Why should manufacturing firms in many national industries maintain multiple small scale plants when they might produce the same output at a lower unit cost in a single large establishment? What specific benefits are attained through the operation of multiple plants? To address these questions, the authors conducted 125 in-depth interviews with businessmen actively involved in plant size and multi-plant operating decisions. They investigated the experience of twelve industries in six countries (West Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, and the United States). The authors develop an economic theory of plant size and multi-plant decisions and apply it to analyze the statistical and qualitative evidence on factors affecting plant size choices. They then examine the extent of multi-plant operation, its statistical correlate, and the economy actually or potentially realizable from various modes of multi-plant operation. Implications are drawn from antitrust and foreign trade policy, the evolution of scientific business management, and the development of industrial organization knowledge.
Authors: Frederic M. Scherer, I. Scherer, Alan Beckenstein, Erich Kaufer, Dennis R. Murphy, Francine Bougeon-Massen
Categories: Business & Economics
Type: BOOK - Published: 1975 - Publisher: Harvard University Press
Why should manufacturing firms in many national industries maintain multiple small scale plants when they might produce the same output at a lower unit cost in a single large establishment? What specific benefits are attained through the operation of multiple plants? To address these questions, the authors conducted 125 in-depth
Type: BOOK - Published: 2007 - Publisher: New Age International
In A Clear And Systematic Manner, This Book Presents An Exhaustive Exposition Of The Various Dimensions Of Industrial Economics. The Focus Of The Book Is On Understanding The Behaviour Of Business Firms Under Different Market Conditions. The Concepts And Tools Of Economic Analysis Relevant For Business Decision-Making Have Been Explained
Type: BOOK - Published: 1980 - Publisher: Harvard University Press
These three elegant essays develop principles central to the understanding of the diverse ways in which imperfect information affects the distribution of resources, incentives, and the evaluation of economic policy. The first concerns the special role that information plays in the allocation process when it is possible to improve accuracy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2007-01-01 - Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
. . . this collection should be viewed as a pioneering effort. . . this book would most likely serve as a useful quick reference source for students of industrial economics. It can also serve as a valuable point of departure for those who wish to study intellectual developments in