Barriers to the involvement of suppliers in design and product development: evidence in the Spanish auto components industry

URL:

Résumé:

Auto components manufacturers are finding important barriers to translating the supply practices used by final assemblers to their own suppliers. In particular, there are some obstacles to the involvement of suppliers in design and product development. By means of exploratory case studies, this paper identifies five suppliers’ features that make such involvement difficult: small size, lack of international presence, industry specialization and reputation, and negative attitude to change. The importance of these variables is assessed over a sample of 150 Spanish auto components producers. © 2001 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.