Zugl.: Linz, Univ., Diss., 2007 / Hergestellt on demand

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-03-26T17:11:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Moema Pereira Nunes.pdf: 1170739 bytes, checksum: 2f1528e1a76248f84858fc38f454dfd8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T17:11:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Moema Pereira Nunes.pdf: 1170739 bytes, checksum: 2f1528e1a76248f84858fc38f454dfd8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-28 / Nenhuma / Companies are moving abroad to look for advantages in alternative sources of supply. Primarily associated with the lack of local suppliers or lower acquisition costs, these reactions have driven business to a more proactive perspective by the adoption of Strategic Global Sourcing (GS). GS is conceptualized as the company's strategic direction for the search and monitoring of global supply markets and their efficient management through the integration and coordination of activities related to the functional areas of business, as well as the units of local purchases of a set of related companies. Companies from emerging countries are developing their own GS, in the same manner as companies from developed countries. Most GS literature considers emerging companies the emerging companies to be the suppliers, not the buyers. These "late movers" have more strategic motivation, as well as goals, to internationalize their activities. In this study, we investigated emerging Brazilian companies in the electrical and electronic industries from the state of Rio Grande do Sul as buyers in the global market. The initial step was a literature review, followed by the development of a theoretical framework. The framework was applied to a case study. Six companies from the selected industry sector were investigated. Four were classified as adopting GS. The main motivations that led these companies to adopt GS were identified as faster access to new technologies, the establishment of presence in global markets and the motivation to become a global player. The cultural differences were identified as the main difficulty. A set of differences between these companies and the adoption of GS from traditional MNCs in terms of the structure and process were also identified with special consideration given to the use of IPOs in earlier stages of internationalization sourcing. It was possible to confirm that the adoption of GS is a competitive advantage for these companies.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-05-02T17:58:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Deisi Luana Diel Weber_.pdf: 569327 bytes, checksum: 355337b56ffb691e0e6bd0005f05fc4d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-02T17:58:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Deisi Luana Diel Weber_.pdf: 569327 bytes, checksum: 355337b56ffb691e0e6bd0005f05fc4d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-10 / UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos / This research presents an investigation about the decision-making process regarding Make or Buy, trying to understand which variables most influence this decision to insource some activities, to outsource others, or to better estimate a percentage to combine both. The dependent variable on our research is the behavioral decision-making process, measuring the influence received by cost, quality, and monitoring. Trying to understand if differences between these independent variables influence how managers make their decision in the context of insource or outsource production. In order to test this model empirically, an experiment research was conducted, on the basis of eight different scenarios, which simulate a purchasing decision situation ranging the variables costs, quality, and monitoring of suppliers between High and Low, to understand the relationship of these constructs with the decision-making process of Brazilian managers. It was performed with a sample of 211 students from the Production Engineer course at Universidade do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos). The data was analyzed using statistical technique ANOVA. The results demonstrate that managers consider cost variation to decide about how much to internalize and how much to outsource. They change their choices when quality is higher in their suppliers than inside the company. They also evaluate manager capability to control costs over their suppliers and on their process inside the company. However, they do not change their sourcing decision due to supplier’s monitoring variation, neither when quality monitoring is considered. This issue was already addressed in Hall’s study (2012) conducted in the United States. Thus, we decided to replicate his in Brazil in order to check if in a different environment, with other economic, politic, social, and regulatory situation, the manager will change their decisions. Nevertheless, after comparing both studies, we realize that the same hypothesis was supported in both studies, what means that even in another context the same variables are considered to base managers sourcing decision.

Global sourcing strategies are becoming important with respect to more globalized world and changing global market. Nowadays, profitability is more complex subject for companies. Moreover, if we come through the airline companies, it will be more confused issue to achieve. Customers are getting knowledge about pricing strategies of different types of aviation industry and this makes customer segmentation more important.Coping with that challenging business requires strong skills on sourcing strategies in human resources, airport and aircraft choices. Hence one of the biggest airline companies was chosen as a case company to observe these strategies.Increasing of flights for all over the world causes more polluted environment. Hence, airline companies need to be more responsible for environmental issues. Sustainability in that business is motivated by customer and related policies. Chosen case company was also reviewed with respect to its corporate social responsibility.According to this thesis a lot of work can be done in order to a get a brief idea for the global sourcing strategies and corporate social responsibility. Authors were discussed that subject and observed its applications in a world-wide airline company. It can be supposed as a well-prepared study with literature review and related reflections.

Background: What initially caught our attention was the fact that many Swedish manufacturing firms establish production abroad and consequently many jobs are lost. However we decided to go behind the alarming reports of lost jobs, and instead study the subject from the companies’ perspective. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to study why Swedish companies establish production in China and Eastern Europe, how the production in these regions works, and what effects it has had on the company. Method: A qualitative study was conducted where interviews were performed with six Swedish manufacturing firms. The answers from each interview were then analyzed in order to match the empirical findings to the theoretical framework. A joint analysis was conducted where the answers from the six interviews were compared and analyzed. Finally conclusions were drawn as answer to our purpose. Conclusions: Our studies show that there are two main reasons for Swedish manufacturing firms to establish production in China and Eastern Europe respectively. These reasons are reduced costs and possibility to produce closer to the market. Keeping the product development in Sweden when producing abroad does not imply any problems as long as regular visits are paid to the plant. These visits are also important in order to maintain the relationships, which seems to be especially important in China. Cultural differences affecting the production exist to a varying extent both in China and Eastern Europe compared to Sweden. Establishing production abroad seems to be successful for most companies.

Background:Scholars tend to view global sourcing as a one-way street, whereby multinational manufacturers from developed countries purchase low-cost materials and products from developing countries. Undoubtedly, one of the purchasing bases for them is China because of its abundant resources and cheap labor. That is why China is aptly called the “Global Factory.” Conversely, few Chinese manufactures currently adopt a global sourcing strategy. However, the higher demand for technical quality and an increase in manufacturing cost is driving more Chinese manufacturers to adopt a global sourcing strategy in order to improve their competitive advantage. This would help them to optimize the use of global resources. Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to analyze what problems and challenges Chinese manufacturing companies face in the implementation of a global sourcing strategy. Research Method: Our study shall analyze the situation and problems encountered when Chinese manufacturers implement a global sourcing strategy. To achieve this deep understanding we need to perform a qualitative investigation of some Chinese manufacturers. Hence, we chose qualitative research as our methodology of this thesis. Conclusion:Pursuing global sourcing is a process which takes a long time and involves many obstacles to be overcome. In this complicated situation, there is not a universal compass to pursue global sourcing. Inexperienced Chinese manufacturers have to deal with each problem in order to develop an advanced level of global sourcing and to face the challenges from logistics capabilities, selecting foreign sources, protectionism, regulations, and so on.

<p>Background:Scholars tend to view global sourcing as a one-way street, whereby multinational manufacturers from developed countries purchase low-cost materials and products from developing countries. Undoubtedly, one of the purchasing bases for them is China because of its abundant resources and cheap labor. That is why China is aptly called the “Global Factory.” Conversely, few Chinese manufactures currently adopt a global sourcing strategy. However, the higher demand for technical quality and an increase in manufacturing cost is driving more Chinese manufacturers to adopt a global sourcing strategy in order to improve their competitive advantage. This would help them to optimize the use of global resources.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to analyze what problems and challenges Chinese manufacturing companies face in the implementation of a global sourcing strategy.</p><p>Research Method: Our study shall analyze the situation and problems encountered when Chinese manufacturers implement a global sourcing strategy. To achieve this deep understanding we need to perform a qualitative investigation of some Chinese manufacturers. Hence, we chose qualitative research as our methodology of this thesis.</p><p>Conclusion:Pursuing global sourcing is a process which takes a long time and involves many obstacles to be overcome. In this complicated situation, there is not a universal compass to pursue global sourcing. Inexperienced Chinese manufacturers have to deal with each problem in order to develop an advanced level of global sourcing and to face the challenges from logistics capabilities, selecting foreign sources, protectionism, regulations, and so on.</p>

<p>Background:</p><p>What initially caught our attention was the fact that many Swedish manufacturing firms establish production abroad and consequently many jobs are lost. However we decided to go behind the alarming reports of lost jobs, and instead study the subject from the companies’ perspective.</p><p>Purpose:</p><p>The purpose of the thesis is to study why Swedish companies establish production in China and Eastern Europe, how the production in these regions works, and what effects it has had on the company.</p><p>Method:</p><p>A qualitative study was conducted where interviews were performed with six Swedish manufacturing firms. The answers from each interview were then analyzed in order to match the empirical findings to the theoretical framework. A joint analysis was conducted where the answers from the six interviews were compared and analyzed. Finally conclusions were drawn as answer to our purpose.</p><p>Conclusions:</p><p>Our studies show that there are two main reasons for Swedish manufacturing firms to establish production in China and Eastern Europe respectively. These reasons are reduced costs and possibility to produce closer to the market. Keeping the product development in Sweden when producing abroad does not imply any problems as long as regular visits are paid to the plant. These visits are also important in order to maintain the relationships, which seems to be especially important in China. Cultural differences affecting the production exist to a varying extent both in China and Eastern Europe compared to Sweden. Establishing production abroad seems to be successful for most companies.</p>

O aumento da competitividade entre as empresas no mundo globalizado vem exigindo das mesmas uma melhoria constante das suas operações para buscar ou manter produtos e serviços de alta qualidade a baixos custos e, assim, manterem-se no mercado. Um dos pilares utilizados pelas empresas para sustentar esta melhoria constante é a filosofia de produção enxuta. Com esta filosofia, elas eliminam desperdícios e se beneficiam da redução do inventário, do lead time e custos de produção, melhoram o fluxo de trabalho e a qualidade dos produtos, entre outros. Outro pilar adotado por várias empresas é o suprimento global. As melhorias necessárias, no entanto, podem ser alcançadas com outros pilares além desses, mas que não serão abordados neste estudo. Com o suprimento global, as empresas se beneficiam de custos reduzidos na aquisição dos produtos, acesso a produtos de alta qualidade e conquista de novos mercados através da disponibilização de produtos inexistentes no mercado doméstico. Entretanto, o longo lead time de entrega dos produtos, conseqüente de vários fatores, provoca um aumento do nível de inventário, penalizando os objetivos da produção enxuta. O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar e analisar fatores críticos que tornam, até certo ponto, conflitantes a associação entre as áreas de produção enxuta e de suprimento global. Os fatores identificados na literatura foram: idioma e cultura, flutuação de câmbio, desembaraço alfandegário, complexidades legais, infraestrutura de transporte, ruptura da cadeia de suprimentos, fuso horário, serviço pós-venda, necessidade de consolidação de volumes no transporte e a relação entre fornecedor-cliente. A presença desses fatores como agentes interferentes na relação entre a produção enxuta e o suprimento global foi analisada em um estudo de caso, uma empresa do ramo da saúde. A maioria dos fatores detectados mostrou-se presente na empresa analisada sendo que desembaraço alfandegário, complexidades legais, ruptura da cadeia de suprimentos e variação cambial foram considerados os fatores de maior impacto. Este trabalho poderá contribuir fornecendo subsídios para a elaboração de propostas que amenizem os aspectos aparentemente conflitantes entre as duas áreas mencionadas e, assim, garantir os benefícios de ambas. / The increasing competitiveness in today\'s global marketplace has compelled companies to continuously improve their internal operations while offering high quality products at lower costs. Lean production has been adopted by companies as a way to boost improvement efforts. The lean philosophy aims at eliminating waste and reducing inventory, which in turn may bring about various benefits such as reduced lead time, lower production costs, better workflow and increased quality of products. Global sourcing has also emerged as another philosophy to help companies increase competitiveness. Other philosophies and practices are believed to bring companies the same benefits, but they have not been addressed in this research. Some of the benefits that may result from global sourcing are lower purchasing costs, access to higher quality products and entrance to new markets by offering new products to the domestic market. However, the long lead time required to delivery products, which may result from a variety of reasons, will cause inventory to increase, thus reducing the benefits of lean production. Hence, the objective of this work is to identify and analyze the factors that cause conflict between global sourcing and lean production. The literature points out some factors, such as language, culture, fluctuation of the exchange rate, customs paperwork, legal issues, transport infrastructure, disruptions in the supply chain, time zone, after-sales service, the need to consolidate transport volumes and the buyer-supplier relationship. The impact of these factors over global sourcing, as well as the lean production initiatives, was analyzed during a case study conducted in a firm from the health sector. Most of the aforementioned factors could be detected during the case study, whereas customs paperwork, legal issues, disruptions in the supply chain and fluctuations in the exchange rate were the ones that most affected the company. The results of this work contribute to the body of knowledge by providing evidence for the development of new approaches that seek to mitigate such factors while maintaining the benefits of both lean production and global sourcing.

O aumento da competitividade entre as empresas no mundo globalizado vem exigindo das mesmas uma melhoria constante das suas operações para buscar ou manter produtos e serviços de alta qualidade a baixos custos e, assim, manterem-se no mercado. Um dos pilares utilizados pelas empresas para sustentar esta melhoria constante é a filosofia de produção enxuta. Com esta filosofia, elas eliminam desperdícios e se beneficiam da redução do inventário, do lead time e custos de produção, melhoram o fluxo de trabalho e a qualidade dos produtos, entre outros. Outro pilar adotado por várias empresas é o suprimento global. As melhorias necessárias, no entanto, podem ser alcançadas com outros pilares além desses, mas que não serão abordados neste estudo. Com o suprimento global, as empresas se beneficiam de custos reduzidos na aquisição dos produtos, acesso a produtos de alta qualidade e conquista de novos mercados através da disponibilização de produtos inexistentes no mercado doméstico. Entretanto, o longo lead time de entrega dos produtos, conseqüente de vários fatores, provoca um aumento do nível de inventário, penalizando os objetivos da produção enxuta. O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar e analisar fatores críticos que tornam, até certo ponto, conflitantes a associação entre as áreas de produção enxuta e de suprimento global. Os fatores identificados na literatura foram: idioma e cultura, flutuação de câmbio, desembaraço alfandegário, complexidades legais, infraestrutura de transporte, ruptura da cadeia de suprimentos, fuso horário, serviço pós-venda, necessidade de consolidação de volumes no transporte e a relação entre fornecedor-cliente. A presença desses fatores como agentes interferentes na relação entre a produção enxuta e o suprimento global foi analisada em um estudo de caso, uma empresa do ramo da saúde. A maioria dos fatores detectados mostrou-se presente na empresa analisada sendo que desembaraço alfandegário, complexidades legais, ruptura da cadeia de suprimentos e variação cambial foram considerados os fatores de maior impacto. Este trabalho poderá contribuir fornecendo subsídios para a elaboração de propostas que amenizem os aspectos aparentemente conflitantes entre as duas áreas mencionadas e, assim, garantir os benefícios de ambas. / The increasing competitiveness in today\'s global marketplace has compelled companies to continuously improve their internal operations while offering high quality products at lower costs. Lean production has been adopted by companies as a way to boost improvement efforts. The lean philosophy aims at eliminating waste and reducing inventory, which in turn may bring about various benefits such as reduced lead time, lower production costs, better workflow and increased quality of products. Global sourcing has also emerged as another philosophy to help companies increase competitiveness. Other philosophies and practices are believed to bring companies the same benefits, but they have not been addressed in this research. Some of the benefits that may result from global sourcing are lower purchasing costs, access to higher quality products and entrance to new markets by offering new products to the domestic market. However, the long lead time required to delivery products, which may result from a variety of reasons, will cause inventory to increase, thus reducing the benefits of lean production. Hence, the objective of this work is to identify and analyze the factors that cause conflict between global sourcing and lean production. The literature points out some factors, such as language, culture, fluctuation of the exchange rate, customs paperwork, legal issues, transport infrastructure, disruptions in the supply chain, time zone, after-sales service, the need to consolidate transport volumes and the buyer-supplier relationship. The impact of these factors over global sourcing, as well as the lean production initiatives, was analyzed during a case study conducted in a firm from the health sector. Most of the aforementioned factors could be detected during the case study, whereas customs paperwork, legal issues, disruptions in the supply chain and fluctuations in the exchange rate were the ones that most affected the company. The results of this work contribute to the body of knowledge by providing evidence for the development of new approaches that seek to mitigate such factors while maintaining the benefits of both lean production and global sourcing.