Purpose

Advancements in responsive manufacturing have been supporting companies over the last few decades. However, manufacturers now operate in a context of continuous uncertainty. This research paper explores a mechanism where companies can “elastically” provision and deprovision their production capacity, to enable them in coping with repeated disruptions. Such a mechanism is facilitated by the imitability and substitutability of production resources.

Design/methodology/approach

An inductive study was conducted using Gioia methodology for this theory generation research. Respondents from 20 UK manufacturing companies across multiple industrial sectors reflected on their experience during COVID-19. Resource-based view and resource dependence theory were employed to analyse the manufacturers' use of internal and external production resources.

Findings

The study identifies elastic responses at four operational levels: production-line, factory, company and supply chain. Elastic responses that imposed variable-costs were particularly well-suited for coping with unforeseen disruptions. Further, the imitability and substitutability of manufacturers helped others produce alternate goods during the crisis.

Originality/value

While uniqueness of production capability helps manufacturers sustain competitive advantage against competitors during stable operations, imitability and substitutability are beneficial during a crisis. Successful manufacturing companies need to combine these two approaches to respond effectively to repeated disruptions in a context of ongoing uncertainties. The theoretical contribution is in characterising responsive manufacturing in terms of resource heterogeneity and resource homogeneity, with elastic resourcing as the underlying mechanism.

中文翻译：

---

弹性制造：配置和取消配置生产能力以改变产品数量和组合

目的

过去几十年来，响应式制造的进步一直为企业提供支持。然而，制造商现在在持续不确定的背景下运营。本研究论文探讨了一种企业可以“弹性”供应和取消其产能的机制，使他们能够应对反复的中断。生产资源的可模仿性和可替代性促进了这种机制。

设计/方法论/途径

使用 Gioia 方法对这一理论生成研究进行了归纳研究。来自多个工业领域 20 家英国制造公司的受访者反思了他们在新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 期间的经历。采用资源基础观和资源依赖理论来分析制造商对内部和外部生产资源的利用情况。

发现

该研究确定了四个运营层面的弹性响应：生产线、工厂、公司和供应链。施加可变成本的弹性反应特别适合应对不可预见的干扰。此外，制造商的模仿性和可替代性帮助其他人在危机期间生产替代产品。

原创性/价值

虽然生产能力的独特性有助于制造商在稳定运营期间保持相对于竞争对手的竞争优势，但可模仿性和可替代性在危机期间却是有利的。成功的制造企业需要将这两种方法结合起来，以便在持续不确定的情况下有效应对反复出现的中断。理论贡献在于从资源异质性和资源同质性的角度来描述响应式制造，并以弹性资源作为基本机制。