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Comparative supply chain performance: Measuring cross‐cultural effects. The example of the Bratislava regional automotive manufacturing cluster
Author(s) -
Bardy Roland
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
knowledge and process management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.341
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1099-1441
pISSN - 1092-4604
DOI - 10.1002/kpm.345
Subject(s) - benchmarking , automotive industry , original equipment manufacturer , business , adaptation (eye) , supply chain , benchmark (surveying) , cluster (spacecraft) , service (business) , marketing , industrial organization , computer science , operations management , economics , psychology , engineering , geodesy , neuroscience , geography , programming language , aerospace engineering , operating system
This paper examines how performance in a supply network is biased through cultural difference. Based on a benchmark study for the Bratislava automotive cluster, the review covers the specific situation of a cross border setting where top performers (high‐class original equipment manufacturers, “OEMs,” like VW, Peugeot, Porsche, Kia) in a dual economy environment interact with suppliers from a highly developed country and with local logistics service enterprises. The main findings were derived from a benchmarking questionnaire and were corroborated in subsequent interviews, and they can very well be generalized: specific knowledge required for interactions between buyers and sellers cannot be built and utilized effectively if acceptance, adaptation and integration are obstructed by cultural differences. The biggest threats to fully exploiting the opportunities of cross‐border supply chains, are lack of trust and of ability or willingness to cooperate and insufficient power of decision‐making; lack of application skills ranks second. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.