Firm performance and the strategic fit of manufacturing technology
ISSN: 1059-5422
Article publication date: 1 March 2005
Issue publication date: 1 March 2005
Abstract
Scholars have widely asserted that a firm’s manufacturing technologies must be aligned with its competitive strategy. This study tests the existence of such a strategy‐technology “fit”, determines whether good fit results in better performance, and examines the nature of fit in light of computer controlled or “advanced manufacturing technologies”. For a sample of 399 metal machining firms, a strategy‐technology alignment was found to exist and relate to higher financial performance. Advanced manufacturing technologies were found to both reinforce and alter conventional thinking about the flexibility‐efficiency tradeoff. Specific technologies were found to be uniquely bundled or combined to support specific competitive requirements.
Keywords
Citation
Congden, S.W. (2005), "Firm performance and the strategic fit of manufacturing technology", Competitiveness Review, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 14-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/cr.2005.15.1.14
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited