Research in the process and content of manufacturing strategy

Abstract

Traditionally, research in manufacturing strategy has not explicitly recognized the distinction between process and content research. In this paper, however, separate conceptual models for process and content are extracted from the literature. These models are used to: (1) articulate the distinction between process and content research; (2) synthesize the predominant process and content models; (3) evaluate the existing research; and (4) propose future research directions from both a process and content perspective. The research reported in this paper reveals that the literature has not progressed sufficiently beyond articulating the major issues in manufacturing strategy. Three causes for this lack of progress are identified: (1) a paucity of theory construction; (2) little empirical research; and (3) insufficient efforts in adopting ideas and methods from related fields.