Research On The Relationship Between Competitive Priorities Of Manufacturing Enterprises Based On Environmental Protection

Manufacturing industry has made a great contribution to the development of economy, and even has become a pillar industry in a country and region. Although creating a huge economic value, the manufacturing industry also exerts a harmful influence to the environment. Manufacturing enterprises consume a lot of resources and energy, discharge emissions of pollutants and wastes in the process of production and processing, which causes a series of problems such as resource depletion and environmental pollution. In recent years, environmental problems have become a hot issue in the world. China also attaches great importance to environmental protection.Environmental protection has become a basic national policy. As the focus of environmental monitoring industry, manufacturing enterprises should assume the responsibility of environmental protection. However, many manufacturing enterprises consider environmental protection as a burden, and think that the investing in environmental protection will weaken the competitiveness in other aspects of enterprises. Therefore, it is significant to study the influence of investment in environmental protection on manufacturing performance of manufacturing enterprises.In theory, this study will enrich the competitive priorities and fill the blank of competition priority research within the framework about the relationship between environmental protection and other competitive priority elements. In practice, this study will provide guidance for manufacturing enterprises about whether to invest in environmental protection, and how to balance the relationship between environmental protection and other competitive priority elements.Based on the competitive priority theory, this study incorporates the environmental protection factor into the competitive priority system, and makes an empirical study on the relationship between environmental protection and quality, flexibility, innovation,delivery and cost factors. Also, the study explores the differences between China and the developed countries as well as large and small manufacturing enterprises in terms of the relationship between environmental protection and quality, flexibility, innovation,delivery and cost factors. According to this, the theoretical model of the study is constructed. The data of the study comes from International Manufacturing Strategy Survey IV. This study uses 769 samples from 22 countries and regions to test thereliability and validity of the sample data. The study tries to verify the research hypotheses by utilizing structural equation model and multiple group analysis, and puts forward strategies and suggestions about implementing environmental management for manufacturing enterprises, Chinese manufacturing enterprises and small manufacturing enterprises.Empirical studies have found that environmental protection has a cumulative relationship with quality, flexibility, innovation, delivery and cost factors; Developed countries’ manufacturing enterprises are stronger than Chinese manufacturing enterprises in terms of the cumulative relationship between environmental protection and quality, flexibility, delivery and innovation factors. However, Chinese manufacturing enterprises are stronger than developed countries’ manufacturing enterprises in terms of the cumulative relationship between environmental protection and cost factor; Large manufacturing enterprises are stronger than small manufacturing enterprises in terms of the cumulative relationship between environmental protection and quality, flexibility, delivery and cost factors. However, small manufacturing enterprises are stronger than large manufacturing enterprises in terms of the cumulative relationship between environmental protection and innovation factor. According to the results of empirical research, this study provides the strategies and suggestions on how to improve the environmental performance for manufacturing enterprises, especially for Chinese manufacturing enterprises and small manufacturing enterprises.