A study of the effect of manufacturing proactivity on business performance

Abstract

Purpose

This research paper analyses the link between manufacturing proactivity, understood as the tendency of a company to implement the most modern and advanced production management practices and business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Over a sample of 186 industrial companies, two dimensions of proactivity were identified; one reflecting a cultural orientation and the other denoting a technical approach to progress.

Findings

Both dimensions, especially the cultural one turned out to have a positive effect on financial and operational performance. Among other things, these results point out the potential of the production and operations function as a source of competitive advantage for the company.

Originality/value

The aggregated analysis of several advanced production management practices, the proposal of different causal explanation of the relationship between manufacturing proactivity and business performance, and the combination of primary (postal questionnaires) and secondary (financial databases) data sources can be considered distinguishing features of this research.

Citation

González‐Benito, J. (2005), "A study of the effect of manufacturing proactivity on business performance", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 222-241. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443570510581844