Identifies performance sport as a phenomenon which has received relatively little conceptual or management analysis. The management of excellence in performance sport is conceptualized as an input‐treatment‐output‐system. Focuses on an evaluation of the key elements of an integrated system...

Purpose – This paper, originally published in 1987, seeks to outline an agenda for conducting rigorous research into the flexibility of manufacturing processes. Design/methodology/approach – An initial domain for defining flexibility is established, specific measures are suggested, and...

Discusses the variety of production control situations within process industries. Following a literature review, a typology is introduced which discriminates between two extreme types of process industries: batch/mix and process/flow businesses. Reviews the research in production and inventory...

The ability of small businesses to make and adjust to the paradigm shift needed to benefit from the Japanese production theory has been questioned in the literature. Zangwill (1992) questioned the limits of the Japanese Production Theory (JPT) and in a subsequent paper (Zangwill, 1994) held on...

Points to a new emphasis on distribution as a result of material shortages or failures of supply. Proposes that this new awareness requires understanding of the nature of distribution efforts through the logistic response function. Focuses on the managerial problems of utilizing distribution...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to update an article written by the author in the Harvard Business Review almost 50 years ago. Design/methodology/approach – The paper evaluates the present status of the phenomena of modularity (for both product and service components). This is done by...

The make‐or‐buy decision has been performed on the assumption that cost data are deterministic and accurate. The data available to decision makers are often highly imprecise because of estimation inaccuracy and/or errors in measurement. The bounded interval estimate is a common allowance...

The establishment of disassembly plants and the creation of product designs which specifically facilitate disassembly are enabling manufacturers to carry out item segregation. Item segregation is defined as the separation from an assembly of a part or a group of parts by following a reverse...