Just in Time – performance link: The moderating role of demand variability

Just-in-time (JIT) is a very useful methodology to improve operational performance. However, researchers argue that this methodology could be applied in contexts characterized by a stable customer demand. This paper aims at investigating the role of demand variability in the impact of JIT on efficiency and responsiveness performance. A questionnaire-based international survey was used to investigate the research questions. Data from a sample of 244 companies were analyzed using a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) procedure and following the “Ping 2-step approach” [1]. The analyses demonstrate that demand variability does not significantly moderate the relationship between JIT and efficiency, whereas it negatively moderates the relationship between JIT and responsiveness. Thus, if demand variability is very high, JIT could be counterproductive in terms of responsiveness performance.