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Nowadays, green supplier selection (GSS) is one of the most important activities for companies. Therefore, this research aims to demonstrate the relationship that exists between GSS and the marketing benefits of companies. The chapter proposes a structural equation model that integrates three latent variables. The two independent latent variables concern preproduction green attributes and process green attributes, and they are associated with a dependent latent variable: marketing indexes. Thus, three hypotheses are proposed to relate these latent variables. To validate such hypotheses, a survey is administered to 253 middle and senior managers from the manufacturing industry of Ciudad Juárez. Similarly, a descriptive analysis of the sample and the items is carried out. Results show direct and positive effects among the analyzed variables. However, the highest impact is caused by preproduction green attributes over production process green attributes.

This chapter presents some data related to the evolution of total productive maintenance in recent decades, specifically from 1994. As a matter of fact, the data is organized according to the type of publication, the published, number as well as the TPM use trend, information is presented on the number of published articles by each journal, the authors that publish information about TPM, and the industrial sectors that implement this tool. In addition, the data was obtained from a literature review in different databases, where keywords were used such as total productive maintenance (TPM). Also, the results show that in 2015, it was the year where more papers were published about TPM, the most common type of publication is research articles with 714, the journal with the most reported publications is International Journal of Production Economics, the sector that uses it more is the construction of industrial buildings, and the editorial that has published the most is Taylor & Francis LTD. Similarly, a series of case studies are included that demonstrate the success of the TPM implementation, both in the manufacturing industry and in-service companies.

In this chapter, a description from a total of 75 critical success factors for the total productive maintenance (TPM) implementation program within the industry is reported, these critical success factors were divided into 2 categories: activities related to the human factor and activities related to the operative factor, which is briefly described.

Throughout this chapter, the main benefits that can be obtained with the effective TPM implementation are exposed. In addition, these benefits have been identified from the literature review previously written, including a total of 22 benefits (observed variables) divided into three categories: Benefits for the company, productivity benefits, and safety benefits. Also, a brief description of each element is presented.

In this chapter, two structural equation models are presented. The first one refers to a model that integrates two technical variables and two benefits, while the second model is an integrator, since it integrates the Human factor independent latent variable where the independent Operating factor and Benefits latent variables intervene in the total productive maintenance programs implementing process. In addition, each of the latent variables is validated and the model is evaluated through the partial least squares technique. Also, the direct effects, indirect effect, and total effects between the variables are measured. Similarly, a series of industrial implications from the results obtained are displayed.

In this chapter, the research problem that is addressed in the book is described and based on that the objectives of the book are established, where the limitations and scopes are defined according to the accessed data.

In this chapter two structural equation models are presented, which are related to the technical factors associated with the total preventive maintenance programs implementation such as the PM Implementation, TPM implementation, Technological status, Layout and Warehouse management. In addition, these technical factors are linked to the Benefits for the organization, productivity, and worker and environment safety, which generate a series of hypotheses. Also, least squares algorithms are implemented to evaluate the models, and the hypotheses are validated by estimating the direct effects, although indirect and total effects are also acquired as well as the effect size. Finally, for each relationship between the variables, a sensitivity analysis is performed.

This chapter proposes a structural equation model to analyze four latent variables: internal knowledge transfer, external knowledge transfer, supply chain flexibility, and supply chain performance. These variables are interrelated through three research hypotheses. The model is validated with data obtained through a questionnaire that was administered to 269 Mexican manufacturing companies. Then, the hypotheses are tested at a 95% confidence level using partial least squares. The results indicate that internal knowledge transfer has the most important direct effect on supply chain flexibility and the highest indirect effect on supply chain performance.

In this chapter, the importance of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education is emphasized, and a case study describes their integration into a higher education institution, specifically, the Instituto Tecnologico de Colima. Since ICT are considered a tool to innovate teaching practices, as well as providing the possibility of including new didactic strategies that arouse the interest and motivation of students to improve the quality of teaching-learning processes inside and outside of the classroom. The case study reports a survey integrated by 43 items related to ICT, which was administered to 469 students of the Instituto Tecnologico de Colima. Using the WarpPLS Software v5.0, the causal relationships that exist between the uses of ICT (independent variables) and the benefits obtained when using ICT (dependent variables) were analyzed. After the analysis, it is concluded that there is sufficient statistical evidence to ensure that academic uses have a direct and positive impact on students’ performance, improving the grades and their psychological state.

This paper presents a structural equation model for analyzing the relationship between four latent variables: infrastructure, production processes, transport benefits, and economic benefits within the supply chain for wine from La Rioja, Spain, by incorporating 12 observed variables. The model proposes six hypothesis that were tested using information gathered from 64 surveys completed by managers of several wineries in the region. The WarpPLS v.5® software (Version 5.0, ScriptWarp Systems, Laredo, TX, USA) was used to execute the model and analyze the direct, indirect, and total effects among latent variables. The results show that the control of production processes is a direct source of economic and transport benefits because of its higher explanatory power of those variables. Similarly, infrastructure is a direct source of transport and production benefits, and some of them are given indirectly. In addition, infrastructure does not have a direct effect on economic benefits; however, there were indirect effects given through production process and transport benefits. Infrastructure is a very important variable because of its influence in the final performance, but also because of its high environmental impact. Finally, economic benefits were explained in 43.8%, 19.1% belonging to production process, 21.1% coming from transport benefits, and 3.7% from infrastructure. © 2018 by the authors.

Nowadays, buying a computer for family use is a frequent practice, yet the wide variety of equipment that markets offer can be overwhelming. Each computer has its own characteristics and attributes, and some of such attributes—especially qualitative features—may be difficult to assess. This chapter presents a theoretical framework that allows families to evaluate computers from a multi-attribute perspective by using two techniques: the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The former is used to weight the attributes, whereas the latter is used to propose a solution. A case study is presented to illustrate the computer selection process performed by a four-member family on four alternatives by taking into account four quantitative attributes—cost, processor speed, RAM, and hard drive capacity—and two qualitative attributes—brand prestige and after-sales service. Our findings demonstrate that our AHP-TOPSIS approach is friendly to users, especially to non-expert users, since they can perform the evaluation process on their own.

Nowadays, structural equation modeling (SEM) has become a technique used worldwide. Its versatility and the way how it links different variables have allowed its application in a great number of studies of different areas (social sciences, medicine, engineering, etc.). Due to the impact of SEM, throughout this chapter, a number of concepts will be presented for a broader understanding of this technique. In addition, a literature review is presented for the main applications of SEM. Finally, it is presented a practical case of application in the maquiladora industry of Ciudad Juarez, where this technique plays an important role.

Nowadays maquiladoras require improving processes and reducing costs in order to stay in the market and be competitive. Just in Time (JIT), the lean manufacturing tool, works specifically on materials handling, but critical success factors (CSFs) for its implementation are unknown. For this reason, in this chapter the results of a survey applied to 372 maquiladora workers of Ciudad Juárez (México) are reported. Six hypotheses are proposed and validated through a structural equations model executed in WarpPLS 5.0® software, where four latent variables related with Management Commitment, Human Resources, Suppliers and Quality benefits in a JIT environment are associated. Direct effects, indirect effects and total effects of each one of the variables are analyzed. The results show there is enough statistical evidence to state that there is a direct and positive impact of Human Resources on the obtained Quality in a JIT environment application.

Nowadays, Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) has achieved great industrial popularity. However, it remains unclear to what extent and how SMED implementation at its different stages benefits industries. To address this gap, this research proposes a structural equation model to quantitatively measure SMED effects. The model has six hypotheses that link SMED stages and benefits. To statistically validate such hypotheses, a questionnaire was administered to 373 Mexican maquiladoras located in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Results show that before starting SMED implementation process, companies must be appropriately familiarized with their production process. Mainly, manufacturing companies in Ciudad Juárez need to focus their efforts on the SMED planning stage (Step 1) in order to identify important internal production activities and turn them into external activities. In fact, SMED planning stage has direct and indirect effects on subsequent stages and SMED benefits. © 2016 by the author.