Searching for the sandcone in the GMRG data

Over the last few years, several international studies have independently s hown a significant correlation between the number and intensity of manufact uring practices in use and the performance of a firm. The conclusion is an unsettling: "the more the better." This paper uses the Global Manufacturing Research Group's (GANG) second round database to deepen our understanding of this relationship. The shape of a scatterplot of practices versus perfor mance resembles the shape of an American or rugby football and is often cal led the "performance football". The performance football seems to be a gene ral phenomenon so, as practices are added, a firm should garner earlier per formance improvements if it followed the zipper edge of the performance env elope. This is consistent with the "sandcone" model or sequential capabilit y building model that suggests that a firm should first invest in quality p ractices and then add others over this base. We first demonstrate the relat ionship between practices and performance holds for the GANG data and then we make detailed comparisons of the firms along the zipper and lower edges of the football The comparisons provide some evidence that there is a sandc one effect.