Organizational development and time-based flexibility: an empirical analysis of AMT adoptions

It has been consistently reported that many firms that have adopted advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) are failing to exploit the true flexibility potential of these systems. Since a firm's ability to improve flexibility is thought to be reliant on the flexibility of its people, it is often suggested that inadequate emphasis on people-centred implementation activities such as worker development are major contributors to many of these failures. The purpose of this study is to determine if differences in the level of effort exerted on several organizational development activities have any impact on a firm's time-based flexibility-ability to respond quickly to changes in customer needs. Our analysis indicates that firms which expend higher levels of effort on worker development and functional integration strategies will achieve higher levels of time-based flexibility.