Antecedents and Outcomes of Modular Production in the Brazilian Automobile Industry: A Grounded Theory Approach

• Published in: Journal of international business studies Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 84 - 106
• Main Authors: Kotabe, Masaaki, Ronaldo Parente, Murray, Janet Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Palgrave Macmillan Journals 01.01.2007; Palgrave Macmillan UK; Palgrave Macmillan
• Series: Journal of International Business Studies
• Subjects: Automobile industry; Automobiles; Automotive industries; Brazil; Business and Management; Business Strategy/Leadership; Business structures; Business studies; Case studies; Corporate strategies; Design specifications; Grounded theory; Industrial management; Industrial sector; International Business; Knowledge management; Lean manufacturing; Literature reviews; Management; Modularity; Modularization; Organization; Outsourcing; Production management; Production planning; Strategic business units; Studies; Subcontracting; Suppliers; Supply chain management; Supply chains; Tacit knowledge; Brazil; tacit knowledge; modularization; modular production; outsourcing; supply chain management; global sourcing

Our paper focuses on how foreign automobile manufacturers in Brazil have implemented and benefited from strategic modularization. Based on our case studies and in-depth interviews, we developed a theoretical framework to examine the antecedents and outcomes of strategic modularization. Our theoretic...