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

Abstract

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.

Keywords:

• Capabilities
• global operations
• operational performance
• manufacturing networks
• plant role

Acknowledgements

We thank the editor of this Special Issue, Professor Yang Cheng, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Maricela C. Arellano is a postdoc at the Chair of Production and Operations Management of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). She obtained her doctoral degree in Administration from HEC Montréal in 2017. She had earned her BSc in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad de Lima in Peru and her MSc in Operations Management from HEC Montréal in Canada. Her research focuses on socio-cognition in the management of production know-how. She is particularly interested in how operations managers’ agency influences the creation, implementation, maintaining and sharing of production know-how in global production networks.

Claudia Rebolledo is an Associate Professor at the Department of Logistics and Operations Management at HEC Montréal, Canada. She holds a diploma in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia, an M.Sc. in marketing and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from HEC Montréal. Her research focuses mainly on inter-firm relationships in supply chains, supplier development and purchasing strategy. Her research has been published in recognized journals in her field such as International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, International Journal of Operations and Production Management and Production Planning and Control.

Zhexiong Tao is an Assistant Professor at the Business School of University of International Business and Economics. His primary research concerns the empirical study of strategic operations and supply chain management with specific emphasis on manufacturing strategies, supply chain strategies, supply chain relationships, and corruption issues. Zhexiong has presented several peer-reviewed papers in conferences such as AOM, DSI, INFORMS and POMS.

Notes

1 We thank an anonymous reviewer for this suggestion.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from HEC Montréal.