Title: A study of Indian automotive vendors using cluster analysis

Authors: Arvind Bhardwaj, S.K. Sharma, Sushil

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India. ' Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India

Abstract: The focus of this paper is on clusterising the Indian automotive vendors w.r.t. their technology up-gradation capabilities and to further study the role played by the vehicle manufacturers in developing these vendors. A structured questionnaire was developed for collecting data, which included questions related with capabilities of the organisations for adapting technology, involvement in product design for the customer, sincerity of donor company, technological strength acquired through tie up, organisational resistance to change, and customer support. Characteristics of different clusters of vendors were brought out using hierarchical cluster analysis. Four different valid clusters were synthesised based upon their characteristics and type of tie up.

Keywords: technology acquisition; technology adaptation; automotive vendors; less developed countries; India; automobile industry; cluster analysis; technology upgrading; technology capabilities; vehicle manufacturing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2009.022605

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2009 Vol.3 No.2, pp.146 - 157

Published online: 18 Jan 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article