Models and Practices in the Motor Vehicle Industry – contrasting cases from the Portuguese experience

Tiago Machado and António Moniz

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper presents and discusses two case studies in the Portuguese motor vehicle industry – Salvador Caetano’s Ovar Industrial Division (SCOID), a ‘Brownfield site’ with minority Toyota ownership; and Autoeuropa, a ‘Greenfield site’ wholly owned by Volkswagen. Basically, it considers the scope for the meaningful application of ‘Japanese’ organisational methods in these contexts, focusing on the human factor – i.e. as close as possible to the actors on the shop floor. After providing some insights into the Portuguese automotive industry, it profiles both SCOID and Autoeuropa and assesses each of their methods of work, within this balance of commitment between global and local. The main findings reveal the lag that can exist between theoretical models (namely those following a geographical criteria) and the actual practice carried out by manufacturers when tested outside their point of geographical origin.

Keywords: Motor vehicle industry; Lean Production; hybridisation; work organisation; case studies; Toyota; Volkswagen; Portugal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L23 L52 L62 M21 O25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-06, Revised 2005-12
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:6171

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