Manufacturing technology sourcing practices in the USA

Some companies are heavily reliant on the capabilities of their manufacturi ng technology for product competitiveness. Likewise, the capabilities of a manufacturing technology are dependent on the sourcing policy that the host company practices. This paper describes research that has explored a wide variety of US companies to understand manufacturing technology sourcing pol icies and how they have been formed. This research finds that there is a pr eference amongst the US organizations studied not to become involved with e quipment manufacture, though some examples of full integration do occur. Th ese policies are not determined by formalized decision processes, rather th ey are formed implicitly during technology choice. In this research, factor s that influence a technology source have been identified. These drivers ar e then used to establish a methodology that will help practising managers t o form a technology sourcing decision. This methodology takes into account the business demands placed on a technology, along with the characteristics of the host company's supplier base.