Title: Chambre separee in product development: vertically mediated coopetition in the automotive supply chain

Authors: Ove Brandes, Staffan Brege, Per-Olof Brehmer, Johan Lilliecreutz

Addresses: Department of Management and Engineering, Institute of Technology, Linkoping University, SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden. ' Department of Management and Engineering, Institute of Technology, Linkoping University, SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden. ' Department of Management and Engineering, Institute of Technology, Linkoping University, SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden. ' Centre for Market Analysis (CMA), Agatan 31, SE-582 22 Linkoping, Sweden

Abstract: Coopetition, i.e., parallel competition and cooperation between the same companies, has many faces in the automotive industry. This paper focuses on vertically mediated coopetition in product development. The concept of |chambre separee| is introduced as a metaphor for supplier-mediated coopetition to denote the situation when competing car manufacturers, often called OEMs, partner the same supplier in different product development projects. These projects are organisationally kept apart. When a supplier handles several development projects at the same time with different OEMs, |chambres separees| is a way to protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and allow OEM-specific solutions to be developed. But at the same time, the competitors are supporting the building of a common core competence at the First-Tier Suppliers (FTSs). The OEMs also accept some |overhearing| from one project to another, which strengthens the supplier|s knowledge base. Coopetition in this form tends to be advantageous to both OEMs and FTSs.

Keywords: automobile industry; product development; strategy; coopetition; project management; chambre separee; automotive supply chain; OEMs; intellectual property rights; IPR; supply chain management; SCM; first tier suppliers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJATM.2007.014973

International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 2007 Vol.7 No.2/3, pp.168 - 183

Published online: 29 Aug 2007 *

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