This paper provides a circular supply chain perspective of packaging recovery ecosystems being implemented by Tetra Pak, a prime global player in the food packaging industry, in two major emerging economies: China and Brazil. The circular supply chain archetype considered in the research allowed a consistent comparative analysis of Tetra Pak's circular supply chains in both countries. Through a case study approach, the research provides theoretical propositions and learning points that are valuable for academics and practitioners interested in the Chinese and Brazilian markets as well as in the supply chains supporting recovery ecosystems in the packaging industry. In particular, the distinct environments in the Chinese and Brazilian markets render Tetra Pak opportunities to design circular supply chains in different ways showing adaptation and learning to local market characteristics. The industrial perspectives from these emerging economies add to the contributions offered in the paper. Overall, the conceptual considerations and practical recommendations presented in the paper provide useful insights for the development of further studies and implementation of industrial practices advocated by the circular economy.
Purpose
There is a great reliance on fiscal incentives to sustain the automotive industry competitiveness due to several structural problems, among them the inefficiency of the supply chain. This paper aims to compare the supply chain structure of traditional automotive industry with the supply chains from South Korea and China. Based on strategic decision and transaction cost theory, this comparison seeks to exploit the factors that led to the inefficiency of automotive supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a qualitative approach and applied a multi-method research. They conducted semi-structured interviews with six executives from automakers representing the selected countries, carried individual meetings during one workshop and used secondary data from several sources.
Findings
Concepts identified in the research such as reliability, supply chain governance and automaker competencies led the authors to propose that the traditional automakers have higher transaction costs when compared to the new automakers due to the horizontal structure of their supply chain. While new competitors have vertical upstream supply chains, which indicates better profitability, traditional automotive industry is horizontal, depends on fewer Tier 1 suppliers and is disconnected from Tier 2, impacting negatively in the transaction costs and supply chain management.
Practical implications
This study suggests that automotive executives rethink the current upstream supply chain model by identifying the competencies required for their current and future competitiveness and implementing a vertical integration of these competencies.
Originality/value
This research exploited the inefficiency of supply chain as one of the explanations for the low competitiveness of the national automotive industry.
Este artigo tem como objetivo compreender as competências de inovação em micro e pequenas empresas. Para tanto foi realizado um estudo de caso múltiplo em seis micro e pequenas empresas paulistanas. As fontes de evidências utilizadas foram análises de documentos e entrevistas semiestruturadas com os gerentes responsáveis pelas ações de inovação nas organizações e o fundador da empresa, presidente ou sócio principal. As entrevistas foram gravadas e os dados foram analisados utilizando-se o Atlas.Ti. Os resultados apontaram que as micro e pequenas empresas possuem elevado potencial de inovação e que consideram a inovação um fator essencial ao alcance da competitividade. As competências de inovação (liderança e estratégia, meio inovador interno, pessoas, processos de inovação e resultados das inovações) mostraram-se expressivas para compreender a inovação nessas empresas. Entretanto, essas empresas possuem dificuldades para planejar as atividades de inovação, obter recursos necessários à inovação e transformar os fatores de inovação em resultados de inovação.
With a growth scenario found in few places in the world, the Brazilian automotive market has become attractive, jumping from investments of about 1 billion dollar in 2005 to more than 5 billion dollars in 2012. This article has the objective to give a vision of the supply chain risk management in the Brazilian automotive industry through a case study, when samples of a strong (an automaker) and a weak (a second tier supplier) links were compared based on existing theory in order to understand their limits, variables and potential new findings. Secondary data generated by Sindipeças, ANFAVEA and national institutes were used in the context of the case study, as well as semi-structured interviews with executives and experts in risk management and supply chain areas of an automaker and a second tier supplier installed in Brazil.
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