In the modernisation of production processes, German and American firms stress different aspects: a greater number of German enterprises strategically favour technology and innovation and the adaptation of products to customers' specifications. The US firms prioritise more frequently the quality...

For quite some time it seemed the trend towards high automation in the wage-intensive German economy showed no signs of slowing down. However, in practice it turns out that more than a third of companies which have chosen automated solutions have not had their expectations fulfilled. Many of...