Integrated Manufacturing Systems: Volume 13 Issue 3

Effecting operational improvement through inter‐organisational action learning

Paul Coughlan, David Coghlan, Tony Dromgoole, Dermot Duff, Richard Caffrey, Kevin Lynch, Ian Rose, Paul Stack, Andy McGill, Pat Sheridan

Describes the National Action Learning Programme (NALP) and summarises some of the key attributes of the NALP approach that has helped to effect operational improvement in…

Continuous improvement along the supply chain: the impact of customer‐supplier relations

Máire Kerrin

Continuous improvement (CI) is argued to be a key mechanism in increasing competitive advantage for organisations. Research in this area has predominantly focused on questions…

Something for nothing? A comparison of practice and performance in vulnerable and promising companies

Alex Appleby, Ed Mitchell

A recent empirical study of over 300 manufacturing organisations in the North East of England supports the findings of previous studies by Hanson et al. and has identified fewer…

Success factors for improvement and innovation of process technology in process industry

Thomas Lager, Sven‐Åke Hörte

In a study of the development of process technology in the process industry, 25 potential success factors were developed and later ranked in a survey to R&D managers in the…

The role of CI and learning in an organisational change process: experiences from a longitudinal study of organisational change

Lise Busk Kofoed, Frank Gertsen, Frances Jørgensen

Describes a longitudinal single‐case study in which continuous improvement (CI) was implemented during a radical organisational change process. In this case, numerous organisation…

Innovation decision making in British manufacturing SMEs

Simon Mosey, Jeremy N. Clare, David J. Woodcock

Reports the product innovation activities of 30 British manufacturing SMEs, all with aggressive growth ambitions. Shows that ten of these companies meet their aims by repeatedly…