There is evidence to suggest that firms wish to work with universities to gain access to new technologies, to knowledge of future technologies and their possible impact and to thechnical problem-solving capability. There is much less evidence to support the proposition that firms work with...

The study investigated how MNCs mobilise knowledge transfer fit in subsidiaries recipients. The hypotheses are developed that the knowledge transfer process via personnel aspects enhances the individual and organisational team competency to generate and transfer knowledge to fit with their...

The purpose of this research is to investigate the cultural shifts in Hofstede's cultural dimensions individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, long-term orientation, indulgence versus restraint, and monumentalism in Luxembourg, France and Germany. The design of the...

The paper analyses how carmakers integrate the Southern America Cone into their worldwide strategies: As a local emerging market? As a source for production and exports towards industrialised countries? As a source for design and export to other emerging markets? The discussion about...

Over the past two decades, the scope of some key subjects in operations management has extended beyond the single company to include supply chain (SC) partners and their interactions. One example of such an extension is the contemporary concept of supply chain flexibility (SCF). Although there...

This paper aims to carry out an analysis of fuzzy clusters in the Brazilian automotive industry to contribute to the analysis of the relative importance of these economic activities in the national productive structure and in their regional contexts. The intention is to assess whether, once they...

This paper examines the centralised monitoring of an upstream supply chain (USC) in the context of a mass customisation production system. We propose an adaptation of the material requirement planning framework to manage demand uncertainty at each stage of the USC. New analytical relations that...

The automotive industry in North America is experiencing a period of far-reaching reorganization. Part of that change is in the automotive supply chain, including firms in the industry, such as Ford or General Motors, that assemble the vehicles and firms that are their suppliers. The particular...

For Asian manufacturers the trade-off between shipping from domestic plants and investing in transplant facilities is of particular importance. Korean vehicles indirectly account for significant amounts of greenhouse gases as they travel. Here, an established transport cost model is adapted to...

This paper attempts to summarize development elements in the supply chain modifications in the car manufacturing industry by examining the case of the Volkswagen Group. It provides a general explanation of the stages of modularization and an overview of the development in modularized production...