Production and Operations Management 2003

ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE AS A DRIVER OF SUPERIOR QUALITY

Frits K. Pil^1,2; Sandra Rothenberg^3,4

¹ University of Pittsburgh · ² Clinical Research Organization · ³ Rochester Institute of Technology · ⁴ Institute for Environmental Management

Abstract

We explore theoretically and empirically how efforts to enhance environmental performance may enable other types of manufacturing improvements. Drawing on a unique data set comprised of detailed surveys of 42 automotive assembly plants, associated quality metrics, and in‐depth qualitative data from 17 automotive assembly plants, we show that attaining superior environmental performance can be a significant driver of superior quality. We highlight the synergistic and reciprocal nature of environmental and broader manufacturing improvement efforts, and show that environmental improvement tools and know‐how can be an important source of competitive advantage.

DOI

10.1111/j.1937-5956.2003.tb00211.x

Sources

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APA 7 MLA 9 Chicago (author–date) Harvard Elsevier Harvard (JFE, JBF…) The Accounting Review Academy of Management American Marketing Association INFORMS (Management Science) Copy citation Copied ✓