The role of organizational context and infrastructure practices in JIT implementation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze which factors determine the use of just‐in‐time (JIT) in companies. More precisely, the paper aims to study the role played by two variables of organizational context (size and age) and three infrastructure practices (advanced manufacturing technologies – AMT, quality management, and work organization).Design/methodology/approach – The hypotheses were tested using data collected from 203 manufacturing plants with at least 20 employees. Data were collected by means of personal interviews with plant managers. Regression analyses have been performed to test the hypotheses.Findings – The results reveal the existence of diversity in the factors that affect the use of the different components of JIT. Infrastructure practices are shown to be more determining than contextual factors. This happens in particular with AMT, basic quality tools and the management of the relationships with suppliers and customers.Research limitations/implications – The main limitations ...

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