The Influence of Decentralized Bargaining Systems on the Introduction of Continuous Improvement Practices in Australian Automotive Components Companies

The study examines the nature and impact of Japanese idea of continuous improvement (CI) at 14 automobile components companies in Australia. It assesses the extent to which CI practices inform management systems and work organization. The study is focused on the degree to which decentralized bargaining systems, and reforms in the Australian vocational education system have facilitated the adoption of continuous production. The results indicate two patterns of production management in the companies, termed the elaborated commitment, and the basic commitment, respectively. The authors conclude that collective agreements were seen as an important vehicle for the advancement of management strategies on CI, although management preferences in relation to work demarcations and training were not significantly advanced within the agreements. They observe that there is no single Australian production model, and that company effects, as described by MacDuffie (1995) seem to predominate.     

Whither Japanese keiretsu? The transformation of vertical keiretsu in Toyota,Nissan and Honda 1991–2011

Drawing on institutional theory, this paper discusses the transformation of vertical keiretsu in the Japanese automotive industry from 1991 to 2011. By investigating the cases of Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, the paper empirically contributes to the debate on whither the Japanese economy is heading. Long-standing relationships to suppliers and exclusiveness have changed significantly in Nissan, while remaining stable in Toyota and Honda. New competition-based elements and more open support systems have been added to earlier governance mechanisms such as power and anshin (security). We argue that the studied keiretsu since the 1990s follows diverse and complex trajectories of hybridization, and we suggest that the Japanese economy is developing similarly.     

汽车电器的现代电子控制技术研究

汽车电器的现代电子控制技术结合了众多领域的技术优势,同时与交通发展相结合,更新速度较快,因此,研究此项技术,对汽车领域的发展具有较大的积极意义。     

Managing knowledge through human resource practices: empirical examination on the Spanish automotive industry

This paper considers the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and knowledge management (KM). Specifically, it examines how the human resource (HR) practices that are expected to impact on employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunity to engage in KM, do so by enabling knowledge sharing, knowledge maintaining, and knowledge creation within organizations. HRM expected to impact employees’ abilities include training and development practices. HRM expected to impact on employees’ motivation include rewards and appraisal practices. HRM expected to impact on employees’ opportunities including providing the support of trusting collaborative relationships. Therefore, HR practices impacting employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunities are expected to be positively related to knowledge sharing and maintaining within organizations. HR practices impacting employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunity are expected to be positively related to knowledge creation through their effect on knowledge sharing within organizations. Our research methodology uses a questionnaire survey approach to collect data from firms belonging to the Spanish automotive industry. Results from a final sample of 64 Spanish automotive firms show that HR practices aimed at motivating and giving employees the opportunity to behave as expected significantly affect knowledge sharing and maintaining. Further, knowledge sharing and maintaining is shown to mediate the relationship between HR practices and knowledge creation. The paper ends with a conclusion, limitations and implications for future research.     

汽车社会与交通治理

认为我国汽车的迅速普及与城市交通环境之间的矛盾导致了城市交通拥堵在时间和空间范围上的不断扩张;城市交通拥堵对城市经济的持续、快速、健康发展构成了严重威胁。通过分析我国城市交通拥堵的原因,辨析了治理城市交通拥堵需要处理好的几个关系,提出了我国城市交通治理的对策。     

汽车专业课的教学与考核探索

汽车职业教育就是以直接就业为主要目标而展开的教育与教学活动,其是职教主体思想的指南,因此在某种意义上也可以说职业教育就是"就业教育"。汽车用人市场的要求和市场的适应的不断深化和加强使得我们的汽车专业教育变得更加的艰巨,要使我们的教育符合市场需求,那么就必须对我们现有的教学体系和考核体系做出适当的调整和改变。     

Internationalization and industrial districts: evidence from the Italian automotive supply chain

In this paper we focus on the determinants of internationalization and, in particular, on the specific role played by the agglomeration of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through their proximity to a large firm. We study the characteristics of the internationalization process in a representative sample of 786 firms in the Italian automotive supply chain. After building an Internationalization Strategy Index (ISI), we perform a multinomial logit econometric analysis. The main findings of the empirical analysis are: (a) Italian automotive supplier firms mainly go in the foreign markets through export, i.e. the simplest internationalization mode; (b) as predicted in the literature, individual firm characteristics play a significant role in the probability of internationalization; (c) firms located in the province of Turin, where the dominant car assembler (Fiat) in Italy has its headquarters, or more generally, in large automotive industry districts, enjoy a clear localization advantage; (d) interestingly, we also find that internationalization is negatively correlated with the share of Fiat in suppliers’ sales, and that suppliers located in a district and less dependent on Fiat are also those adopting the most advanced internationalization strategies.     

汽车产业效应区域差异的实证分析

近年来,随着汽车产业对我国经济增长贡献日渐提高,各省市纷纷将汽车产业定位为支柱产业来发展。但在汽车产业经济贡献提升较为显著的地区,汽车产业专业化水平与产出效率并不完全一致。汽车产业投入产出过程是一项比较复杂的活动,其对经济的带动作用除了受产业本身集聚规模的影响,还受到其他因素的制约。     

我国节能汽车进入美国市场的机遇

本文分析了当前美国的汽车市场走向,认为美国汽车市场正处于结构调整的关键时期,混合动力汽车市场增长迅速。我国与发达国家在节能汽车领域的差距正在迅速缩小,应该抓住机遇进入美国市场,争取在新一轮世界汽车工业竞争格局变化中取得有利地位。     

我国汽车零配件行业技术创新困境及应对策略

汽车产业是我国国民经济的支柱性产业,零配件作为汽车的重要组成部分,是汽车产业发展的基础。技术创新是实现提高我国自主创新能力的重要途径和手段。通过分析我国汽配行业在技术创新中所面临的困境,找出相应的应对策略。