FINAL REPORT OF EU-MANSTU

This 'analysis of drivers, barriers and readiness factors of European Union companies for adopting AMT' seeks to identify relevant steps and actions towards not only the development of better manufacturing technologies but towards the promotion of industrial modernisation in a more general sense in a threefold manner. First, and most importantly, it takes an unrelentingly uptake- and technology-user-centred perspective that focuses on the potential of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) for broad-based industrial modernisation as well as on factors enabling or limited AMT uptake. In that approach, it differs from the majority of pre-existing, technology-based studies. Second, it establishes a robust empirical framework of reference (qualitative and quantitative) which not only goes beyond anecdotal evidence but also covers Member States, various types of technologies as well as firms in a broader way than any available study. Thus, it will allow policy makers to put various requirements into perspective and to prioritise them Third, it puts forward policy recommendations not only as general headline objectives but also at the level of concrete suggestions for future actions driven by various actors, developed in the light of those already available. Thus, it outlines a prioritised, multi-level strategy for European industrial modernisation.