A NEW ERA OF FLEXIBILITY - SOME EVIDENCE AND PROBLEMS FROM THE PETROCHEMICALS INDUSTRY

The debate over the notion of "flexibility' has centred around evidence from a small number of industrial sectors. In this paper the petrochemicals industry is examined for evidence of a shift towards flexibility. It is concluded that there is evidence of both a move towards flexible production and organisation and a move towards the retention of commodity production. In so doing, three problems in the flexibility argument are dealt with; the breakup of mass markets, the potential of small firms, and the engineering-derived nature of the approach. -Authors