Browsing by Author "Sweeney, Michael"

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    Product innovation in UK manufacturing companies
    (Inderscience, 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z) Goffin, Keith; Szwejczewski, Marek; Sweeney, Michael; New, Colin
    In many sectors of the manufacturing industry, product innovation is an important way for companies to achieve competitive advantage. Regular introductions of new products can be essential, especially in fast-moving markets. But how often do companies introduce new products? A database of UK manufacturing plants was analysed to determine the innovation rates and typical product development times in specific industry sectors. The results show a wide spread in the development times and innovation rates even within closely defined sectors - implying that some companies are particularly efficient at product innovation whereas others need to improve. In addition, the research identifies a number of key areas of innovation, which require further investigation, both within the UK and on an international basis.
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    A study into continuous improvement initiative sustainability
    (Cranfield University Press, 2013-09-19) Szwejczewski, Marek; Sweeney, Michael; Butler, Michael
    The idea of continuous improvement is familiar to most managers and there are many examples of how its use can increase a company’s overall performance. However, while numerous companies have adopted the approach, very few have seen the long term sustainability of such programmes. This paper reports on research that was carried out into the sustainability of continuous improvement initiatives. A case study was carried out in a manufacturing company that had been using the approach for five years. The case study identified several factors that helped to sustain the initiative but it also revealed some elements that had a negative impact.