Benefits of internal manufacturing network integration: The moderating effect of country context
International Journal of Operations & Production Management
ISSN: 0144-3577
Article publication date: 4 July 2016
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer deeper insight into the relationship between a subsidiary’s internal integration in its manufacturing network and subsidiary-level operational performance by taking into account the country context of the respective subsidiary.
Design/methodology/approach
Subsidiary-level information is gathered using the sixth round of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey, thus including 507 subsidiaries from 22 countries. Country context is operationalised using the Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum.
Findings
The findings reveal that internal integration has a positive influence on operational performance improvement. Country context acts as a moderator on this relationship: subsidiaries in less developed countries are only able to improve their effectiveness (quality, flexibility, delivery), while developed country subsidiaries gain both effectiveness and efficiency (cost, time) benefits from internal integration.
Research limitations/implications
The unit of analysis is the knowledge-receiving subsidiary without taking the characteristics of the sending unit or that of the whole network of subsidiaries into account. Based on the context-dependency of the integration-performance relationship found in this paper, a future research agenda is proposed including further factors (absorptive capacity, knowledge complementarity, organisational practices) that could influence this relationship.
Practical implications
Subsidiary managers in less developed countries should strive to acquire intra-network knowledge related to effectiveness, while managers in developed countries can expect both efficiency and effectiveness benefits.
Originality/value
A large-scale survey encompassing subsidiaries from both emerging and developed countries is used to offer deeper insight into the relationship between internal integration and performance. The paper provides a possible explanation for previous mixed findings on this relationship. The differentiation between efficiency and effectiveness performance shows that country context represents an important factor that moderates the integration-performance relationship.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Swiss National Science Foundation (SCOPES Joint Research Project IZ73Z0_152505) and the Basic Research Fund (GFF) of the University of St Gallen for the financial support provided for the research project discussed in this paper.
Citation
Szász, L., Scherrer, M. and Deflorin, P. (2016), "Benefits of internal manufacturing network integration: The moderating effect of country context", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 36 No. 7, pp. 757-780. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-05-2015-0265
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited