MODELING SUCCESSFUL TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

The design by a firm to invest in advanced manufacturing technology is based on the expectations of at least a market return on the investme nt within the competitive marketplace. In this paper, a conceptual mod el is proposed describing the sequential relationship between new tech nology investment and profitability. The model is based on an empirica l study of Canadian manufacturing companies undertaken recently. In a broader sense, the investment and implementation of new technology wil l affect many factors that can be captured under three general categor ies: (i) technical, (ii) human organizational, and (iii) strategic. Ea ch of these three categories contains a a number of components which c ould, in turn, affect profitability sources independently in combinati on with components in one of the other categories.