Complementarities in the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies

The purpose of this analysis is to use complementarity analysis to explain why some implementations of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) provide a high return on investment while others do not. By analysing the engineering environment, as well as the technology used in the manufacturing process, we hope to provide further insight into the necessary environmental conditions for high returns on investments in AMT. This paper aims to advance current understanding of the impact of organizational fit through complementarity analysis of 26 AMT and 12 engineering management practices. The results reveal that analysis on the dependencies of implementation of AMT must be conducted at the industry and plant size levels, otherwise the environmental differences may lead to inconclusive or misleading results for the majority of senior managers engaging in strategic AMT investment decision making.