No abstract

This paper explores the impact of the adoption of Flexible Manufacturing Technology (FMT) on the Malaysian Manu-facturing Industry. The Principal Component Analysis has been adopted to extract the most appropriate underlying dimensions of FMT to use in place of the eight FMT variables owing to the potential multicollinearity. The study has been conducted within FMT intensively adopted 16 three-digit industries that encompass 50 five-digit industries cover-ing the years 2000-2005. The results obtained from the two scenarios, one, including the industry fixed effects dummy variables and the other without these, are contrasted. It is established that the model that included the industry fixed effect dummy variables has a greater explanatory power. The two principal components that account for the greater variation in FMT show positive and moderately significant relationship with PCM. The study provides sufficient evi-dence to conclude that FMT has a direct and moderately significant relationship with PCM

This paper examines the impact of the adoption of Flexible Manufacturing Technology (FMT) on the Technical Efficiency of Malaysia Manufacturing Industry. Owing to the potential multicollinearity, the Principal Component Analysis has been adopted to extract the most appropriate underlying dimensions of FMT in an effort to substitute the eight FMT variables. The study has been conducted within FMT intensively adopted 16 three-digit industries that encompass 50 five-digit industries covering the years 2000-2005. The results obtained from the two situations, one, including the industry fixed effects dummy variables and the other without these, are contrasted. It is found that the model that included the industry fixed effect dummy variables possesses a greater explanatory power. The two principal components that account for the greater variation in FMT show positive and moderately significant relationship with TE. The study concludes with sufficient evidence that FMT has a direct and moderately significant relationship with TE