Mk. Malhotra et al., An evaluation of the relationship between management practices and computer aided design technology, J OPER MANA, 19(3), 2001, pp. 307-333
Technology has been the engine of growth for the United States economy over
the last decade, and it is reasonable to expect that appropriate selection
and management of technology within the firm would continue to be highly c
ritical to its success well into the future. Operations managers constantly
struggle to seek answers to the right set of managerial actions that can b
e used to leverage technology for process effectiveness. This study takes a
step in that direction by empirically examining the management of computer
aided design (CAD) technology and outcomes of the product design process w
ithin manufacturing firms. In particular, the level of functionality and so
phistication of the CAD system are examined with respect to the use of seve
ral structural and infrastructural management levers such as the degree of
a firm's formalization and decentralization, the extent of the use of teams
, the extent of training of CAD designers, and the equity of the incentives
within the product design process. The influence of these management lever
s upon the CAD system performance is analyzed through the use of moderated
regression analysis conducted on a cross-sectional data of 143 firms repres
enting the vehicular industry in the USA. Our findings indicate that CAD fu
nctionality and sophistication are positively related to product design qua
lity, flexibility, and overall performance. The impact of management levers
on this relationship is a mixed one. Decentralization has no impact on the
CAD technology-performance relationship, formalization has some positive e
ffects, and the use of teams is helpful only in moderating the influence of
sophistication on overall performance. Equity of incentives enhances desig
n quality, while training is very important in improving performance across
the board. In general, sophisticated "state of the art" CAD systems requir
e much more proactive management than highly functional ones. Recommendatio
ns emerging from this study hopefully provide insights into a better manage
ment of not only CAD systems, but other process level technologies as well
that are relevant to firms in the manufacturing sector. We also discuss imp
lications of technology management provided by this research for creating l
eading edge enterprises. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
.