TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hubbard,Thomas N.
TI  - Why Are Process Monitoring Technologies Valuable? The Use of On-Board Information Technology in the Trucking Industry
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 6482
PY  - 1998
Y2  - March 1998
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6482
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6482.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Thomas Hubbard
615 Leverone Hall
Kellogg School of Management
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL  60208
Tel: 773/834-4074
Fax: 773/702-0458
E-Mail: t-hubbard@kellogg.northwestern.edu
AB  - Recent advances in information technology (IT) have enabled firms in many industries to give middle managers new access to timely production data.  Process monitoring' technologies give distant managers a window to production which can both lower their cost of monitoring subordinates and provide them better information toward allocating their firms' resources in the short term.  This paper investigates where and why IT-based process monitoring is valuable within the trucking industry, distinguishing between its incentive- and coordination-related benefits.  Using truck-level data, it examines how the use of on-board computers varies with characteristics of carriers, shippers, and hauls.  It then analyzes these patterns in light of existing theory and relates them to how supply chains are organized.
ER  -