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The Relative Advantages of Flexible versus Designated Manufacturing Technologies

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  • George Norman

Abstract

This paper analyzes the choice between flexible and designated manufacturing technologies given that firms are allowed to determine how flexible the manufacturing system should be. We allow firms to operate a mix of technologies, using a flexible system to serve some types of consumer submarkets and a designated technology to serve others and allow firms to offer multiple products even if they commit to the designated technology. We show that for flexible systems to be preferred they must offer strong economies of scope and must be capable of producing, without significant cost penalties, customized products that are largely indistinguishable from custom-built products. By contrast, we show that an increase in submarket size and an increase in the willingness of consumers to pay for particular types of products encourages the use of designated technologies targeted at these submarkets.

Suggested Citation

  • George Norman, 2000. "The Relative Advantages of Flexible versus Designated Manufacturing Technologies," Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University 0019, Department of Economics, Tufts University.
    • Handle: RePEc:tuf:tuftec:0019
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    Cited by:

    1. Johannes Van Biesebroeck, 2007. "Complementarities in automobile production," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(7), pages 1315-1345.
    2. Kwon, Chul-Woo, 2013. "An optimal production method for penetrating foreign markets: Standardization, localization, and flexible technology," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 398-406.
    3. Chisholm, Darlene C. & Norman, George, 2004. "Heterogeneous preferences and location choice with multi-product firms," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 321-339, May.
    4. Joon Lim, 2009. "Strategic Choice of Manufacturing Flexibility in Intermediate Goods Markets," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 25, pages 91-104.
    5. Moutinho, Ricardo & Au-Yong-Oliveira, Manuel & Coelho, Arnaldo & Manso, José Pires, 2015. "Beyond the “Innovation's Black-Box”: Translating R&D outlays into employment and economic growth," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 45-58.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

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