scholarly journals Industrial Clustering Leadership in Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Mexico

Author(s):  
Lewis Carrier ◽  
Ify Diala

<div><p><em>The purpose of this case study was to understand the leadership forms and values that could affect organizational practices of an industrial cluster in the Brownsville/Matamoros region. A sample of 30 leaders from manufacturing companies in Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoras, Mexico participated in interviews and surveys. The analysis of the interview and survey data generated 12 major themes that emerged regarding the leadership forms, values, and cross-cultural challenges pertinent to the industrial cluster in the region. Participants viewed marked differences between American and Mexican leadership strategies, with emphasis on differences in procedural and power structures. Unifying goals and a commitment to learning about and understanding culture, family, and community may help foster respect and acceptance of cultural differences across the border. Cluster priorities for leadership include optimizing work conditions, education and training, resource utilization, and focusing on quality products and customer-oriented leadership. Planning, organization, and decentralized knowledge sharing, involving the combined knowledge, understanding, and experience of leaders, require communication, collaboration, and cross-functional teamwork. Education and training for current and future leaders and employees, with reasonable goals aligned with a unified vision for the cluster concept, encompasses measurable performance assessments based on goal achievement, supported by intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. The results from this study led to specific recommendations for leaders of the industrial sectors of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoras, Mexico. The study concluded with limitations of the study and suggestions for future research based on the major thematic findings from this case study.  </em></p></div><p> </p>

Proceedings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Ourania Areta ◽  
Karel Van Isacker

Digitalization has transformed all aspects of life, from social interactions to the working environment and education, something that accelerated with the emergence of COVID-19. The same stands for education and training activities, where the use of digital tools has been gradually advancing and become merely online because of the virus. This brought forth the need to discuss further the applications, benefits, and challenges of digital tools within the framework of the education and training process, and the need to study examples of successful applications. This study aims to support both these requirements by presenting the case study of REFUGEEClassAssistance4Teachers project and its outcomes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariachiara Barzotto ◽  
Giancarlo Corò ◽  
Mario Volpe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to explore to what extent being located in a territory is value-relevant for a company. Second, to understand if a company is aware of, and how it can sustain, the territorial tangible and intangible assets present in the economic area in which it is located. Design/methodology/approach – The study presents an empirical multiple case-study, investigating ten mid-/large-sized Italian companies in manufacturing sectors. Findings – The results indicate that the sampled manufacturing companies are intertwined with the environment in which they are embedded, both in their home country and in host ones. The domestic territorial capital has provided, and still provides, enterprises with workers endowed with the necessary technical skills that they can have great difficulty in finding in other places. In turn, companies support territorial capital generation through their activities. Research limitations/implications – To increase the generalisability of the results, future research should expand the sample and examine firms based in different countries and sectors. Practical implications – Implications for policy makers: developing effective initiatives to support and guide a sustainable territorial capital growth. Implications for managers and investors: improving managerial and investors’ decisions by disclosing a complete picture of the enterprise, also outside the firm boundaries. Originality/value – The study contributes to intangibles/intellectual capital literature by shedding light on the importance of including territorial capital in a company’s report to improve the definition of the firm’s value. Accounting of the territorial capital would increase the awareness of the socio-economic environment value in which companies are located and its use.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella Engström ◽  
Kristina Sollander ◽  
Per Hilletofth ◽  
David Eriksson

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore reshoring drivers and barriers from a Swedish manufacturing perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a case study, including four Swedish manufacturing companies, with focus on drivers and barriers from the context of the Swedish manufacturing industry. A literature review of previously established drivers and barriers is used to map out the empirical findings and thereby identify potential gaps between the current body of literature and drivers and barriers from a Swedish manufacturing context.FindingsThe findings of the study suggest that quality issues continue to be one of the strongest reshoring drivers. Except for product quality, quality is also connected to host country’s infrastructure, communication and service. The supply chain perspective is a source of several drivers and is identified as a perspective often overlooked in offshoring decisions. Barriers related to firm specifics were more elaborately discussed by the companies, especially concerning calculation of location decision and the need to invest in resources, which allows for a higher level of capacity at the home country facility.Research limitations/implicationsThe study develops a structured table of reshoring drivers and barriers which can serve as a base for future research. Future research on the calculation of location decisions is deemed as a crucial step to further understand reshoring and aid companies in the decision-making process.Practical implicationsThe drivers and barriers identified in the study can give practitioners insight into reshoring from the perspective of the Swedish manufacturing industry and thus aid in future manufacturing location decisions. The table of drivers and barriers can also be important to understand how Sweden can strengthen its competitive advantage and motivate more companies to reshore manufacturing.Originality/valueThis is one of only few papers from the Nordic countries and also one of few case studies examining reshoring in manufacturing companies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document