IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ids/ijatma/v10y2010i2-3p252-269.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Swing plants and punishments: a study of a Ford closure decision

Author

Listed:
  • Dan Coffey
  • Carole Thornley

Abstract

This paper explores a major plant closure event based on a technical assessment of scale, plant numbers and projected global demand, in a repeated bargaining game context. It reconciles two apparently competing viewpoints: a) that the closure followed from weak global demand conditions; b) that it was a response to workplace tensions. The case study event is the withdrawal of Ford from UK based car assembly, and the resulting closure of the car assembly section of its Dagenham site. The study casts fresh light both on the nuanced circumstances of a particular closure event, and the logic more generally of industrial organisation and plant flexibilities within assembly plant networks. Some points of interest are also noted for ongoing debates about 'lean production'.

Suggested Citation

  • Dan Coffey & Carole Thornley, 2010. "Swing plants and punishments: a study of a Ford closure decision," International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(2/3), pages 252-269.
    • Handle: RePEc:ids:ijatma:v:10:y:2010:i:2/3:p:252-269
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=32627
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ids:ijatma:v:10:y:2010:i:2/3:p:252-269. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sarah Parker (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=2 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.