Advanced Manufacturing Technology Implementation Performance: Towards A Strategic Framework

Advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) are perceived by companies to be an important element in surpassing competitiveness. However, excelling in today’s market is not as simple as the acquisition of new technologies alone. To achieve the desired benefits, the structure and infrastructure of organizations must match to ensure that the implementation of technologies lead to the expected benefits. Therefore, a framework that facilitates AMT adopters in determining the requirements of the AMT adoption, with the right mix of strategic elements is needed. This important prompted us to develop a framework that illustrates set of propositions suggesting that company performance will be increased by aligning the organizational structure, culture and manufacturing strategy with appropriate practices to improve human resource ability and skills in technology implementation. This framework can be summarized into a T-O-P map to show the alignment of technology, organization, and performance in technology adoption. Keyword Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Performance, Theoretical Study, Strategic Framework, Technology Fit Introduction The rapid development in both availability and range of choices in AMT opens up major opportunities not only for improving what has always been done but also for more radical alternatives that lead to a key condition for long term competitiveness [1]. Changes in communication and interaction related to AMT implementation have been shown to result in greater satisfaction with the technology [2]. However, many AMT projects fail to meet the expectations of their adopters [3] and increasing signs of difficulty began to emerge which suggested that the translation of potential benefits into real competitive advantage was not always as simple as signing the cheque for a new piece of equipment. Applying and adopting new technologies indicated that there are broader issues that have to be considered. Management of firms that are considering the adoption of AMT need to recognize, understand and address these issues in order to overcome or circumvent the problems of previous installations [4]. To have a successful AMT implementation, the questions like “what are the organizational and strategic factors which make a firm more competitive and adept at using AMT in improving its performance?” and “Is AMT's impact on company performance more pronounced if associated with a compatible organizational design and human resource practices?” should be answered. What seems to be missing in literature is a unifying framework or model within which the various claims of interrelationships among the concerned factors could be analyzed. As Fry and Smith [5] noted, theoretical models that specify linkages between variables will have no contributory value unless embrace a predictive component such as performance to test the efficacy of the linkage in those models. Though several attempts have been made to find and analyze the strategic significance of AMT and its impact on company performance in different form of models, there is a lack of model/framework which cumulate studies that systematically build upon each other rather than to be isolated representations and will be able to direct managers and AMT adopters in improving company performance. This paper is a step in paving the way in developing a framework with the right mix of strategic and important elements that leads to effective use of AMT in enhancing company performance. . 1 Corresponding Author