The effects of production outsourcing on factory cost performance: an empirical study

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 750-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary J. Meixell ◽  
George N. Kenyon ◽  
Peter Westfall
Keyword(s):  
Structural Model ◽  
Transaction Cost Economics ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Manufacturing Strategy ◽  
Moderator Variable ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supplier Integration ◽  
Primary Model ◽  
The Cost

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance implications associated with production outsourcing. Specifically, the paper analyzes the cost of goods sold for firms who outsource core manufacturing processes, using empirical data from a variety of industries. The paper seeks to better understand the influence of outsourcing on factory cost by looking at these in the context of related strategies, such as supplier integration, information technology (IT) implementation, and manufacturing process decisions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on transaction cost economics, manufacturing strategy, and supply chain management literature to aid in predicting the performance to be expected when outsourcing production activities. Furthermore, the paper investigates the moderating effects of manufacturing strategies, supplier integration, and IT expenditures on outsourcing. The primary model is a two-way panel model for the cross-sectional and longitudinal data drawn from the MPI Census of Manufacturers Survey of US manufacturing plants. Findings – The analysis indicates that production outsourcing tends to shift costs among cost of goods sold (COGS) categories, but does not consistently reduce them as measured by overall COGS. The effects of production outsourcing on both the cost of labor and the cost of materials are strong, tending to decrease labor, and increase materials. Additionally, this study shows that a high level of supplier integration has a notable moderating influence on overall COGS, but that process strategies do not. Finally, this analysis indicates that IT expenditures were not influential as a moderator variable when outsourcing, but did have a marked influence on overall COGS, as well as on labor and materials costs. Originality/value – This research investigates the effects of outsourcing on the components of COGS, a level of analysis that is typically not looked at relative to outsourcing. This research also provides methodological contributions with the development of a nested random effects structural model for use with a secondary data source.

Effects of open innovation breadth on industrial innovation input–output relationships

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Germán Frank ◽  
Guilherme Brittes Benitez ◽  
Mateus Ferreira Lima ◽  
João Augusto Bonzanini Bernardi
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Transaction Cost Economics ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Industrial Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeOpen innovation breadth (OIB) considers the diversity of external collaboration partners for innovation. The authors investigate the moderating effect of OIB on the relationship between industrial innovation activities (innovation inputs) and industrial innovation results (innovation outputs).Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on secondary data from the Brazilian innovation survey, representing more than 30,000 innovative companies across 55 industrial sectors.FindingsThis study’s results show that OIB has different moderating effects regarding the several innovation input–output relationships. While OIB benefits some relationships, others are hampered by the diversity of collaboration partners.Originality/valueFew studies have addressed OIB at the macro level. Using the perspective of transaction cost economics (TCE), the authors discuss the contributions and limitations of OIB at the industry level.

Enablers of supply chain integration: a technology-organization-environment view

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Tian ◽  
Baofeng Huo ◽  
Youngwon Park ◽  
Mingu Kang
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Supply Chain Integration ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Manufacturing Strategy ◽  
Holistic Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Supplier Integration ◽  
Toe Framework

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically explore the effects and interaction effect of human resources and digital manufacturing technologies (DMTs) on supply chain integration (SCI) and how their roles are influenced by competition.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, this study builds and tests a holistic model based on the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS) project database.FindingsThe results show that human resources and DMTs have significant positive effects on three dimensions of SCI. Competition positively moderates the effects of human resources on customer integrations, negatively moderates the effects of human resource on internal integration, but does not moderate the effects of human resources on supplier integration. Besides, the moderating effect of competition has not been found in the relationships between DMTs and three SCI dimensions.Originality/valueBy investigating the effects of human resources and DMTs on SCI practices in the context of competition, this study contributes to the literature on SCI, DMTs and the TOE framework as well as offers practical insights that help manufacturing firms to promote SCI more effectively and efficiently.

Harnessing social interaction and intellectual capital in intergovernmental networks

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose M. Barrutia ◽  
Carmen Echebarria
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Shared Resources ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type

PurposeIntellectual capital creation (ICC) in networks has been considered as central to the processes for responding to wicked problems. However, knowledge on the factors that explain ICC in networks is limited. We take a step toward filling this research gap by drawing on an extended view of social capital to identify specific network features that should explain ICC heterogeneity in engineered intergovernmental networks.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 655 local authorities participating in 8 networks was used to test the framework proposed. Data analysis followed a three-step approach. Firstly, confirmatory factor analysis was applied to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of the measures. Secondly, a non-parametric median test was conducted to determine whether the variables under study were statistically different for the eight networks. Lastly, the structural model underlying the conceptual framework was tested.FindingsThe authors found that the eight intergovernmental networks studied differed significantly in their levels of social interaction and ICC. At a structural level, three variables usually considered representative of social capital (social interaction, trust and shared vision) and two supplementary variables (shared resources and shared decisions) were proven to have significant direct and/or indirect effects on ICC.Originality/valueNo previous cross-sectional research has studied the link between the creation of social capital and intellectual capital in engineered intergovernmental networks. As this research focuses on networks and climate change, it contributes to the fourth and fifth stages of intellectual capital research.

An examination of undergraduates’ perceptions on faculty members’ and institutional support and its effects on their appreciation of scientific skills and research endeavors

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 780-791
Author(s):  
Deneb Elí Magaña Medina ◽  
Norma Aguilar Morales ◽  
Ángel Alberto Valdés Cuervo ◽  
Lizeth G. Parra-Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Attitudes Toward Science ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Scientific Skills

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship among undergraduate students’ perception of faculty members’ and institutional support, undergraduate students’ appreciation of scientific skills and undergraduate students’ research endeavors.Design/methodology/approachA structural model was calculated to relate the variables. The sample included 1,882 undergraduate students from a State University located in the Southeast of Mexico. Undergraduate students came from different fields, and all of them that had taken at least 60 percent of their curricular credits.FindingsThe structural model suggests that faculty members’ and institutional support are positively related to undergraduate students’ appreciation of scientific skills and undergraduate students’ research endeavors. The findings suggest faculty members’ and institutional support are key factors to develop scientific research in undergraduate students. Therefore, the researchers argue that science programs taught in Mexican colleges and universities must endorse supportive practices among faculty members and institutions.Research limitations/implicationsThe cross-sectional design does not allow to set clear causal relationships among the explored variables. In addition, the sample included only one public university. Thus, further empirical research with research participants from different universities across the country is suggested. These improvements may enhance the strength of the proposed theoretical model.Practical implicationsCurrently, there are a plethora of studies looking at students’ attitudes toward science. Those studies have also discussed the conditions and contexts that influence research practice among undergraduate students. Nonetheless, there are no studies known by the authors that include the set of variables and relationships considered in the present study.Originality/valueDespite the plethora of studies looking at several conditions and contexts influencing undergraduate students’ attitudes toward science, no studies known by the authors have included the set of variables and relationships considered in the present study.

scholarly journals Costs of reusable and disposable aprons in a public teaching hospital

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 915-921
Author(s):  
Paloma de Souza Cavalcante Pissinati ◽  
Maria do Carmo Lourenço Haddad ◽  
Mariana Ângela Rossaneis ◽  
Roseli Broggi Gil ◽  
Renata Aparecida Belei
Keyword(s):  
Direct Cost ◽  
Teaching Hospital ◽  
Average Cost ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Hospital Managers ◽  
Study Population ◽  
The Cost

Objective To analyze the direct cost of reusable and disposable aprons in a public teaching hospital. Method Cross-sectional study of quantitative approach, focusing on the direct cost of reusable and disposable aprons at a teaching hospital in northern Paraná. The study population consisted of secondary data collected in reports of the cost of services, laundry, materials and supplies division of the institution for the year 2012 Results We identified a lower average cost of using disposable apron when compared to the reusable apron. The direct cost of reusable apron was R$ 3.06, and the steps of preparation and washing were mainly responsible for the high cost, and disposable apron cost was R$ 0.94. Conclusion The results presented are important for hospital managers properly allocate resources and manage costs in hospitals
.

The 2008–2009 global financial crisis and the cost of debt capital among SMEs: Swedish evidence

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darush Yazdanfar ◽  
Peter Öhman
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Dynamic Panel Data ◽  
Cost Of Debt ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Debt Capital ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Cost

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to describe and analyse the relationship between the 2008–2009 global financial crisis and small and medium-sized enterprises' cost of debt capital.Design/methodology/approachStatistical methods, including multiple OLS and dynamic panel data, were used to analyse a longitudinal cross-sectional panel dataset of 3865 Swedish SMEs operating in five industry sectors over the 2008–2015 period.FindingsThe results suggest that the cost of debt was influenced by the financial crisis and another macroeconomic factor, i.e. the interbank interest rate, and by firm-specific factors such as firm size and lagged cost of debt.Originality/valueTo the authors' best knowledge, this is one of few studies to examine the cost of debt among SMEs during the crisis and post-crisis periods using data from a large-scale, longitudinal, cross-sectional database.

A look at the dynamics of personal growth and self-employment exit

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1452-1470
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Beutell ◽  
Jeffrey W. Alstete ◽  
Joy A. Schneer ◽  
Camille Hutt
Keyword(s):  
Personal Growth ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
National Study ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Moderator Variable ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Work Family

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test a model predicting self-employment (SE) personal growth (learning opportunities and creativity) and SE exit intentions (exiting to work for someone else and exit likelihood) based on the job demands-resources model. Design/methodology/approach SEM was used to examine SE demands and resources, strain, and engagement predicting growth, exit intentions, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction. SE type (owners with employees and independent owners without employees) was a moderator variable. Data were analyzed from a national probability sample (n=464 self-employed respondents for whom SE was their primary work involvement), the National Study of the Changing Workforce. Findings Overall support for the model was found. Work–family conflict (demand) and work–family synergy (resource) had the strongest relationships with strain and engagement. Strain was positively related to both growth and exit intentions while engagement was inversely related to exit intentions but positively related to growth. The model was significantly different for business owners and independently self-employed. Practical implications These results provide guidance to researchers and educators regarding the challenges of self- employment engagement and strain with implications for selecting business types that minimize exit likelihood while maximizing work engagement and personal growth potential. Originality/value This study breaks new ground by testing a structural model of engagement and growth for self-employed individuals while also investigating two types of exit intentions. The authors report findings for growth and exit decisions that have received scant attention in the literature to date. Type of SE was a significant variable.

Values, motivation, commitment, performance and rewards: analysis model

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1139-1169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Lage Monteiro de Castro ◽  
Mário Teixeira Reis Neto ◽  
Cláudia Aparecida Avelar Ferreira ◽  
Jorge Filipe da Silva Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Structural Model ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Processes ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Management Area ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how construct values, motivation, commitment, performance and reward are associated with professionals from different countries, from the framework of a hypothetical structural model. Design/methodology/approach The survey was cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative. The sample of individuals corresponding to three different countries, with information collected from a sample of 406 respondents, and from a convenience sample of two companies, one company in the oil and gas sector, surveyed in Mexico and the USA, and the other company in the electronics industry, researched in Brazil. Findings Thus, the association of the construct values with motivation in Mexico, demonstrated a better balance of the proposed hypothetical structural model. The study identified six groups (clusters) of different individuals according to values, and also, its associative relationship according to the variables of the proposed hypothetical structural model. The identification of each cluster was possible, according to the variables of the hypothetical structural model, and the groups with greater proximity between Mexico and USA were very similar, mostly because US companies have many Mexicans in their staff. Research limitations/implications Therefore, it is understood that the approach used in this work could eventually be replicated in other regions to seek confirmations and/or contradictions of the results, contributing to future studies to relate such constructs. Practical implications It is expected that this work can stimulate others that aim to explore the hypothetical structural model in more countries or organizations in order to understand the influence of the constructs in or ganizational management, enabling people management area to be more effective in conducting relevant management processes for each organization. Originality/value The proposed model has shown that organizational management allowed the verification of the association between constructs motivation, commitment, performance and reward, excluding the construct values.

scholarly journals Cost of Illness of Malaria in Coastal Karnataka, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (02) ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
Affan K ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Direct Medical Cost ◽  
Cost Of Illness ◽  
Medical Cost ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Service Utilisation ◽  
District Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Cost

Background: Malaria is one of the major health issues in developing and underdeveloped countries. It is considered to be one of the main reasons for morbidity and mortality. This study intends to estimate the cost of illness of malaria at the household level and health service utilisation pattern for malaria treatment in coastal Karnataka. Materials and Methods: It was a secondary data-based cross-sectional study comprising people suffering from malaria during the period from September to December 2016. Result: The median gross total cost of illness (a single episode of malaria) was 4,000 INR, the median direct medical cost was zero, and the median direct non-medical cost was 100 INR. The majority of individuals (92.2%) took treatment from public healthcare sectors. Conclusion: The effective implementation of anti-malarial interventions by the District Health Authority, District Vector Borne Disease Control Office, and treatment from public health sectors resulted in negligible direct medical cost which made a remarkable reduction in the cost of illness of malaria.

scholarly journals Impact of Reinsurance on Performance of Nepalese Insurance Companies

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (ii) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajendra Maharjan
Keyword(s):  
Cost Efficiency ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Solvency Capital ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Variable Performance

Reinsurance is considered as backbone of the insurance industry in developed and developing countries as it indirectly injects capital and Nepalese insurance companies are no exception. Thus, this study is aims to find out whether the use of reinsurance arrangement lead to positive effect or not? Three portfolios have been formed life, nonlife and industry. The study used 11 years unbalanced cross sectional secondary data from 2007/08 to 2017/18. The sample of the study consists of seven from life and nine from nonlife with 138 firm years’ observations. The dependent variable performance is measured by profitability (ROA and ROE) and solvency while reinsurance ceded as explanatory variable. Capital employed and size of the firm are considered as control variables. The study employed descriptive cum causal comparative research design. Regression analysis has been performed to see the effect of reinsurance on firm performance. The result depicts that reinsurance has a positive and significant impact on performance of insurance companies. This finding indicates that reinsurance improves the cost efficiency of primary insurers. Further, reinsurance is a complement for capital in order to enhance solvency while negative relation indicating solvency of the insurers increases with the level of used reinsurance, to the extent that reinsurance and capital can be substitutes of each other. Thus, this study concludes that primary insurers can benefit from reinsurance as its relief on capital, diversify risk and in turn helps to earn profitability by sharing the risk with reinsurers. Key words: Reinsurance, Profitability, Solvency, Capital, Premium

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