Surviving in the Global Market: ‘Americanisation’ and the Relaunch of Italy's Car Industry after the Second World War

Abstract

This contribution sheds light on the successful recovery strategies developed by the Italian car industry after the Second World War and in particular the 'innovation through creative imitation policy' that characterised its relationship with American producers. This policy was feasible because the Italian car sector, and Fiat in particular, was fairly well prepared to measure itself against the American model and aimed at technology-transfer-based Americanisation in order to make itself competitive in the global market. Mass production adapted to Italian plants and necessities, combined with Italian style and design, was seen as a path towards international relaunch. Fiat's subsequent development of its own technological resources and innovation strategy enabled it to weather the ups and downs of its long-term business history. When in 2009 an alliance with Chrysler was signed, Fiat's technological capabilities in the field of innovative ecological and fuel-saving technology and its long-standing attention to style and interior design were judged important inputs to help the American car-maker (and Fiat itself) to survive in the global market.

The evolution of the pathways of innovation strategies in the automotive industry. The case of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

“…This plant leveraged the most advanced workforce organisation methods in Italy. Based on a growing number of new car models, Fiat increased production volumes, and after Second World War, it experienced outstanding growth based on international development, which fuelled a sharp increase in the number of employees (Fauri, 2012). Fiat grew from approximately 71,000 employees in 1949 to more than 141,000 by the end of the 1960s.…”

“…Both business history and innovation management scholars (Annibaldi and Berta, 1999; Fauri, 2012; Colli and Vasta, 2015; Pellicelli, 2014; Candelo, 2019) have traditionally given much attention to the various relevant innovations, as well as to their impacts on the historic and economic evolution of the automotive sector. However, a less investigated issue is how carmakers have managed their innovation activities over the years.…”

Making automobiles in Yugoslavia: Fiat technology in the Crvena Zastava Factory, 1954–1962

“…25 As a consequence, it controlled more than 80 per cent of the entire Italian motor vehicle market and in the early 1950s was exporting roughly 30 per cent of its total production. 26 Naturally, Fiat's role in leading Italy's industrialisation, mainly based on the American technology and production model, and its almost monopolistic position in the country did not go unnoticed and without sympathy in Yugoslavia.…”