The Impact of Globalization on Operations Management Activities in Egyptian Manufacturing Firms: an Exploratory Study

A manufacturing company, whether in developed or less developed countries, that operates within today’s dynamic and hostile environment (i.e., globalization) is vulnerable. The different functional areas within a company need to be mobilized to confront the threat. Production and operations management, as one of the very fundamental functions within a factory, is required to answer an important question: how do firms keep pace? Identification of global factors critical to the anticipated changes in production/operations activities represents the critical concern for the manufacturers. The study proposes that anticipated changes in production/operations activities can be explained by the following global factors: uncertainty, marketing and technology. The propositions were empirically tested by using Logit analysis regression. A mail questionnaire was used to collect data from Egyptian manufacturing firms. This study has provided important insights into the impact of globalization on the anticipated changes in production/operations activities in Egypt as a developing country. Implications for practitioners and directions for further research are provided.