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Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / The purpose or the automotive technical publication is to simplify distinct technical principles. In reality, however, just the opposite is taking place within the automotive industry. Complexity of language, poorly organized illustrations, and misleading installation instructions are continually handed the reader. The aim of this study is to simplify and clarify the. three major typesof automotive technical publications: the parts catalog, the technical bulletin, and the promotional brochure.

Many companies are questioning the value created from logistics outsourcing. This is especially evident in contract logistics (specialised warehousing), given the increased commoditisation of transportation and distribution today. A clear need emerged to understand the value creation characteristics at play between third party logistics (3PL) providers and clients, and this formed the basis for this research. More specifically, the research sought to identify the elements driving the quality and functionality of value creation. The research focused on the South African automotive industry limited to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) that had outsourced, were currently outsourcing or were planning to outsource their specialised warehousing. The research consisted of a phased approach in which key industry players (clients and 3PL’s) were interviewed to understand and expand on the nature of the problem. A questionnaire was then sent out to the OEM’s and quantitative analysis was undertaken on the data collected to answer the stated research propositions It was found that client satisfaction was achieved through long term strategic relationships with 3PL’s rather than a short term transactional approach. The value creation that was driving client satisfaction was being achieved through behaviour that sought stronger relationships, cooperation and strategic partnering with each other. Although there was a clear understanding on what the value creation characteristics were, the execution was unclear. Overall, the majority of OEM’s that took part in this study indicated satisfaction with their 3PL providers. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Introduction – The scene for this thesis is set in the highly regulated automotive industry. Recent scandals in the automotive industry have shown that companies have manipulated their emission results in order to pass regulations. The regulations are from the beginning implemented to protect the environment and encourage companies to develop green innovation but the authors question if regulations puts more pressure on the companies than they can handle. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate how regulations affect green innovation. Method – The authors adopted a pragmatist research philosophy and used an abductive research method. The empirical data has been gathered through a qualitative study, conducting semi structured interviews with companies within the automotive industry. The abductive research approach meant that the frame of reference has been updated and revised when new data, which was previously not covered in the theory, was gained from the interviews. With a five-step process the authors have analyzed the empirical data with the frame of references and from the result drawn conclusion. Conclusion – The conclusions drawn in this thesis is that regulations have a positive impact on companies green incremental innovation and can have both an inhibitory and a positive effect on radical green innovation. However, there are few underlying factors affecting the outcome such as infrastructure, technology neutrality and communication. Contribution – The contribution of this thesis has added new qualitative knowledge to the research field on how regulations affect green innovation. By localizing and highlighting the factors found in the conclusion, companies and policy makers can cooperate to enhance the development of green radical innovations in the future. Future research - Future researcher are encouraged to investigate how infrastructure, technology neutrality and communication each are affecting green radical innovation. Key words: Green innovation, Regulations, Government policy and the Automotive Industry Paper type: Master thesis

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The influence of recycling on aluminium alloys and subsequent influence on the microstructure and corrosion performances have been investigated. The investigation was commenced by taking two block cast, recycled aluminium alloys (AA5050 and AA6011) and rolling them into 1mm gauge plate. In the case of AA6011, the plate was subjected to subsequent solution heat treatment and artificial aging steps, in order to attain certain temper specifications. To replicate the automotive paint bake industrial practice, a sample was subjected to a 2% tensile stretch followed by heat treatment for 30 minutes at 180˚C. Microstructural observations revealed Al-Fe-Mn-Si intermetallics to be the dominant secondary phase in both alloys. The size, distribution and composition of these were unaffected by artificial aging. Mg2Si was found in a coarse, localised form in both alloys also, albeit in much less amounts in AA5050. The presence of this phase was likely due to poor homogenisation during thermomechanical processing. HR-TEM of AA6011 revealed needle/rod shaped precipitates, aligning in the [001]Al lattice direction. This is consistent with β''/β' hardening precipitates consisting of magnesium and silicon. Circumstantial evidence was found for the copper-containing Q phase precipitate also. An additional, unidentified precipitate was observed, nucleating on the {111} habit plane of the aluminium matrix. The high iron content of AA6011 retarded the precipitation hardening response by capturing elements associated with hardening precipitates in the Al-Fe-Mn-Si intermetallics. Electrochemical corrosion experiments revealed the materials had a high susceptibility to localised corrosions, with the open circuit potential and breakdown potential possessing similar values. Atmospheric corrosion experiments showed that artificial aging had a large influence on the preferred corrosion mechanism. Non-heat treated samples showed susceptibility for pitting corrosion. This was particularly true for the -T4P temper, which showed large scale pitting. Heat treated samples saw an introduced susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. This was attributed to precipitation at grain boundaries, which would then form a microgalvanic couple with adjacent depleted zones. In the case of the -T8P temper, tensile stretching introduced defects into the sub-grain microstructure. This resulted in intergranular corrosion fronts of increased width, where grains with higher stored energy undergo preferential dissolution alongside the grain boundary attack. Overall, the detrimental effects of high iron content need to be overcome before AA5050 and AA6011 can be seriously considered for use in the automotive industry. However, the corrosion performance of AA6011-T8P is encouraging.

<p>With the purpose of expanding our understanding on the main causes that make maintaining competitiveness a challenging issue for companies in an industry, a qualitative research is conducted in this thesis based on Porter theoretical framework (i.e. the five competitive forces model); thereby selecting a single case study with a Swedish rubber subcontractor. The findings show that the threat of new entrants, the rivalry among the existing rubber subcontractors, the bargaining power of carmakers, the bargaining power of suppliers and the role of the Swedish government all highly concern and challenge the competitiveness of the case company. However, given the fact that close substitute products to the case company’s product are absent from the market, their threat does not represent any distress for the competitiveness of the company.</p>

With the purpose of expanding our understanding on the main causes that make maintaining competitiveness a challenging issue for companies in an industry, a qualitative research is conducted in this thesis based on Porter theoretical framework (i.e. the five competitive forces model); thereby selecting a single case study with a Swedish rubber subcontractor. The findings show that the threat of new entrants, the rivalry among the existing rubber subcontractors, the bargaining power of carmakers, the bargaining power of suppliers and the role of the Swedish government all highly concern and challenge the competitiveness of the case company. However, given the fact that close substitute products to the case company’s product are absent from the market, their threat does not represent any distress for the competitiveness of the company.