Jean-Jacques Chanaron

Business School-Industry Cooperation: Lessons from Case Studies

University-industry collaboration is seen as an important contributor to innovation as new thinking is transferred from seats of learning into practical products and services. In particular, this seems to be the case where firms seek access to knowledge of new technologies and technical problem solving. However, is it relevant in the case of business schools? The study reported in this paper is based on insights gained from membership of a long standing network between business schools and firms in the automotive industry supported by the EUs Leonardo project. The research reported in based on a detailed examination of practical cases of joint business school-firm activities. Based on this case analysis, a model is presented along with emerging critical success factors for sustainable joint activities across the different modes identified. Finally, areas for further research are highlighted

A benchmark for managerial effectiveness

This study presents a tool to gauge managerial effectiveness in the form of a questionnaire that is easy to administer and score. The instrument covers eight distinct areas of organisational climate and culture of management inside a company or department. Benchmark scores were determined by administering sample-surveys to a wide cross-section of individuals from numerous firms in Southeast Louisiana, USA. Scores remained relatively constant over a seven-year timeframe. Techniques for using the benchmark by practitioners are discussed.

An operational framework in forecasting radical innovation: The case of the CO 2 -free automobile

This article deals with a framework of the process of innovation which is designed to help building up forecasting scenarios for breakthrough innovations in mature industries. It is based on previous research on innovation and on an up-to-date literature review of key success factors of innovation. It is applied to the various technological powertrain options faced by the automotive industry due to need of reducing fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. It gives an appraisal of the various economic, technological, social and political factors which could influence a particular technology allowing a tentative scenario for the next 30 years.

Evaluating e-learning among automotive small-medium suppliers: 1. Developing an evaluation tool kit

This research studies the impact of information technology-enabled coordination on product modularisation in the automotive industry. A structural equation model is tested based on 177 responses to questionnaires from 177 Korean first-tier automotive suppliers. The results provide support for the hypothesis that high quality of exchanged information enables better supply chain coordination, which in turn supports product modularisation.

Co-production of the car as a 'service': involving customers in the value chain

This article is dealing with a possible scenario for the future of the automobile thanks to the shift from an artefact vision to a services vision by which the customer might be involved as a true partner in the design of cars. This paper is therefore quite speculative but is challenging the supposedly stabilised relationship between the OEMs and their ultimate clients.

Car crisis and renewal: how Mercedes succeeded with the A-Class

Purpose n n n n nIn mature industries, downward vertical (line) extension has become an increasingly popular strategy, particularly for automobile manufacturers aiming at expanding their consumer bases and/or avoiding competition in higher market segment. This paper aims to examine how Mercedes-Benz (MB) practiced a downward vertical line extension within the same product category. When commercialized as a product line innovation, the MB A-Class was the first and most symbolic move made by a premium brand in the automobile industry. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nThis paper investigates the microfoundations of a vertical downward extension strategy. To do so, the authors adopt a narrative style to analyze the story of the MB A-Class from its inception to its commercialization. Secondary data sources, such as company websites, annual reports, internal documents, books, public relations and press releases, were used. Qualitative as well as quantitative performance outcomes were assessed using market and product sales in Western Europe (1997-2016) and the results of an MB brand image survey conducted in 1998 following the accident faced by the A-Class. n n n n nFindings n n n n nThe case illustrates that contrary to initial assumptions, lower-quality extensions may be relevant for prestige brands under certain conditions and identifies four strategy components that may drive a successful downward stretch: combine organizational, product, process and marketing innovation with the support of dynamic capabilities; manage paradoxes/contradictions in terms of product development; target the high-end of a lower consumer segment; and adopt a “brand humility talk scheme”. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nExisting studies primarily focus on consumers’ evaluations of vertical step-down extensions. Rare are the articles that adopt the company’s perspective. Moreover, additional research is needed to assess the short- and long-term impacts of vertical downward extension on performance outcomes. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nThe case of the MB A-Class encourages top executives to consider the trade-offs inherent to a down-market strategic move: keeping the (premium) brand’s standards high within a reduced cost/price envelope while learning the codes of the new/bottom of the market. In addition, the A-Class may serve as a fundamental school case for marketing managers and creative advertising agencies on what should and should not be done, whether at the product or at the advertising level. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThis paper demonstrates that a premium brand that practiced a vertical downward line extension can expand its sales in a mass market, by targeting a small but growing segment with a high willingness to pay for more expensive products. This adds to the contention that it is not the downscale extension product price per se that negatively affects the parent brand but rather where it stands in the hierarchy of the market segment considered and the ability of the premium brand to integrate the downscale extension to its own history (i.e. combining its original values with tangible product benefits while backing the cause of the new market). Finally, the story of the A-Class strongly suggests that any company needs to upgrade its capabilities as part of the learning process of a new market to convert a business opportunity into a market success.

Evaluating e-learning among automotive small-medium suppliers: 2. The evaluation results

This research studies the impact of information technology-enabled coordination on product modularisation in the automotive industry. A structural equation model is tested based on 177 responses to questionnaires from 177 Korean first-tier automotive suppliers. The results provide support for the hypothesis that high quality of exchanged information enables better supply chain coordination, which in turn supports product modularisation.