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Small firms under MICROSCOPE: international differences in production/operations management practices and performance

Small firms under MICROSCOPE: international differences in production/operations management... Although the importance of operations in reaching world-class competitiveness has been highlighted in the operations management literature, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) have been found to have a poor uptake of world-class practices. Reports on a study of 285 SMEs located in Italy, the UK, and other northern European countries. The data are taken from the MICROSCOPE facilitated self-assessment benchmarking database, which studied operations practices and performance in small firms. The level of world-class practices and performance was compared across companies by company size and by country of origin. Significant differences were found between "micro" companies (fewer than 20 employees) and larger companies (between 20 and 200 employees). Other significant differences were found by country, which may be attributed to differences in regional policies and infrastructures regarding small firms. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Integrated Manufacturing Systems Emerald Publishing

Small firms under MICROSCOPE: international differences in production/operations management practices and performance

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References (31)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 MCB UP Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0957-6061
DOI
10.1108/EUM0000000006229
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Although the importance of operations in reaching world-class competitiveness has been highlighted in the operations management literature, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) have been found to have a poor uptake of world-class practices. Reports on a study of 285 SMEs located in Italy, the UK, and other northern European countries. The data are taken from the MICROSCOPE facilitated self-assessment benchmarking database, which studied operations practices and performance in small firms. The level of world-class practices and performance was compared across companies by company size and by country of origin. Significant differences were found between "micro" companies (fewer than 20 employees) and larger companies (between 20 and 200 employees). Other significant differences were found by country, which may be attributed to differences in regional policies and infrastructures regarding small firms.

Journal

Integrated Manufacturing SystemsEmerald Publishing

Published: Dec 1, 2001

Keywords: Small to medium‐sized enterprises; Performance; Benchmarking

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