Purpose - The study attempts to investigate the relationship between inventory management and firm performance using a multi-dimensional aspect of inventory management with respect to lean management practices across countries. Research design, data, and methodology - 1643 manufacturing firms from Japan and the US that SIC ranges from 2000 to 3999 were chosen to conduct the empirical test. This study employs hierarchical OLS regression analysis to examine the impact of control variables, ABI, EBI, and the interaction between ABI and EBI on firm performance. Results - The result indicates that in Japan high level of inventory negatively influences the accounting flows of business, while US manufactures exhibit strong positive impact of ELI on firm performance across accounting and market measures. The results show that the complementarity between the amount and the speed of inventory does exist. Except for Tobin's q, the sign of interaction term coefficient is negative, suggesting that when the amount of inventory increases and it stays longer in a firm, market values, ROS, and ROA suffers. Conclusions - The major finding of this study is that there exist some complementarities between the scope and implication of inventory management for lean strategy across countries, particularly in U.S. and Japanese firms.
Bartel, A., Ichniowski, C. & Shaw, K.(2007), "How Does Information Technology Affect Productivity? Plant-Level Comparisons of Product Innovation, Process Improvement, and Worker Skills", The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(4), 1721–1758.
Belsley, D.A., Kuh, E. & Welsch, R.E.(1980), Regression diagnostics, New York: Wiley.
Cannon, A.R.(2008), "Inventory improvement and financial performance", International Journal of Production Economics, 115(2), 581–593.
Capkun, V., Hameri, A.-P. & Weiss, L.A.(2009), "On the relationship between inventory and financial performance in manufacturing companies", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 29(8), 789–806.
Chen, H., Frank, M.Z. & Wu, O.Q.(2007), "U.S. Retail and Wholesale Inventory Performance from 1981 to 2004", Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 9(4), 430– 456.
Chen, H., Frank, M.Z. & Wu, O.Q.(2005), "What Actually Happened to the Inventories of American Companies Between 1981 and 2000?", Management Science, 51(7), 1015–1031.
Choi, B., Poon, S.K. & Davis, J.G.(2008), "Effects of knowledge management strategy on organizational performance: A complementarity theory-based approach", Omega, 36(2), 235–251.
Demeter, K. & Matyusz, Z.(2011), "The impact of lean practices on inventory turnover", International Journal of Production Economics, 133(1), 154–163.
Edgeworth, F.Y.(1881), "Mathematical psychics: An essay on the application of mathematics to the moral sciences", CK Paul. Available at: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Stok A A A AMA A J &o i = f n d & p g = P A 2 &d q = e d g eworth,+ methamatical+physics:+an+essay+on+application+& ots=v7qpaK6Zix&sig=mfcNr8bS1LTE6zKkysYG-o3GUP o [Accessed May 1, 2013].
Eroglu, C. & Hofer, C.(2011), "Lean, leaner, too lean? The inventory- performance link revisited", Journal of Operations Management, 29(4), 356–369.
Fairris, D. & Tohyama, H.(2002), "Productive Efficiency and the Lean Production System in Japan and the United States", Economic and Industrial Democracy, 23(4), 529–554.
Fliedner, G. & Majeske, K.(2010), "Sustainability: The New Lean Frontier", Production and Inventory Management Journal, 46(1), 6–13.
Fullerton, R.R., McWatters, C.S. & Fawson, C.(2003), "An examination of the relationships between JIT and financial performance", Journal of Operations Management, 21(4), 383–404.
Ichniowski, C., Shaw, K. & Prennushi, G.(1995), "The effects of human resource management practices on productivity", National Bureau of Economic Research. Available at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w5333 [Accessed May 1, 2013].
Ittner, C.D., Larcker, D.F. & Meyer, M.W.(2003), "Subjectivity and the Weighting of Performance Measures: Evidence from a Balanced Scorecard", The Accounting Review, 78(3), 725–758.
Jayaram, J., Vickery, S. & Droge, C.(2008), "Relationship building, lean strategy and firm performance: an exploratory study in the automotive supplier industry", International Journal of Production Research, 46(20), 5633–5649.
Kinney, M.R. & Wempe, W.F.(2002), "Further Evidence on the Extent and Origins of JIT’s Profitability Effects", The Accounting Review, 77(1), 203–225.
Lee, J. & Hall, E.H.(2008), "An Empirical Investigation of the "Halo" Effect of Financial Performance on the Relationships between Corporate Reputation and CEO Compensation", American Journal of Business Research, 1(1), 93–110.
Lee, J. & Roh, J.J.(2012), "Assessing global supply chains: perspectives on performance measures across leading countries", International Journal of Business Excellence, 5(5), 554–574.
Love, J.H. & Roper, S.(2009), "Organizing innovation: Complementarities between cross-functional teams", Technovation, 29(3), 192–203.
Mantovani, A.(2006), "Complementarity between product and process innovation in a monopoly setting", Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 15(3), 219–234.
Merchant, K.A. & Stede, W.A.V. der(2007), Management control systems: performance measurement, evaluation and incentives, New York, N.Y. :Financial Times/Prentice Hall.
Milgrom, P. & Roberts, J.(1995), "Complementarities and fit strategy, structure, and organizational change in manufacturing", Journal of Accounting and Economics, 19(2–3), 179–208.
Shah, R. & Ward, P.T.(2003), "Lean manufacturing: context, practice bundles, and performance", Journal of Operations Management, 21(2), 129–149.
Swamidass, P.M.(2007), "The effect of TPS on US manufacturing during 1981–1998: inventory increased or decreased as a function of plant performance", International Journal of Production Research, 45(16), 3763–3778.
Womack, J.P. & Jones, D.T.(2003), Lean thinking: banish waste and create wealth in your corporation, United Kingdom: Simon and Schuster.
Yang, M.G. (Mark), Hong, P. & Modi, S.B.(2011), "Impact of lean manufacturing and environmental management on business performance: An empirical study of manufacturing firms", International Journal of Production Economics, 129(2), 251– 261.
Yoder, S.K.(1994), "How H-P used tactics of the Japanese to beat them at their game", Wall Street Journal, 8 September, from: h t t p : / / c o u r s e s . e s s e x . a c . u k / e c / e c 2 6 1 / l e cture_ notes/EC261%20lecture%203%20case%20study%20-%20H P.pdf