Iranian Manufacturing Research Articles

The effect of green culture and identity on organizational commitment

When effectively implemented, green management practices greatly influence environmental damage and offer intra-organizational advantages, leading to good environmental consequences and substantial organizational benefits. The effect of green organizational culture (GOC) and identity (GOI) on organizational commitment (OC) through the mediating role of job satisfaction (JS) has been investigated in this study, considering the need to identify intra-organizational variables to adopt environmental policies. This study analyzed environmental pollution in Isfahan province, focusing on employees of 56 Iranian manufacturing companies. Data were collected using standard questionnaires and Partial least squares structural equation modelling via SmartPLS. Results showed that the variables of GOC and GOI significantly impacted OC through the mediating role of JS. This study interprets that green organizational approaches can strengthen and increase commitment, creating a positive collective and individual perspective toward organizations. Successful implementation of GOC and GOI encourages other organizations to achieve similar benefits, leading to better environmental performance.

Developing and validating an instrument to measure the impact of digital supply chain activities on sustainable performance

PurposeIn the age of Industry 4.0 (I4.0), digital technologies (DTs) and the technologies' application in supply chain activities have become more important. On the other hand, global pressures for corporate social responsibility in the sustainable production of products are increasing. Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to develop and validate an instrument to measure the impact of digital supply chain (DSC) activities on the sustainable performance of manufacturing companies.Design/methodology/approachIn the first step, through an in-depth study of the relevant literature, a conceptual model was developed and a questionnaire containing 51 indicators was designed. The questionnaire was distributed among 356 top managers and experts of the Iranian manufacturing companies, whereby finally 233 sound questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of about 64%. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify constructs and sub-constructs and the relationship between them was investigated using the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) method.FindingsBased on the obtained results, three constructs were identified, namely main activities (including sub-constructs: digital supplier, digital manufacturing, digital logistics and innovation and digital customer), support activities (with sub-constructs digital performance, DT and digital human resources) and sustainable performance (with sub-constructs of economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability). The designed tool has excellent psychometric properties. The values of t-statistic = 11.07 and β = 0.602 indicate the positive impact of the DSC main activities on sustainable performance. Similarly, t = 2.42 and β = 0.149 prove that DSC support activities have a positive impact on sustainable performance. Also, based on the obtained values (t = 13.16 and β = 0.629), support activities have a significant impact on the main activities of the DSC. Finally, based on the calculated goodness-of-fit (GoF) index value (0.522), this paper concluded that the proposed model has high credibility.Research limitations/implicationsValidation of the model is based on the answers received from the Iranian manufacturing companies. Therefore, caution should be taken regarding the generalizability of the results.Practical implicationsThe proposed model presents a holistic view of the application of DTs in the supply chain and the DTs' impact on sustainable performance which might help manufacturing companies, particularly the Iranian companies to obtain a broader knowledge of the importance of DTs and DTs' usage toward responding to the challenges of today's complex business environment.Originality/valueThis study is among the first of the study's kind that attempts to develop and validate an instrument to measure the impact of DSC activities on the sustainable performance of manufacturing companies.

Teach well, learn better - Customer involvement and new product performance in B2B markets: The role of desorptive and absorptive capacity

Customer involvement has received significant attention in the B2B relationship literature and is identified as an undeniable source of sustainable competitive advantage for manufacturing industries. Our study extends this research stream and re-examines the relationship between customer involvement and new product performance, employing the dynamic capability perspective. We hypothesise the moderating effects of absorptive and desorptive capacity on the relationship between customer involvement and new product performance. A survey of 225 high-tech Iranian manufacturing firms is used to test our research hypotheses. The research findings reveal the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between customer involvement and new product performance. Our findings also confirm the complementary effects of absorptive and desorptive capacity and suggest when, and under what levels of these two dynamic capabilities, involving key customers in new product development projects could be a successful strategy for developer firms.

Total Factor Productivity and Intangible Capital in Different Levels of Technology: A Case Study of Iranian Manufacturing Industries

This article tries to examine intangible investment in different levels of Iranian industrial technology by using a comprehensive measure of intangible capital costs in Iran. Previous studies in the study of intangible capital on total factor productivity (TFP), show that intangible investment has a positive and significant effect on this variable in Iran's manufacturing industry with a four-digit ISIC code. Also among the components, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has a more prominent role on the TFP variable. This study examines all the factors (which play a role in measuring intangible investment) on the growth of TFP at different levels of technology (which are divided into four categories).Unlike previous studies, for all industries, apart from technology levels, ICT is very effective and other components are ignored,the results of this study show that other factors affect intangible investment except ICT in high-tech and medium / high industries have higher impact on TFP than ICT and vice versa. It is also suggested to achieve the highest optimal level of TFP, by separating different levels of technology, to focus on components such as research and development, brand, educational services, etc. for high levels and ICT factor for low levels.

How Do State-Owned Enterprises Adjust During Downturns: Evidence from Iranian Manufacturing Firms

How Do State-Owned Enterprises Adjust During Downturns: Evidence from Iranian Manufacturing Firms

Assessing The Effect of Gender Composition of Workforce on Productivity of Iranian Manufacturing Industries

Assessing The Effect of Gender Composition of Workforce on Productivity of Iranian Manufacturing Industries

A Hybrid Fuzzy Approach to Success in E-Commerce Adoption in Iranian Manufacturing SMEs

E-commerce adoption is one of the most controversial subjects among small and medium enterprises (SME)s in Iran. The present study is conducted with the aim of identifying the most important factors in e-commerce adoption – reviewing the causal relationships and clustering them. To identify the most important factors, the data is collected by questionnaires filled by 95 experts who were chosen as researchers’ judgment. Examining the causal relationships among the studied factors and clustering is done by fuzzy decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and interpretive structural modelling (ISM) techniques respectively. Data is collected from 12 experts and analysed by MATLAB and EXCEL software. According to the results, government support as one of the causal factors among critical factors effecting on e-commerce adoption is the highest influential factor, along with cost of public’s training. Both factors are put into the first cluster. Moreover, organisational flexibility plays an intermediate role between the first and the third cluster.

The challenges of implementing enterprise risk management: a study on manufacturing companies in the Tehran Stock Exchange

Implementing enterprise risk management (ERM) is one of the important solutions in reducing the uncertainty and survival of companies. The study aims to explore the challenges of implementing ERM and possible solutions that may address these challenges in the manufacturing companies listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange. In the study, semi-structured interviews with the ERM experts among selected Iranian manufacturing companies are used. The identified challenges related to implementing ERM include intra-organisational and extra-organisational challenges. Intra-organisational challenges include risk governance, risk culture, ERM process, and infrastructures. Besides, extra-organisational challenges include the roles of government and policymakers, political and economic conditions, international restrictions, and the lack of a competitive environment (exclusiveness). Our study found that establishment of a risk committee, strengthening risk culture through ERM training top management commitment to ERM and the provision of sufficient funds were the factors that may be used to mitigated ERM implementation challenges.

Prioritizing the noise control methods by using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method in an Iranian tire factory.

Noise is a common harmful physical factor in the work environment. This study sought to prioritize noise control methods using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) in a tire factory. The study, which adopted a cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical design, was conducted in the baking hall of an Iranian tire manufacturing factory in 2018. 4 criteria (namely implementation and maintenance cost, method applicability, method effectiveness and efficiency, and intervention in the process) and 8 alternatives (including reducing individuals' noise exposure time, designing and installing sound isolation chamber for operators, using of earmuffs and earplug simultaneously, changing processes or operational procedures in machinery with excessive noise generation, forming noise control engineering teams, requiring people in charge to quickly fix the leaks and change baking press washers on time, using acoustic panels in the ceiling and walls, and designing and manufacturing silencer and nuzzle for the steam and compressed air outlet of baking press machinery) were selected. Then, to prioritize noise control methods based on objectives, criteria, and alternatives, an AHP questionnaire was developed and completed by domain experts and noise control specialists. Data analysis was performed using Expert Choice V. 11 and Excel. The results showed that the inconsistency rate in all cases was less than 10%, hence the consistency of responses was approved. Based on experts' opinion about the selected criteria, "implementation and maintenance cost" had the highest weight (0.481), while "method effectiveness and efficiency" recorded the lowest one (0.046). With regard to the alternatives, "change in the process" registered the greatest weight (0.193), whereas "individuals' noise exposure time" had the lowest weight (0.046). Based on the final weights, the most appropriate noise control methods in this industry are changing processes in machinery with excessive noise generation, forming noise control engineering team, and manufacturing silencer and nuzzle for the steam and compressed air outlet of baking press machinery. Furthermore, AHP is a suitable approach for prioritizing decisions related to noise control.

Differences in Exchange Rate Effects on Production Growth: the Case of Iranian Industries

Abstract There has been a long debate about whether exchange rate depreciation promotes output growth or not. In this context, we use Iran’s foreign exchange market which has had large fluctuations in recent years. Since the exchange rate influence on industries’ activity through different mechanisms, we examine the exchange rate effects in the industry level. To do this, the Iranian manufacturing industries data at 4-digit ISIC level are used from 2011 to 2017. The results of GMM dynamic panel data estimations show that the effects of real exchange rate depreciation on average, are positive in the non-crisis periods. But this relationship does not remain valid in a currency crisis conditions. Accordingly, depreciation does not have any positive effects during the currency crisis. Also, estimation results indicate the exchange rate volatility negatively affects industrial production in all periods. Our findings confirm that due to different characteristics of industries, the effects of exchange rate on production vary among them. So, export orientation, access to the preferential rate and higher level of raw material inventory amplify the positive effect of the real depreciation while import dependency and a higher level of final goods inventory fade the effect and turn into negative in some industries.

Learning Curve and Industry Structure: Evidences from Iranian Manufacturing Industries

The empirical studies have shown that cost advantages can occur due to economies of scale and economies of learning. However, a few studies have attempted to distinguish between these two effects on reducing costs. This paper is the first attempt on recognizing the impact of learning on reducing the cost with distinguishing the effect of economies of scale in Iran. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on cost benefits of industries based on learning and economies of scale in terms of their structures, as industries with various structures have different performances. Using industries at four-digit ISIC levels during 1997 to 2005, the findings show that learning rates is not uniform across industries and in fact learning rates are more than the effect of scale economies in only 11 among 31 industries. Moreover, the effect of learning in reducing cost in monopolistic industries is more than oligopolistic and competitive industries and similarly, learning is more in oligopolistic than competitive industries. From policy point of view, competitive industries should try to focus their efforts on achieving both dynamic and static dimensions of cost advantages to enhance their competitiveness in order to keep market shares.

Net Job Creation and Its Effective Factors in Iranian Manufacturing Industries

Net Job Creation and Its Effective Factors in Iranian Manufacturing Industries

Association of shift work with depression and anxiety in middle-aged adults: a large cross-sectional study among Iranian industrial manufacturing employees

Purpose This study aimed to examine the association of shift work with depression and anxiety in a large sample of formal and contractual employees of a mill steel company, Isfahan, Iran. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study was performed in 2014 among 3,060 formal and contractual employees of a mill steel company Isfahan, Iran, randomly selected from 16,000 people. Data gathering was done by some validated Iranian version of self-administered questionnaires including, International Physical Activity – Short Form, Effort–Reward Imbalance, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Logistic regression was used as the main statistical method. Findings The results showed individuals in the rotating shift compared with day shift had a higher risk of depression (OR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.12–1.84). Whereas after adjustment for various confounders, this relationship was not significant (OR: 1.19; 95% CI: 0.81–1.76). Anxiety was not associated with shift work, both in crude and adjusted models (OR: 1.08; 95% CI: 0.81–1.44) and (OR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.67–1.19), respectively. Research limitations/implications Owing to the cross-sectional design of this study, cause–effect relationships could not be inferred from our findings. All the data used in the present analysis were collected by self-administered questionnaires. Practical implications Although our findings did not show significant association between shift work and mental health, further studies are suggested for obtaining informative data worldwide in this regard among workforce particularly among industrial employees. Originality/value Few studies have addressed the effects of shift work on mental health among industrial employees worldwide, and there is no study in developing countries.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management in Iranian Manufacturing Companies

Despite the considerable concentration on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) among manufacturing organizations, Iranian manufacturing companies are still in the initial stage. Due to significant development in manufacturing industries in Iran, environmental concerns have become the highest concerns for stakeholders. SSCM practices have a straightforward linkage with environmental performance. Consequently, this question was raised that what are the impacts of adopting SSCM practices on environmental performance (EP) in Iranian manufacturing companies? According to the results of this study, the following outcomes have obtained: there is a positive relationship between sustainable purchasing and sustainable logistics and internal environmental management (IEM). On the contrary, sustainable production and sustainable design have not a significant relationship with IEM. In addition, the findings indicate the positive and significant effect of SSCM practices on EP.

Investigating the Impact of Trade Shocks on Productions in Iranian Manufacturing Industries

In this study, using the panel vector autoregression model, the impact of trade shocks on production in Iranian manufacturing industries is investigated. For this aim, the time series data of the period from 1995 to 2017 as well as the impulse response and variance decomposition functions (VDFs) are used. The results of the model's estimation show that Iran's industrial development is heavily influenced by the import of capital and intermediate goods. Also, the results of this study indicate that various industries are affected differently by trade shocks, as some industries receiving a downward effect and some industries receiving an upward effect from these shocks.

Organizational Innovation Factors, Capabilities and Organizational Performance in Automotive Industry

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of external and internal innovation factors on organizational performance directly and through innovation capability in Iranian auto parts industries. This research used the quantitative research method and used the survey technique to gather data from 275 Iranian auto part manufacturing companies. The collected data was analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. The empirical results showed that the inclusion of organisational innovative capability has a profound effect on organisational performance of the selected Iranian auto parts companies. The findings have several theoretical and practical implications. The use of the resource-based theory for the Iranian manufacturing context is relevant and can be enhanced with different dimensions of innovation capability. In practical sense, Iranian auto part manufacturing organization should engage more in enhancing their innovation capability which will in turn magnify the role and effect of external and internal organizational factors.

Status of substance abuse literacy in manufacturing and production sites in Iran: Results from a nationwide survey.

Background: Due to highly risk-taking behaviors such as alcohol and drug use status of health literacy at workplace is a major concern for health policy makers. Substance abuse literacy (SAL) includes the individuals’ skills to obtain, understand and use substance-relevant health information. This will help to establish a healthy communication in a workplace setting and developing professional knowledge on workplace safety regulations, risky approaches and behaviours that may hurt the community workers. Since poor SAL status would inevitably cause serious harms to both community workers’ health and facilities this study aimed to determine the status of SAL among manufacturing and production workers in Iran. Methods: This is a nationwide cross-sectional survey conducted on 13,600 subjects who were selected through simple randomization into 380 workplaces in 31 provinces of Iran during February 2015 to January 2016. Data were collected through an author-made structured questionnaire by some trained interviewers. The study tool was developed using the literature and then sent to some experts for approving internal validity; minor changes were applied. Internal reliability test in 30 samples yielded Cronbach’s alpha of 0.82. All the questionnaires were administered at the participants’ workplaces following obtaining their consent on releasing blinded information. Results: Given that the score range was from 1 to 5, the mean for SAL in substance abuse was 4.04, so that the highest and lowest means were related to East Azerbaijan (4.22±0.74) and Hormozgan (3.69±0.73) provinces, respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed that the Iranian workers SAL status was fairly high despite the reported high rate of substance abuse (30%) among Iranian workforces. This apparently contradictory finding could be resolved using Syndemics in which refers to clustering of several issues in a society that contribute to and result from socioeconomic and cultural factors and inequalities. Therefore, it is still necessary for policy makers and other researchers to take this issue into consideration in Iranian manufacturing and production plants.

Social sustainable supplier evaluation and selection: a group decision-support approach

Organisational and managerial decisions are influenced by corporate sustainability pressures. Organisations need to consider economic, environmental and social sustainability dimensions in their decisions to become sustainable. Supply chain decisions play a distinct and critical role in organisational good and service outputs sustainability. Sustainable supplier selection influences the supply chain sustainability allowing many organisations to build competitive advantage. Within this context, the social sustainability dimension has received relatively minor investigation; with emphasis typically on economic and environmental sustainability. Neglecting social sustainability can have serious repercussions for organisational supply chains. This study proposes a social sustainability attribute decision framework to evaluate and select socially sustainable suppliers. A grey-based multi-criteria decision-support tool composed of the ‘best-worst method’ (BWM) and TODIM (TOmada de Decisão Interativa e Multicritério – in Portuguese ‘Interactive and Multicriteria Decision Making’) is introduced. A grey-BWM approach is used to determine social sustainability attribute weights, and a grey-TODIM method is utilised to rank suppliers. This process is completed in a group decision setting. A case study of an Iranian manufacturing company is used to exemplify the applicability and suitability of the proposed social sustainability decision framework. Managerial implications, limitations, and future research directions are introduced after the application of the model.

Corporate sustainability disclosure and market valuation in a Middle Eastern Nation: evidence from listed firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange: sensitive industries versus non-sensitive industries

This article has received the considerable critical attention that seeking to enhance sustainability disclosure may essentially make progress firms’ market valuation. It aims to provide the corporate sustainability disclosure level organized according to the ‘7 + 1’, seven core subjects of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26000 and the energy disclosure items, then set out to assess the effectiveness of sustainability reporting on the listed firms’ market valuation during the period 2010–2015. To achieve this objective, data were collected from a sample of 98 Iranian manufacturing and service organizations from various industry sectors at the Tehran Stock Exchange and generalized method of moments (GMM) approach was conducted for a dynamic panel data to evaluate the effect of the sustainability reporting level on the listed firms’ market valuation. As can be seen from the results, the overall extent of sustainability disclosure arranged in accordance with the low rate of sustainability reporting for listed firms in TSE. It was also found that the sensitive firms have a greater level of corporate sustainability disclosure than the other firms. Moreover, sustainability reporting has been shown to be related to market valuations in which firms activating in sensitive industries environmentally with sustainability reporting had higher market valuations than firms activating in non-sensitive industries with sustainability reporting. Our ‘7 + 1’ sustainability disclosure practice aspects all together with their basic measurement items can be applied as a checklist for assessing how well sustainability disclosure practices are performed at TSE.

Customer relationship management: Innovation and performance

The aim of this study is to empirically test a framework which identifies the relationships between customer relationship management (CRM) practices, organizational performance and innovation capability of Iranian manufacturing firms.,Data for the study were collected from a sample of 211 Iranian manufacturing firms. The research model was tested using structural equation modeling.,The results reveal that CRM practices have a positive and significant, though weak, effect on organizational performance and innovation capability of Iranian manufacturing organizations. Innovation improvement caused by CRM also results in better organizational performance.,Because this study is conducted in Iranian manufacturing organizations, it implies that the generalizability of this study’s findings is limited to the manufacturing firms in Iran and cannot be applied to other markets without a further validation.,This empirical research has extended our understanding of CRM components and their impact on business performance and innovation capability of Iranian manufacturing firms which have not been addressed together in previous empirical studies in Iran. Also, the obtained findings offer the Iranian manufacturing executives and managers strategic insights in relation to CRM implementation, CRM items and, more importantly, the most influential components of CRM on the manufacturing organizations’ performance and innovation.,This paper shows the importance of CRM practices and how they directly influence organizational and innovation capabilities of the Iranian firms. This study is among the few studies which attempt to empirically investigate the relationships between these variables particularly in the context of Iran.