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Firms’ strategies on product portfolio building and sourcing/procurement emerge through interactions with other firms, as well as with the dynamic environment in which the firms are placed. In this study, the resulting inter-firm relationship patterns are conceptualized based on the emergent synthesis perspective. Taking the automobile industry as an example, empirical longitudinal data are investigated with specific focus on the heterogeneous effects of various factors on network formations, providing a better understanding of how and to what extent we can possibly design/control supply networks, and predict potential future risks.

Using system dynamic model that captures the enterprise strategic behavior of two competing enterprise, this study explore and analyze the strategic benefit of gaining volume flexibility capability considering both the expected behavior of competition and the market dynamics. By conducting a game theoretic comparative analysis for simultaneous decisions made by competitors under different market scenarios in different industry and market setups, results shows, to achieve high productivity, profitability, efficiency and maximum utilization rate, industrial enterprise should select from a wide range of strategic capabilities that match the state of its external environment requirements with responsive rate that matches the product life cycle span.

Increasingly complex market dynamics due to unpredictable forecasts and shorter innovation cycles require maximum flexibility from production companies and their manufacturing systems. A manufacturing system should not only produce high-quality products at the lowest possible price; it should also be able to react quickly to market changes and consumers preferences. After the implementation in large enterprises belonging to the automotive sector and other related sectors, the concept of flexibility and changeability has been introduced in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). In recent years, the concept of flexibility and changeability was object of research and industry. Current research in manufacturing pays great attention to flexibility and changeability in manufacturing and assembly systems. Therefore, research and investigations are needed to analyze the requirements for the design of flexible and changeable manufacturing and assembly systems in SMEs in order to define simple and practically suitable design guidelines. This research analyzes the nature of environmental changes, which SMEs are currently facing, due to a questionnaire-based survey. This research paper summarizes the results of the survey, executed with 27 SME companies in North Italy, showing the main requirements for the design of flexible and changeable manufacturing and assembly systems.