Infrastructure and flexible manufacturing technology: Theory development

Abstract Many firms have installed flexible manufacturing technologies but have not achieved the expected benefits. While considerable research has been conducted on the difficulty of implementing advanced forms of technology, this study investigated the operational infrastructure required to benefit from the routine use of such technology. Six in-depth case studies were conducted to ascertain the performance impact of three areas of the operational infrastructure: the operator's role, the production planning systems and the integration of technology with the organization. Performance was evaluated in terms of quality, marketing, responsiveness, cost/productivity, inventory and on-time delivery. Based on the insights from the case studies, eleven propositions and three conceptual models identifying the impact of specific infrastructure elements on the benefits attained from the use of flexible manufacturing technology were developed.

[1]  J. Hage,et al.  Theories of organizations , 1980 .

[2]  H. P. Sims,et al.  The Measurement of Job Characteristics , 1976 .

[3]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[4]  David M. McCutcheon,et al.  Conducting case study research in operations management , 1993 .

[5]  A. Strauss,et al.  The Discovery of Grounded Theory , 1967 .

[6]  R. Hayes.  Restoring our competitive edge , 1984 .

[7]  J. Hackman,et al.  Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey , 1975 .

[8]  Wickham Skinner,et al.  Manufacturing: The Formidable Competitive Weapon , 1985 .

[9]  E. Trist,et al.  The Causal Texture of Organizational Environments , 1965 .

[10]  T. Jick.  Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: Triangulation in Action. , 1979 .

[11]  J. Klein,et al.  The human costs of manufacturing reform , 1989 .

[12]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  The Case Research Strategy in Studies of Information Systems , 1987, MIS Q..

[13]  J. Meredith,et al.  Alternative research paradigms in operations , 1989 .

[14]  Ramchandran Jaikumar,et al.  New technologies, obsolete organizations , 1988 .

[15]  Linda S. Lotto.  Qualitative Data Analysis: A Sourcebook of New Methods , 1986 .

[16]  Terry Hill,et al.  Manufacturing Strategy: Text and Cases , 1993 .

[17]  Charles W. Hofer,et al.  Strategic management : a new view of business policy and planning , 1980 .

[18]  M. Kiggundu.  Task interdependence and job design: test of a theory. , 1983, Organizational behavior and human performance.

[19]  Jack R. Meredith,et al.  The role of manufacturing technology in competitiveness: Peerless Laser Processors , 1988 .

[20]  Andrew Kusiak,et al.  Concurrent Engineering: Automation, Tools, and Techniques , 1992 .

[21]  R. Dierdonck,et al.  Designing production planning and control systems , 1980 .

[22]  A. Majchrzak.  The Human Side of Factory Automation: Managerial and Human Resource Strategies for Making Automation Succeed , 1988 .

[23]  L. Dexter.  Elite and specialized interviewing , 1971 .

[24]  D. Gerwin,et al.  A theory of innovation processes for computer-aided manufacturing technology , 1988 .

[25]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Organization Theory and Design , 1983 .

[26]  Teresa M. Amabile,et al.  A Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organizations , 1988 .

[27]  E. Trist,et al.  Some Social and Psychological Consequences of the Longwall Method of Coal-Getting , 1951 .

[28]  Barbara B. Flynn,et al.  Empirical research methods in operations management , 1990 .

[29]  Henry Mintzberg.  An Emerging Strategy of "Direct" Research , 1979 .

[30]  Karen A. Brown,et al.  Human resource issues in cellular manufacturing: A sociotechnical analysis , 1991 .

[31]  David A. Nadler,et al.  Standardized observations: An approach to measuring the nature of jobs. , 1975 .

[32]  Jay W. Lorsch,et al.  Organizational Structure and Design , 1970 .

[33]  R. Yin.  Case Study Research: Design and Methods , 1984 .