Supply chain and operations practice and performance in Chinese furniture manufacturing

Published Date
April 2008, Vol.112(2):683–699, doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2007.04.011
Special Section on RFID: Technology, Applications, and Impact on Business Operations

Author 

David J. Robb ^a,,

Bin Xie ^a

Tiru Arthanari ^b

aDepartment of Management Science and Engineering, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China

bDepartment of Information Systems and Operations Management, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand

Received 22 July 2004. Accepted 2 April 2007. Available online 10 July 2007. 

Abstract

The relationship between supply chain/operations practice and operational/financial performance has been of interest to academics and practitioners for many years. We propose and develop a model exploring these connections, utilising data from a survey of 72 furniture manufacturers located throughout China. The industry is of particular interest in that, while labour productivity remains relatively low, exports have undergone substantial growth. Using a structural equation model (significant at p=0.05), we highlight the relative importance of supply chain and operations practices and show that the impact of practice on business performance is mediated by capabilities on operations dimensions.

Keywords

Chinese manufacturing

Supply chain management

Manufacturing strategy

Inventory

Customer and supplier relationships

Enterprise software

Structural equation modelling

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