This paper provides exploratory evidence on the cross-sectional association between process management techniques and two profit measures: return on assets and return on sales. Using a sample of firms in two industries (automotive and computer) and four countries (Canada, Germany, Japan, and the...

This study examines the impact of product variety on automobile assembly plant performance using data from GM's Wilmington, Delaware plant, together with simulation analyses of a more general auto assembly line. We extend prior product variety studies by providing evidence on the magnitude of...

Using detailed data on defect rates and quality costs from twelve plants of a Fortune 500 company, we provide the first direct tests of predictions arising from two sets of dynamic quality-based learning models. We find greater support for quality-based learning models that assume learning is a...