International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management 

About: International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management is an academic journal published by Inderscience Publishers. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Automotive industry & Supply chain. It has an ISSN identifier of 1470-9511. Over the lifetime, 453 publications have been published receiving 4871 citations. The journal is also known as: IJATM.

Modularisation in the auto industry: interlinked multiple hierarchies of product, production and supplier systems

Abstract: This paper analyses modularisation in the world's auto industry. Modularisation in the industry has involved architectural changes in product, production, and supplier systems, with each region (Japan, Europe and the USA) emphasising different purposes and aspects. As an attempt to understand such multi-faceted, complex processes coherently, this paper proposes a conceptual framework that sees development and production activities as interlinked, multiple hierarchies of products, processes, and inter-firm boundaries. With this framework, drawing on case studies and questionnaire survey data, the paper examines the ongoing processes of modularisation in the industry. It is argued that tensions exist among the three hierarchies, and such tensions may lead to further changes in product, production and supplier-system architectures in the auto industry, in a dynamic and path-dependent manner.

The Japanese automobile parts supplier system: the triplet of effective inter-firm routines

Abstract: The paper proposes a systematic explanation as to how the Japanese automobile parts supplier system generated international competitive advantages in the 1980s and thereafter. Based not only on a survey of existing literature, some of which has never been introduced in English in the past, but also the author's original data and conceptual framework for coherent interpretation of the phenomena, the paper argues that the coexistence of three conditions, as mutually complementary factors, enabled such a competitive advantage: long-term relational transactions, bundled outsourcing, and dynamic capability-building competition among a small number of suppliers. These three patterns of inter-firm relations have been much discussed in existing literature as separate factors, but they have not been regarded as a coherent total system. This paper proposes a hypothesis that the performance advantage of this system should be ascribed at least partly to the complementarity of the triplet of the inter-firm routines. Despite the deterioration of profit performance of some Japanese parts suppliers in the late 1990s due partly to a domestic recession, appreciation of the yen and strategic mistakes, as well as international merger and acquisitions involving some Japanese firms, the above principle of operational routines seems to be basically unchanged. Recent topics such as modularisation and internet procurement should be evaluated from the point of view that the effectiveness of the three routines mentioned above should not be sacrificed in the name of modularisation for the sake of modularisation, or e-business for the sake of e-business.

The changing geography of the European automobile system

Abstract: The paper analyses the new geography of the European automotive area associated with the enlargement of the European Union and the structural changes occurring in the automobile industry's productive organisation. The new geographic configuration is a double extension (enlargement) and intensification (through the spatial agglomeration of activities) movement. The first part of the paper discusses the enlargement towards new areas with the development of the automotive activities in Central and Eastern European countries, its impact on the Spanish and Portuguese automobile industries and on the core regions. The second part analyses the double trend which affects the location of automobile production activities in Europe: on one side, specialisation, reflecting automotive firms' desire to benefit from the opportunities offered by the markets' greater openness and by enlargement towards new zones; on the other side, the spatial agglomeration of activities (clustering).

The OEM-FTS relationship in automotive industry

Abstract: This paper is part of the project named "Coordinating Competencies and Knowledge in the Auto Industry" (CoCKEAS) carried on by some research groups associated to GERPISA International Network and subdivided in five work packages. This one is conventionally indicated as workpackage N.1. It is focused upon the analysis of the evolution of the relationship between automakers (Original Equipment Manufacturers – OEMs) and the specific type of suppliers who directly interact with them, also carrying out the task of coordinating a hierarchy of other suppliers which are located upwards in the automobile supply chain. This specific type of suppliers, occupying the higher place in a multilevel hierarchy, are labelled First Tier Suppliers (FTSs). The paper analyses the recent evolutions that are characterising this part of the supply chain with particular attention to: the redefinition of the division of labour between OEMs and component suppliers; the transformation induced by the process of internationalisation and globalisation; the growth in outsourcing; the design of shared platforms; the impact of innovation and modular production on the restructuring of the automotive industry; the major trends in the new pattern of production processes organisation and the likely transformations induced by the growing role of ICT.

Automotive industry in Malaysia: an assessment of its development

Abstract: This paper explains the evolution and assesses the development of the Malaysian automotive industry within the premise of infant industry and trade protection framework as well as extended arguments of infant industry using a global value chain perspective. The Malaysian automotive industry expanded in terms of sales, production, employment and local content, but failed in industrial upgrading and international competitiveness. The failures can be attributed to (a) lack of political promotion for high challenge-high support environment, (b) low technological and marketing capabilities and (c) limited participation in the global value chain. Although the Malaysian infant industry protection policy comprised many promising initiatives, the national and the overall domestic automobile industry ended up as a captive of the regionalised Japanese keiretsu system in automobile manufacturing. A new transformation is required to push the industry beyond its current performance through a more strategic productive coalition with multiple stakeholders including trade unions.