Do More Able Top Management Teams Unconditionally Lead to Better Internal Operations? A Case of ‘Just-in-Time’ Inventory Management

This thesis investigates how the interplay between managerial ability (i.e., ability of the top management team), managerial discretion, and monitoring quality influences just in time (JIT) inventory management. While literature shows that inventory efficiency is highly valued by investors, to date there has been a lack of empirical evidence on the importance of skilled human capital on the efficient management of JIT inventory. Findings suggest that managerial ability contributes to efficiency in JIT inventory management, with the extent of such efficiency being conditional on the level of discretion granted to managers and the effective monitoring of this discretion.