Examines the adoption and strategic use of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) by small manufacturing firms. Three major issues are explored: the differences between exporting and non‐exporting firms with regard to why they adopt AMT; the differences between exporting and on‐exporting...

Poland is regarded as the country which has made the greatest progress following the economic liberalisation of Eastern Europe. This paper examines the strength of the relationship between the new Western context and the understanding of the methods which Polish enterprises need to address their...

The customer‐contact interface is discussed here. Defined as interactive service operations, it can be divided into two separate levels, first, the service operations interface between the firm and its customers and, secondly, the internal interactions of the firm′s operations driven by...

Under acute global competitive pressure, many companies have viewed product diversification as a strategic weapon with which to win market shares. Nevertheless, product diversification increases costs and sometimes degrades product quality. Many businesses today confront the dilemma of whether...