The set of just-in-time management strategies: an assessment of their impact on plant-level productivity and input-factor substitutability using variable cost function estimates

摘要

Many manufacturers in the automobile industry around the world have adopted the just-in-time (JIT) set of management strategies in an effort to improve pro- ductivity, efficiency and product quality. This paper provides empirical evidence that supports the idea that JIT manufacturing environments are, in fact, more productive than their non-JIT counterparts. Plant-level cross-sectional data from auto-parts manufacturing firms are used to estimate variable cost functions for a JIT group as well as for a non-JIT group of plants. Differences in cost function characteristics between the two groups are examined and discussed.