A study of organizational learning culture, strategic responsiveness and mass customization capabilities of United States manufacturing enterprises

To survive and thrive in an increasingly turbulent global competitive environment, theoretical literature suggests that U.S. manufacturers must acquire and maintain three strategic capabilities: (1) the ability to quickly learn what the customer wants, represented in this research as an 'organizational learning culture'; (2) the ability to deliver responsive products and services satisfying customer wants and customized to customer specifications, represented in this study by two constructs: 'strategic responsiveness capability' and 'mass customization capability'; (3) the ability to satisfy customer wants profitably and in ways that customers perceive as more valuable than the available competing alternatives, represented as 'value to customer performance'.; This confirmatory research used structural equation modeling to test five hypotheses represented in a structural model of the relationship among four main constructs: 'organizational learning culture', 'strategic responsiveness capability', ' mass customization capability' and 'value to customer performance'. Additionally, to test for moderating influences of the competitive environment, moderated regression analysis was performed to assess possible interaction effects of 'environmental turbulence' with 'strategic responsiveness capability ' and 'mass customization capability' on 'value to customer performance'.; This research suggests that an organizational learning culture enables the strategic responsiveness and mass customization capabilities that are necessary for achieving value to customer performance. Structural equation analysis was performed on data collected, via an electronic mail Internet based survey instrument, from 141 small, medium and large U.S. manufacturers, primarily from SIC codes 2800, 3000, and 3400--3800. This research contributes to theory by finding empirical evidence for the reliability and validity of these five constructs and by empirically testing the hypotheses proposed in the structural model of these constructs. Four of five main effects hypotheses were empirically supported, but the two hypotheses concerning the moderating influence of environmental turbulence were not supported by the data.; These results should provide valuable insight to both practitioners and scholars of manufacturing management. This study suggests some of the important practices associated with some of the strategic capabilities for better serving customers. Additionally, this research contributes to the evolution of internet-based email survey methodology, an emerging new means of data collection.