Search results

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (2017, pp. 14–15) identified that “industrialization is the seedbed for entrepreneurship, business investment, technological progress, the upgrading of skills, and the creation of decent jobs.” This placed studying different industrial sectors and their respective clusters, which are key drivers for economy, innovation, and knowledge creation (Slaper, Harmon, & Rubin, 2018), at the forefront of research. This chapter tackles the automobile industrial cluster in Egypt that possesses promising potential yet faces some challenges. It aims to provide an overview of the cluster, alongside underpinning its strengths and obstacles facing it. Moreover, the chapter displays the importance of the labor dimension in increasing the labor competitiveness of the cluster and showcases this through two cases of German automobile manufacturers that pioneered in venturing into the market through employing technical and vocational education and training. In conclusion, recommendations are provided to help in steering the cluster toward success.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of digital supply chain (DSC) technologies in automotive supply chain resilience (SCR) practices to improve the supply chain performance (SC-Perf.) objectives of companies operating in the automotive industry. This study also compares the results of the associated SC-Perf objectives before and after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak lockdown situation.

The authors undertook in-depth empirical research using a questionnaire survey to explore the performance of automotive supply chains. The sample for this study consisted of practitioners from supply chain entities such as automotive original equipment manufacturers, Tier-1 component manufacturers and lead logistics providers in Asia-Pacific (AP) emerging markets. Research questions, framework and hypotheses were developed using the literature review.

The research outcome from analysis of the data the authors collected from an emerging market context, specifically the automotive sector, emphasizes the role of DSC technologies and encourages the firm’s SCR practices which, in turn, supports the SC-Perf objectives. The DSC technologies competency moderates the SCR and SC-Perf objectives relation, and the moderation effect is higher for post-COVID-19 pandemic outbreak lockdown situation than at prior state.

The scope of the study is restricted to the automotive firms in the AP region. The data were collected from a representative sample of the population through a questionnaire survey. The small size of the sample incurs a certain level of subjectivity.

This research provides practical insights for practitioners and academicians on DSC technologies’ influence in SCR practices to improve the firm’s SC-Perf. This research shares the literature insights on use of DSC technologies across the sector to allow the automotive firm to reassess the existing operational practices.

The paper adds insights on introducing or implementing DSC technologies across AP automotive firms to increase the operations’ performance by improving SCR practices and sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the causal relationship between the independent variables such as process quality and product innovation in regard to the dependent variable of competitiveness, in the manufacturing sector of the automotive industry, specifically for Tier 1 auto parts manufacturing companies in the state of Nuevo León, México.

Based on a thorough review of the literature, an instrument was designed to measure the competitiveness of automotive industry manufacturing; it was applied to Tier 1 suppliers of automotive parts in the state of Nuevo León, México. Various statistical analysis tests were applied to the results; first, Cronbach's alpha to determine the reliability of the instrument, and next, a factor analysis to measure construct validity. In addition, a multiple linear regression analysis was carried out to identify the causal relationships between the variables analysed.

This study found that process quality as well as product innovation have independent and positive causal relationships with respect to competitiveness in automotive manufacturing.

The limitations of this paper are its focus on a single manufacturing sector, application in a single country and small sample size.

Companies that supply automotive parts will be able to invest in the key elements of quality and innovation while focusing their efforts on reinforcing their competitiveness.

Auto parts suppliers will be able to perform specific actions to improve their quality processes through lean manufacturing and quality assurance practices and by designing new and innovative products that will enhance their competitiveness.

The present paper examines the barriers hindering the implementation of circular economy practices in Indian automotive industries and identifies the most critical barriers to be eradicated during the circular economy implementation.

Using a questionnaire survey-based analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach, 21 barriers to circular economy implementation are identified through a literature review and ranked using the opinions of relevant industrial experts.

Barriers, minimal or no proper economic incentives, difficulty in ensuring product quality and costing of CE products are identified as top barriers to be eliminated first to boost the chances of successful implementation of circular economy practices in Indian automotive industries.

The study not only offers a roadmap on the order of elimination of barriers towards a circular economy but also provides insights from industrial experts on how these barriers can be eradicated and the ill effects of each barrier from an automotive industry perspective.

The authors develop a theoretical framework for barrier analysis for circular economy implementation in the Indian automotive sector using the classic AHP approach to identify the most critical barriers against successful implementation. Further, this study offers managerial implications on how these barriers can be eradicated in real.

This works provides a thorough understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with Additive Manufacturing (AM) adoption in the medical sector. Through this analysis, we aim to better understand when to adopt AM, how to do so, and how such adoption might change in the future.

This research first conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify AM challenges and opportunities in the medical sector, which were then validated through a Delphi study. The 18 Delphi study participants were also asked to suggest countermeasures for the challenges and help identify future AM adoption scenarios. Finally, these findings were analyzed according to the ecosystem pie model to design an ecosystem model for AM in the medical sector.

Among the 13 challenges and 13 opportunities identified, the lack of a skilled workforce and the responsiveness achievable via AM were by far the most relevant challenge and opportunity. Moreover, the participants identified countermeasures for 10 challenges, as well as three future AM adoption scenarios. Finally, leveraging these findings, an ecosystem model was developed.

This work contributes to the limited understanding of the AM challenges and opportunities in the medical sector. It helps medical practitioners to better understand the challenges and opportunities associated with AM and AM manufacturers to better identify where to focus their R&D efforts and how this would impact future AM adoption levels. Furthermore, this work extends current theory supporting the design of an ecosystem model for AM in the medical sector following the ecosystem pie model.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the innovation process of organizations representing the main sectors of Brazilian economic activity.

The literature review focuses on analyzing the innovation process characteristics regarding the innovation types. The authors carried out interviews with executives and managers in charge of innovation at the leading large companies in the respective sectors analyzed. The data analysis of this qualitative research was structured in three steps. The first step is the analysis of data collected for encoding, the second step, the summarization of the common points presented by the companies in each sector and, finally, the interpretation of these data, aided by triangulation from secondary data that support the analysis of the collected primary data.

The main contribution of this study is to characterize the innovation process of organizations representing the main sectors of the Brazilian economy, with a classification regarding the sectoral innovation standard.

The authors’ intent is that the paper can contribute with a comparative analysis among companies of the same sector and, subsequently, among companies of the different surveyed sectors. Thus, the characterization aims to present the companies’ innovation process and the comparative analysis aims to verify the innovation sectoral patterns. In addition, as implications for management practice, some strategies for better knowledge management in the organization are suggested for each type of innovation.

The main theoretical contribution focuses on the development of a conceptual model that structures the analyzed variables of the constructs “innovation process” and “innovation sectoral patterns”, allowing not only the characterization but also the comparative analysis of the representative organizations present in the sample.

In 2016, the ISO/TS 16949 quality management standard for the automotive industry evolved to IATF 16949. The update brought new requirements that need to be analyzed before being implemented in organizations. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to propose guidelines to assist organizations in the automotive sector in the implementation of the elements added in the update to the IATF 16949 standard.

To fulfill this objective, the identification and analysis of the elements added in the evolution from ISO/TS 16949 to IATF 16949 was carried out, and four case studies were conducted in Brazilian automotive companies.

The main elements added to IATF 16949 with the update of the standard are the use of process failure mode effects analysis (PFMEA) for risk analysis; the development of a communication channel for employees to report cases of misconduct and non-conformities; procedures for controlling repaired/reworked products and temporary changes; and the inclusion of autonomous maintenance for the full implementation of total productive maintenance (TPM).

The main practical implication/contribution of the research is the proposed guidelines, which can support managers and automotive companies that want to implement, or will go through, the IATF certification process. The article's originality lies in the combination of a theoretical framework and case study analyses to develop the guidelines.

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of an empirical research on the leanness of the home services sector in the Czech Republic. The automotive sector provides reference to argue the numerical outcomes.

The research uses a specifically designed assessment tool (Lean Index – LI) to determine the sector’s leanness level. Referring to the results from both sectors, the paper draws conclusions about the current leanness level of home services providers.

The proposed LI indicates a value of 69.50 per cent for home services providers, whereas the LI for the automotive industry suppliers is 82.88 per cent. This suggests that there are large opportunities for the implementation of lean management in the home services sector. However, the main challenge is to introduce a continuous improvement approach to these companies.

The sample size limits the generalisation of the research results. However, this paper represents the first empirical attempt to implement a large-scale survey. The results are limited to the Czech Republic. However, parties from other countries have indicated interest to replicate the research.

This research provides first empirical findings on the possibilities of implementing lean in the home services sector. Future research projects in other sectors will have the opportunity to make use of the LI assessment tool.

The paper presents the first approach of lean management into the home services sector. It provides valuable information to specialised institutions in the sector about the possibilities of lean management in the sector. It also provides an overview of the sector for practitioners and academics willing to pioneer lean in the sector.

This study aims to test the market anomaly of herding behavior driven by the response to supply chain disruptions in extreme market conditions such as those observed during COVID-19. The authors empirically test the response of the capital market participants for B2B firms, resulting in herding behavior.

Using the event study approach based on the market model, the authors test the impact of supply chain disruptions and resultant herding behavior across six sectors and among different B2B firms. The authors used cumulative average abnormal returns (CAAR) and cross-sectional absolute deviation (CSAD) to examine the significance of herding behavior across sectors.

The event study results show a significant effect of COVID-19 due to supply chain disruptions across specific sectors. Herding was detected across the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors. The authors also provide evidence of sector-specific disruption impact and herding behavior based on the black swan event and social learning theory.

The authors examine the impact of COVID-19 on herding in the stock market of an emerging economy due to extreme market conditions. This is one of the first studies analyzing lockdown-driven supply chain disruptions and subsequent sector-specific herding behavior. Investors and regulators should take sector-specific responses that are sophisticated during extreme market conditions, such as a pandemic, and update their responses as the situation unfolds.

It is of concern that several attempts at making Nigeria an automobile producing country have not yielded much success. This paper aims to re-examine the history of automobile manufacturing and the consequences of auto policies of successive governments towards having a viable automotive industry in Nigeria and the lessons therefrom.

Dispersed data were assembled from both primary and secondary sources on the automobile industry activities in Nigeria. The historic data cover Nigeria’s vehicles need, production levels, importations and local content developments. Time series data on Nigeria’s crude oil prices and the devaluation of the local currency were obtained and analyzed to elucidate effects and provide the trajectory. A comparative analysis of the policies of successful countries with initial status with Nigeria was carried out to elucidate the policy pitfalls in Nigeria’s industrial policies.

The automotive policies in Nigeria are not self-sustaining. It has been curiously observed that the automotive policy on import substitution and local content development approach did not include the key components in automobile manufacturing, making it a footloose industry. Nigeria’s crude petroleum mono-economy affects the manufacturing sector negatively. A fall in international crude oil price causes free fall of the country’s currency in the international market, the cost of imported new vehicles and parts become prohibitively high, consequently, individuals, as well as corporate organizations, resorted to imported fairly used vehicles and parts for their transportation needs. Capacity utilization dropped abysmally.

Nigeria’s experience has demonstrated the critical role the government can play in safeguarding the automobile industry in the developing economies. Apart from diversification of the economy, there is a need, therefore, for a more refined and pragmatic approach in the formulation of policies to enable only genuine investors to operate in the automobile industry which hitherto has been an all-comers affair with many taking advantage of unguarded and unguided government incentives.