Revisiting the cumulative capability model (CCM) among manufacturing firms in developing countries

Abstract

We examine the applicability of the competitive cumulative capability model among firms in developing economies within the context of the manufacturing industry. We specifically investigate whether the pattern in which competitive capabilities are pursued differs among firms in different developing countries, as well as whether these firms pursue their capabilities in a cumulative fashion. Using a global dataset and focussing on firms in three developing countries that are geographically dispersed – Nigeria, India, and Vietnam – we investigate relationships for firms both within and across countries. Although notions of the cumulative capability model were confirmed, the pattern of the progression is different among firms in the three countries studied. The findings suggest that firms in different developing countries exhibit different manufacturing strategies based on their relative location to their performance frontier, their country’s current state of economic development, as well as the extent of western manufacturing influence in each country.

Keywords:

• Competitive cumulative capability model
• developing economies
• manufacturing strategy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ike C. Ehie

Ike C. Ehie is a professor of operations and supply chain management in the College of Business at Kansas State University. He received his Ph.D. from the Missouri University Science and Technology in Engineering Management with emphasis in Operations Management. He has published over 25 papers in journal outlets such as the International Journal of Operations Management, the European Journal of Operational Research and International Journal of Production Economics. His research has focused on manufacturing strategies and competitive capabilities and more recently his research focuses on the impact of digitalization on supply chain management.

Tobias Schoenherr

Tobias Schoenherr is the Hoagland-Metzler Endowed Professor of Purchasing and Supply Management in the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. He holds a PhD in Operations Management and Decision Sciences from Indiana University, Bloomington. His research focuses on buyer-supplier relationships, especially at the intersection of the themes of innovation, technology, sustainability and globalization. He has published more than 55 journal articles in outlets such as Management Science, Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Decision Sciences, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Supply Chain Management. He is currently serving as the Co-Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Operations and Production Management and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Operations Management, Decision Sciences and the Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management.