Strategic manufacturing planning: Examining the relationship between planning system design, manufacturing context, and planning effectiveness

Academics and practitioners alike have begun to recognize the importance of the manufacturing strategy. Accordingly, research in this area has increased in the last decade. However, the focus of much of that research has been the content of the manufacturing strategy and the alignment of the business and manufacturing strategies. Little research has addressed the manufacturing strategy process despite calls for more research in this area and the expectation that the process, like the content, will affect performance. One area of process in the strategic management and information systems fields is strategic planning where results indicate the importance of the planning system utilized. Yet very little research in the manufacturing strategy area has addressed this issue.;The current research attempts to capture some of the important elements of the strategic manufacturing planning process, specifically the strategic manufacturing planning system design, the manufacturing context, and planning system success. The objective of this research is to understand the current state of strategic manufacturing planning systems, the effectiveness of those systems, and the nature of the relationship between the strategic manufacturing planning process elements. Based on related research, hypotheses were developed for the primary moderating model and the alternative mediating model. This dissertation empirically investigates these issues through formal survey of approximately two hundred top manufacturing executives.;The findings of this research suggest that a variety of strategic manufacturing planning systems are currently being used. These planning systems were successfully operationalized along the multiple dimension of: flow, formality, comprehensiveness, focus, participation, intensity, horizon, and involvement of the manufacturing executive. The findings indicate that a hybrid strategic manufacturing planning system (termed "rational adaptive") is associated with greater planning system success (objective fulfillment, capability improvement, and strategy alignment.;The findings also indicate that the nature of the relationship between strategic manufacturing planning system design and planning system success is moderated by the manufacturing context (product and process dynamism and complexity). Specifically, the use of a rational adaptive planning system was even more beneficial in dynamic or complex manufacturing contexts suggesting the need for control and coordination in such situations as well as responsiveness.