A study of technology adoption in manufacturing firms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of technology adoption on operational competitiveness by taking an example from international manufacturing companies. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops a conceptual model to generate strategic flexibility and benefit for a manufacturing firm by managing manufacturing strategy and technology adoption with different leadership roles. Findings The results show that the leadership role is a significant factor to motivate strategic flexibility and generate higher benefit. For intellectuals, the mechanism provides a new approach to explicate technology adoption in a manufacturing company. Besides, it provides a deep‐rooted preliminary point for supplementary empirical assessment. The mechanism facilitates managers to expand their understanding of the leadership role for trust building and knowledge sharing in manufacturing firms. Practical implications With that enhanced understanding, the managers can spotlight their actions, which help further to perk up their firm's competitiveness provoked by supporting the knowledge sharing activities through appropriate leadership roles. Originality/value The mechanism developed in this study is believed to be the first sober effort to provide a deeper theoretical understanding of trust building for improving operational competitiveness in manufacturing firms with a practical approach