Factors That Contribute to the Use of Modularisation in the Automotive Industry: A Survey in Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to verify factors that can contribute to the use of modularisation in the Brazilian automotive industry through a survey methodology, using principal component analysis and structural equation modelling by partial least squares as techniques. We found three types of factors appearing as drivers or precursors of a formal strategy of modularisation: the use and knowledge of individual non-integrated aspects of modularisation, such as modular architecture; the introduction of competition differentials focusing mainly on cost reduction and increase in flexibility, quality, and dependability; and the existence of a business environment prone to innovation. The main conclusion is that elements of modularisation in the design and the need to meet customers' requirements have much more influence in stimulating a formal, articulated modularisation strategy than a business environment prone to innovation. OPSOMMINGHierdie artikel het as doelstelling die verifiëring van faktore wat kan bydra tot die gebruik van modularisering in die Brasiliaanse voertuig industrie. ʼn Peilingsmetodologie, wat van vernaamste komponent-analise en strukturele vergelykingmodellering deur parsiële minste vierkante gebruik maak, word hiervoor gebruik. Drie soorte faktore is identifiseer as die voorlopers van ʼn formele strategie vir modularisering, naamlik: die gebruik en kennis van individuele, nie-geïntegreerde aspekte van modularisering, soos modulêre argitektuur, die bekendstelling van kompetisie onderskeidings wat hoofsaaklik fokus op kostebesparing en ʼn toename in buigsaamheid, gehalte en betroubaarheid, en die bestaan van ʼn besigheidsomgewing geneig tot innovasie. Die gevolgtrekking is dat elemente van modularisering in die ontwerp en die behoefte om kliënte se versoeke te bevredig ʼn groter invloed het in die stimulasie van ʼn formele, geartikuleerde modularisering strategie as die besigheidsomgewing wat neig tot innovasie.

Service level agreement directed to suppliers of materials and services of the petrochemical sector: a criteria analysis

“…There were five questions concerning age, gender, schooling, professional period of experience and position occupied. The questions were formatted according to the five-point Likert Scale based on the following classification: 1 -fully disagree, 2 -disagree, 3 -neither agree nor disagree, 4 -agree and 5 -fully agree (Sellitto et al, 2018).…”

“…Table 3 shows the indexes and their description, linked to the research hypotheses, and the authors related to each topic. (Porter, 2008;Ritson et al, 2017;Sellitto et al, 2018Sellitto et al, , 2015Slack et al, 2010; CT2) The importance to seek suppliers who are constantly concerned about reaching low production costs and become flexible in the need to adjust prices. CT3) The importance to seek suppliers who focus on productivity efficiency.…”

“…After the modelling with PLS, it was necessary to attest the measures which show the model's predictive capability to analyse its quality. The responses and the sample were assessed in their set through the composite reliability, which assesses the structural model's quality (Sellitto et al, 2018). Values above 0,7 are considered acceptable (Chin, 1998;Hair Jr. et al, 2010).…”

“…The path coefficients are standardised values that fluctuate from -1 to +1. Values closer to 1 have a more positive relationship (Sellitto et al, 2018). In order to assess the significance of the path coefficients, the t-value and significance (p-value) are used and extracted through Bootstrapping (Gudergan et al, 2008).…”

“…The p-value must be between 0 and 0,05 (Sellitto et al, 2018). In response to hypothesis 1 (H1), which had two questions discarded from the questionnaire after the factor analysis because they didn't present any statistical reliability, it grouped up only indexes of a single construct.…”