Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of transformational leadership on employees’ creativity in the Jordanian banking sector through the mediating effect of perceived organizational support.




Design/methodology/approach




The study is based on survey data collected from 369 employees working in Jordanian banks. Validity and reliability analyses were performed, and direct and indirect effects were tested using structural equation modeling.




Findings




The results indicate that transformational leadership positively affects some dimensions of employees’ creativity and perceived organizational support. However, perceived organizational support is found to not be significantly related to some dimensions of employees’ creativity. Additionally, the mediating effect of perceived organizational support on the relationship between transformational leadership and some dimensions of employees’ creativity is found to not be significant.




Originality/value




This paper is one of the first to examine the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ creativity through perceived organizational support, especially in an Arab country and in the banking sector.

The impact of transformational leadership on employees’ creativity: The mediating role of perceived organizational support

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) on environmental performance (EP) and export performance in the context of a developing country, Jordan. In addition, the mediating effect of EP on the relationship between GSCM and export performance is investigated.,The study is based on survey data collected from 221 manufacturing companies in Jordan. The companies were selected from different industry types to ensure diversity. Validity and reliability analyses were performed using SPSS and Amos, and structural equation modeling was used to test the study hypotheses.,The results revealed that GSCM positively and significantly affects both EP and export performance. In addition, the results demonstrated that EP positively and significantly affects export performance. Further, it is also found that EP positively and significantly mediates the relationship between GSCM and export performance.,The current study is one of the first to investigate the impact of GSCM on export performance, especially in the context of a developing country. In addition, this study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the mediating effect of EP on GSCM—export performance relationship. GSCM is an under-investigated area in Jordan. The results are expected to promote GSCM implementation among manufacturing companies in Jordan in order to achieve economic benefits by increasing their exports through improvements in EP.

Green supply chain management and export performance

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of innovation orientation (IO) on both the implementation levels of soft and hard lean management (LM), as well as innovation performance. It also aims at exploring the effects of soft and hard LM on innovation performance.,The study analyzes survey data collected as a part of a high-performance manufacturing (HPM) project from 238 international manufacturing companies in eight countries and three industries. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied to assess construct validity. The study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.,The results demonstrated that innovation-oriented companies tend to adopt aspects of both soft and hard LM. However, the results revealed an insignificant effect of soft and hard LM on innovation performance. The study also showed that innovation performance is positively influenced by an IO. These results indicate that having an IO is vital for enhancing both LM as well as innovation performance. They also evidently suggest that LM is more related to continuous improvement (incremental innovation) rather than (radical) innovation and, as such, is not important for firm’s intent on enhancing their innovation performance.,The current study demonstrates that IO and LM are complementary and not contradicting strategies. The two strategies share many cultural aspects, similarities and commonalities. However, LM is not sufficient to predict innovation performance. Managers of the surveyed manufacturing firms are advised to focus on IO, as it has beneficial impacts on both LM (continuous improvement initiatives) as well as innovation performance. This clearly indicates that placing the emphasis upon radical (innovative) improvement rather than incremental improvement (LM practices) is believed to support continuous and innovative improvement alike.,The relationship between LM and innovation is debated in the existing literature, but the debate is characterized by a lack of empirical evidence. This is one of the first studies that empirically investigates the relationships between IO, LM and innovation performance. It identifies some new insights to direct future research, particularly regarding different innovation types as well as in service organizations.

Lean management and innovation performance: Evidence from international manufacturing companies

The current study aims to investigate the effect of lean supply chain management practices on supply chain performance and market performance in manufacturing companies in Jordan. Five lean supply chain management practices were identified based on an extensive literature review, just-in-time system, flow of information, supplier relationship, customer relationship, and waste reduction. To achieve the study goals, a survey questionnaire was prepared and distributed to managers of 400 manufacturing companies from different sectors and sizes. The final number of returned usable questionnaires was 308, representing a response rate of 77%. The results revealed positive and significant effects of three lean supply chain management practices on market performance, namely, JIT system, flow of information, and customer relationship. In  addition, all lean supply chain management practices showed positive and significant effects on supply chain performance. Furthermore, supply chain performance demonstrated a positive and significant effect on market performance.

https://ojs.excelingtech.co.uk/index.php/IJSCM/article/download/1844/1002

Lean Supply Chain Management Practices and Performance: Empirical Evidence from Manufacturing Companies

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of soft total quality management (TQM) on organizational performance in the Jordanian pharmaceutical manufacturing sector using the balanced scorecard (BSC) perspective. It also examines the indirect effect of soft TQM on financial performance through BSC non-financial perspectives.,The study is based on survey data collected from 197 employees in managerial and non-managerial positions working in Jordanian pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. Validity and reliability analyses were performed, and the study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.,The results indicated that soft TQM positively affected all BSC perspectives. Customer perspective positively affected financial performance while innovation and learning perspective and internal business process perspective did not. In addition, only customer perspective significantly mediated the relationship between soft TQM and financial performance.,This is one of the first papers to examine the effect of soft TQM on organizational performance in terms of BSC perspective in the pharmaceutical sector. In addition, this paper is the first to examine the mediating effects of the BSC non-financial perspectives on the relationship between soft TQM and financial performance.

The impact of soft TQM on financial performance: The mediating roles of non-financial balanced scorecard perspectives

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of knowledge management (KM) on product and process innovations, as well as on operational performance (OP). In addition, the effects of product and process innovations on OP, as well as their mediating effects on the relationship between KM and OP, are also investigated.




Design/methodology/approach




A questionnaire-based survey was designed and used to collect data from 207 manufacturing companies operating in the Jordanian capital Amman. To assess construct validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. To test research hypotheses, the bootstrap re-sampling method was applied using Hayes’s SPSS multiple-mediator PROCESS macro.




Findings




The results indicate that KM has significant positive effects on product and process innovations, and OP. Process innovation was found to have a significant positive effect on OP, while product innovation was not. Furthermore, only process innovation was found to significantly mediate the KM-OP relationship.




Practical implications




The findings of this study provide useful insights about the role of KM in facilitating and enhancing product and process innovations, as well as OP in the surveyed manufacturing companies. An important implication concerns the roles of product and process innovations. Manufacturing companies seeking improvements in their OP are recommended to focus on process innovation rather than product innovation. While product innovation may affect other aspects of performance, such as market and financial ones, it was not found to significantly affect OP. Process innovation can also leverage KM’s contribution to manufacturing companies’ OP.




Originality/value




This is a pioneering study in that it developed an integrated model that depicts the interrelationships among KM, product innovation and process innovation and OP, in a developing country context.

The mediating role of product and process innovations on the relationship between knowledge management and operational performance in manufacturing companies in Jordan

Ahmad Fathi Al-Sa’di

Papers

The mediating role of product and process innovations on the relationship between knowledge management and operational performance in manufacturing companies in Jordan