Pretesting Impact of Operational Complexity in Malaysia’s Electrical and Electronics Manufacturing Industry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v67.2763Keywords:
Operational complexity, quality management, questionnaire development, pretest, pilot testAbstract
Scientific research requires data collection instrument that is valid and reliable. This paper describes the framework and operationalization of the variables before outlining the process of developing the instrument to assess the impact of operational complexity (OC) on quality management (QM) practices and operational performance (OP) relationships in Malaysia’s Electrical and Electronics (E&E) manufacturing industry. It also highlights issues of common method bias, reliability and validity of the instrument, pretest method and response rate. The pretest result is then discussed. The paper concludes that personal interviews are especially effective in detecting ambiguity in the instrument. Pilot run provides insights to the challenges ahead such as low response rate, tedious data analysis procedures and enables informed decision to be made in preparation for full-scale data collection.
References
MIDA. 2011. Industries in Malaysia-Electrical and Electronics Industry. Available from: http://www.mida.gov.my/env3/index.php?page=ee. Access 16 Aug 2013.
Mucha, S. E. 2008. Find It. Book It. Grow It: A Robust Process for Account Acquisition in Electronics Manufacturing Services. PennWell Corporation.
Brown, D. and S. Wilson. 2005. The Black Book of Outsourcing. John Wiley & Sons.
Franceschini, F., M. Galetto, A. Pignatelli, and M. Varetto. 2003. Outsourcing: Guidelines for a Structured Approach. Benchmarking: An International Journal. 10(3): 246–260.
Kakabadse, N. and A. Kakabadse. 2000. Critical Review–Outsourcing: a Paradigm Shift. Journal of Management Development. 19(8): 670–728.
Embleton, P. R. and P. Wright. 1998. A Practical Guide to Successful Outsourcing. Empowerment in Organizations. 6(3): 94–106.
Quinn, J. B. and F. G. Hilmer. 1994. Strategic Outsourcing. Sloan Management Review. 35(4 Summer): 43–55.
Corbett, M. F. 2004. The Outsourcing Revolution: Why It Makes Sense and How to Do It Right. Dearborn Trade Publishing.
Gray, J. V., A. V. Roth., and B. Tomlin. 2009. Quality Risk in Outsourcing: Evidence from the U.S. Drug Industry. Ohio State University Working Paper, Fisher College of Business.
Sousa, R. and C. A. Voss. 2007. Operational Implications of Manufacturing Outsourcing for Subcontractor Plants: An Empirical Investigation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 27(9): 974–997.
Sousa, R. and C. A. Voss. 2008. Contingency Research in Operations Management Practices. Journal of Operations Management. 26(6): 697–713.
Zhang, D., K. Linderman and R. G. Schroeder. 2012. The Moderating Role of Contextual Factors on Quality Management Practices. Journal of Operations Management. 30(1–2): 12–23.
Baron, R. M., & D. A. Kenny. 1986. The Moderator-Mediator Variable Distinctionin Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 51(6): 1173–1182.
He, Z., J. Hill, P. Wang and G. Yue. 2011. Validation of the Theoretical Model Underlying the Baldrige Criteria: Evidence from China. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. 22(2): 243–263.
Ghosh, S., R. B Handfield, V. R. Kannan, and K. C. Tan. 2003. A Structural Model Analysis of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework. International Journal of Management and Decision Making. 4(4): 289–311.
Curkovic, S., S. Melnyk, R. Calantone and R. Handfield. 2000. Validating the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Framework through Structural Equation Modelling. International Journal of Production Research. 38(4): 765–791.
Schroeder, R. G., K. A Bates and M. A. Junttila. 2002. A Resource-Based View of Manufacturing Strategy and the Relationship to Manufacturing Performance. Strategic Management Journal. 23(2): 105–117
Fotopoulos, C. V. and E. L. Psomas. 2010. The Structural Relationships Between TQM Factors and Organizational Performance. The TQM Journal. 22(5): 539–552.
Arumugam, V., K-B. Ooi, and T-C. Fong. 2008. TQM Practices and Quality Management Performance: An Investigation of Their Relationship Using Data from ISO 9001:2000 Firms in Malaysia. The TQM Journal. 20(6): 636–650.
Terziovski, M. 2006. Quality Management Practices and Their Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and Productivity Improvement. Management Research News. 29(7): 414–424.
Samson, D. and M. Terziovski. 1999. The Relationship Between Total Quality Management Practices and Operational Performance. Journal of Operations Management. 17(4): 393–409.
Vachon, S. and R. D. Klassen. 2002. An Exploratory Investigation of the Effects of Supply Chain Complexity on Delivery Performance. Engineering Management, IEEE Transactions on. 49(3): 218–230.
Galbraith, J. 1973. Designing Complex Organizations. Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Veera Pandiyan, K. S. and G. V. G. R. Chandran. 2009. A Simple Guide for Business Undergraduates: Research Methods. Shah Alam: University Publication Centre, UiTM.
Hinkin, T. R. 1995. A Review of Scale Development Practices in the Study of Organizations. Journal of Management. 21(5): 967–988.
Hunt, S. D., J. Sparkman, Richard D. and J. B. Wilcox. 1982. The Pretest in Survey Research: Issues and Preliminary Findings. Journal of Marketing Research. 19(2): 269–273.
Sekaran, U. 2007. Research Method for Business, A Skill Building Approach. 4th ed. India: John Wiley & Sons.
Punch, K. F. 2003. Survey Research. London: Sage Publications.
NIST. 2011. Are we making progress? In U. D. o. Commerce (Ed.). USA: National Institute of Standard and Technology.
Saraph, J. V., P. G. Benson, and R. G. Schroeder. 1989. An Instrument for Measuring the Critical Factors of Quality Management. Decision Sciences. 20(4): 810–829.
Kaynak, H. and J. L. Hartley. 2008. A Replication and Extension of Quality Management Into the Supply Chain. Journal of Operations Management. 26(4): 468–489.
Sila, I. and M. Ebrahimpour. 2005. Critical Linkages among TQM Factors and Business Results. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 25(11): 1123–1155.
Flynn, B. B., R. G. Schroeder, and S. Sakakibara. 1994. A Framework for Quality Management Research and an Associated Measurement Instrument. Journal of Operations Management. 11(4): 339–366.
Ahire, S. L. and P. Dreyfus. 2000. The Impact of Design Management and Process Management on Quality: An Empirical Investigation. Journal of Operations Management. 18(5): 549–575.
Ward, P. T., J. K. McCreery, L. P. Ritzman and D. Sharma. 1998. Competitive Priorities in Operations Management. Decision Sciences 29(4): 1037–1048.
Guimaraes, T., N. Martensson, J. Stahre and M.Igbaria. 1999. Empirically testing the impact of manufacturing system complexity on performance. International Journal of Operations and Production Management. 19(12): 1254–1269.
Novak, S. and S. D. Eppinger. 2001. Sourcing by Design: Product Complexity and the Supply Chain. Management Science. 47(1): 189–204.
Mapes, J., M. Szwejczewski, and C. New. 2000. Process Variability and Its Effect on Plant Performance. International Journal of Operations and Production Management. 20(7): 792–808.
Utterback, J. M. and W. J. Abernathy. 1975. A Dynamic Model of Process and Product Innovation. Omega. 3(6): 639–656.
Levy, D. 1994. Chaos Theory and Strategy: Theory, Application and Managerial Implications. Strategic Management Journal. 15: 167–178.
Awang, Z. and J. T. Ariffin. 2012. Reserach Proposal: A Comprehensive Guide in Writing a Research Proposal. UiTM Press.
Hair, J., et al., G. T. M. Hult, C. Ringle, and M. Sarstedt. 2014. A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Nunnally, J. C. and I. H. Bernstein. 1994. Psychimetric Theory. New York: McGraw Hill
Podsakoff, P. M., S. B. MacKenzie, and N. P. Podsakoff. 2012. Sources of Method Bias in Social Science Research and Recommendations on How to Control It. Annual Review of Psychology. 63: 539–569.
Chang, S.-J., A. v. Witteloostuijn, and L. Eden. 2010. From the Editors: Common Method Variance in International Business Research. Journal of International Business Studies. 41: 178–184.
Edwards, J. 2008. To Prosper, Organizational Psychology Should Overcome Methodological Barriers to Progress. Journal of organization Behaviour. 29: 469–491.
Podsakoff, P. M., S. B. MacKenzie, N. P. Podsakoff, and J-Y. Lee. 2003. Common Method Biases in Behavioral Research: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommended Remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology. 88(5): 879–903.
Johnson, R. E., C. C. Rosen, and E. Djurdjevic. 2011. Assessing the Impact of Common Method Variance on Higher Order Multidimensional Constructs. Journal of Applied Psychology. 96(4): 744–76.
June, S. and R. Mahmood. 2011. The Relationship between Person-job Fit and Job Performance: A Study among the Employees of the Service Sector SMEs in Malaysia. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology. 1(2): 95–105.
Johanson, G. A. and G. P. Brooks. 2010. Initial Scale Development: Sample Size for Pilot Studies. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 70(30): 394–400.
Baruch, Y. and B. C. Holtom. 2008. Survey Response Rate Levels and Trends in Organizational Research. Human Relations. 61: 1139–1160.
Bartlett, J. E. I., J. W. Kotrlik, and C. C. Higgins. 2001. Organizational Research: Determining Appropriate Sample Size in Survey Research. Information Technology, Learning, and Performance journal. 19(1): 43–50.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright of articles that appear in Jurnal Teknologi belongs exclusively to Penerbit Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Penerbit UTM Press). This copyright covers the rights to reproduce the article, including reprints, electronic reproductions, or any other reproductions of similar nature.
