Automaker–supplier relationships and production organisation forms: case study of a Brazilian engine supply chain

In this paper, we discuss the similarities and differences in the production organisation forms (POFs) implemented at an engine assembly plant and at 10 of its suppliers, addressing the main conditioning factors that contribute to those types of organisations in the context of Brazil's revitalised automotive industry that emerged after the restructuring of the 1990s. Many variables condition the adopted POFs, such as the type of supply chain configuration, the level of partnership among automakers and local suppliers, the degree of outsourcing, the importance assigned to the local technological capacity accumulated by the engine assembly plant or by the automaker's Brazilian subsidiary, the technological capacity of local suppliers (national and multinational companies), and the influence of labour unions in the areas where suppliers are located, etc. Although each POF can be considered unique, companies adopt similar organisational structures according to their size, technological capacity and other factors. Multinationals and larger companies are autonomous in defining their organisational characteristics, while national and smaller companies are strongly influenced by the engine assembler.