Geographical distribution of product development capabilities in the automobile industry: towards a hierarchical division of labour in Mercosur
by Martín Obaya
International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management (IJATM), Vol. 14, No. 2, 2014

Abstract: In the last decade, some carmakers with operations in Mercosur delegated a growing number of product development responsibilities to their subsidiaries operating in Argentina and Brazil. As a result, these subsidiaries were able to accumulate capabilities that allowed them to introduce innovations of increasing complexity into the vehicles manufactured in the region. Empirical evidence suggests that, beyond the differences observed in the strategies adopted by carmakers in Mercosur, the most intense capability accumulation experiences were largely concentrated in subsidiaries located in the Brazilian territory. As a result, a hierarchical division of labour has progressively taken shape within Mercosur favouring the subsidiaries located in this country, at the expense of their Argentinian counterparts. Through the examination of three companies, this article aims to analyse the process of accumulation of product development capabilities in subsidiaries operating in Argentina and Brazil between 1991 and 2011.

Online publication date: Sat, 17-May-2014

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management (IJATM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com