A review of manufacturing flexibility

Beach, Roger; Muhlemann, A. P.; Price, David H.; Paterson, Andrew H.; Sharp, John

doi:10.1016/s0377-2217(99)00062-4

Cited by 361 publications

(216 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Thus, both practices show a clear relationship. Process management, understood as the set of activities that aim to manage and improve the processes that generate goods and services (Anderson, Rungtusanatham, & Schroeder, 1994), are clearly related to manufacturing flexibility, as they seek the ultimate adaptation of the firm to achieve better productivity (Beach et al, 2000). On the other hand, we observe that teamwork stimulates projects to improve specific processes for the internal improvement of the firm (Schonberger, 1994).…”

Section: Discussion Of Results and Further Directions For Researchmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…This concept has become a key competitive criterion for many manufacturing organizations (Oke, 2005). Beach et al (2000) indicate that manufacturing flexibility can be used strategically in many different ways. They recommend that it must be one of the dimensions of a system's competitive strategy, along with price, quality, and reliability.…”

Section: Exploration and Exploitation Strategies And Manufacturing Flmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Beach et al (2000), creating user guides and giving personnel access to materials creates a healthier and more secure environment for the worker, while also offering an opportunity to privilege flexibility over the relation between superior and subordinate. Material handling flexibility has been considered one of the most important dimensions in the literature, based on its indication of improvement delivery times (Sawhney, 2006).…”

Section: Exploration and Exploitation Strategies And Manufacturing Flmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, De Treville, Bendaham, and Vanderhaegue (2007) conclude that investment in manufacturing flexibility is profitable, as it obtains improvements in the firm's final performance. Greater manufacturing flexibility, combined with a competitive strategy appropriate for each sector, will enable the firm to adapt to changes in the environment or even to anticipate changes that may arise, which in turn give the firm a competitive advantage (Beach, Muhlemann, Price, Paterson, & Sharp, 2000). Examples of these competitive strategies should be obtained through the exploration and exploitation mentioned above (Adler et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study model proposed establishes a series of new relationships among strategic variables in the literature. Following the proposal of (Beach et al, 2000), we have linked manufacturing flexibility to competitive strategies, specifically to exploration and exploitation strategies, as well as to organizational learning. The knowledge generated by this research provides evidence for the literature that seeks to determine the right relationships and strategic configurations to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The relationship between exploration and exploitation strategies, manufacturing flexibility and organizational learning: An empirical comparison between Non-ISO and ISO certified firms

Tamayo-Torres

Gutiérrez

Moreno

2014

European Journal of Operational Research

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The markets in which organizations currently operate require them to use behaviour based on both exploitation strategy and exploration strategy, each of which contributes fundamental benefits for the firm's success. Exploitation strategy attempts to obtain the maximum advantage from existing abilities, whereas exploration strategy searches for new ways for the organization to adapt. Further, since manufacturing markets are characterized by short product life, they require a high level of manufacturing flexibility, which can play a crucial role in the development of the exploitation and exploration strategies. This study analyses the relationship of manufacturing flexibility to exploitation and exploration strategies, taking into account an issue of maximum international scope: the implementation of ISO standards. In many international markets, ISO implementation is crucial in enabling organizations to be competitive. However, no consensus has been reached concerning the real benefits that these systems provide to the organizations that implement them. The main goal of our study is to analyse whether there are significant differences in the relationship of manufacturing flexibility to exploitation and exploration strategies in ISO 9001:2000 certified organizations and non-certified organizations. Our results show that most of the relationships analysed are only significant in ISO certified organizations. As an added value, the study analyses the relationship of exploitation and exploration strategies to organizational learning orientation and finds this relationship to be significant in all cases.

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Section: Discussion Of Results and Further Directions For Researchmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Exploration and Exploitation Strategies And Manufacturing Flmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Exploration and Exploitation Strategies And Manufacturing Flmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The relationship between exploration and exploitation strategies, manufacturing flexibility and organizational learning: An empirical comparison between Non-ISO and ISO certified firms

Tamayo-Torres

Gutiérrez

Moreno

2014

European Journal of Operational Research

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Demand variation, strategic flexibility and market entry: Evidence from the U.S. airline industry

Claussen

Essling²,

Peukert

2018

Strategic Management Journal

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Research Summary: Entry into dynamic environments can be challenging for firms. We study if, and under which circumstances, firms can use strategic flexibility to enter markets with variable demand. In the airline industry, we find broad support for our hypotheses. We observe less entry with more demand variation, more entry of more flexible firms, and that more flexible firms are more likely to enter markets with greater variation in demand. Furthermore, we find that this relationship is especially strong when variation in demand is harder to predict, which suggests that strategic flexibility is most valuable in unpredictable turbulent environments. Managerial Summary: We show that firms in the airline industry that choose strategic flexibility over operational efficiency are more likely to enter volatile markets. This finding is especially true when future demand is difficult to forecast using historical data. We conclude that strategic flexibility can be a useful complement to investments in business analytics. K E Y W O R D S airline industry, demand change, flexibility, market entry, uncertainty

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Optimal Investment Strategies for Flexible Resources, Considering Pricing

Bish

Applied Optimization

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A review of manufacturing flexibility

Cited by 361 publications

References 41 publications

The relationship between exploration and exploitation strategies, manufacturing flexibility and organizational learning: An empirical comparison between Non-ISO and ISO certified firms

The relationship between exploration and exploitation strategies, manufacturing flexibility and organizational learning: An empirical comparison between Non-ISO and ISO certified firms

Demand variation, strategic flexibility and market entry: Evidence from the U.S. airline industry

Optimal Investment Strategies for Flexible Resources, Considering Pricing

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