findings of this study provide initial evidence that the adoption of BI systems leads to increased financial performance. The results indicate that these four BSC performance measures for BI system usage are interrelated, supporting the core premise of the BSC.

The internal branding process and financial performance in service companies: An examination of the required steps

The objective of this study is to test how internal branding affects financial performance in service companies. Our hypothesized model suggests that internal branding has an indirect effect on financial performance (measured in terms of turnover growth and profitability growth) through brand values adoption, organizational commitment, brand performance and market performance. Structural equation modeling is used for testing the model. The data set consisted of 124 effective responses from Finnish service companies. Importantly, differing from the majority of earlier studies, financial performance is measured with objective data. The effects of internal branding proceed sequentially from inside an organization to the outside, showing that its impact on financial performance is a result of a relatively complex process mediated by several factors. The results reveal that internal branding indirectly affects brand performance and market performance, but not financial performance.

Linking knowledge management orientation to balanced scorecard outcomes

Purpose– This study aims to develops the decomposed model to examine the influence of knowledge management orientation (KMO) dimensions (organizational memory, knowledge sharing, knowledge absorption and knowledge receptivity) on balanced scorecard outcomes (learning and growth, internal process, customer satisfaction and financial performance).Design/methodology/approach– Survey data from 244 managers (in charge of KM projects in their companies) in large Taiwanese firms were collected and used to test the decomposed model using the structural equation modeling approach.Findings– This study finds that knowledge sharing is the strongest predictor of internal process performance, while knowledge absorption is pivotal in improving customer satisfaction. The results also show that non-financial performance measures (i.e. learning and growth, internal process and customer satisfaction) directly and indirectly affect financial performance through cause-and-effect relationships.Practical implications– In an increasingly dynamic environment, the building of internal knowledge stocks is likely insufficient, but knowledge must be moved between a firm and external entities (e.g. customers, business partners and education and research institutes) (i.e. building knowledge flows) to achieve increased customer satisfaction and financial performance.Originality/value– Theoretically, the findings of this study suggest that the decomposed approach helps to understand the complex relationships embodied in the KMO–performance link, which cannot be surmised using a composite model. From the managerial perspective, the findings of this study may help academics and managers design and sustain KMO implementation throughout the organization to achieve higher effectiveness, efficiency and profitability.

Improvement of Business Processes – A Research Study in Wood-processing Companies of Slovakia

Abstract A strong competition on the wood and furniture market forces enterprises to pay attention not only to quality of products but also to quality and performance of internal business processes. Business process is an object of the process approach to management based on investigating and analysing from the view of business activities and activities carried out by managing staff. The paper deals with issue of the improvement of internal processes in production companies, which is the last part in a life cycle of a process management. The attention is paid to initial conditions and methods for process improvement. The aim of the paper is to summarize theoretical knowledge in the area of improvement of business processes and to analyse how this issue is solved in wood-processing companies of Slovakia. A quantitative research through questionnaires was carried out to achieve the goal. The results of the research showed that process management is implemented mostly in large companies with mass and batch production.

A multi-stage analysis of antecedents and consequences of knowledge management evolution

Purpose–Drawing from knowledge-based view and balanced scorecard approach, this study seeks to develop an integrative model to examine the influence of two knowledge management (KM) strategies, codification KM strategy and personalization KM strategy, on the multi-stage KM evolution (KM adoption, implementation and institutionalization stages), which in turn affects balanced scorecard outcomes (financial performance, internal process performance, customer performance, and growth and learning performance).Design/methodology/approach–Survey data from 244 managers (currently and directly in charge of KM activities) in large Taiwanese firms were collected and used to test the research model using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach.Findings–The results have revealed that both the codification KM strategy and personalization KM strategy are positive factors for stage-based KM evolution, but their relative importance differs across the three subsamples. Additionally, the results showed that the internal process and customer perspectives play a critical role in measuring performance during the earlier stages of KM evolution, while the financial and learning and growth perspectives emphasize the performance achievements from the latter stages.Practical implications–Since KM implementation is an evolutionary process, using both financial and non-financial measures to assess organizational performance through KM efforts, such as the four balanced scorecard perspectives, can take full advantage of stage-based KM evolution. The results indicate that the time-lag effect is critical to distinguishing different forms of organizational performance.Originality/value–Theoretically, this study aims to provide a research model that is capable of understanding the antecedents and consequences of staged-based KM evolution. From a managerial perspective, the findings of this study provide valuable guidelines to policy-makers and practitioners in accelerating KM evolution and achieving organizational performance.

Mobile Email as a Business and Personal Performance Driver in Everyday Knowledge Work—A Multi‐method Case Study

Mobile email is one of the first widely accepted mobile business application in enterprise settings that can be used by mobile phones. In this paper, a study about the role of mobile email as a performance driver in the everyday knowledge work of different business users in multinational information and communications technology enterprise is presented. Everyday communication task contents and volumes of knowledge workers were identified and analyzed by interviews, communication task diaries, and survey to understand the communication task goals and patterns of typical knowledge workers in enterprise settings. The study reveals that the biggest share of the knowledge workers' overall business‐related communication (regardless of the communication tool and application) is centered on the internal communication tasks, and respectively, mobile email is used most intensively in the internal communications tasks. When comparing the relative importance of mobile email as communication solution for business users in different work positions, the study shows that mobile email is the particularly important everyday performance driver for managers who travel a lot and whose communication volumes in overall are extensive because of their role as central activity progress enabler for other work communities. Intensive users of mobile email gain more personal benefits than non‐intensive users. The importance of mobile email is only moderate in the everyday business communication of those who are not in managerial positions. This implicates that mobile email as a business performance driver should be understood and evaluated by corresponding it with the internal process performance objectives and measures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ANALISIS FAKTOR PENENTU KOMPENSASI EKSEKUTIF DAN HUBUNGAN KOMPENSASI EKSEKUTIF DENGAN KINERJA PERUSAHAAN

The objectives of this research were (1) to analyse determinants of the influencing factors of the Indonesian Estate State-owned enterprises’ executive compensations; and (2) to analyse the relationship between compensation executive and firm performances. Statistical methods used for analysing these objectives were Structural Equation Model (SEM), contingency analysis, regresion analysis and qualitative analysis. The study found out that from all identified variables, executive decision mechanism, job complexity, firm size, firm ability to pay compensation, and product diversification and market expansionhad positive correlation and significant influenced to executive compensation. Human capital, business risk, executive employment market had significant correlations to executive compensation. The research had also shown a result that executive compensation provide positive correlation and significant influence towards financial performance (EBIT), customer performance (sales volume, output price, market area), internal process performance (OER target, OER realisation), and growth and learning performance (number of training investment, number of employees participated intraining). However, executive compensation did not give positive correlation and significant influenced towards financial performance (ROE) and customer performance(market share). This research also showed that direction of executive compensation was heading to company’s performance and not the opposite way.

Knowledge Management and Balanced Scorecard Outcomes: Exploring the Importance of Interpretation, Learning and Internationality

The topics of shared interpretation, organizational learning and firm internationalization have been studied extensively. Though considered important factors that shape the international competitive landscape, research synthesizing these interrelated areas has been limited to date. We use the balanced scorecard as a framework for assessing how organizational learning and sensemaking influence actions relating to a global marketing strategy and subsequent financial performance. Using data from 169 multinational corporations, findings indicate that a specific set of knowledge activities is related to balanced scorecard outcomes (e.g. customer performance, innovation and learning performance, and internal process performance). The hypothesized importance of customer performance is confirmed as the only balanced scorecard outcome significantly related to financial performance. A post hoc analysis revealed further insights for future research opportunities. Overall, these results suggest that firms can improve their competitive position by emphasizing shared interpretation within the organization and including balanced scorecard elements when assessing performance.

The Relationship between Organizational Culture and Government Performance-Based on Denison Model

In this paper, based on Denison model, we research the relationship between organizational culture and government performance by empirical studies, through conducting questionnaires in six-governmental organizations of Shaanxi and Shanxi, and using factor analysis and correlation analysis. The results showed that the participatory culture and performance of internal processes have significantly positive correlation, the consistency cultural and financial performance have significantly positive correlation, the adaptability culture and performance of learning growth have significantly positive correlation, and mission culture and performance of customer dimension as well.

6시그마 프로젝트 관리시스템의 활용이 프로젝트 균형성과지표에 미치는 영향에 관한 실증적 연구

6시그마 프로젝트 관리 시스템은 6시그마 추진기업의 지식경영 시스템으로 활용되어 왔지만 벨트의 프로젝트 관리 시스템 활용이 프로젝트 성과에 미치는 영향에 대한 실증적 연구는 전무한 상황이다. 따라서 본 연구는 6시그마 프로젝트 관리시스템의 활용이 프로젝트 균형 성과지표에 미치는 영향을 구조방정식 모형을 통해 실증적으로 분석하였다. 연구 자료의 결과에 의하면 프로젝트 시스템의 활용은 6시그마 프로젝트 학습과 성장관점에 영향을 미치고, 학습과 성장 관점은 내부 프로세스 관점과 고객관점에 영향을 미치는 결과로 나타났다. 내부 프로세스는 고객관점 지표에 영향을 미치고 고객관점 지표는 재무성과에 영향을 미치는 분석의 결과가 도출되었다. 내부 프로세스는 재무성과에 직접적인 인과관계가 없는 것으로 귀결되었다. 연구모형과 더불어 대안모형 분석이 추가로 이루어졌는데 연구모형이 대안모형보다 모형 적합도에서 나은 것으로 나타났다. 【While six sigma project management systems have been widely used as a knowledge management systems, no one has proposed an empirical explanation for impacts of project management systems on project performance. This study proposes a structural equation model of the project management system that relates learning/growth, internal growth, customer performance, and financial effects based on six sigma project performance. The relationships are investigated using data collected from a sample of green and black belts. The results indicate that there are a causal relationship with use of project management and learning/growth and internal process, internal process and customer performance, and customer and financial performance. However, there is no relationship between internal process and financial effects. The results suggest that six sigma project system could effectively be implemented as a knowledge management system to improve six sigma performance of green an black belts. This study also compares index of SEM's model fit of research model and that of alternative models for further analysis. The result shows that index of research model of index is better than that of alternative model.】

Effects of IT knowledge and media selection on operational performance of small firms

This study examines the effects of information technology (IT) knowledge and media selection on operational performance, measured by balanced scorecard, in small firms. Small firms generally lag behind medium and large companies in adopting and implementing computerization. This study is based on a survey of 698 small firms. The results show that: (1) individual IT knowledge and both traditional and electronic communication methods significantly contribute to the internal process performance of small firms; (2) internal process performance, organizational IT knowledge, and electronic communication methods affect customer performance; and (3) financial performance is affected by process and customer performance. The findings imply that it is imperative for small firms to adopt computerization to achieve improvements in business performance.

Information System and Productivity in Kuwaiti Public Organizations: Looking Inside the Black Box

This study investigated the impact of information system on productivity in Kuwaiti public organizations. More specifically, it investigated the impact on business processes. Three dimensions of these processes were selected to view the impact. These dimensions were: Internal Process Performance, Coordination, and Customer Focus. Based on the literature review, three hypotheses were formulated. Each hypothesis related Information System Usage to an increase in the efficiency of the three process dimensions. In addition, this study investigated the impact of ten more variables that might affect the dependent variables. These variables included age, gender, nationality, years of experience in Kuwaiti public sector, years of experience in the current organization, years of experience in using IS, years of training in IS, position in hierarchy, level of education and years spent in current position. The study found a significant statistical evidence for the relationship between the usage of information system in a process and increasing the efficiency of its Internal Performance, Coordination, and Customer Focus. Further, five of the ten additional variables were found to be significant. Research and practice implications of the study's findings were stated.

Six‐sigma as a strategy for process improvement on construction projects: a case study

Significant expenditures of time, money and resources, both human and material, are wasted each year as a result of inefficient or non‐existent quality management procedures. In an attempt to improve their market competitiveness, by limiting the extent of non‐value‐adding activities, some organizations are beginning to monitor the performance of internal and external engineering and construction processes. To achieve these bold aims, these organizations are looking to other industries such as manufacturing to examine the effectiveness of measuring and monitoring tools such as six‐sigma. Only in recent years has the six‐sigma method been utilized by some of the major players in the construction sector. To familiarize both researchers and practitioners on how to implement the six‐sigma method and its potential benefits, the paper describes the outcomes of a six‐sigma process improvement project (PIP) conducted for the construction of concrete longitudinal beams on the St Pancras raised railway station in London, UK. The outcome of the six‐sigma PIP was the improved productivity of beam construction, enhanced interaction between project teams and reduced project delays. Moreover, interviews with key project participants were conducted to determine the success factors, barriers, suitability and advantages of the six‐sigma approach compared with other TQM techniqes. In summary, the six‐sigma approach provided the PIP team with a structured process improvement strategy to reduce waste and other non‐value adding activities from the construction process.

Balanced Scorecard Based Performance Measurement & Strategic Management System

Developing strategy and performance measurement are an integral part of management control system. Making strategic decision about planning and controlling require information regarding how different subunits in organization work. To be effective, performance measurement, both financial and non-financial must motivate manager and employees at different levels to force goal accomplishment and organization strategic. An organization's measurement system strongly affects the behavior of people both inside and outside the organization. If companies, are to survive and prosper in information age competition, they must use measurement and management systems derived from their strategies and capabilities. Unfortunately, many organizations espouse strategies about customer relationships, core competencies, and organizational capabilities while motivating and measuring performance only with financial measures. The Balance Scorecard retains financial measurement as a critical summary of managerial and business performance, but it highlights a more general and integrated set of measurements that link current customer, internal process, employee and system performance to long term financial success.

The Role of Automation and Labor in Determining Customer Satisfaction in a Telephone Repair Service Process

ABSTRACTTelephone repair process and performance relationships are modeled using a structural equation approach. The basic structure of the causal model is a function of process flow. The data analysis and modeling approach advocated here can be applied to any manufacturing or service process that has a recurrent process flow and good internal and external performance data. Our primary objectives are to define quantitatively (1) how the performance of repair persons dispatched to the customers' premises is related to automatic testing and repair, and (2) how internal process performance is linked to external customer satisfaction. A secondary objective of this article is to explain briefly some of the practical problems of modeling process‐level performance relationships. Results indicate that the structural equation models are statistically significant and have a meaningful interpretation. Examples of “what if” scenarios using these structural equation models are presented to help managers predict customer satisfaction levels given certain process performance improvements, set standards of performance, and better understand the interdependencies between labor and automation resources in this telephone repair process.