ABSTRACT
This chapter explores possible relationships between changes in catalyst financial commitments and changes in productivity and profitability, as well as relationships between productivity changes and profitability changes, in selected manufacturing industries and companies. It reviews the relevant literature from both the economics and the management accounting perspectives. The chapter purposes the companies with substantial research and development and capital expenditures are included in the sample, after other industry and company selection criteria are satisfied. The incidence of positive relationships— both in industries and in companies— indicates that catalyst financial commitments are yielding substantial benefits in the US manufacturing environment. In terms of methodology, the productivity model created by the American Productivity Center is used to measure the productivity of the selected companies because the data needed for this model can be obtained through publicly available data. For productivity and profitability comparisons in different countries, more powerful statistical analyses of industry and company relationships may also provide many useful insights.
