Aligning operational practices to competitive strategies to enhance the performance of Indian manufacturing firms

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to understand how collective operational practices are adapted or stimulated by a firm's competitive strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed a data set drawn from 124 plant managers and directors of Indian manufacturing firms. Multiple regression was used to examine the impact of operational practices of lean, total quality management (TQM) and supply chain management (SCM) within competitive clusters of cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategy.

Findings

Results of the study show that the pattern of impact of operational practices on firm's performance varies according to type of the competitive strategy employed. All the three competitive strategy clusters have reported that TQM is the most important trigger for Indian manufacturing firms with relative effect of TQM practices on firm's performance being higher than that of lean and SCM practices.

Research limitations/implications

Cross-sectional data from Indian manufacturing firms were used, and it would be interesting to test the analytical framework of the study for more sectors and countries. Future studies can take a longitudinal research approach to strengthen the findings of the study.

Practical implications

The findings explain how operational practices are aligned with competitive strategies for practitioners so that they can assign limited resources to build diverse operational capabilities based on their strategic choices.

Originality/value

Although very few classical studies are reported in various contexts involving competitive strategy, operational practices and firm's performance, no existing study focuses on how these three domains are linked together in the context of Indian manufacturing sector.

Citation

Sahoo, S. (2021), "Aligning operational practices to competitive strategies to enhance the performance of Indian manufacturing firms", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 131-165. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-03-2020-0128