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Purpose -To analyze the impact of the adoption of just-in-time (JIT) production systems by different equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on the inventory profiles of their suppliers. Design/methodology/approach -The research is designed to examine five financial measures of inventory management performance over the years 1994-2004. Three specific industry sectors where OEMs have adopted and implemented JIT principles are studied. These sectors include the automotive, electronics, and aircraft industries. A one factor analysis of variance is employed to the five hypotheses and Tukey's post-hoc test is used to interpret statistical pairwise differences between level means. Findings -Overall, the research finds that OEM suppliers in the automotive, electronics, and aircraft sectors have shown mixed results in the impact JIT implementation has had on inventory performance measures.Research limitations/implications -The research focuses on three industrial sectors over approximately a ten year time frame that may limit its generalizability. Practical implications -The processes that influence the reduction in inventory levels may be in fact more complex and strategic in nature than an OEM adopting a JIT inventory policy. In general, strategic changes within the supplier organization would have to drive process improvements that lead to inventory reductions. Originality/value -The paper provides focused research in an area that has received little attention in the current literature and is very topical to all academics and business professionals interested or involved in the area of JIT systems.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on radio frequency identification (RFID) acceptance and examine three understudied drivers: a company's satisfaction with existing logistics technologies, its logistics technology readiness (technology optimism and technology innovativeness), and relationship hostage position. The proposed conceptual model also investigates the impacts of RFID acceptance and these three antecedents on the company's logistics performance.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from the members of three professional associations in the USA. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed relationships.FindingsAccording to the analysis results, a company's satisfaction with existing technology has negative impact on RFID acceptance, and technology readiness has positive impact on RFID acceptance. However, the relationship between a company's hostage position and RFID acceptance was found to be only partially significant. Also, the positive relationship between a company's RFID acceptance and its logistics performance is confirmed in this study. Furthermore, while a company's satisfaction with existing technology and technology innovativeness were found to be positively related to logistics performance, its technology optimism and hostage position were not significant related to its logistics performance.Practical implicationsThis research confirms that a company's RFID acceptance is positively related to logistics performance. Therefore, even if a company is satisfied with its existing technologies, careful evaluation is warranted to determine if RFID as a new technology is needed to maintain the company's logistics performance in a dynamic environment. Also, this research suggests that supply chain members should be extremely cautious about the power usage toward its partners, because the authors' results show that forcing other partners to take cooperative actions may not yield the desired results.Originality/valueThis is first study examining RFID technology through a behavioral perspective. A new construct, RFID acceptance, was proposed, and related measurement scale was developed and tested along with its antecedents and outcomes.

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