Exponent-critical groups

We define and investigate the property of being `exponent-critical' for a finite group. A finite group is said to be exponent-critical if its exponent is not the least common multiple of the exponents of its proper non-abelian subgroups. We explore properties of exponent-critical groups and give a characterization of such groups. This characterization generalises a classical result of Miller and Moreno on minimal non-abelian groups; interesting families of $p$-groups appear.