A study on the use of advanced manufacturing technologies by manufacturing firms in a small, geographically isolated, developed economy: the case of Malta

Abstract

During the last 20 years, many authors have investigated the use of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) in large, developed economies, and/or in newly industrialized states. In this work, we complement these studies through a survey/interview-based investigation of the use of and attitude towards AMT in Malta, a developed nation that is small, insular and peripheral, but that has still succeeded in setting up a substantial and diverse manufacturing base. We focus specifically on production automation technologies and address characteristics on the general attitude to and use of automation; perceived impediments to automation use; preferences pertaining to equipment procurement; uptake of and attitude towards reconfigurable automation systems; frequency and extent of production system changes; and related product design issues. We introduce the notion of real and virtual barriers to the use of manufacturing automation, pertaining to whether a barrier is genuine or whether it refers to a potentially mistaken perception, and show that companies having a positive attitude towards automation are more likely to focus on the real barriers. We find a unique blend of characteristics that can be compared to those found in large, fully developed economic regions on the one hand and to the newly industrialized countries on the other hand. We posit that many of the findings reported in this work may be applicable to other similarly isolated and diverse manufacturing pockets in the developed world and therefore offer new insight into the characteristics of, and into the difficulties faced by, manufacturing companies within such an environment.