Technovation 26 (2006) 1147–1161 Agile manufacturing: Industrial case studies in Spain Daniel Va´zquez-Bustelo à , Lucı´a Avella Departamento de Administracio´n de Empresas y Contabilidad, Facultad de Ciencias Econo´micas y Empresariales, Universidad de Oviedo (Spain), Avda. Cristo s/n, 33071 Oviedo, Spain Abstract Changes in the business environment are leading firms to adopt a new production model termed agile manufacturing. This moves away from the traditional mass production paradigm and focuses on manufacturing highly customised products as and when customers require them. In this paper, we present an initial approach to agile manufacturing based on case studies on four factories in Spain. Despite different activities, products and production processes, similar trends were found in all four in the development of agile manufacturing. Based on the conclusions of the case studies, an agile manufacturing conceptual model has been drawn up and a number of hypotheses inferred. This work confirms the suitability of case study methodology in the early stages of research, especially for drawing up hypotheses. The study presented here is of an exploratory nature and the conclusions drawn from it offer possible routes for future research in the field of agile manufacturing. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Agile manufacturing; New paradigm; Spain; Case study research; Hypotheses 1. Introduction The concept of agile manufacturing was originally introduced in the report entitled ‘‘21st Century Manufac- turing Enterprise Strategy’’ and published by the Iacocca Institute of Lehigh University (Goldman and Nagel, 1991) as an option for managing firms in a dynamic world. Since then, it has been adopted by researchers, managers and consultants as the last stage in the evolution of manufac- turing models or systems. However, perhaps because the concept of agile manufacturing is at the developmental phase, it has been surrounded by considerable confusion. The term agile manufacturing is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to concepts such as flexible manufacturing, lean production or mass customisation. Additionally, while the interest of agile manufacturing for firms has been widely disseminated, its relation with performance has not been empirically validated. This paper therefore attempts to analyse the drivers, practices and results of agility in order to offer an initial approach to agile manufacturing. We carried out exploratory research work based on case study methodology, analysing the context and degree of practical application of agile manufacturing in four factories in Spain. In particular, the main needs for agility in the production plants were analysed, as well as the practices and tools being used by them to increase their responsiveness and, therefore, their competitiveness. The paper is structured as follows: Section 1 is the introduction; Section 2 focuses on the theoretical background of agile manufacturing; Section 3 presents the research methodol- ogy used; Section 4 discusses the main results of the case studies; Section 5 proposes a conceptual model for the analysis of agile manufacturing and several hypotheses. Finally, the main conclusions of the work are presented. 2. Agile manufacturing: theoretical background In the last decade the industrial environment has undergone substantial changes characterised not only by their breadth and depth but also by their speed. In this context, firms in general, and those dedicated to manu- facturing in particular, are finding it difficult to attain a sustainable competitive advantage or even ensure their survival due to the high levels of complexity, dynamism and uncertainty they face (Va´zquez-Bustelo and Avella, ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/technovation 0166-4972/$ - see front matter r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2005.11.006 à Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 985106216; fax: +34 985103708. E-mail addresses: dvazquez@uniovi.es (D. Va´zquez-Bustelo), lavella@uniovi.es (L. Avella).