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The implementation of world class manufacturing techniques in Egyptian manufacturing firms: An empirical study

Salaheldin Ismail Salaheldin (Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business and Economics, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar)
Riyad Eid (Wolverhampton Business School, Wolverhampton University, Wolverhampton, UK)

Industrial Management & Data Systems

ISSN: 0263-5577

Article publication date: 1 May 2007

2644

Abstract

Purpose

The purposes of this paper are to illustrate how the world class manufacturing (WCM) techniques which could be described as outperforming the industry's global best practices have been implemented in the Egyptian manufacturing firms, to identify the critical driving and resisting forces toward WCM techniques implementation in Egyptian manufacturing firms, and to provide guidelines for the successful implementation of WCM by Egyptian manufacturers.

Design/methodology/approach

The data analyzed in this study are collected from a mail questionnaire sent to 200 manufacturing firms in Egypt.

Findings

The findings of this study indicate that the Egyptian manufacturers are still in the 1970s and 1980s, when compared with world‐class manufacturers. The most important variables that promote the implementation of WCM techniques are “reduced operating costs (marketing and production)” and “global issues (environment‐market).” More importantly, the results of this study indicate that poor planning and lack of knowledge are the most significant barriers to WCM implementation in the Egyptian manufacturing sector.

Research limitations/implications

There is a need to empirically explore the benefits of WCM implementation by the Egyptian manufacturing companies. Furthermore, more research is needed to study how the perceived importance of these drivers and barriers may differ across each industry such as manufacturing equipment, chemical and plastics, telecommunications, hardware equipment, textile industry, home equipment, scientific and medical equipment, management consulting, and software development.

Practical implications

This study hopes to create more awareness among management and employees about the strategic importance of WCM techniques to operations processes in the Egyptian manufacturing firms.

Originality/value

Although the last few years have witnessed phenomenal growth in WCM techniques, the underlying factors driving and inhibiting its diffusion are not well understood specially in the context of less developed countries in general and Egypt in particular. Therefore, this paper presents an empirical research that investigated the factors driving and inhibiting WCM implementation in Egypt and it provides insight into the strategies currently being adopted by Egyptian manufacturers in an effort to meet the challenge of obtaining WCM status.

Keywords

Citation

Ismail Salaheldin, S. and Eid, R. (2007), "The implementation of world class manufacturing techniques in Egyptian manufacturing firms: An empirical study", Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 107 No. 4, pp. 551-566. https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570710740698

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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