Premium
Antecedents to supplier integration in the automotive industry: A multiple‐case study of foreign subsidiaries in China
Author(s) -
Lockström Martin,
Schadel Joachim,
Harrison Norma,
Moser Roger,
Malhotra Manoj K.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of operations management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.649
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1873-1317
pISSN - 0272-6963
DOI - 10.1016/j.jom.2009.11.004
Subject(s) - automotive industry , subsidiary , enabling , business , context (archaeology) , supplier relationship management , supply chain , china , process management , industrial organization , key (lock) , marketing , supply chain management , knowledge management , computer science , multinational corporation , engineering , psychology , paleontology , computer security , finance , law , political science , psychotherapist , biology , aerospace engineering
Supplier integration has become an important concept for improving supply chain performance. The aim of this paper is to identify factors that facilitate and inhibit supplier integration in the context of the Chinese automotive industry. An inductive approach based on grounded theory was chosen as the research methodology, where data was collected through 30 detailed case interviews with subsidiaries of foreign automotive companies operating in China. The results indicate that buyer‐side leadership is an important antecedent for building motivation, trust, and commitment among suppliers and for shaping their mindsets. This, in turn, facilitates strategic alignment and enables suppliers to build collaborative capabilities, which are finally shown to be a key enabler for successful supplier integration.