‘Detroit of the East’? Industrial Upgrading, Japanese Car Producers and the Development of the Automotive Industry in Thailand

Busser, Rogier

doi:10.1080/13602380701660962

Cited by 31 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…We have less to say about the upgrading of individual Thai firms, since this is already discussed in the existing literature (e.g. Busser 2008;Hassler 2009;Ueda 2007;and Ueda 2009). …”

Section: The Stages Of Automotive Developmentmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Busser (2008) has argued that little upgrading has taken place among domestic Thai suppliers. Worries were expressed by our interviewed exporting assemblers about Thai suppliers' ability to supply products in time and of consistent quality.…”

Section: Upgrading Within the Automotive Gvc?mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This protection for local assembly firms stimulated local assemblers to increase investment in components production (Busser 2008). The policy also resulted in a split in the automobile assemblers in the market.…”

Section: Strengthening Localisation Capacity (1978-1990)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Then, under the new populist government of Thaksin Shinawatra (2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006), an automotive development plan was set out, sometimes referred to as the 'Detroit of Asia' (Busser 2008). This plan aimed for Thailand to act as a regional hub for automobile exports in Southeast Asia by targeting 2.5 million units of CBU vehicle production, and to become one of the top ten automobile producers in the world by 2016.…”

Section: Creating International Competitiveness and 'Product Championmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Industrial policy and the development of the automotive industry in Thailand

Natsuda

Thoburn

2013

Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It has been argued that restrictions on industrial policy implemented under World Trade Organization rules in the 2000s have greatly reduced the 'policy space' in which developing countries can promote industrialisation. This paper examines the case of Thailand's policies in developing one of the most successful automotive industries in the Southeast Asian region. We show that Thailand's use of local content requirements, later abolished under WTO rules, helped promote local suppliers and did not deter foreign investors. Substantial tariff protection of vehicles and components production did not deter exports, and has continued to the present, even under liberalisation policies. Supplementing tariff protection by various fiscal means to promote product champions in the automotive industry, Thailand has succeeded in retaining substantial policy freedom.

show abstract

“…We have less to say about the upgrading of individual Thai firms, since this is already discussed in the existing literature (e.g. Busser 2008;Hassler 2009;Ueda 2007;and Ueda 2009). …”

Section: The Stages Of Automotive Developmentmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Upgrading Within the Automotive Gvc?mentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Strengthening Localisation Capacity (1978-1990)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Creating International Competitiveness and 'Product Championmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Industrial policy and the development of the automotive industry in Thailand

Natsuda

Thoburn

2013

Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While the international competitiveness of Japanese MNCs was adversely affected by the prolonged economic slowdown of their home economy, their continued preference for established strategies, organisation and capabilities has impaired their adaptation to changes in global markets (Black and Morrison 2012;Collinson and Rugman 2008;Itagaki 2009;Marukawa 2009;Numagami, Karube, and Kato 2010). The continued reliance on the knowledge and experience of home country personnel has been a block on such a transformation and inhibited the development of overseas subsidiaries and host country personnel (Black and Morrison 2012;Collinson and Wilson 2006;Byun and Ybema 2005;Hong and Snell 2008;Hong, Snell, and Easterby-Smith 2006;Beechler and Bird 1999;Busser 2008;Lam 2003;Marukawa 2009). The end of Japan's fast growth era from 1990 hurt general traders whose fortunes were tied to the country's import-export trade.…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

Japanese multinationals in the post-bubble era: new challenges and evolving capabilities

Fitzgerald

Rowley

2015

Asia Pacific Business Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since the bursting of Japan's bubble economy, from 1990 onwards, Japanese multinational companies (MNCs) have faced new competitive challenges and questions about the management practices on which they had built their initial success in global markets. Japanese engagement in the international economy has undergone a number of phases. In the period before the Second World War, Japanese companies learnt from foreign MNCs in trading, shipping, and manufacturing, frequently through strategic alliances, and leveraged their capabilities to succeed in overseas and largely Asian markets. In the immediate post-war decades, during the Japanese 'economic miracle', there were notable examples of MNC investment in raw materials and labour intensive production, but both inward and outward foreign direct investment were not significant. Japanese companies achieved leadership in management and technology, in order to support a strategy of export-orientated industrialization. Changes in government policies in the developed economies of the US and Western Europe forced leading Japanese manufacturers to convert themselves into MNCs and to transfer their home-grown capabilities to overseas subsidiaries. The period after 1990 marked declining Japanese competitiveness and it asked questions about the ability of Japanese MNCs to be more responsive and global in their strategies, organization and capabilities.

show abstract

Exploring the relationship between upgrading and capturing profits from GVC participation for disadvantaged suppliers in developing countries

Choksy

Sinkovics

2017

Can J Adm Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The existing literature on global value chains (GVCs) suggests that functional upgrading is a key determinant of whether suppliers are able to capture higher profits in GVCs. However, it is unclear whether the same argument holds for disadvantaged suppliers who face high barriers to achieving functional upgrading. Through a review of existing empirical studies, the present paper aims to explore how disadvantaged suppliers in developing countries increase their profits in the face of barriers to functional upgrading. The findings from the literature analysis suggest that the ability of disadvantaged suppliers to benefit from GVC participation depends on the extent of their managerial agency and their ability to leverage multiple upgrading/downgrading trajectories (whether product, process, or functional) and transform them into profitable outcomes. Copyright © 2017 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Keywords: upgrading, functional upgrading, position, global value chains, profit margins Résumé Pour les auteurs des travaux existants sur les chaînes de valeur mondiales (GVC), c'est la modernisation fonctionnelle qui détermine si les fournisseurs sont en mesure de réaliser des profits importants dans le cadre des GVC. Mais ces auteurs n'indiquent pas si ce postulat s'applique également aux fournisseurs défavorisés qui, pour réaliser leur modernisation fonctionnelle, doivent faire face à des obstacles majeurs. Dans le présent article, nous explorons, grâce à une revue des travaux empiriques existants, la manière dont les fournisseurs défavorisés des pays en voie de développement augmentent leurs profits en dépit des obstacles qui entravent leur modernisation fonctionnelle. Nos résultats révèlent que la capacité des fournisseurs défavorisés à tirer profit de leur participation aux GVC dépend de la taille de leur organisme managérial et de leur aptitude à transformer les multiples mouvements de modernisation/dégradation (des produits, des processus ou des fonctions) en revenus.

show abstract

‘Detroit of the East’? Industrial Upgrading, Japanese Car Producers and the Development of the Automotive Industry in Thailand

Cited by 31 publications

References 5 publications

Industrial policy and the development of the automotive industry in Thailand

Industrial policy and the development of the automotive industry in Thailand

Japanese multinationals in the post-bubble era: new challenges and evolving capabilities

Exploring the relationship between upgrading and capturing profits from GVC participation for disadvantaged suppliers in developing countries

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About