An analysis of operations strategy in the food and beverage sector

Abstract

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the operations strategy of the manufacturing companies in the food and beverage sector on the island of Gran Canaria. Three research objectives are proposed. The first objective is to use the theoretical framework of Hayes and Wheelwright (1984) to evaluate the effectiveness of the operations strategy and the importance that management attaches to it. The second is to assess the importance attached to long-term decision making in the manufacturing area. The third and final objective is to evaluate the importance attached to competitive priorities as well as to detect whether there is a relationship between the competitive priorities and the decisions regarding the manufacturing function. The results show that the companies analysed are situated within levels two and three of the continuum, tending towards the latter. They also show that there is no predominance of operations strategy over marketing strategy, or vice versa. The most valued decisions are those related to quality and product design.