Implications of organization and human behaviour on the implementation of CIM in SMEs: an empirical analysis A. GUNASEKARAN, H. B. MARRI, R. MCGAUGHEY and R. J. GRIEVE Abstract. Computer integrated manufacturing ( CIM) re- quires cross-functional co-operation, and involvement of employees in product and process development. A successful CIM initiative in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) must have top management involvement and commitment and a CIM compatible organizational infrastructure which includes requisite skills, appropriate training and education, and adequate incentives and rewards. Top management must committhe resources necessaryto acquire needed technology and bring about any necessary changes in the organizational infrastructure. Top management must likewise be willing to accept the long-term consequences of their decisions. SMEs play an increasingly important role in the competitiveness of many industries in the areas of product and process innovation, flexibility, and in the development of innovative management methods, organizational conventions, and hu- man resource practices. One of the ways that SMEs can achieve a competitive advantage in manufacturing is through the implementation of CIM. To promote a better understanding of organizational issues pertaining to the implementation of CIM in SMEs, a framework is proposed for use in examining and explaining the organizational ramifications of CIM. A literature review and an empirical study provide the founda- tion for the proposed framework. 1. Introduction In the last two decades several factors have forced global manufacturers to make dramatic changes in their product, market, and manufacturing strategies (Mechling et al. 1995). The market place of the 21st century is evolving into one of merging national markets, fragmented consumer markets, and rapidly changing product technologies. These changes are driving firms to compete, simultaneously, in the areas of design, manufacturing, distribution, communication and human resources. A recent survey showed that almost 87% of SMEs in the USA were using or planning to use CIM. Many of the SMEs using CIM reported improved performance (Morris and Morris 1994). The literature suggests that SMEs using CIM have achieved increased productivity, reduced lead time and unit cost, and better capacity utilization (Jaikumar 1986, Voss 1988, Goldhar and Lei 1994). Since the 1980s public support for SMEs has continued to increase, and growing emphasis has been placed on a special sub-class of SMEs, high technology firms. Such firms played a key role in the development of new technology based industries in the USA during the 1950s and 1960s. The new and rapidly growing biotechnology industry is evidence of the importance of high tech SMEs (Rothwell 1989). SMEs, because of their small size and often limited resources, sometimes require complementary inputs like assistance with business planning, quality control, and project assessment. The limited evidence currently available on SME support initiatives in Europe suggests an emphasis on technology development and transfer, and provision for quite a broad range of complemen- tary services. The purpose of CIM is to improve the ability to manufacture and sell products through utilization of people, land, equipment, raw materials and facilities. CIM is a generic term for a group of manufacturing technologies that combine both scope and scale capabilities in a manufacturing environment (Herald 1990) . Manufacturing strategy has become more INT. J. COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING, 2001, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 175–185 International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing ISSN 0951-192X print/ ISSN 1362-3052 online Ó 2001 Taylor & Francis Ltd http:/ / www.tandf.co.uk/ journals Authors: A. Gunasekaran, Department of Management, University of Massachu- setts, North Dartmouth, MA 02747-2300, USA, e-mail: agunasekaran@umass- d.edu; H. B. Marri and R. J. Grieve, Department of Systems Engineering, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK; R. McGaughey, Department of Business and Economics, Arkansas Technological University, Russellville, AR 72801, USA.