Process innovation and improvement: A competitive dynamics perspective

Abstract

Operations and strategy literatures have consistently promoted the best practice of accredited management standards for process efficiency and effectiveness. Based on the capability theorizing, studies have investigated how a following firm can improve its operational performance by learning from a leading firm`s best practices. Our study extends this research stream by applying competitive dynamics perspective from strategy literature to the context of process development and management. We develop insights by applying a dynamic, computational model based on an extensive appraisal of the history of process innovation and improvement in the global automobile industry and draws on the underlying theoretical relationships in the empirical literatures on operations and strategy. The core proposition in our study is that a follower firm`s investment in process innovation capabilities for long-term growth will provoke strong retaliation from leading firms using the current best practice. We demonstrate that the leading firm can publicly signal its best practice to induce the follower firm to invest in process improvement capabilities but only for short-term survival, not for long-term purposes or goals. In this way, the leader firm maintains its leading edge. Our results also underscore the importance of competition in determining the firm-level process development and management practices.

營運暨策略管理文獻已廣泛討論透過採用業界認可之最佳管理實務來提升作業流程效率及效力。過去相關研究主要探討一家處於追隨者地位的企業，如何學習該產業標竿企業的最佳作業流程實務來發展並積累自身組織能耐，用以改進其營運績效。本研究引用策略管理文獻之動態競爭觀點來深耕此研究脈絡。根據全球汽車產業的作業流程創新與改進歷史和相關管理文獻的理論框架與實證研究，本文發展出一個動態模型並藉此得到作業流程創新與改進的管理意涵。文章主要命題如下：雖然追隨企業可以投資作業流程創新能耐來追求長期組織成長，但此舉將引起標竿企業的激烈競爭性回應。為保持業界領先地位，標竿企業具有強烈的策略意圖來公開其最佳作業流程管理實務以供追隨企業學習和採用；其目的在於誘導追隨企業投資短期見效的作業流程改進能耐進而喪失創造嶄新業界作業流程管理實務的機會。本文闡述動態競爭對作業流程發展及管理實務的重要性並影響業界最佳實務的演進與開創。