---

This book focuses on the content and process of aligning business and manufacturing strategies, and the impact of the alignments on firm competitiveness. Based on empirical analyses of 384 companies, I operationalized the alignments on two levels: the macro-level linkages between business objectives and manufacturing missions, and the micro-level linkages between manufacturing missions and action programs. Some of the research findings include: the degree of macro-level alignments is moderated positively by the level of communication between marketing and manufacturing departments of a firm; the macro-level alignments enable the manufacturing function to contribute more to the overall performance of the firm. Based on these findings, a set of practical tools was developed, including a toolbox and two reference tables. These tools were applied to analyzing a real manufacturing company to demonstrate how the alignments between business and manufacturing strategies can be analyzed and improved.

---

Assistant Professor, University of Winnipeg (Canada); PhD, Business Administration, University of British Columbia; PhD, Engineering Management, City University of Hong Kong; Best Paper Award, Technology and Innovation (TIM) Division, Administration Sciences Association of Canada, 2011; Best Student Paper Award, TIM, Academy of Management, 2010

---