The development of global supply management capabilities in the automotive industry: the transfer of supply management practices in the People's Republic of China. (1st January 2003)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pagano, Alessandro
• Is Part Of: International journal of automotive technology and management. Volume 3:Number 1/2(2003)
• Page Start: 84
• Page End: 100
• Publication Date: 2003-01-01
• Subjects: automotive industry -- multinational firms -- supply management -- local context -- organisational capabilities -- knowledge transfer; Automobile industry and trade -- Management -- Periodicals; 338.456292068
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1470-9511

Abstract

There is evidence pointing out that automotive multinational firms are increasingly engaged in transferring their supply management practices (SMP) across countries within their global network of operational units. The main goal of this article is to provide a mainly empirical contribution to the understanding of "international supply management practices transfer" by developing in-depth qualitative analysis on the SMP transfer outcomes and on the relevant factors shaping such process. This article reports preliminary results of empirical research on SMP transfer concerning a specific component in the People's Republic of China (PRC) by a major multinational automotive vehicle-maker. The analysis shows that the transfer process has concerned mainly the supply chain decision-making procedures and those areas more linked to the production phase (delivery/logistics, quality control) and has been implemented during the various suppliers' selection processes. Both local institutional and economic factors and firm-level variables (organisational setting, knowledge management practices) seem to have influenced the transfer process.