Abstract

The goal of this project was to determine whether there was a common infrastructure among fast innovators and, if so, to articulate its elements. Based on the literature, a model of the structure and infrastructure of fast cycle innovation was proposed and three hypotheses were developed. A date base containing data from 712 respondents in 42 U.S. plants in three industries was used to determine whether there were differences in human resource management practices, organizational characteristics, strategic management, Just-in-Time practices and quality management between fast, medium and slow innovators. There were significant differences among each of these dimensions, indicating that there is, indeed, a common infrastructure among fast cycle innovators and that it contains elements of these dimensions. Future work should focus on better articulating the relationship among the elements of infrastructure in supporting fast cycle innovation and determining the causal and temporal relationships between fast cycle innovation and other sources of World Class Manufacturing in achieving a competitive advantage.


Click on the link below for the final report in pdf.
flynn_0693.pdf