PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study how, in recent decades, manufacturing sites have reacted to changes in their business environment by developing their management practices. This also makes it possible to predict the behavior and lifecycles of the new practices adopted by companies.Design/methodology/approachThe study is longitudinal, conducted in 1993, 2004 and 2010. It used a standard questionnaire, based on the “Made in Europe” benchmarking study. The results were analysed by Friedman's rank order method. The use of a three (or more) data‐point longitudinal study is the clearest way to reveal changes in, and the behaviour of, the practices.FindingsThe data suggest that there is a lifecycle for the practices used in companies and that many of the practices adopted in the late 1990s are already out of date. However, personnel‐related practices seem to last longer than process‐related practices. Furthermore, these practices seem to follow the curve of the Bass diffusion model.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are restricted to the sample which is quite small in size, but gives a good insight into the changes occurring within it. This research excludes new practices adopted in recent years, and uses only the questions designed for the first year in which the study was conducted. However, its purpose is to show the evolution of some practices in the form of a unique, longitudinal study. The study also indicates the lifecycles of the practices included in the sample.Originality/valueThis study is the only longitudinal study in its field to use data from three different time periods. It can thus look into and analyze change from a unique perspective.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of lean in a longitudinal context. Lean is currently experiencing its second coming. In spite of this, the current body of research on lean is especially lacking in longitudinal studies. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used in this study is a longitudinal case study. The authors combined elements of multiple-case study and survey research by analyzing interview data on the same 23 Finnish manufacturing firms at three distinct points in time (1993, 2004 and 2010) with a methodology called qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) that is novel to the field. Findings The “thick” results of our exploratory contingency theoretic analysis suggest that the holistic and adaptive use of lean bundles is effective. It seems that especially the firm status of ownership and the phase of the business cycle exert an impact on successful lean bundle use. There is also evidence that a certain maturation effect takes place within lean bundle use: lean is increasingly being used as a complete management philosophy. Research limitations/implications The authors hope that this research encourages researchers to use more QCA in their research, especially with small samples. Originality/value This is a unique longitudinal study on the same 23 manufacturing firms and their development. Furthermore, this study opens new avenues for lean theory development, introduces a new methodology to the field and helps decision makers to gain a better understanding of the long-term dynamics of lean.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities and pitfalls of longitudinal studies in the field of operations management (OM). Design/methodology/approach -A longitudinal study conducted in Finland was analyzed from the methodological point of view. In the theoretical part, a framework for analyses was created by studying the literature of longitudinal studies within and without the OM field. Findings -Longitudinal studies are important in revealing root-cause effects. They are particularly important in generating new ideas and theories and in questioning old ones. However, longitudinal studies are somewhat difficult to conduct and some unexpected challenges may arise, such as the effect of technology development on data retrieval.Research limitations/implications -The analyses in this study are based on the data obtained in a longitudinal study conducted in the years 1993, 2004 and 2010. The sample in the longitudinal study is quite small for real quantitative statistical analysis, and therefore the conclusions made here are only indicative. However, the purpose of this study is to give some hints and guidance, and thus the lessons learned are valuable. Originality/value -There are only a few studies describing methodological issues in longitudinal studies in the field of OM, and most of these studies are purely theoretical and do not refer to real experiences. This appears to be one of the first studies describing real experiences from a longitudinal study.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the use and effect of benchmarking in manufacturing companies.Design/methodology/approachA total of 23 companies were interviewed longitudinally in 1993, 2004 and 2010. For the study a standard questionnaire was used, and the questions asked concerned the best practices used in the companies and their operational performance.FindingsThe use of benchmarking has changed a lot over the last 15 years. It grew a lot after the first study was made, but by the time of the third study it had shrunk to the same level as in 1993. There may be several reasons for that, but, as the data indicates, there is no clear relation between the use of benchmarking and operational results, which may be one reason.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the small sample size the results are only indicative and more research is needed in this area. Furthermore, there may also be several other reasons affecting the performance of companies. It is always risky to claim that the use of a certain best practice is the only reason for a performance improvement. One implication is that certain best practices may not be suitable at all levels of operation and that therefore they need to be applied and used carefully.Originality/valueThis study is the only longitudinal study in this field using data from three different periods of time. This gives a unique perspective to critically study the changes in, and consequences of, the use of certain practices.