Abstract
This paper explores the issues of measurement and comparison of the current state of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) adoption in India, including important information technology (IT) factors, and, surprisingly, this appears to be the first such attempt. For a worldwide perspective, comparison is made between Indian firms, firms in a developed country (Canada), and in a developing country (China). Contrary to expectation, the average score of AMT adoption degree of Indian companies in our survey is higher than that of all Canadian companies (when unadjusted for size) and of Chinese companies in one of the highly industrialized regions of China as measured in other surveys. While this suggests considerable strength of the Indian manufacturing sector, there should be further evaluation by other studies in this area to refine and develop these results. This study finds the top six AMTs currently adopted in India are plant certification, computer aided design, local area network, quality circle, MRP/ERP, and wide area network. Clearly four of these top six are directly in the IT area (CAD, LAN, WAN) or directly dependent on it (MRP/ERP systems), indicating a strong IT adoption rate as well as its underlying supportive role in the overall AMT adoption in India. The comparison between Indian firms and Canadian firms indicates that Indian firms adopted computer networks less and MRP/ERP and rapid prototyping systems more. Tests in our survey also reinforce the hypothesis that larger companies are more likely to adopt AMT than the smaller ones.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boyer KK (1999) Evolutionary patterns of flexible automation and performance: a longitudinal study. Manage Sci 45:824–842
Boyer KK, Leong GK, Ward PT, Krajewski LJ (1997) Unlocking the potential of advanced manufacturing technologies. J Oper Manag 15:331–347
Brandyberry A, Rai A, White GP (1999) Intermediate performance impacts of advanced manufacturing technology systems: an empirical investigation. Decis Sci 30:993–1020
Cagliano R, Spina G (2000) Advanced manufacturing technologies and strategically flexible production. J Oper Manag 18:169–190
Dangayach GS, Deshmukh SG (2001) Implementation of manufacturing strategy: a select study of Indian process companies. Prod Plan Control 12:89–105
Das A, Jayaram J (2003) Relative importance of contingency variables for advance manufacturing technology. Int J Prod Res 41:4429–4452
Diaz MS, Machuca JAD, Alvarez-Gil MJ (2003) A view of developing patterns of investment in AMT through emperical taxonomies: new evidence. J Oper Manag 21:577–606
Frohlich MT, Dixon JR (1999) Information systems adaptation and the successful implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies. Decis Sci 30:921–958
Hewitt-Dundas N (2000) The adoption of advanced manufacturing technology and strategy complexity. Northern Ireland Economic Research Center, Belfast, Working paper, No. 59, November 2000, pp 1–31
Jharkharia S, Shankar R (2001) Supply chain performance measurement: a framework. Proceedings of 43rd National Convention of Industrial Engineering-World Class Manufacturing Practices, September, Chennai, India, pp 47–55
Jharkharia S, Shankar R (2004) Supply chain management: some insights from Indian manufacturing companies. Asian Acad Manag J 9(1):79–97
Jharkharia S, Shankar R (2006) Supply chain management: some sectoral dissimilarities in Indian manufacturing industries. International Journal of Supply Chain Management 11:345–352
Kotha S, Swamidass PM (1998) Advanced manufacturing technology use: exploring the effect of the nationality variable. Int J Prod Res 36:3135–3146
Kotha S, Swamidass PM (2000) Strategy, advanced manufacturing technology and performance: empirical evidence from US manufacturing firms. J Oper Manag 18:257–277
Pyke D, Farley J, Robb D (2002) Manufacturing technology and operations in china: a survey of state-owned enterprises, private firms, joint ventures and wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. Eur Manag J 20:56–375
Sabourin D, Beckstead D (1998) Technology adoption in Canadian manufacturing: survey of advanced technology in Canadian manufacturing. Statistics Canada report 88F0006XPB ST-99-05
Sun H, Tian Y, Cui H (2001) Evaluating advanced manufacturing technology in Chinese state-owned enterprises: a survey and case studies. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 18:528–536
Swamidass PM, Winch GW (2002) Exploratory study of the adoption of manufacturing technology innovations in the USA and the UK. Int J Prod Res 40:2677–2703
Zhao HX, Henry C (1997) Adoption and implementation of advanced manufacturing technology in Singapore. Int J Prod Econ 48:7–19
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thakur, L.S., Jain, V.K. Advanced manufacturing techniques and information technology adoption in India: A current perspective and some comparisons. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 36, 618–631 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-006-0852-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-006-0852-4