The impact of flexible process capability on the product-process matrix: an empirical examination

Hayes and Wheelwright (Har. Bus. Rev. 57 (1) (1979) 127). provided the product-process matrix to emphasize the importance of the cooperation of manufacturing (processes) and marketing (products) to achieve the unified goals based on Skinner's tradeoff theory. But the environments have dramatically changed, and recently, some authors (Ferdows and De Meyer, J. Oper. Manage. 9 (1990) 168; Noble, Dec. Sci. J. 26(5) (1995) 693) have empirically verified that firms can achieve multiple competitive performances simultaneously. Their research especially illustrates how the high flexible process capability that a firm possesses greatly enlarges the feasible zones and reduces the constrained zone in the product-process matrix. Therefore, the product-process matrix needs some modifications to guide researchers and practitioners. This paper discusses and empirically tests the impact of flexible process capability on the product-process matrix and provides further evidence of the compatibility of multiple competitive performances rather than tradeoffs. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.