Special issue on organizational structure, culture and operations management: An empirical missing link

摘要

This special issue of the International Journal of Production Economics focuses on operations management issues relating to organizational structure and culture. It is generally believed that initiation, implementation, and employment of various operations management-related processes, practices, and technologies are predicated on supporting organizational characteristics. Case studies and anecdotal evidence have indicated that many firms do not realize the purported benefits of the implementation of a given "innovation", be it a new process, practice, or technology. The evidence suggests that most of the time the encountered problems are not technical in nature; they are usually "soft" problems, such as having an organizational culture that is not implicitly or explicitly supportive or an organizational structure that may not have a fit with the innovation that is to be implemented. It is also the case that many academics and practitioners are unequivocally advocating the adoption of certain practices, technologies, and processes as if they are universally compatible with any cultural environment. The purpose of this special issue is to publish the latest empirical research findings that relate operations management issues to organizational characteristics. Eight articles that explore a wide array of research issues concerning organizational structure, culture and operations management are published in this special issue. They vary from case studies to large-scale survey-based research efforts. Some of the articles have a manufacturing orientation, while others have a service industry emphasis.