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The Competitive Characteristics of U.S. Manufacturers in the Machine Tool Industry

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  • Kalafsky, Ronald V
  • MacPherson, Alan D

Abstract

This paper examines the competitive characteristics of U.S. manufacturers in the machine tool (MT) industry. After several decades of decline, this industry has recently shown signs of a modest but sustained recovery. Empirical evidence from a national survey of 104 MT producers suggests that the revival of this sector has been driven by a combination of factors, including renewed export involvement, improved customer support, and better product design. Although most MT companies are small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the survey data show that very small SMEs are poorly represented in the recovery thrust of the industry as a whole. Our principal conclusion is that the MT industry has been following an export-led path toward stabilization, but that certain types of small producers are unlikely to thrive for very long. The most serious problems facing small producers include shrinking local markets, import competition, shortages of skilled labor, and cyclical demand. Copyright 2002 by Kluwer Academic Publishers

Suggested Citation

  • Kalafsky, Ronald V & MacPherson, Alan D, 2002. "The Competitive Characteristics of U.S. Manufacturers in the Machine Tool Industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 355-369, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:19:y:2002:i:4:p:355-69
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    Cited by:

    1. Fabio Pieri, 2015. "Vertical organization of production and firm growth behavior," Working Papers 1508, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.
    2. Fabio Pieri, 2018. "Vertical organization of production and firm growth," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 27(1), pages 83-106.
    3. Luiz Antonio de Camargo Guerrazzi & Fernando Antonio Ribeiro Serra & Manuel Portugal Ferreira & Vanessa Vasconcelos Scazziota, 2022. "Using Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modelling to Advance Entrepreneurship Research: A Study on the Liabilities of Newness and Smallness," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 31(3), pages 603-631, November.
    4. Rosenbusch, Nina & Brinckmann, Jan & Bausch, Andreas, 2011. "Is innovation always beneficial? A meta-analysis of the relationship between innovation and performance in SMEs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 441-457, July.
    5. Jonathan Brookfield, 2008. "Firm Clustering and Specialization: A Study of Taiwan’s Machine Tool Industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 405-422, April.
    6. Mary Beth Rousseau & Blake D. Mathias & Laura T. Madden & T. Russell Crook, 2016. "Innovation, Firm Performance, And Appropriation: A Meta-Analysis," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(03), pages 1-29, April.

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