The Effects of Company Size, Ownership and Industry Sector on AMT Adoption: An Australian Study

In this paper the influence of company size, company ownership and industry sector on the planning and implementation activities for advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) in Australasian organisations is statistically assessed. The research instrument was a postal questionnaire which covered the decision areas in AMT proposal generation, assessment and implementation. The 132 respondents were the personnel most actively involved in the planning and implementation of AMT investments in their respective organisations. The statistically significant effects are presented and we suggest plausible explanations for these effects. The main conclusion of this study is that the effects of company size and ownership on AMT adoption are significant in a number of key technology management areas. The effects of industry sector, however, are fewer. We propose that a implication for managers from these findings is in the benchmarking of, or identification of "best practice", AMT management practices. The study highlights that the best AMT practices are not confined to one particular industry or type of company (size, ownership or industry sector).