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Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to test the cumulative capabilities theory ([33] Nakane, 1986; [14] Ferdows and De Meyer, 1990; [34] Noble, 1995; [15] Flynn and Flynn, 2004) and examine the early sequence of manufacturing capability development intended by firms in a less-developed economy such as that of Ghana. We thereby hope to also determine if capability development in such an economy tends to follow a specific sequence similar to any of those found by other researchers.
Although there have been quite a few studies examining various aspects of the cumulative capabilities theory ([34] Noble, 1995; [66] White, 1996; [8] Corbett and Whybark, 2001; [15] Flynn and Flynn, 2004), most of the studies have been based on data collected from firms in advanced or rapidly advancing economies in North America, Europe and Asia. We have yet to see a test of the model in a less-developed economy such as that of Ghana. The practical importance of disconfirming either cumulative capabilities or the specific sequence of attainment of capabilities is that managers in these countries may be following the wrong production strategy without realizing it, thereby putting their firms, and perhaps even the delicate economy of these less-developed countries, at risk. As [19] Grössler and Grübner (2006, p. 458) noted: "capabilities are potential behavior modes of a plant with which it can support and shape corporate strategy and which help it succeed in the market place."
One of the earliest tests of the cumulative capabilities theory was the work done by [34] Noble (1995). Using data collected from factories in Europe, Korea and North America, she concluded that there was general support for the cumulative capabilities theory of operations strategy. Her findings also indicated that there were differences in the applicability of the model to different regions of the world. For example, although Noble observed that Korean firms tended to follow the [14] Ferdows and De Meyer (1990) capability sequence of the cumulative model more closely than American or European firms, there were several significant negative relationships between the capabilities, thus providing some support for [48] Skinner's (1969) competing theory of tradeoffs among capabilities.
More recently, [15] Flynn and Flynn (2004) used data from 167 manufacturing plants from five countries to test the existence...