scholarly journals The Strategic Importance of Supplier Relationships in the Automotive Industry

10.5772/56257 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ove Brandes ◽  
Staffan Brege ◽  
Per-Olof Brehmer
Keyword(s):  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Automobile Industry ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Product Portfolio ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Supplier Relationships ◽  
The Core ◽  
Industry Level ◽  
Core Competences

The aim of this paper is to analyse longitudinally the development of purchasing strategies in the automotive industry during the last 20 years. The amplitude of the business cycle during this time frame has been very high and includes periods of financial/automotive crisis as well as high sales and demand. Our empirical data is primarily drawn from a 1990–2010 longitudinal case study of the relationship between automaker Volvo Personal Cars and Autoliv, a supplier of seat belts and airbags, complemented with secondary data framing the development of the industry level. The theoretical focus is on outsourcing and purchasing strategies developed within long-lasting buyer-supplier relationships; theoretical pillars are found in transaction-cost theories and the resource-based view of the firm. Based on the longitudinal case study, our analysis pinpoints the importance of intimate cooperation between customer and supplier in areas close to the core values and core competences of the buyer (that is, the automaker). From an industry-level perspective, the winners in the automobile industry from 2010 and onwards have been and will be those who can organize long-term collaboration partnerships between the automakers, their suppliers, and the political stakeholders, and who can outsource a large part of the technical development to the suppliers in areas also close to the core competences. The automakers must accept that their suppliers have competing automakers as their customers and search for synergies in their product portfolio. Theoretically, there is a need for conceptual development through deeper studies of the firm's relational capability and its implications.

Maruti’s Nexa – enhancing customer experience beyond buying

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-512
Author(s):  
Arun Kumar Kaushik ◽  
Geetha Mohan
Keyword(s):  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Automobile Industry ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Master's Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Distribution Management ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Store Environment

Research methodology The case collates secondary data pertaining to Maruti’s current position, Nexa, the premium retail sales channel of Maruti, and recent developments in the Indian automobile industry. It presents the facts and data published on websites, newspapers and magazines in the form of a case study. Case overview/synopsis Nexa was launched by Maruti in 2015 to enhance the buying experience of its premium customers and to re-position itself as a premium brand. It started offering customized services to car purchasers through its well-trained employees, attractive store environment and omni channel experience. Through all these facilities, though Nexa had a bumpy ride for selling its first product, it managed to pace up and perform better in the next few years. It remained to be seen how Maruti would handle competitor and cost challenges and how it would strategize its efforts to strengthen its footprint in the Indian automotive industry. Complexity academic level This case can be used in retail management, sales and distribution management, marketing management and related courses/modules at the master’s level.

Purchasing behaviour and supplier base evolution – a longitudinal case study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Dubois ◽  
Lars-Erik Gadde ◽  
Lars-Gunnar Mattsson
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Supplier Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Purchasing Behaviour ◽  
Time Periods

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to describe and analyse the evolution of the supplier base of a buying firm and the reasons behind these changes. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a case study of the changes over 52 years in a sub-set of the supplier base of a firm manufacturing fork-lifts. Findings The study shows that some relationships feature substantial longevity. However, the duration of one-third of the total relationships is shorter than five years. There was considerable variation over time in the dynamics of the supplier base in terms of entries and exits of suppliers. Owing to this variation, research findings and conclusions in short-term studies are heavily dependent on the specific conditions at the time of the study. Finally, no less than one-fourth of the terminated supplier relationships were reactivated later. Research limitations/implications The study was designed in a time when purchasing was considered entirely from the perspective of the buying firm. Further studies, therefore, must increasingly emphasise the role of suppliers and the interaction in the buyer–supplier relationships, as well as the embeddedness in networks. Originality/value The findings of the study are unique in two ways. First, they are based on systematic observations over more than 50 years. Second, the study involves the purchases of 11 components representing different technical and economic features. The (few) previous studies are based on much shorter time periods and involves fewer suppliers/components. Moreover, the findings regarding re-activation of terminated relationships represent unique contributions.

scholarly journals A new customization model for enterprises based on improved framework of customer to business: A case study in automobile industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 168781401983388
Author(s):  
Xianyu Zhang ◽  
Xinguo Ming ◽  
Zhiwen Liu ◽  
Maokuan Zheng ◽  
Yuanju Qu
Keyword(s):  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Automobile Industry ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Production Model ◽  
Enterprise Strategy ◽  
Model Driven ◽  
Customer Model ◽  
Collaborative Platform

With the continuous improvement of living standards, customers are gradually pursuing products which are individualization, entertainment, and scene. The production model of the enterprise has changed from the traditional inventory model to the manufacturing model driven by the customer orders. By analyzing the evolution process of customer to business, we get the overall framework of customer to business based on customer platform-connecting manufactory platform-connecting service. A case study in the automotive industry is introduced, which takes customer to business as the implementation of enterprise strategy. The detailed implementation process is discussed from the four aspects of open and networked demand for personalized customer (C), open and networked manufacturing (M), open and networked service (S), open and networked collaborative platform (P). The objective of this article is to provide general references for enterprises to change from traditional business-to-customer model to open and interconnected customization model by combining the improved customer-to-business framework and its application in automotive industry. The framework we put forward has achieved good results in related customer-to-business projects we participated in. The research results of this article can be used as a reference for enterprises to design, set, and carry out the model of customer to business.

Under the Perspective of Low Carbon the New Energy Automobile Industry Development and Research Based on Collaborative Innovation – A Case Study in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area

2014 ◽  
Vol 644-650 ◽  
pp. 5966-5969
Author(s):  
Sun Jie ◽  
Hu Jiang Gong ◽  
Wen Feng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Automobile Industry ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Low Carbon Economy ◽  
Collaborative Innovation ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Carbon Economy

This paper are based on the background of a low-carbon economy, with China's automobile using new energy as the research object, explores the development of new energy automotive industry under collaborative innovation system, as well as the problems it faced. According to it, this paper put forward rational proposals, which has provided great theoretical value and practical significance for the development of new energy automotive industry in China.

scholarly journals Human wellbeing and automotive industry: correlations in the era of economical digitalization

2020 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 03004
Author(s):  
Egor Dudukalov ◽  
Muhammad Subhani ◽  
Denis Ushakov
Keyword(s):  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Automobile Industry ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sales Volume ◽  
Direct Relation ◽  
Human Wellbeing ◽  
Sale Volume ◽  
Prosperity Index

This research studies the relation between human wellbeing and automotive industry, as to whether the performance of automobile industry translates to an overall well-being of the populace. The study is based on secondary-data, and mainly takes into account the Prosperity-Index / ranking and its possible linkage with automotive sale volume of the nations. Findings of this study confirms that that the higher the prosperity index or ranking, the higher the automotive sales volume for most of the nations but several factor should be taken in to consideration, for example India automotive sale volume is bigger than the automotive sales volume of France but France prosperity rank is 19 and India in on 88 rank, it is because of the size and population of the country, India might have 10 times more population than France when divided among the population France may investing much more than India on their citizen. Findings reveal that Canada leads the table on first position with Australia on second position in the prosperity ranking, due to they provide enough opportunities for their people to live a good and healthy lives and these can be observed in terms of good automotive sales volume by these two nations. Further, finding also reveals that the automotive sales number of United States of America or several other countries have large value but that does not mean that they are also good in ranking in Prosperity Index which implies that the prosperity ranks has no direct relation with the automotive sales volume that a country generates.

scholarly journals Family influence on internationalization: an analysis of risk acceptance

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Waldir Goede ◽  
Dinorá Eliete Floriani ◽  
Ademir Furtado Filho
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Family Influence ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Family Commitment ◽  
The Family ◽  
Risk Acceptance ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article aims to contribute to the literature on family business (FBs), particularly from the perspective of commitment and influence of family on the FB internationalization regarding risk acceptance. Qualitative in nature, the study involved the use of a single longitudinal case study, based on in-depth interviews, storytelling and secondary data. Primary data were collected through semi-structured personal interviews with the company’s board chairman and vice-chairman, commercial director, European director and export manager; and secondary data were obtained using documental and scientific sources. It could be seen that family commitment and ownership influenced the internationalization process due to the proactivity of its European descendant founders, and particularly because in this company studied the process was initiated by a non-family member. However, family participation encourages risk acceptance, since the attachment to the family business creates an eagerness for growth. The findings corroborate the characteristics proposed by the Uppsala School, which claims that internationalization occurs in an unplanned, opportunistic manner, following sequential phases, through incremental learning and via the establishment of networks.

The story of project-based action learning (PAL)

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1442-1464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris M.Y. Law ◽  
K.B. Chuah
Keyword(s):  
Performance Management ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Policy And Strategy ◽  
And Performance

Purpose Since the late 1980s, the concepts of organizational learning (OL) and learning organization (LO) has prospered and been advocated as an effective strategy for organizational excellence. However, there was a lack of systematic documentation or cases reported proving the sustaining effect of OL. The purpose of this paper is to present a successful 15-year OL case in China, with which to prove PAL is a sustainable vehicle for OL. Design/methodology/approach This study documents a 15-year successful journey of a project-based action learning (PAL) driven OL setting in a multinational high-tech manufacturing company in China. The case study has been focusing on the progress of the four pillars in the PAL framework (i.e. policy and strategy; learning facilitation; resources and technology; and performance management) throughout the 15-year journey. Besides secondary data collection, on-site interviews with participants and the management of the company were carried out. Findings From this longitudinal case study, it can be seen that the four pillars form a very robust infrastructure supporting PAL for driving OL within the company. Each pillar is indispensable and evolves according to the needs of the others. Both management and learning team members perceived that PAL is an effective tool to drive OL within the case company. Originality/value This paper presents a unique15-year longitudinal examination of a successful OL story in a high-tech company in China, through the adoption of the PAL driven framework and the evolutionary road of the associated parts. While successful, this paper is considered as a “stage” summary of the long range road of OL adoption, with PAL proven to be a sustainable OL vehicle.

Channel design to enrich customers’ shopping experiences: synchronizing clicks with bricks in an omni-channel perspective - the Direct Optic case

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Picot-Coupey ◽  
Elodie Huré ◽  
Lauren Piveteau
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Strategy Research ◽  
Channel Strategy ◽  
Result Show ◽  
On Line ◽  
Transformative Process

Purpose The purpose of this research is two-fold: (1) to investigate the challenges e-tailers are confronted with when synchronizing clicks with bricks into an omni-channel perspective and (2) to shed light on the possible ways to overcome these challenges in order to successfully implement an omni-channel strategy. Design/methodology/approach To answer our research questions, we draw on an in-depth longitudinal case study conducted within the French on-line eyewear retailer Direct Optic from January 2013 to March 2015. From an ethnographic perspective, we document the evolution of the retailing company’s decisions and processes as they moved towards defining and implementing an omni-channel strategy. Research was carried out using primary (1500+ hours of participant observation and 118 interviews) and secondary data sources. A conceptualizing content analysis was conducted both manually and with NVivo software. Findings First, our results show that the challenges faced in shifting to omni-channel strategy are so numerous and so engaging that, de facto, it is impossible to evolve directly from a multi-channel, siloed strategy to an omni-channel strategy without any transition. Second, throughout this transformative process, our result show that the challenges faced by the company evolved gradually in terms of scope and priority, and can be categorized into two main categories: the strategy-related challenges (organizational, cultural, managerial, marketing and resources) which were the highest priority in the first stage and the development-related challenges (retailing mix, information systems and CRM) which became the highest priority during the second stage. Research limitations/implications We emphasize the importance of carefully orchestrating how strategy-related and development-related challenges are addressed as, for retailers engaged in going omni-channel, this involves a complete transformation of their configuration. Originality/value Our study contributes to channel management and retailing research by (1) deepening the conceptualization of multi-, cross- and omni-channel retailing, (2) exploring the nature, importance and sequence of the strategy-related challenges and development-related challenges when shifting to an omni-channel strategy, and (3) providing insights into how successfully navigating the transformative process to be omni-channel requires investigating different possible solutions, and further testing and re-testing them, before deploying the appropriate ones. Up to our knowledge, it is one of the first studies to empirically investigate the challenges of an e-tailer when moving towards an omni-channel strategy.

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