The rapid development of information technology (IT) has impacted the competitive environment between properties. Today, more and more companies introduce information system to flow internal messages freely, reduce the communication cost and provide support the important messages to managers for fast decision. By this way, the enterprise could maintain its competitive advantage. To introduce the information system¡]IS¡^ is really costly, companies should probe the effects before and after the investment of IS . We have learned from literatures that measurement of service quality is the proper means to gauge the information system. This study is to assess information system at the base of ¡uIS-adapted SERVQUAL instrument¡v and ¡uThree-column format¡v. A survey, which adapted to individual company, was conducted with some measures modified from the viewpoint of captioned company. 436 valid samples were taken from more than 8600 employees by stratified random sampling. The major findings are (1) instead of four dimensions expected from the original model, only two service components, attitude perspective and skill perspective, are identified in the service quality of information system for manufacturing industry,¡]2¡^the difference between ¡¥perceive quality¡¦ and ¡¥self-confident quality¡¦ is significant, ¡]3¡^Following the demographic variables among ages, positions, working departments and academic degrees, it appears no significant difference in the attitude perspective and skill perspective of service quality concerning information system.

This study is about the relations between ¡§technology innovation kinds¡¨ and ¡§knowledge management kinds¡¨, and takes ¡§the performance of new product development¡¨ for measuring it. The concept of technology innovation kinds is by Henderson and Clark(1990), which depends on the ¡§Component knowledge¡¨ and ¡§Architectural knowledge¡¨ enhanced or destroyed, gets 4 kinds: incremental¡BArchitectural¡BModular¡Band Radical. On the other hand, concept of knowledge management kinds is developed by this study, which depends on ¡§the environment for sharing knowledge¡¨ formal or informal; ¡§the source of knowledge¡¨ from inside the company or outside, gets 4 kinds: database¡Bspace for communicate¡Bnetwork¡Band real time communicate. Besides 4 cases for explaining the relations, this study uses statistic for studying manufacturing industry, and finds: 1. Every of the technology innovation kinds prefers its own knowledge management kinds. Like: ¡¨ incremental¡¨ prefers ¡§ database¡¨¡B¡¨ Architectural¡¨ prefers ¡§space for communicate¡¨¡B¡¨Modular¡¨ prefers ¡§network¡¨¡Band ¡§Radical¡¨ prefers ¡§real time communicate¡¨. 2. The technology innovation kinds correspond to its own knowledge management kinds, and the performance of new product development will be higher. 3. The high-tech industry¡¦s new product development performance is higher than the traditional industry¡¦s as their innovation kinds correspond to its own knowledge management kinds. 4. The smaller company¡¦s new product development performance is higher than the larger one as their technology innovation kinds correspond to its own knowledge management kinds.

One of the most enigmatic phenomena to explain in social and business sciences is the functioning and economic growth of organisations and national economies. This is testified by the several theoretical frameworks, which, with varying degrees of success, attempt to unravel the growth puzzle. This dissertation focuses on the network theory, with particular reference to small business growth in the contemporary competitive global economy. The primary focus is the isolation thesis which maintains that although small business growth is constrained by a number of factors, isolation rather than size is the key problem and that the answer lies in networking and clustering. Hypothesising that fraternal network is the most significant type of network for small business growth, the dissertation investigates the structural properties of networks in relation to the performance of the small clothing manufacturing enterprises (SCMEs) in the Durban Metropolitan Area (DMA). Combining qualitative and quantitative research approaches, descriptive network data and hermeneutic analyses, the dissertation argues that the growth and development of small business may be understood by the framework of relationships between the scopes of fraternal and factor networks, the medium of communication and the human factor. The dissertation empirically confirms the isolation thesis and the widely documented view that networks have positive impact on business performance although they could also be detrimental. The study finds that although clustering may be necessary it is certainly not a sufficient condition for inter-firm co-operation and joint action to a level that promotes individual firm performance and collective efficiency. The study argues that the widely documented poor performance of the clothing industry in the Durban Metropolis is, to a large extent, due to inadequate network relationships. The observed minimal network relationships among the sampled firms is largely the result of human factor decay manifesting as mistrust, selfishness, dishonesty, greed etc. Conceding that human factor decay is largely a consequence of the process of modernisation or the transition from Germeinschaft (Community) to Gesellschaft (Association), the dissertation maintains that human factor decay among the sampled SCMEs is exacerbated by the apartheid system, which undermined social and economic relationships. Of the three types of networks identified in the literature - factor, fraternal and communication networks - the study confirms the latter as the most significant to SCMEs in Durban. The study also confirms the view that the use of electronic networks or new information and communication technologies (ICTs) contributes significantly to economic performance. Although reverse causality is a possibility, the dissertation concludes that small firms are likely to be better off through increased electronic connectivity, as compared to face-to-face (FTF) interactions. By this finding and conclusion the study, on one hand, fails to confirm the hypothesis that fraternal networks are the most significant types of networks among the SCMEs in Durban. On the other hand, it confirms Castells' theory of a universal trend of social change towards a network society, a global informational economy and a culture of 'real virtuality'. The impact of ICTs use on the effectiveness and efficiency of networks, however, depends on the scope of networks but more importantly, on the human factor (HF) i.e., appropriate human personality traits, e.g., information management skills and knowledge, trust, honesty, reciprocity, loyalty and creativity. In the concluding chapter, the dissertation explores the policy implications of the findings and offers recommendations that could inform trade and industrial policy for small business growth and development through the network perspective. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

Reverse logistics is different from forward logistics in objectives, operations, pricing, quality, quantity, packaging, product and information flow. Further, management of the returned products and their information is a major challenge since it is difficult to predict the time, place of origin, quantity and quality of the goods that will be returned. To establish the importance of reverse logistics as a business process and to understand related issues for information management, this research was undertaken with data from the Australian Manufacturing and E-Business organisations. This research examined six dimensions of reverse logistics. These were: (1) Factors that compel Manufacturing and E-Business organisations to manage reverse logistics; (2) Operations in product return process; (3) Methods of capturing value from returned goods; (4) Barriers to reverse logistics management; (5) Information management issues in reverse logistics; and (6) Product return trends in the E-Business industry. This research was exploratory in nature and was accomplished via a quantitative research method. It adopted a positivist epistemology and followed a deductive approach to capture reverse logistics knowledge. Research data from Manufacturing and E-Business industries was elicited with postal questionnaire surveys using structured questions. Since the data collected from the two main surveys was mainly nominal and ordinal, it was quantitatively analysed using non-parametric tests, Fisher's exact test and one sample Wilcoxon test. It also employed frequency distributions, binomial test and one sample t-test. An additional statistical test was carried out on each set of data to triangulate the finding. The tests were undertaken in Minitab spreadsheet computer packages. This research highlights the fact that reverse logistics management is an important business process in the Australian Manufacturing and E-Business industries. It is a strategic advantage, as well as an important customer service. Although substantial monetary value can be recovered from returned goods, at present two industries investigated have not tapped into this potential. Findings of this research also indicate that a lack of efficient information management is a problem in reverse logistics. Information management in the two industries is based on land-line telephone, fax and computers. This research identified that from E-Business sales error in ordering, customer change of mind on receipt of good and inefficient forward logistics operations (picking, packing and delivery) are important reasons for returns. It also established that e-businesses resell the returned goods and recapture value. The value recovery process in this industry is different from the manufacturing industries where the prevalent value recovery processes are repair, resale and recycle. Further research issues emanating from this project include evaluation methods for recapturing value from returned goods, effective information management strategies for return management and the impact of a law for returning certain types of used goods. This research is an initial effort undertaken to establish returns management in the Australian industries. It establishes that reverse logistics should be recognised as a business process in these industries.

The objectives of this research project are threefold: (1) to identify the key marketing innovation factors which drive successful export marketing strategy in Thai manufacturing companies, (2) to test the proposed model 'The Full Model of Export Performance' on Thai export manufacturing companies, and (3) to suggest recommendations to Thai export manufacturing companies in order to improve their export performance.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Örebro : Univ., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Örebro : Örebro universitet, 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Linköpings universitet, 2006. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Abstract Supply chain performance measurement – the process of qualifying the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain. The aim of this study is to create a supply chain measurement framework for manufacturing industry, define what data should be measured and verify the measurement framework in the case company's supply chain. The research approach is hermeneutic and the research was a qualitative, constructive single case study research. The case company operates in the steel industry and provides prefabricated products for customers. The case supply chain was defined to be one supply chain in a plant where prefabricated products are produced. There is a review of the current understanding of supply chain management and literature related to supply chain performance measurement and the study creates a framework for supply chain measurement. This study presents the main theory framework of supply chain performance measurement. The key elements for the measurement framework were defined as time, profitability, order book analysis and managerial analysis. The measurement framework is tested by measuring case supply chain performance. The measurement framework is a valid framework for supply chain performance measurement in manufacturing industry. It is stated that supply chain performance measurement is extremely important in developing supply chain. The measurement framework in this study offers guidelines for measuring the supply chain in manufacturing industry but the measurement framework could be used in different areas of industry as well.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Psychological capital (PsyCap), the four dimensions of PsyCap and Perceived Wellness are viewed as positive constructs. Research indicated these positive constructs has a beneficial or positive effect on the organisation's financial performance.. Furthermore, health and wellness awareness is lacking especially in the production-driven manufacturing industry where the profit motive is of paramount importance. The research study used a cross-sectional design, measuring Psychological capital and Perceived wellness using questionnaires in the form of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) and the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS), respectively. These questionnaires are self-report measures, which were distributed to a sample of employees from the manufacturing industry (n = 160) in the Western Cape. Various studies both locally and abroad confirmed that the respective measures are both valid and reliable, However, the applicability in South African organisations requires further exploration.The present study aimed to determine what effect the factors of psychological capital had on the wellness of employees. The relationship between psychological capital and its effect on employees' wellness was assessed using Pearson correlation, Analysis of variance and Multiple regression analysis. Based on the findings, there was no significant relationshipfound between psychological capital and the wellness amongst the sample employees in the manufacturing industry. This is however contradictory to what studies found researching similar constructs.