ASSIMILATION PATTERNS IN THE USE OF ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES IN SMES: EXPLORING THEIR EFFECTS ON PRODUCT INNOVATION PERFORMANCE

ABSTRACT Manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are more and more adopting advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) aimed at fostering product innovation process, improving product quality, streamlining the production process, and gaining productivity. In this study, we analyze the relationship between AMT proficiency levels in manufacturing SMEs and product innovation performance. Using data from 616 manufacturing SMEs, and considering a wide range of various AMT (20 different types of AMT grouped into 5 categories), we derived three AMT assimilation patterns through a clust...