Purpose – To provide an update on a paper published in 1987 in IJOPM . Design/methodology/approach – Provides an assessment and update of “An agenda for research on the flexibility of manufacturing processes”. Findings – Gerwin's seminal work added welcome rigor to a concept,...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to document the extent to which the relative performance of plants varies over an extended period of time, with some plants performing persistently well and sister plants performing persistently poorly. It examines why this phenomenon occurs....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain why the historical integration of manufacturing with service was quickly seen as advantageous in some circumstances, but not so in others. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the history of manufacturing companies in the USA...

For the plant manager there are many suggested remedies for increased plant productivity. Detailed survey data from 555 factories, principally in the US, Europe and Korea, are used to examine the factors that contribute to productivity. Regression analysis is employed with five distinct measures...

Using a two‐round Delphi process among 92 manufacturing managers from around the world, assesses the appropriateness of a variety of performance measures. The Delphi process used a survey technique that was pioneered by Dixon, Nanni, and Vollmann to highlight gaps (high perceived importance to...