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Advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) and significant organizational changes must be effectively implemented in order to obtain a high level of technology infusion. This study develops a new framework for technology infusion measurement, and investigates the relationship between organizational change and infusion effectiveness. The empirical data is collected from the computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) firms using questionnaires. The result indicates that the organizational change variables, including centralization of structures, skill variety, task identity and feedback of task; and the individual's attitude and sufficiency of education and training, have significant impacts on the infusion effectiveness of AMT implementation.
1. Introduction
Adopting an advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) to achieve business performance is one of the modern manufacturing firm's competitive strategies. However, many studies have indicated that the technology is necessary, but not sufficient, for a firm to gain benefits from technological innovation (e.g. Sun and Gertsen 1995, Noori 1997). These researches have shown the extent to which the expected potential and competitive advantage of an AMT is reflected in the success by which the technology was infused into an organization. From the viewpoint of the technology implementation, Kwon and Zmud (1987) propose a stage model of implementation activities organized around Lewin's change model. This stage model is presented as initiation, adoption, adaptation, acceptance, use, and incorporation.
Cooper and Zmud (1989) define the last two stages of Kwon and Zmud's stage model as routinization and infusion. In the routinization stage, a technology merely loses its distinction, without guaranteeing the use of technology to its fullest potential. Only when the company arrives at the infusion stage, is that the technology finally embedded in the organization's operational and/or managerial work systems (OMWSs) and comes to its fullest potential. However, the concept of infusion is too abstract, it will trigger a variety of opinions as to how to measure it.
In the case of AMT, it has great potentialities, but benefits do not come from the technology per se. Companies only gain benefits from AMT after certain organizational changes. Therefore, there are two objectives of this study, the first is to develop a framework to measure an infusion condition of AMT. The second is to examine some of the organizational change factors affecting the AMT infusion effectiveness.
2. Measuring technology infusion
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