Title: A systematic comparison of the manufacturing performance of engineering companies in Italy and the UK

Authors: Marek Szwejczewski, Keith Goffin, Alberto Grando

Addresses: Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield, Bedford, MK43 0AL, UK. Stuttgart Institute of Management and Technology, Filderhauptstrasse 142, D-70599 Stuttgart, Germany. Bocconi School of Management, Bocconi University, Area Tecnologia, Via F. Bocconi, 8-20136 Milano, Italy

Abstract: A comparison of the performance of Italian and UK manufacturing plants from the Engineering industry is presented, based on data collected in both countries using the survey method. The comparison of the quantitative data indicates that in the areas of flexibility and quality there were no real differences between the performance of Italian and UK plants. However, in the area of people management, significant differences were found and these have implications for both researchers and managers in the engineering sector.

Keywords: engineering industry; Italian manufacturing performance; UK manufacturing performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPM.2003.002101

International Journal of Business Performance Management, 2003 Vol.5 No.1, pp.73-90

Published online: 20 Jul 2003 *

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