A survey of the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies in the UKMany reasons have been offered to account for the gap between anticipated and actual outcomes but there have been few studies which attempt to compare these experiences across countries, in order to identify core problems and ways forward, which might avoid some of the potential pitfalls. This article outlines some of the findings from a study of British manufacturers, which is part of global research involving surveys of national samples in Australasia, South East Asia, South Africa, Europe, Scandinavia and North America.