Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

3-1989

Abstract

Over the past 4 years research teams from INSEAD (Fontainebleau), Boston University and Waseda University (Tokyo) have administered a yearly survey on the manufacturing strategy of the large manufacturers of the three industrialized regions of the world. In this paper the results for the 1986 survey are compared. One of the most striking results of that year’s survey is the emphasis some of the more advanced manufacturers put on their efforts to overcome the trade-off between flexibility and cost efficiency. In particular for the Japanese respondents these attempts become clear. Europeans and North Americans are not yet seizing the opportunity to cut costs through rapid production and design changes, and are focusing more on traditional cost reduction programmes and the improvement of quality. This might mean that they are preparing the basis on which they can built to obtain added value from flexible automation. If this is the case then the Japanese are clearly ahead.

Keywords

manufacturing industry, strategic planning, tradeoff, flexibility, cost efficiency, Europe, Japan, United States, cost reduction

Discipline

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Operations and Supply Chain Management

Research Areas

Operations Management

Publication

Strategic Management Journal

Volume

10

Issue

2

First Page

135

Last Page

144

ISSN

0143-2095

Identifier

10.1002/smj.4250100204

Publisher

Wiley

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250100204

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