Time-based manufacturing improves business performance - results from a survey

Manufacturers face the question of how to manage and organize their operations to compete Successfully in a rapidly changing external environment. To examine this question, data from 224 manufacturers were collected and divided along two dimensions: (1) levels of time based manufacturing practices and (2) stable versus turbulent external environments. Results indicate that firms with high levels of time-based manufacturing practices have higher performance regardless of the external environment. When time-based manufacturing practices are examined individually, the results indicate that high-performing firms operating in turbulent markets emphasize different time-based practices than high-performing firms operating in stable markets. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.