Assembly line research: Historical roots, research life cycles and future directions

The purpose of this research effort, was to analyze whether the birth and development of assembly line research were driven by an industry/government ‘push’ or by an academic ‘pull’, examine the historical growth and decay patterns (life cycles) of assembly line research and publications, note research directions and their underlying causes, assess current research topics and likely future trends, and compare the results of this research effort with those of similar studies.