A path analytical analysis of organizational integration practices’ effects on manufacturing flexibility and competitive advantage

To cope with an increasingly turbulent environment, manufacturing firms increasingly implement integration practices to enhance flexibility in the production process. This research develops a framework to explore the relationships among organizational integration practices, manufacturing flexibility, and competitive advantage. The study develops valid and reliable instruments to measure these constructs, and it applies structural equation modeling to test relationships among these variables using a large sample. The results indicate strong, positive, and direct relationships between organizational integration practices and manufacturing flexibility, and between manufacturing flexibility and competitive advantage. The results also indicate that organizational integration practices enhance competitive advantage directly as well as indirectly by facilitating manufacturing flexibility.