Patterns of Advanced Technology Adoption and Manufacturing Performance

A study of the technology adoption patterns of a sample of several thousand U.S. manufacturing plants finds that these patterns are enormously diverse. Nonetheless, dispersion of advanced technologies appears to follow a recognizable progression: the most frequently adopted complex technology combinations are often comprised of more common simpler combinations. This study also suggests that specific technologies and technology combinations have varying degrees of association with plant-level job creation, productivity, and earnings. Moreover, plants with integrated fabrication and assembly operations appear to use technologies more effectively than plants engaged in only fabrication or assembly.