دانش مشتری خاص و عملکرد عملیاتی در تولید پوشاک

Customer knowledge is an important organizational asset that can be exploited to yield competitive advantage to a firm. However, empirical research on the application of customer knowledge to improve operational performance has been lacking in operations management. In this study we explore how customer knowledge can be used to improve operational performance under a supply chain environment in the clothing industry. We first conceptualize the relationship between customer knowledge and operational performance and delineate their attributes based on a review of the pertinent literature. We then formulate several hypotheses based on past studies and interviews with experienced industry personnel. We develop a self-reported questionnaire to collect data to test the hypotheses. Finally, we conduct a number of regression analyses to identify the key attributes (constructs) of customer knowledge that have a significant impact on operational performance. This paper contributes to research by demonstrating that there are relationships between specific customer knowledge and different facets of operational performance, and provides practitioners in clothing manufacturing with managerial insights on how to leverage customer knowledge for operational performance improvement.

A reduction of demand, a change in consumption patterns, the modification in the retailing system, and a global shift of production have triggered the decline of the domestic production of apparel in some high-cost regions. The future of apparel companies in these regions is not in production but in developing markets, in retailing and in managing a global supply chain. The out-phasing of quota system that governed clothing export by the WTO before 2005 gave new power to the globalization and it will influence the structural change of the clothing industry in the long run (Adler, 2004). Griffiths et al. (2000) studied how the just-in-time strategy ensures that customer-specific needs are satisfied. Customer satisfaction is the key to success in any business. As a result, organizations are increasingly committed to quality and operational improvements in order to ensure customer satisfaction and enhance their competitiveness in the global apparel markets. Nowadays, customers are offered a tremendous array of choices (Buckinx and Van den Poel, 2005). They can easily change their suppliers at relative low switching costs. The growing competition from low-cost regions has become an increasing concern for manufacturers in most industrialized countries. Drawing on the contingency theory, researchers agree that firms should seek a better fit with their customers’ need as it will result in better performance of their operations (Das et al., 2000). Recently, many manufacturers have gradually accumulated a wealth of customer knowledge, both generic and specific, in response to intensifying competitive pressures in the marketplace. Customer knowledge is an intangible, organizational asset that can be turned into an indispensable source of competitive advantage (Claycomb et al., 2005). Superior customer value can be created by integrating market and customer knowledge to provide operational flexibility (Claycomb et al., 2005; Jayachandran et al., 2004; Tuominen et al., 2004). The ability to continuously generate and use customer information is essential for manufacturers to create superior customer value (Tuominen et al., 2004). Manufacturers need to continuously update their knowledge based on information from customers (Claycomb et al., 2005; Da Silva et al., 2002; Tuominen et al., 2004), and then embody knowledge in their strategy development and implementation (Claycomb et al., 2005; Jayachandran et al., 2004). Perry et al. (1999) present a model of effective communication and multidirectional information flow in order to ensure rapid response of organizations to changing needs of the apparel marketplace. Consequently, research on the application of customer knowledge has been quite substantial and growing in marketing (Claycomb et al., 2005; Da Silva et al., 2002). The purpose of this paper is to explore how to improve operational performance by enhancing various components of customer knowledge. It contributes to the operations management literature by identifying which knowledge components have significant impacts on operation performance improvement. Various regression equations were obtained by using different performance measures as the criteria. The findings of this paper provide insights into the knowledge components that might be used in management decision making to improve the performance of a particular internal operation. The derived regression equations can be used as a guideline for manufacturers to achieve better performance. This paper is organized as follows. In the next section we establish the conceptual framework that helps ground the study theories. We then outline the proposition of this study. Following this, we present a detailed discussion of the research methodology. After presentation of the results, we summarize and conclude the research findings. We close by discussing the limitations of the study and suggest directions for future research.

This paper provides a comprehensive, contingency theory-based view of the relationship between customer knowledge and operational performance using regression analysis. The research findings suggest that it is important to identify specific attributes of customer knowledge that are best suited for improving the performance of an individual facet of operation. Manufacturers should consider at least two attributes to improve an individual operational performance. Table 9 summarizes those significant attributes that contributed to depicting individual operational performance from the resultant regression models. Manufacturers should allocate resources to these significant attributes while organizing their improvement activities. Table 9. Summary of significant customer knowledge attributes for improving the performance of a particular operation Operational performance (criterion) Customer knowledge attribute (predictor) Product quality (PQ) Customer service (CS) Effective salesperson (ES) Effective communication (EC) Social compliance (SC) Strategic planning process (StPP) ✓ ✓ ✓ Sourcing planning process (SoPP) ✓ ✓ Manufacturing planning process (MPP) ✓ ✓ ✓ Delivering planning process (DPP) ✓ ✓ ✓ Sourcing process (SoP) ✓ ✓ Manufacturing process (MP) ✓ ✓ ✓ Delivering process (DP) ✓ ✓ ✓ Table options This paper also demonstrates that product quality is a vital attribute of customer knowledge for improving operational performance. Almost all facets of operations are significantly influenced by it, except for the DPP. This finding further supports the teaching in total quality management that product quality is a core element for determining operational performance. Social compliance is another important attribute of customer knowledge for operational performance improvement in the clothing manufacturing industry, especially for exporting products to American and the European markets. Social compliance is a long-term-oriented management decision, so this attribute exerts significant influence on all operational planning processes like developing the sourcing, manufacturing, and delivering plans. Customer service was also found to be significantly related to the StPP and two operational planning processes, namely the manufacturing and the delivering processes. A firm's competence in handling order fulfilments greatly affects its ability in exploring new export markets. Companies can rely on rapidly developing information technologies such as EDI to process orders faster and provide more accurate and timely responses to their customers.