Convergence and divergence of trajectories of change.
The end of the CASE (connected, autonomous, shared, electric) paradigm in the automotive industry?
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the global automotive industry seemed on the verge of converging toward the CASE paradigm promoted by GAFAM, Silicon Valley and digital companies: four disruptive technological changes joining forces to radically transform the automotive sector.
The hegemony of OEMs over products, markets, value and technology appeared to be in danger. It was contested by digital companies entering the automotive sector and taking control of:
- the data generated by connected vehicles and connected machines and factories (Google, Amazon)
- the software and technologies required to drive autonomous vehicles (Waymo, Uber, Tesla, Apple)
- the platforms promoting and orchestrating shared mobility (Uber, Lyft, Didi)
- the development of the electric vehicles (EVs) conceived as a new type of vehicle that would bring together all these technological changes (Tesla, Apple).
Five years later, the landscape of the global automotive industry has indeed changed dramatically, but not along these lines.
Electrification has accelerated much more than it was expected, but it appears now disconnected from the other technological “disruptions”. Most of the EVs sold in the market are clones of the internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and no longer carry the promise of an imminent mobility revolution. The autonomous vehicle in particular has faded away, even if by different degrees depending on countries’ and companies’ trajectories. If shared mobility and connectivity remain a growing reality, they are both struggling to fulfil the technological expectations raised by their initial possibilities. They also do no longer seem disruptive for traditional automotive business, but rather complementary – people do not stop owning and driving a car because they use Uber or Blablacar.
This also seems to be the case for digitalization more generally. While there is no doubt that digitalization keeps spreading in both products (ADAS, software updates) and processes (digital assistance, digital twin, big data analytics, artificial intelligence), it does not seem to represent a significant source of instability to OEMs. Rather than being incorporated or substituted by digital companies, OEMs are bringing these technologies within their perimeter, either through acquisitions, in-house development, traditional OEM-supplier relations, MoUs, R&D collaborations or joint ventures. So far, it does not seem that the different degrees of digital integration and development had important consequences on the relative cost and non-cost competitiveness of automotive companies.
Does this mean that “dinosaurs will keep ruling the auto industry” (MacDuffie and Fujimoto 2010)?
Past forecast errors invite caution, also because “dinosaurs” are now threatened by another, more familiar, type of foe: new entrant OEMs making better, cheaper and different cars. If Tesla has successfully become the global market leader of BEVs it is not only because of its digital company status – though it has certainly helped in carrying losses for a long period of time – but because it has become a mass producer of cars with higher vertical integration in the battery electric value chain, higher economies of scale and more efficient manufacturing processes than its competitors. The success of Chinese New Energy Vehicles makers (BYD, Geely, Cherry, SAIC, etc.) follows a similar pattern and is now turning China into the main exporter of BEVs.
Furthermore, new drivers of disruption have emerged in the post-pandemic world of automotive production.
On the one hand, the acceleration in the electrification of sales goes hand in hand with a generalized quest for sustainability all along the supply chain: decarbonisation concerns not only cars, but the entire manufacturing process. This has profound implications on the restructuring of regional and global value chains and their resilience.
On the other hand, the Covid-19 crisis combined with this fast electrification has triggered speculations on a possible process of deglobalisation that may question the intrinsic logic of global value chains in the name of both national sovereignty (for example, structuring domestic battery value chains) and sustainability (via carbon borders adjustment mechanisms).
From a scenario of convergence towards a common paradigm, these new pressures on the automotive sector appear to be pushing towards divergent trajectories of change where different national trade and industrial policies, different environmental regulations and technological solutions, different productive models and product policies, and different energy sources and access to raw material play an increasingly central role in providing answers to the challenges of decarbonizing and digitalizing automotive products and processes.
We welcome papers that look into these divergent trajectories of change, explore their respective impacts on national industries, automotive companies and workers, but also question their relative environmental, social, political and economic viability and sustainability. Papers can also focus more in detail on the new challenges of sustainability and sovereignty, on the different policies and regulations that have been implemented to deal with them, and how they impact the strategies of companies and the reorganization of supply chains. Papers can also look at how these challenges represent different stakes and consequences depending on the relative position of countries and companies in regional and global value chains. In particular, we welcome papers that take a “Global South” perspective on all these issues.
We welcome papers that explain the seeming decline of the CASE paradigm, as well as why, in some countries and companies, it seems to continue to play an important role. Papers that look into the market of technological expectations (for CASE technologies, but also for hydrogen, biofuels, hybrids versus battery electric vehicles) are particularly welcome. These papers could also debate the argument of convergence/divergence: as it was the case for electrification, which took some time before taking off since the early difficult attempts of the post 2008 financial crisis, major breakthroughs in technology or changes in the regulatory frameworks might trigger similar new developments in autonomous driving or shared forms of mobility.
We welcome papers that address how OEMs and suppliers are currently using digitalization and the more recent developments of Artificial Intelligence to transform their organizations and their supply chains. In particular we welcome papers that explore the consequences of digitisation on work and employment in the auto sector.
We will also keep focusing our attention on electrification as the main technological transformation currently experienced by the global automotive industry. We welcome papers that analyse how electrification is implemented and developed in different national contexts and in different companies; that examine the evolving role of public policies and regulations in shaping and sustaining the transition towards battery electric vehicles; that focus on the battery sector and the structuring of domestic electric vehicle value chains in different countries and regions; that discuss the implications of electrification for workers (restructuring, reskilling and training, quality of work, contracts and negotiations, etc.) and citizens (affordability of cars, access to mobility, mobility poverty, usages and automobility cultures, etc.); and that explore/question the relationship between electrification and digitalisation, in particular the phenomenon of the so-called “twin transition”.
We also welcome on all these issues and debates papers that take into account different stakeholders’ perspectives: from industry associations a to NGOs, from political parties to trade unions, from consumers’ associations to and regional and local governments.
We welcome papers from academics, and all the members of our international network, but also from all actors that are involved in the public debate, such as trade unions, environmental NGOs, employers associations, government agencies, as well as auto manufacturers and their suppliers. We welcome papers from all social sciences, both focusing on the current transitions, but also providing historical accounts of previous transitions where similar debates took place.
The call is organised in three streams that focus (1) on challenges for work and labour; (2) on social and regulatory contexts; and (3) on companies, products, technologies and value chains.
To submit a proposal you need to log in with your user account (or create a new one) and click on the submit link under the theme you want to submit for.
A selection of the best papers presented during the colloquium, including the winner of the young author’s prize (see below) will be included in a special issue of the International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management (IJATM).
Guidelines for paper submission
To submit a proposal, please click the link below the chosen theme. Proposals should range between 500 and 1,000 words. They should present the outline of the research question (purpose), the methodology (design), the main results (findings) and their significance (practical and theoretical implications).
Instructions on how to submit final articles will be sent by email following the proposal acceptance. Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis, and those submitted at the March 1st, 2024 deadline will be accepted by the March 15, 2024 (at the latest).
Final articles should range between 5,000-7,000 words (excluding figures, tables and references) in order to be considered for the IJATM special issue. High-quality articles that exceed 7,000 words will be also considered on a case-by-case basis.
Guidelines for panel submission
To submit a panel, follow the guidelines for paper submission above for each communication, and send a panel proposal to gerpisa@gerpisa.org. Panels will be accepted on rolling basis and their specific calls/presentations added below.
IJATM special issue
The International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management (IJATM) published by Inderscience publishes a special issue each year selected from papers presented during the GERPISA yearly colloquium. One or two papers from young authors will also be published in this special issue. An evaluation committee, composed of members of the GERPISA International Steering Committee, will assess the papers during the colloquium (young authors and others) and invite those chosen to submit to the IJATM Special Issue. After the decision of the GERPISA’s steering committee, the selected papers will be refereed through a double-blind process prior to final acceptance.
The criteria of the assessment are the relevance of the topic, the quality of the presentation (for works in progress), the strength of the results, the quality of the methodological work, and the review of the literature. Work across the social sciences (including history, management, economics, sociology, geography, and political science) dealing with the automobile industry is welcome.
Gerpisa Young Author Prize
The Young Author’s Prize of GERPISA, consisting of the publication of the winning paper in a special issue of IJATM and a €1,500 award, recognizes the work of young researchers on topics related to the automobile industry. Our goal is to encourage scholars to focus on topics related to the automobile industry early in their career.
Requirements to submit a paper proposal for the young author’s prize:
- Masters and Ph.D. students, post-docs and junior faculty are eligible. Applicants should be under age 37. Papers co-authored with a senior researcher will be assessed only for masters and doctoral students. We exclude those at the associate professor level or above, and senior researchers.)
- Paper based on the analysis (whether theoretical, methodological, or empirical) of the automobile industry (topics have to cover one of the five themes of the colloquium);
- Presentation of the paper by the young author during the 31st international colloquium in person.
- Submission online (specifying that the authors wish to be considered for the prize). They should also email basic information (name, date of birth, nationality, status, university/research affiliation, topic, and abstract) to Giuseppe Calabrese (giuseppe.giulio.calabrese@ircres.cnr.it), and Tommaso Pardi (tommaso.pardi@ens-cachan.fr) before 1st March 2023, for the proposal and 5th May 2023, for the final paper.
Paper Preparation:
- An original article would normally consist of 5000-7000 words (excluding figures, tables and references).
- All articles must be written in UK English. If English is not your first language, please ask an English-speaking colleague to proofread your article.
- Submissions may be formatted in single or double spacing, preferably in Times New Roman size 12 font.
The paper should include the following:
- Title: as short as possible, with no abbreviations or acronyms.
- Abstract: approximately 100 words, maximum 150.
- Keywords: approximately 10-15 words or phrases. Keywords are important for online searching;
- Address*: position, department, name of institution, email address for each author.
- Biographical notes*: approximately 100 words per author.
- Text: no more than 7000 words (excluding figures, tables and references).
- Tables and figures: please put in the text where tables and figures are positioned.
- References: IJATM papers are recommended.
- Notes: the less the better.
- Acknowledgment: in case you have any.
