Supply Chain Manufacturing Alliances in the Automotive Industry: Impacts on
Abstract
Manufacturing alliances and synergetic supply chain linkages affect firm performance, competitive advantages, and knowledge creation for alliance partners. Supplier-buyer interactions enhance cost reduction, delivery cycle-time improvement in product and process technology advantages. The literature analyzing supplier manufacturing capabilities (SMC) and supplier development (SD) between buyer and supplier could lead to SD and improve performance. Few studies, however, explore the impact of such linkages on improved financial performance of both SMC and SD. Our research explores the effect of supplier manufacturing capabilities’ improvement and enhancement of financial performance. The data analysis is structural equation modeling (SEM), based upon a questionnaire distributed to 241 enterprises, suppliers to SAPCO company—a Central Asian IKCO automotive producer in strategic alliances with Suzuki and Peugeot/Citroen, among others. The results support the hypothesized model in which SMC has a direct influence on SD practices and improved financial performance for the network partners.