نقش شیوه های زیرساخت در اثربخشی شیوه JIT: مفاهیم برای رقابت پذیری کارخانه

Previous research on JIT provides very little insight as to why the same JIT practices are able to foster competitiveness in one plant but fail to do the same in another plant. The premise of this research is that such failures are due to a lack of managerial concern regarding infrastructure practices needed for JIT. The current JIT literature on infrastructure design is largely prescriptive, but the prescriptions are not founded on systematic empirical investigation. In this paper, we examine the role of infrastructure practices in the effectiveness of JIT practices from three perspectives—universal, contingency, and configurational—with data from a study sample of 110 plants. The plants in the study sample belong to three industries—electronics, machinery, and transportation—and are located in three countries—US, Italy, and Japan. Our results support the contingency and the configurational perspectives. Specifically, the analyses based on the contingency perspective indicate that with the exception of manufacturing strategy, all other infrastructure practices—quality management, product technology, work integration system, and human resource management (HRM) policies—individually moderate the relationship between JIT practices and plant competitiveness. The analyses based on the configurational perspective indicate that synergy between JIT practices and infrastructure practices needs to be exploited to attain superior plant competitiveness.

The primary motivation for adopting JIT practices has been to reduce and ultimately eliminate waste, enhance the quality of the product, and improve delivery efficiency. While many JIT implementations have been successful, many have failed to improve plant performance (Inman and Brandon, 1992, Safayeni and Purdy, 1991 and Crawford et al., 1988). Previous research on JIT provides very little insight as to why the same managerial practice is a success in one plant and a failure in another. The premise of this research is that failures are due to a lack of managerial concern regarding infrastructure practices needed for JIT. We propose that effectiveness of JIT practices to enhance plant competitiveness will be minimized without developing and instituting these infrastructure practices. Additionally, we posit that infrastructure practices must fit the core requirements of JIT practices for them to be effective. The current literature on infrastructure design for JIT is largely prescriptive. The prescriptions are not backed by systematic empirical investigations. In this paper, we examine the relationship between JIT practices and infrastructure practices through theory-driven empirical research. First, we identify the infrastructure practices. Next, we assess the individual and combined effects of the infrastructure practices on the effectiveness of JIT. In reviewing the literature, we found that infrastructure for JIT is composed of initiatives, practices, procedures, and competencies that create an environment conducive for JIT practices to be effective. After identifying the infrastructure practices, we examine the relationship between these infrastructure practices, JIT practices, and plant competitiveness. Following Delery and Doty (1996), we examine this relationship from three perspectives: universal, contingency, and configurational. A universal perspective posits a direct relationship between JIT practices and plant competitiveness. A contingency perspective posits that the relationship between JIT practices and plant competitiveness is contingent on the infrastructure practices in a plant. A configurational perspective posits that synergy between the infrastructure practices and JIT practices determine plant competitiveness. The configurational perspective is founded on the holistic principle of inquiry aimed at identifying maximally effective patterns of JIT practices and infrastructure practices. The unit of analysis for this study is a plant. The study sample contains 110 plants from three industries—electronics, machinery, and transportation—located in three countries—US, Japan, and Italy. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. In the ensuing section, we provide the theoretical background of this study and present the relevant hypotheses. Next, we describe the research setting and discuss research methods. In the penultimate section, we present the results. The last section contains our concluding remarks, implications, and directions for future research.

Despite the widespread adoption and popularity of JIT manufacturing systems, some basic questions remain to be answered. The present study attempts to answer one such question: what is the relationship between JIT practices and infrastructure practices? The current literature is mostly prescriptive regarding infrastructure design and lacks systematic empirical investigation. This study identifies the infrastructure practices and systematically investigates the relationships between JIT practices, infrastructure practices, and plant competitiveness from three perspectives. The present research introduces the concept of fit in the context of JIT practices and infrastructure practices in an attempt to explain why JIT is a success in one plant and a failure in another. We posit that a higher degree of fit between JIT practices and infrastructure practices will result in superior plant competitiveness. We examined the concept of fit empirically from three perspectives: universal, contingency, and configurational. The universal perspective examines whether JIT practices are effective by themselves to ensure superior plant competitiveness. The contingency perspective helps to identify the infrastructure practices that are critical for the successful implementation of JIT practices. The configurational perspective helps us realize that multiple infrastructure practices need to be instituted in order to invoke synergy among JIT practices and infrastructure practices, and thereby attain superior plant competitiveness. Both from a theoretical and a practical standpoint, this study is valuable in that it introduces the notion of fit between a managerial practice and its infrastructure in general, and JIT practices and infrastructure practices in particular. This study improves our understanding of the interactions between the infrastructure practices and JIT practices. The proposed framework helps managers put these interactions into perspective from a systems viewpoint and recognize different strategic consequences. The framework provides managers with the ability to better design and/or prepare a manufacturing firm for effective and efficient implementation and operation of JIT manufacturing system at the plant level. In this study, we identified the elements (or content) of infrastructure practices necessary for successful JIT implementation. A logical direction for future research would be to study the process(es) of implementation. Here, process(es) means different ways in which both the JIT practices and the infrastructure practices can be implemented to rapidly achieve superior plant competitiveness. For example, two plants may identify and pursue the same contents of successful JIT implementation; however, the process followed by individual plants can make one plant a high performer and the other a low performer. Longitudinal data will be required to conduct such studies. While this study examined some interesting hypotheses related to JIT practices and plant competitiveness, there is still much research needed in this area. Our primary focus in this study was limited to understanding the interaction between JIT practices and infrastructure practices within a plant, and its impact on plant competitiveness. A logical extension of this study would be to examine the interactions between JIT practices and infrastructure practices across plants belonging to a supply chain and how such interactions impact supply chain competitiveness.