International Manufacturing Research Articles

When Work Disappears: Manufacturing Decline and the Falling Marriage Market Value of Young Men

We exploit the gender-specific components of large-scale labor demand shocks stemming from rising international manufacturing competition to test how shifts in the relative economic stature of young men versus young women affected marriage, fertility, and children’s living circumstances during 1990–2014. On average, trade shocks differentially reduce employment and earnings of young adult males. Consistent with Becker’s model of household specialization, shocks to males’ relative earnings reduce marriage and fertility. Consistent with prominent sociological accounts, these shocks heighten male idleness and premature mortality, and raise the share of mothers who are unwed and the share of children living in below-poverty, single-headed households. (JEL F16, J12, J13, J16, J23, J31, L60)

ПІДХОДИ ДО ІДЕНТИФІКАЦІЇ ФОРМ ЕКОНОМІЧНОЇ ЕКСПАНСІЇ КНР В УМОВАХ ТРАНСНАЦІОНАЛІЗАЦІЇ СВІТОВОЇ ЕКОНОМІКИ : THE COMMERCIAL EXPANSION CASE

The analysis of commercial expansion is performed in the two perspectives. The first, microeconomic, perspective investigating the process of transforming common domestic actors into international ones, with identifying key motives and stimuli pushing companies to take rather high economic and production risks for the sake of a higher profit rate. The second, macroeconomic, perspective is exportoriented economic strategies of countries that are main generators of commercial expansionism, and the declared liberalism of international economic relations, fostering the favorable background for this kind of expansion. The commercial expansion is closely linked to international manufacturing organized and controlled by multinational corporations (MNC), and international distribution through the ramified network of MNC offices and regional intermediaries, which, apart from organization of sales, are often involved in promotion and lobbying at local level. The commercial expansion constitutes an explicit layer of international commercialization implemented through equity ownership or contract (non-equity) mechanisms. At the level of the so called explicit commercial expansion, the expansion drivers are business entities seeking to survive in the competitive environment and achieve their financial and marketing objectives by expanding the operation area. MNEs have been analyzed as a separate segment in the international relations system, given the essential impact and the increasing role of this category of corporations in integration and regional cooperation processes, but even they cannot be seen as totally isolated from the domestic economy in which they origin. The analysis has been focused on the second level, with outlining the main features of the existing global centers of commercial expansion and identifying specific instruments of such expansion, to promote one’s strategic interests. We characterized and compared the China and Germany models of commercial expansion, and revealed the set of factors, which promoted the commercial expansion of China and Germany. Доведено, що просторова експансія як ідейна основа геополітики, що полягає у прагненні до поширення контролю над простором, у традиційному її тлумаченні репрезентує міжнародні відносини як розширення «життєвого простору» через силові відносини. Втім, починаючи з другої половини ХХ ст., трактує міжнародні відносини як розширення «зони впливу», «зони національних інтересів», «зони безпеки» через економічну могутність, що і постає підґрунтям для реалізації стратегій експансії комерційної по мірі лібералізації міжнародних економічних відносин. Аналіз комерційної експансії проведено на мезорівні міжнародної економічної політики (шляхом дослідження процесу перетворення національної компанії на міжнародну з акцентом на виявленні її детермінуючих мотивів та стимулів) та макрорівні міжнародної економічної політики (шляхом аналізу складових зовнішньоекономічної стратегії держав як основних продуцентів комерційного експансіонізму). Визначено, що передумовою експансіоністського руху є здатність нарощувати масштаби капіталу, що не відбувається без створення нових технологій і постійного розширення виробництва основного капіталу, які й спричиняють зростання підприємницької експансії і накопичення капіталу. Периферійні економіки, навіть коли вони не обмежуються виробництвом сировини, залишаються залежними у дуже специфічній формі: ті їхні сектори, які продукують основний капітал, недостатньо сильні, щоб забезпечувати постійний прогрес системи у фінансовому, технологічному або організаційному сенсі. Розвиток периферії у цьому контексті означає прогрес у продуктивних силах, в основному, за рахунок імпорту технологій, накопичення капіталу, проникнення іноземних підприємств у місцеву економіку, зростання чисельності найнятих робітників і поглиблення суспільного поділу праці. Досвід КНР руйнує існуючі уявлення про механізм економічної експансії, що зазвичай сповідує країна, що відноситься до напівпериферії світової економічної системи. Охарактеризовано та порівняно моделі комерційної експансії КНР та Німеччини. Встановлено зв'язок між комерційною експансією та економічним зростанням. Охарактеризовано вплив експортоорієнтованої моделі розвитку на становлення соціальних стандартів та визначення рівня добробуту населення в обраних для аналізу країнах. Виявлено, що комерційна експансія є ефективним джерелом притоку капіталів, а також дієвим інструментом впливу на міжнародній арені, що уможливлює захист та просування національних інтересів. Розглянуто роль багатонаціональних підприємств (БНП) в реалізації механізму експансії зарубіжних ринків з виокремленням етапів, мотивів, стимулів та особливостей останньої залежно від країнової специфіки. Виокремлено макроекономічні механізми економічної та зокрема комерційної експансії з акцентом на політиці валютного регулювання (курсоутворення) та політиці стимулювання сукупного попиту. Акцентовано на детермінуючій ролі монетарної політики в сприянні експортній експансії.

The moderating role of temporary work on the performance of lean manufacturing systems

Companies are extensively employing lean manufacturing practices and temporary work, which at face value are in stark contrast to each other. While lean manufacturing emphasises the value of workers, temporary work refers to precarious work arrangements that, based on social exchange theory, may harm workers’ commitment. The objective of this paper is to unveil the role of temporary work on the lean manufacturing – operational performance (i.e. cost, quality, delivery, flexibility) relationship. To answer our research question and test our hypotheses we utilise cross-country data collected through the sixth iteration of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey and conduct multilevel regression analysis. Our results indicate that while lean manufacturing improves operational performance, the use of temporary work positively influences the relationship between lean manufacturing and mix and volume flexibility performance.

Digital aspects of development of the modern world vehicle market on the example of electric vehicles

Automobilization is one of key factors of development of developed and emerging countries’ economy, therefore existence of the created, competitive automotive industry is the most important prerequisite of successful social and economic development of subjects of the world economy. The present stage of development of world automotive industry in the conditions of digitalization indissolubly and everywhere is connected with implementation of new technologies and also with transformation of commodity structure of production in which the significant share belongs to vehicles of new type. The purpose of this article was the research of digital aspects of transformation of world automotive industry on the example of the market of electric vehicles. It was established, that exhaustion of natural resources and the high prices of primary energy sources lead to gradual replacement in the market of vehicles in favor of electric vehicles. The structure of the modern world market of electric vehicles, which segments have different dynamics of development has been presented in the article. The main advantages and shortcomings of electric vehicles have been revealed. The last are in many respects caused by unavailability of national economies to essentially new industry. It has been established, that intensive development of the world market of electric vehicles will depend in the long term on modification of strategy of the international manufacturing companies as a result of digitalization and a new wave of scientific and technical progress. It as been proved that the Asian market of electric vehicles will develop the advancing rates in comparison with other regional markets. Improvement of measures of the state support of the electromobile industry remains relevant aspect for all countries of the world. In Russia existence of natural restrictions both in the sphere of production, and in the sphere of consumption, slows down development of the market of electric vehicles, including its hybrid segment.

New temperature dependent models for estimating global solar radiation across the midland climatic zone of Nigeria

Authentic information of the availability of global solar radiation is significant to agro/hydro meteorologists, atmospheric Physicists and solar energy engineers for the purpose of local and international marketing, designs and manufacturing of solar equipment. In this study, five new proposed temperature dependent models were evaluated using measured monthly average daily global solar radiation, maximum and minimum temperature meteorological data during the period of thirty one years (1980-2010). The new models were compared with three existing temperature dependent models (Chen et al., Hargreaves and Samani and Garcia) using seven different statistical validation indicators of coefficient of determination (R2), Mean Bias Error (MBE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Percentage Error (MPE), t – test, Nash – Sutcliffe Equation (NSE) and Index of Agreement (IA) to ascertain the suitability of global solar radiation estimation in five different locations (Zaria, Bauchi, Jos, Minna and Yola) situated in the Midland climatic zone of Nigeria. In each location, the result shows that a new empirical regression model was found more accurate when compared to the existing models and are therefore recommended for estimating global solar radiation in the location and regions with similar climatic information where only temperature data are available. The evaluated existing Hargreaves and Samani and Garcia temperature based models for Jos were compared to those available in literature and was found more suitable for estimating global solar radiation for the location. The comparison between the measured and estimated temperature dependent models depicts slight overestimation and underestimation in some months with good fitting in the studied locations. However, the recommended models give the best fitting.  Â

Effect of Total Quality Management Practices and JIT Production Practices on Flexibility Performance: Empirical Evidence from International Manufacturing Plants

This paper presents the results of an empirical study investigating the relationship between Total quality management (TQM) practices, Just-in-time (JIT) production practices, and flexibility performance in manufacturing companies. Correlation and regression analysis are applied to analyze the data collected from 280 manufacturing plants in 12 countries including China, Finland, German, Italy, Israel, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Vietnam from 2013 to 2015 in the framework of a High Performance Manufacturing Project. The analytical results confirm the closed linkage between TQM, JIT production practices and flexibility performance. Moreover, this study indicates that the effect of JIT production practices on flexibility performance can be strengthened with a higher level of TQM practices. The main findings of this study suggest that flexibility performance can be built up by implementing both TQM and JIT production practices, and TQM should be regarded as the platform to maximize the effect of JIT production on flexibility performance.

Theoretical assessment of the elastic modulus of natural fiber-based intra-ply hybrid composites

The applications of natural fibers composites are growing in many sectors such as automotive industry, furniture, packing and construction. This is mainly due to their advantages compared to synthetic fibers composites (i.e., low cost, low weight, abundant and renewable resources among others). Nowadays, all of the main international automotive manufactures use these materials and their use is expected to increase in this area. In this study, two analytical models: rule of hybrid mixtures modified (RoHM) and an analytical model based on classical lamination theory, were used to determine theoretically the elastic modulus of intra-ply natural fiber-reinforced hybrid composites. The predicted elastic modulus was compared further with the experimental elastic modulus of jute/ramie, jute/sisal and jute/curaua intra-ply hybrid composites. The prediction by the model based on classical lamination theory showed a good agreement with the experimental elastic modulus values with a maximum deviation of 10%, while the RoHM overpredicted the elastic modulus values with a maximum deviation of 44%. Other mechanical properties such as shear modulus and flexural modulus can also be predicted by the same model. The new approach presented can be adopted as a primary tool to predict the mechanical properties of intra-ply hybrid composites. However, there is still a possibility to refine the theoretical prediction of elastic modulus by accounting the curvature parameter due to interlacing of yarns in woven fabrics.

Cursed by no coast: How regional landlockedness affects income within countries

We analyze whether landlocked regions are systematically poorer, using panel data for 1527 regions in 83 nations from 1950 to 2014 and exploiting within-country-time variation. Lacking ocean access decreases regional GDP/capita by ≈13%. Specifically, coastal distance matters but not the length of coastline. Exploring moderators, national political institutions appear irrelevant while increasing international trade and manufacturing intensifies the landlockedness curse within the same country and year. However, transport-related infrastructure may be able to alleviate these disadvantages.

The relationship between servitization and product customization strategies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between product customization and servitization strategies, specifically the relationship between product customization strategy intensity and degree of servitization (offering of basic and/or advanced services) and the moderating role of product customization strategy alignment on that relationship. Design/methodology/approach The authors develop and test hypotheses through partial least squares path modeling to analyze data from the Sixth International Manufacturing Strategy Survey, involving 931 manufacturers in 22 countries. Findings The results indicate that customization strategy intensity is positively associated with the offering of basic and advanced services; these relationships are not moderated by customization strategy alignment. Practical implications Manufacturers pursuing product customization strategies may be especially well positioned to servitize, even those with misalignment in strategic choices. Paradoxically, while manufacturers of standard products might look at servitization as an attractive strategy to differentiate their value proposition, they appear to be less servitized than manufacturers pursuing product customization. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to examine how manufacturing strategy choices (intensity and alignment) influence the adoption of servitization strategies. The study introduces manufacturing strategy as a contingency factor that influences the adoption of servitization, answering calls for the study of servitization contingencies.

PERFIL DO REGISTRO SANITÁRIO DE DISPOSITIVOS INTERSOMÁTICOS NA AGÊNCIA NACIONAL DE VIGILÂNCIA SANITÁRIA (ANVISA)

Produtos para saúde são dispositivos de uso médico utilizados em variados procedimentos e estão sujeitos à vigilância sanitária. A comercialização, no Brasil, requer o registro na Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa), que avalia o grau de risco dos mesmos e o impacto na Saúde Pública. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o perfil do registro sanitário de dispositivos intersomáticos ou cages. Atualmente existem 103 cages listados na Anvisa, perfazendo 74 registros válidos, 4 registros cancelados e 25 registros vencidos. Estes registros pertencem a empresas fabricantes nacionais e internacionais e sua composição prevalente é o peek ou titânio. Dessa forma, a análise dos registros apontou que o perfil das empresas detentoras do registro varia em nacionalidade, localização no país e na seleção da matéria prima utilizada na fabricação dos dispositivos.

Determinants of purchasing intentions of energy-efficient products

PurposeThis paper aims to identify factors affecting consumers’ purchasing intentions of energy-efficient products (energy awareness, perceived benefits, perceived price and consumers’ attitudes). Also, it examines the effect of consumers’ attitudes on purchasing intentions of energy-efficient products (EEP) from households’ perspectives in Jordan.Design/methodology/approachA self-administered survey was hand-delivered to the targeted sample of households in Amman, Jordan. A total of 516 questionnaires were delivered to households from which 474 were valid for the analysis. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess the research constructs dimensions, unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability. Structural path analysis was also used to test the hypothesised relationships of the proposed research model.FindingsEnergy awareness positively and significantly affects purchasing intentions, perceived benefits and consumer attitudes. Energy awareness negatively but non-significantly affects perceived price. Perceived benefits positively and significantly affect consumer attitudes and purchasing intentions. Further, perceived price negatively and significantly affects perceived benefits and consumers attitudes. Also, consumers’ attitudes positively and significantly affect purchasing intentions. Consumers’ attitudes exerted the strongest effect on purchasing intentions of EEP; meanwhile, consumers’ attitudes are a function of perceived benefits and energy awareness. Finally, the results show that 50 per cent of variation in purchasing intentions of EEP was caused by perceived benefits–consumers’ attitudes–energy awareness path.Research limitationsFuture research needs to investigate other factors that may affect households’ intentions of purchasing EEP such as perceived brand and image of EEP, perceived risk, word-of-mouth, subjective norms and households’ cost-saving experience. Investigating and identifying types of perceived benefits of purchasing EEP from households’ perspectives is also important. Comparative studies between Jordanian and non-Jordanian consumers/households are potential areas of future research. Methodologically, future research can conduct comparative analysis between households and energy industry engineers and managers perceptions’ with regard to determinants of perceived benefits and purchasing intentions.Practical implicationsThis paper highlights the crucial role of perceived benefits and energy awareness in formulating households’ attitudes towards EEP and the vital role of such attitudes on purchasing intentions. Marketing directors and CEOs of the energy industry should recognised that perceived benefits, attitudes and energy awareness are vital building blocks in formulating and implementing marketing strategies to operate in this industry. Also, purchase intentions are a function of positive attitudes of household toward EEP and are at the heart of EEP marketing communications campaigns.Originality/valueThis is the first paper in the energy industry of Jordan devoted to develop and test a model of determinants of purchasing intentions of EEP that focuses on energy consumption behaviour. CEOs, international manufacturers and marketing managers of EEP can benefit from the study’s empirical findings concerning the drivers of EEP purchasing intentions and behaviour decisions of households in Jordan as an emerging market in the Middle East.

Talking Shop

Steed Webzell explores the area of voice-controlled machine tools, after a notable breakthrough was showcased at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) exhibition in Chicago last September

Design-for-variety and operational performance

Purpose Design-for-variety (DFV) practices aim to help manufacturers to manage and mitigate the negative impact of product variety on operational performance. Theory suggests that designing products according to DFV practices increases operational performance by allowing more efficient processing of products, capitalizing on commonalities and by supporting cross-functional and cross-boundary coordination through simplifying product designs. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the latter proposition, and especially the mediating role of internal, supplier and customer integration in the relationship between DFV and operational performance. Design/methodology/approach Data collected in 2014 among 702 manufacturers from 22 countries as part of the 6th International Manufacturing Strategy Survey are analyzed through mediated regression analysis using SPSS 25, AMOS and PROCESS v3.1 software. Findings DFV affects cost/speed, quality, delivery, flexibility and service performance positively. Except for the role of customer integration in the DFV-cost/speed relationship, internal, supplier and customer integration partially mediate the relationship between DFV and operational performance. Practical implications In addition to allowing a more efficient processing of products, the positive effect of DFV on performance is also explained by the fact that DFV practices support cross-functional and supply chain integration. These practices allow manufacturers to create a set of design rules easily understood and communicated within and across organizational boundaries. Originality/value While previous research tends to consider one DFV practice and limited sets of integration mechanisms and performance dimensions, this paper consolidates the most common DFV practices into one construct and encompasses the three forms of integration and six performance dimensions dominating the DFV literature.

Lean management and innovation performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of innovation orientation (IO) on both the implementation levels of soft and hard lean management (LM), as well as innovation performance. It also aims at exploring the effects of soft and hard LM on innovation performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes survey data collected as a part of a high-performance manufacturing (HPM) project from 238 international manufacturing companies in eight countries and three industries. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied to assess construct validity. The study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results demonstrated that innovation-oriented companies tend to adopt aspects of both soft and hard LM. However, the results revealed an insignificant effect of soft and hard LM on innovation performance. The study also showed that innovation performance is positively influenced by an IO. These results indicate that having an IO is vital for enhancing both LM as well as innovation performance. They also evidently suggest that LM is more related to continuous improvement (incremental innovation) rather than (radical) innovation and, as such, is not important for firm’s intent on enhancing their innovation performance.Practical implicationsThe current study demonstrates that IO and LM are complementary and not contradicting strategies. The two strategies share many cultural aspects, similarities and commonalities. However, LM is not sufficient to predict innovation performance. Managers of the surveyed manufacturing firms are advised to focus on IO, as it has beneficial impacts on both LM (continuous improvement initiatives) as well as innovation performance. This clearly indicates that placing the emphasis upon radical (innovative) improvement rather than incremental improvement (LM practices) is believed to support continuous and innovative improvement alike.Originality/valueThe relationship between LM and innovation is debated in the existing literature, but the debate is characterized by a lack of empirical evidence. This is one of the first studies that empirically investigates the relationships between IO, LM and innovation performance. It identifies some new insights to direct future research, particularly regarding different innovation types as well as in service organizations.

Engineering network operations for international manufacturing: strategic orientations, influencing factors and improvement paths

Engineering operations contribute to international manufacturing networks (IMN) capabilities and thus improving their performance in an international context. The literature has recognized engineering networks (EN) with different strategic orientations (e.g. efficiency, innovation and flexibility); explored IMN capabilities in four key areas (i.e. accessibility, thriftiness ability, manufacturing mobility and learning ability); but provided diverse views on their possible connections. Especially, the received wisdom offers less guidance on how EN may enhance IMN capabilities. At the same time, the challenges of making effective decisions at the EN-IMN interface are compounded by a large number of influencing factors that are interrelated in a very complex manner. To cope with these challenges, the article reveals four ways that EN may contribute to IMN capabilities, identifies 15 key influencing factors and suggests optimal paths to enhance IMN capabilities based on the interpretive structure model (ISM) method.

The impact of knowledge properties on international manufacturing transfer performance

This paper examines how knowledge properties of a manufacturing activity transfer in international manufacturing network impact performance during the transfer itself and after steady state has been reached. Hierarchical regression was used to test the relationship on survey data from 178 companies. Knowledge properties as a group was significantly affected by both performance measures when controlling for the effects of sender unit experience, sender unit size and receiver unit experience. The activities transferred thus impact the success of the transfer. The control variables of sender unit experience and receiver unit experience have their relatively strongest performance effects after steady state has been reached. Independency was the single knowledge property dimensions with the strongest relative performance effect. This is one of the first survey studies to cover both the performance of the transfer itself and after reaching steady state of manufacturing transfers. Several strands of further research were therefore identified.

Managing international manufacturing at plant and plant network levels – insights from five case studies

In this study, we develop understanding of management of international manufacturing by a combined analysis of manufacturing firms’ plant networks and roles of individual plants within them. We elaborate the framework of Ferdows (1989) at plant and network levels by analyzing data collected from five plant networks of global manufacturing companies and propose an enhanced framework consisting of four main role types with eleven plant roles, which have implications on the network level. The findings give interesting and novel insights into management of international manufacturing; we conclude that plant roles are more complex than conventionally considered and understanding of international manufacturing requires elaborated analysis at both plant and network levels.

Integrated approach for optimizing quality control in international manufacturing networks

This article aims at providing an integrated approach for optimizing quality control in International Manufacturing Networks (IMN) which can be characterized by consisting of numerous plants acting autonomously according to an individual target system. A key challenge is to ensure the overall process quality despite distributed value creation processes and differing target systems in dynamic environments. Hence, the developed approach allows for identifying potentials in the quality control strategy using a value stream-based method to visualize quality characteristics and procedures in the production process chain. Furthermore, the approach contains a framework for identifying possible improvement measures and a simulation-based evaluation concept to evaluate the effects of different measures with respect to individual target systems. The simulation combines elements of a discrete-event simulation in order to depict the value stream with agent-based modelling for realizing different target systems by considering distinctive plant roles. The article concludes with a case study of a globally operating automotive supplier to apply the approach. A forward research agenda is proposed that evaluates the approach in multiple cases, deriving patters across companies or industries.

A taxonomy of international manufacturing networks

Manufacturing firms with multiple product groups do not need to involve all factories in the production of all product groups. Some factories may specialize on a small set of products, while others participate in the manufacturing of a broader set of products. However, current theories on international manufacturing networks do not explain in detail how organizations design international manufacturing networks for different products or product groups involving different sets of factories. This research investigates 20 product group networks at five global manufacturing firms. We distinguish between three types of factories: component manufacturing factories, assembly factories, and integrated factories (having both component manufacturing and assembly). Furthermore, we identify four network types: linear, divergent, convergent, and mixed structures. These four types exhibit distinctly different characteristics in terms of key characteristics, factory roles, product types, process types, market types, sourcing, and key managerial challenges. Most networks are relatively small – on an average consisting of four factories and some contain a number of subnetworks that are self-sufficient in terms of material flow and serve separate market regions. We identify two new types of factory roles related to component manufacturing competences, which we call ‘strategic feeder’ and ‘full lead’.

Improving operational plant performance in international manufacturing networks: the effects of integrative capabilities and plant roles

This study adopts the resource-based view to examine how two integrative capabilities of a plant embedded in a manufacturing network enhance operational performance: the capability to connect with other plants in its manufacturing network (a networking capability, NC), and the capability to integrate manufacturing processes with new product development processes (a new product development capability, NPDC). Our model tests the indirect effect of NC on cost, quality, flexibility and delivery through NPDC. Furthermore, we test if the relationship between NC and NPDC depends on the strategic role of the plant. Using survey data from a sample of 521 plants, we confirmed the mediating effect of NPDC. However, the moderation effect was not confirmed. Our findings reveal that plants can deploy NPDC capabilities, fostered by NC, independently from their role in the network. This study contributes to the understanding of plant capabilities and plant roles in manufacturing networks.