Title: Hierarchical impact of manufacturing supporting functions on business performances: a case study of Thai industries

Authors: N. Chiadamrong, N. Suppakitjarak

Addresses: School of Manufacturing Systems and Mechanical Engineering, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University, Pathumthani 12121, Thailand. ' Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Abstract: In this paper, the integration of manufacturing supporting functions towards organisational performance in Thai industries was tested. We use a path analytical approach to assess the contributions of the various types of internal manufacturing integration to business performance. This is the integration of strategic and technical knowledge that a manufacturing factory collects from internal interfacing sources. Data for the study was collected from 293 companies in Thailand and the measurement scales were tested and validated using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results provide implications for manufacturing managers who seek to design integration policies and associated resource deployment.

Keywords: manufacturing support; horizontal integration; internal integration; operating decision functions; manufacturing back-up; SEM; structural equation modelling; business performance; Thailand; organisational performance; resource allocation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2010.033892

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2010 Vol.7 No.1, pp.108 - 132

Published online: 03 Jul 2010 *

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