Mario Sergio Salerno

The characteristics and the role of modularity in the automotive business

Modularity is discussed in a broad sense, beyond proximity and physical production. The paper proposes a strategic view of the process, by considering modularity as an attempt to reduce the capital employed by assemblers to set up a plant, to share the risk of the business with first tier suppliers, and to reshape the boundaries of the companies by a type of relationship assembler-suppliers characterised by a special service relation in order to cope with the productive vulnerability inherent in a low inventory system. The evolution of modular plants in Brazil - a key country in the matter - is discussed from the modular consortium of the VW Resende plant to the newest passenger car plants set in the industrial condominiums system, particularly the GM Gravatai. The last section focuses on modularity and design activities and location, discussing the possibilities for decentralised design activities. Finally, some research questions are proposed.

Globalisation and Assembler-Supplier Relations: Brazil and India

Over the past decade, a substantial amount of FDI has been channelled into the motor industries of the emerging markets. New investments in the emerging markets have become strategic not only for the assemblers but also for first-tier suppliers, and the subsidiaries of transnational companies in these markets have become more closely integrated into the global operations of their parent companies. Consequently, the motor industries of these countries have been structurally transformed. In some respects, the emerging markets have been places for innovation and experimentation within the motor industry. Their weaker social institutions and regulation, combined with their convenient distance from global headquarters, have allowed experiments in assembler—supplier relations. In many respects, the assemblers are using the opportunities afforded by greenfield investments and weak trade unions to introduce more advanced systems in developing countries such as Brazil, China and Thailand than might be seen in Europe or North America.1

A comprehensive study of the transformation of the Brazilian automotive industry

This paper presents and discusses findings of a research study on the automobile sector in Brazil that is being conducted by a group of researchers in the Production Engineering Department of the University of Sao Paulo. The research is sponsored by the Brazilian Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES, a Brazilian state bank). It analyses the new configuration of this sector focusing on the technological and managerial competencies remaining in the country and the bottlenecks along the value added chain. Data presented here refers to phase one of the research, collected from 224 firms from tiers one, two and three of the automotive chain in Brazil. More information on the research that has originated this article can be found at http//www.prd.usp.br/cadeia-automotiva.

O impacto da internacionalização com foco na inovação tecnológica sobre as exportações das firmas brasileiras

Based on an unprecedented link between the principal official databases on Brazilian industry - the Industrial Survey on Technological Innovation (Pintec) and the Annual Industrial Survey (PIA) of the National Census Bureau (IBGE); the foreign trade database of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade - Mdic, and the Annual Report on Social Data of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (RAIS/MTE) - this study showed that the companies that use their offices abroad as a source of information for technological innovation show superior performance to the rest: they are larger, import and export more, pay higher salaries, employ workers with more education, and spend relatively more on training activities. The probability of a company exporting increases by 16% when it invests in technological innovation. These results indicate the need to reflect on public policies to support innovation and internationalization in Brazilian companies.

Descentralização das atividades de pesquisa, desenvolvimento e engenharia de empresas transnacionais: uma investigação a partir da perspectiva de subsidiárias automotivas

Abstract The decentralization of Research, Development, and Engineering – R, D & E activities towards subsidiaries in transnational companies have been justified due to market conditions and access to scarce resources such as technology. Such analysis has been made on the basis of research performed in central countries – that is, a transnational central country-based company which is setting up a R, D & E center in another central country. The analysis does not explain adequately cases of R, D & E location in emergent countries, as it is the case of Brazil. This paper proposes a theoretical models improvement in order to explain the decentralization of R, D & E towards subsidiaries based on an in-depth research conducted in the Brazilian automotive industry. Besides traditional explanation, market proximity, and technology sourcing, it can be said that the decentralization of R, D & E activities towards subsidiaries is influenced by the need of achieving agility in the product development process and by the quality of the relationship between the headquarters and subsidiary.

Modelos para a gestão da inovação: revisão e análise da literatura

Abstract The management of innovation has occupied a central position in academia and business. However, the implementation of effective innovation management requires the adoption of models that guide the construction of organizational processes through which innovation should be conducted. Models with this purpose have been published in recent decades and reflect a wide variety of approaches, which is a result of the multidisciplinary nature of innovation management. The assumptions and specific purposes on which each model is constructed, the types of organizations involved and the specific goals reflect the particularities of studies in this field. This paper presents a literature review of this topic based on searches in academic databases, identification of the classical models of innovation management by the number of citations and books from the collections of Brazilian universities. Using this survey, this paper conducts a critical and comparative analysis of various models of innovation management. The work provides insight into how literature shapes the process of innovation management, what its phases are, what the assumptions are on which innovative management is based and other organizational factors that constitute this process. In conclusion, we discuss the similarities and the differences between the models analyzed, their implications for innovation management in organizations and topics for future research.

Modularity ten years after: an evaluation of the Brazilian experience

In November 1995 Volkswagen (VW) do Brasil announced a plan to build a new truck plant with a new form of organisation, the so-called modular consortium. Since then, many auto plants around the world have introduced some ideas on modular assembly and design. An evaluation of this period is our main objective in this article. First, we assert that the concept of modularity in the automotive business goes beyond design, product and use. Modularity implies to share investments and risks, and can be analysed as a service relation. We propose a consideration of Zarifians (2001) specific definition of service as the transformation in the conditions of activity of an addressee or of their action facilities, a transformation whose consequences are judged valid and positive by the addressee or by the collectivity. At the end, we discuss the limits of modularity in the business, and utilising econometric analysis performed by Camargo (2006), we conclude that the suppliers at the first level have increased their market power of market and profit sharing.

Como o TQM opera e o que muda nas empresas? Um estudo a partir de empresas lideres no Brasil

This paper aims to characterise and discuss Total Quality Management approaches that have being disseminated in the Brazilian industry. As a general conclusion, the approach is top-down, policy deployment is hardly utilised, relations with suppliers are changing, and some organisational changes have been introduced along with quality programs, as reduction of hierarchical layers. But the organisational background remains very close to the classical (tayloristic) one.

Análise ergonômica do trabalho e projeto organizacional: uma discussão comparada

The paper proposes a methodological discussion comparing organisational design and ergonomical analysis of work (the French way of ergonomics). Firstly, a characterisation of both issues and their limits is discussed. Then, the paper considers the possibilities, difficulties, limits and opportunities for a joint approach, with methodological care, of organisational design and ergonomical analysis of work.

Análise da gestão da cadeia de valor da inovação em uma empresa do setor siderúrgico

This paper focuses on the analysis of how a company from the steel industry manages the innovation value chain, stressing the factors which are adopted to support this practice. More specifically, it intends to make a comparative analysis based on an innovation value chain proposal from the literature. In addition, the study examines whether the company has a structured PDP and how it integrates with other areas involved in this process. Other important aspects to understand the management practices of the innovation value chain are whether there is involvement of top management; how they originate, select and prioritize new ideas; whether the innovation process is aligned with the companys strategy; how decisions are made; whether they use performance indicators for the management of innovation; and whether the organization advances business models from the innovation projects developed.