Manufacturing in the 1990s—Productivity, flexibility and innovation

Abstract

The article outlines the evolution of large multinationals as a result of the appearance of new market demands. Companies having to meet specific market demands, are shown to possess certain characteristics, related to the market demands concerned. The analysis shows that innovativeness will, in all probability, be the new market demand in the 199Os, in addition to the already existing ones of efficiency, quality and flexibility. Descriptions of ideal types illustrate the evolution of companies as they move from the Efficient Firm to the Quality Firm on to the Flexible Firm to, finally, the Innovative Firm. The phase model also includes the symptoms of crisis, when moving from one phase to another. Skipping phases appears to be difficult, if not impossible. The same holds true for moving to the next phase, while the organization has not finished with the preceding phase.

Collectivism versus individualism in Dutch employment relations

“…This has resulted in a multilevel system of negotiations and adaptation, stretching out from the national level and central institutions such as the Foundation of Labour and the Social Economic Council, through sector or industry negotiations, down to the company and even lower levels (ie departments and individuals). Through this mechanism, the Dutch economy has been able to adapt quickly to the new economic, technological and socio-cultural developments of the second half of the 1980s and the 1990s, such as growing international competition, the dramatic increase in the flexibility of production and labour (Bolwijn and Kumpe, 1990;Looise et al, 1998), the demographic changes (Social Economic Council, 2001), and the need for an more individualised approach (Felling et al, 2001).…”

Estratégias competitivas e competências essenciais: perspectivas para a internacionalização da indústria no Brasil

“…Para isso foi adotado o esquema proposto por Bolwijn & Kumpe (1990), perguntando: Quais seriam as características de mercado mais importantes a serem consideradas na definição da estratégia competitiva? As respostas coletadas são apresentadas na Tabela 3.…”

IT integration, operations flexibility and performance: An empirical study

“…• Proactive orientation: flexibility seeks to generate competitive advantages by developing abilities that enable the firm to focus products to a market niche, adapt the product to the consumers requirements, or increasing innovativeness (Bolwijn & Kumpe, 1990;Sawhney, 2006). Stevenson and Spring (2007) structure 21 dimensions of flexibility in a hierarchy with 4 levels: operations, tactical, strategic, and supply chain levels.…”