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Strategic operations management: the new competitive advantage: R. H.

Lowson, (Ed.); Routledge, London 2002, 325pp

Article  in  Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management · September 2003

DOI: 10.1016/j.pursup.2003.09.006

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 ARTICLE IN PRESS
Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management 9 (2003) 269–270
Book review
Strategic operations management: the new competitive
advantage
R. H. Lowson, (Ed.); Routledge, London 2002, 325pp
Robert Lowson is Director of the Strategic Opera-
tions Management Centre at UEA, Norwich, UK, and
the jacket of his new book features an enthusiastic
endorsement from Professor Martin Christopher. That
may in part reflect the considerable logistics emphasis
within the book, which is particularly strong on service,
retail and distribution examples. Some fresh and
important areas traditionally neglected in operations
are tackled, with chapters on SMEs, global trade and e-
business strategic coordination. The author has clearly
taken some trouble to find new examples of existing
practices and the relative absence of the automotive
industry is refreshing. However the use of the author’s
own experience (and research) is also a double edged
sword, many recent operations management texts have
been joint or team efforts, able to draw on a wealth of
experience. The advantages and disadvantages of sole
authorship will I think decide the value of the book to its
readership.
The central question for me though is whom the book
is aimed at. The author has structured the first part of
the book around four research questions—such as ‘‘Can
a typology of operations management strategies be
established?’’y On an intellectual level the author then
addresses and answers those questions in an interesting
and thought provoking way. However throughout the
book the question that springs to mind is what kind of
student would seek to understand strategic operations
management by addressing these (research) questions?
For example, take Chapter 4 ‘Towards a taxonomy of
operations strategies’. The author has covertly sprinkled
much incidental (but worthwhile) learning within the
text, and the author takes the trouble here to ground the
chapter in the learning cycle and the concepts of
deductive and inductive knowledge. (Although I think
the author’s intention was that inductive learning was
inference rather than as it appears in the text,
interference). However I struggle to imagine a student
body who would want to debate and understand the
nature of operations strategy taking the authors
idiosyncratic approach (although I can see it working
‘live’ in the classroom). I may be too influenced by
MBA students, who want their courses in transparent,
doi:10.1016/j.pursup.2003.09.006
easily digested forms, succulently packaged, and with
‘answers’.
I see the book much more as a reader and of interest
to those who teach and work in the subject, rather than
as suitable for under or post graduates. To continue the
same example, based purely on what I read here, I
personally would still not be 100% sure on the
differences between a typology and a taxonomy,
students might fare better, but more importantly, it is
not made clear why this is so important to the (student)
reader. If the idea of a typology is so central to student
grasp of the material then this needs to be made clear.
One can follow the interior logic of the book, but
repeatedly it seems the author launches quite advanced
concepts without prior discussion or definition. For
example the book begins quite rightly with a compre-
hensive discussion and definition of strategic operations
management—but then discusses supply networks with-
out comment (they are later discussed in Chapter 7).
Another example would be the uninformative discussion
of cellular manufacturing, p. 98, and also decoupling,
p. 79, which is only followed up in the penultimate
chapter, where push/pull supply chain processes are
suddenly and belatedly introduced. In fact too much of
Chapter 4 reads like a list, with insufficient detail on key
concepts. The author is not attempting a primer text on
operations, but I feel he has not quite managed the
difficult interplay between what existing knowledge and
previous experience can be assumed. (The rather
rudimentary nature of the think pieces for students in
chapter one come to mind).
For those who want to read a novel approach to
strategic operations management, the author’s particu-
lar approach would be stimulating. Whether you agree
or not it is invigorating to read an author express a
strongly held opinion on matters often treated with
undue reverence. Lowson is scathing about the faddism
and ‘claims of profound utopian benefits and catholic
applicability’ surrounding much supply chain thinking.
He is also clearly not a big fan of lean thinking (p. 79).
Such glimpses of the person behind the text enliven the
book from time to time but also lead back to the
idiosyncrasy of the vision that drives the book.
It is commendable that so much primary research
undertaken by the author is cited, but yet again this
leads to some very particular views and conclusions.
Chapter 13 uses the author’s own research to put a
strongly worded case for domestic (here UK) sourcing
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
270 Book review / Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management 9 (2003) 269–270
being cheaper (in terms of total acquisition costs) than
sourcing from low cost countries. However the finding,
based on the data presented here, that UK prices could
be 25% higher than low cost countries and it would still
be better to source domestically is at least controversial
and begs questions about the data sample. A supporting
example is based on three clothing retailers, using men’s
denim jeans. At the end of the chapter the author asserts
that their ‘axiomatic framework’ has been ‘widely
accepted across a number of consumer industries’.
In conclusion particularly if you prefer a logistics/
service/retail angle to operations, or are tired of more
traditional texts this could be a good read, however I
find it too idiosyncratic to recommend for the majority
of students. Lowson incorporates value into strategic
operations well, and makes a good fist of the difficult
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subject of e-business and operations, and the best of the
book relates to the areas he has most expertise on.
Taken as a whole though, I found the parts of the book
better than the sum. Other readers though might place a
higher value on its originality. The book features a
vision of strategic operations management that is both
home grown (as in European rather than American) and
home made. This fresh approach to standard material
means it would be worth keeping a look out for further
work by Dr Lowson.
Nigel Caldwell
School of Management CRiSPS, University of Bath,
Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
E-mail address: n.d.caldwell@bath.ac.uk