<p>Based on the concepts of <i>techno-economic paradigm, network</i> and <i>production chain</i>, the main purpose of this dissertation is to analyse the diffusion of technological and managerial innovations in the Brazilian industry during the 1980s and the 1990s. It consists of a summary and six selected papers. Empirical studies were conducted at different moments of the re-structuring process and at different points of the production chain. The samples cover large leading firms as well as small second and third-tier suppliers in the automotive and footwear industries. They throw light on the process of diffusion and establishment of a new paradigm of industrial organization, mostly in conflict with the Taylorist/Fordist.</p><p>Ideas, methods and management techniques were largely adopted and imitated from the so-called "Japanese model", but the diffusion of the new paradigm in Brazil is also the result of adapting and modifying this model by trial and error. At the firm level, the adoption of these innovations entails a highly complex process of social change, reversing norms and models of behaviour hitherto dominant. They modify the daily practices at work, and the division of labour within and between companies, as well as between companies and other institutions, such as those within the educational system. These transformations are studied by distinguishing <i>competition, management</i>, and technological patterns.</p><p>The results show that, under the conditions of a an extremely large domestic market, the re-structuring of the Brazilian industry occurs in a context characterized by crisis, economic instability, recession and unemployment as well as by political re-democratization and growing influence of the labour movement. The diffusion of the new paradigm of efficiency together with the increasing globalization of the economy and the ongoing abandonment of import substitution, transformed the organization of work and <i>inter-firms relations</i>, changing the volume, structure, and location of employment as well as the content and hierarchy of skills.</p>

Based on the concepts of techno-economic paradigm, network and production chain, the main purpose of this dissertation is to analyse the diffusion of technological and managerial innovations in the Brazilian industry during the 1980s and the 1990s. It consists of a summary and six selected papers. Empirical studies were conducted at different moments of the re-structuring process and at different points of the production chain. The samples cover large leading firms as well as small second and third-tier suppliers in the automotive and footwear industries. They throw light on the process of diffusion and establishment of a new paradigm of industrial organization, mostly in conflict with the Taylorist/Fordist. Ideas, methods and management techniques were largely adopted and imitated from the so-called "Japanese model", but the diffusion of the new paradigm in Brazil is also the result of adapting and modifying this model by trial and error. At the firm level, the adoption of these innovations entails a highly complex process of social change, reversing norms and models of behaviour hitherto dominant. They modify the daily practices at work, and the division of labour within and between companies, as well as between companies and other institutions, such as those within the educational system. These transformations are studied by distinguishing competition, management, and technological patterns. The results show that, under the conditions of a an extremely large domestic market, the re-structuring of the Brazilian industry occurs in a context characterized by crisis, economic instability, recession and unemployment as well as by political re-democratization and growing influence of the labour movement. The diffusion of the new paradigm of efficiency together with the increasing globalization of the economy and the ongoing abandonment of import substitution, transformed the organization of work and inter-firms relations, changing the volume, structure, and location of employment as well as the content and hierarchy of skills.

Global sustainability awareness and governmental regulations are pushing the automotive industry into finding alternatives to carbon dioxide emitting products. Solutions utilizing electricity in the vehicle powertrain is overtaking market share from internal combustion engines (ICE). This tendency has spread into the heavy-duty truck segment which poses questions regarding the future of the ICE. An alternative, electric motors, powered with batteries, fuel cells of even ICE’s, is thought to become a core part of future mobility. To mitigate discontinuities during a shift from ICE to electric motors, a study of possible factors affecting such transition has been performed. The result indicates 14 main factors which are thought to have a definite role in a major technology paradigm shift. These factors are: Supplier relations, Material management, Material availability, Available space, Scalability, Product flexibility, Risk management, External resource utilization, Internal relations, Demand estimation, Management endorsement, Appropriate methodology, Employee engagement, and Competence renewal. A structure using ISM methodology is established highlighting the factors’ influencing relation to each other. Anchored in the theory regarding paradigmatic shifts within industry, a tendency of technological, managerial, and institutional influence on organizational change can be discerned where the institutional level poses as the fundamental dimension of derived quality. The factors are identified from a Scania specific case but are broad enough to apply to similar situations facing challenges of a technological paradigm shift.

La fabrication additive désigne un ensemble de technologies dont les caractéristiques uniques ouvrent des perspectives de conception et de production radicalement innovantes. Certains ont imaginé qu’elle permettrait un jour la fabrication décentralisée et en petites séries d’objets personnalisés aux formes complexes, grâce à des machines flexibles capables de tout fabriquer ou presque, ce qui déclencherait une nouvelle révolution industrielle. Néanmoins, pour l’heure, nous sommes encore dans la phase d’exploration de ce nouveau paradigme techno-industriel.Nous étudions ce sujet au travers de trois instanciations particulières de ces relations inter-firmes. Nous nous intéressons d’abord à des cas où la mise en œuvre des nouvelles technologies s’est déjà opérée. Nous observons alors la transformation des chaînes de valeur où se jouent de nouvelles relations clients-fournisseurs, avec de la désintermédiation. Nous étudions ensuite des alliances multipartenaires au travers desquelles les acteurs mènent une réflexion stratégique collective pour se préparer à la fabrication additive. Si les acteurs travaillent collectivement, ils pensent et développent aussi leur propre stratégie. Enfin, nous nous penchons sur des alliances dyadiques qui visent à combiner des compétences technologiques et des compétences métier afin de rapprocher la technologie et ses applications potentielles, et donc de permettre aux acteurs de mettre en œuvre la fabrication additive pour de nouveaux usages.A partir de ces trois plongées dans des instanciations typées des relations inter-firmes à différents stades d’exploration d’un nouveau paradigme, nous proposons un cadre intégrateur qui théorise le processus itératif et entremêlé par lequel les acteurs explorent et tirent parti du nouveau paradigme techno-industriel, façonnant ainsi les trajectoires technologiques. / Additive manufacturing designates a set of technologies whose unique features open radically innovative design and production possibilities. Some early authors imagined that it would eventually allow decentralized and customized production of objects with complex shapes and in small quantities, thanks to flexible machines that could manufacture about everything. This could, in turn, triggers a new industrial revolution. However, at the present time, we are still in the exploration phase of this new techno-industrial paradigm.Inter-firm relationships appear to be crucial in the exploration of the additive manufacturing new techno-industrial paradigm. We study this exploration processes through the lenses of three specific types of inter-firm relationships.We first focus on value chain relationships. We look at a sector where the implementation of new offerings is already effective. The competitive battle to capture value is raging. Then, we study multipartner alliances where companies engage in a collective strategic exercise to prepare themselves for additive manufacturing. If players work collectively, they also think and develop their own strategy along the way. Finally, we look at dyadic alliances implemented to combine technological and industry capabilities to connect the technologies and potential needs that previously could not be properly served. These alliances allow players to implement additive manufacturing for a few specific applications.Based on these three sets of empirical observations on three different types of inter-firm relationships at three different stages of the exploration of the new paradigm, we present and discuss an integrative theoretical framework that models the exploration of a new techno-industrial paradigm as an iterative and intricate evolution process : the combined actions of the players involved in the exploration of the new paradigm in fact contribute to shape the technological trajectories as they aim at benefitting from the new opportunities offered.