Flexible manufacturing systems: Economic effects in Japan, United States, and Western Europe

Abstract This paper presents and analyzes detailed data obtained from over 200 firms in Japan, the United States, and Western Europe concerning the economic effects of flexible manufacturing systems, and compares the effectiveness and profitability of these systems in various countries. Such a comparison should be of widespread interest, particularly since some leading American experts, like Jaikumar (1986), have charged that Japanese firms use their flexible manufacturing systems much more effectively than do their U.S. rivals.

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