Technology evaluation and selection practices and resulting impacts in the electronics manufacturing industry

Summary form only given. This study presents the technology evaluation process in the US electronics manufacturing industry. A survey questionnaire was sent to electronics manufacturing companies in US to collect data about the relationships among the system elements. Multivariate statistical methods and an expert panel were used to quantify and clarify the relationships. The companies in the US electronics manufacturing industry are using eleven major groups of evaluation attributes: flexibility and efficiency, strategic attributes, manufacturing floor requirements, product development, tactical costs, strategic costs, competitiveness, operational social concerns, strategic social concerns, uniqueness, and industry trends. They utilize three major groups of evaluation methodologies: analytic tools, financial tools, and modeling tools. The resulting impacts are: organizational and operational competitiveness, market and new product development competitiveness. The results reveal the following conclusions. Large companies, regardless of their goals and industry segments, use strategic attributes and uniqueness as evaluation attributes. In the case of small companies, segment and goal make a difference in these choices. Companies which are targeting market and new product development competitiveness, use modeling as an evaluation methodology, regardless of their size or segment. This study is providing a guide line for decision makers who are looking for an appropriate technology evaluation strategy for their organizations.