An Experiment of Flexible Specialization in Cyprus
An Experiment of Flexible Specialization in Cyprus
This chapter examines a ten-year effort to reform the furniture manufacturing sector of Cyprus, according to the industrial model of flexible specialization. The reform initiative involved the setting up of information services and the development of information systems to strengthen the management of the furniture manufacturing SMEs and their consortia. However, little innovation took place and the whole reform experiment was abandoned in the mid-1990s. The analysis of the case examines how the theory of flexible specialization considered information systems innovation as a prerequisite of good management. It is argued that management and formal information processing and communication were alien and threatening to the owners of the small production firms, whose life values and entrepreneurial competencies could not be stretched to enable the promotion of export-oriented business.
Keywords: furniture manufacturing, SMEs, flexible specialization, information systems innovation, organizational reform
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