The Unpredictable Certainty White Papers (1997) / Chapter Skim
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Small Manufacturing Enterprises and the National Information Infrastructure
Small Manufacturing Enterprises and the National Information Infrastructure
Pages 351-363
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From page 351... ...
Niemi Case Western Reserve University STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The vision for the future is that an emerging national information infrastructure (N~ and its defense counterpart (D~ will equip U.S. industry to be second to none in the global economy.
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From page 352... ...
BACKGROUND SMEs and the Economy Small manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) are responsible for an estimated 2X to 40 percent of Me employment In the manufacturing sector.
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From page 353... ...
In their discussion of agile manufactunng, Goldman and Sagely share the vision of integration of virtual enterprises through the use of information technology, including standards and "broad-band communications channels."' They acknowledge the need for flexible production machinery but point out the need for organizational innovations as well. The able system Hey envision requires flexible production workers and · .
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From page 354... ...
1 dg!
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From page 355... ...
For SMEs to benefit from Me NU, they must be at level 3 or above, developing capabilities for network/supply chain ~ntegration. Although the IBM survey was not limited to manufacturing firms, our experience with SMEs leads us to speculate that small service firms and those In the retailing and trade sectors may use computers even more than manufacturers, lowering even fiercer the estimate of how many SMEs have moved beyond the first stage of computer use.
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From page 356... ...
Concepts Hat exarn~ne how He individual firm makes a technology adoption decision may be more informative in He early development of the NIT.
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From page 357... ...
. Where linkages to such external learning opportunities are particularly well~eveloped we would expect to find a more rapid rate of diffusion of productivity-enhancing process innovations to small fi~ms.'~7
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From page 358... ...
Ohio's Thomas Edison Technology Centers, the federally funded Manufacturing Technology Centers (MTCs) , and, most appropriately, the federally funded Electronic Commerce Resource Centers (ECRCs)
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From page 359... ...
, the shared interests of the supply chain may motivate groups of firms to adopt ECT more quickly. Although the relationships of suppliers to Me manufacturers has become closer over the past several years, there still are no widely accepted technical standards, nor are there any established social mechanisms for engaging In collaborative efforts.
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From page 360... ...
Consequently, the following paragraphs outline high-leverage opportunities for the federal government to improve the capabilities of existing public and partnership programs to address these issues. In particular, DOD end the Department of Commerce programs such as the Manufacturing Technology Centers (MTCs)
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From page 361... ...
Research results on technology adoption and the management of technology, especially in SMEs, may not be a normal part of the reaming environment for the center stalls. Possible outcomes: Expanded roles would emerge, for example, if these programs viewed their centers as referent organizations, operating in a particular ~nterorgan~zational domain.
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From page 362... ...
1991. "Technological Experience and the Technology Adoption Decisions of Small Manufacturing Firms," R&D Management 21:241-249.
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From page 363... ...
1992. "Manufacturing Industry Clusters as a Logical Way to Structure Technology Deployment," Center for Regional Economic Issues Report, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
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