CLARA

For more about the CLARA Research Programme and its activities, please turn to p. 55 in this issue's Pink Pages.

7 * 9 JUNE

PARIS, FRANCE

Reconfiguring the Auto Industry

The international colloquium 'Reconfiguring the Auto Industry: Merger & Acquisition, Alliances, and Exit' was held from 7 to 9 June in the Palais du Luxembourg, Paris. The organizer, GERPISA (Groupe d'Etude et de Recherche Permanent sur l'Industrie et les Salariés de l'Automobile / the Permanent Group for the Study of the Automobile Industry and its Employees), was initially a French network made up of researchers in economics, management, history, and sociology all studying the automobile industry. In 1992, it was transformed into an international network for researchers on the automobile industry.

* By YURI SADOI

In association with the Centre de Recherches Historiques of the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and with support from the French Ministry of National Education and Research, GERPISA was founded at the Université d'Every Paris. Since 1992, an international conference has been held annually in Paris. The centre now has over 500 members in some thirty different countries.

The Ninth GERPISA International Colloquium focused on the reconfiguring processes occurring in the auto industry through mergers and acquisitions. Since the early 1990s, the automobile industry has been greatly affected by the process of globalization. As the new century dawns, manufacturers are having to cope with major structural changes which require a reorganization of current production systems that deal with new technological, economic, and institutional changes. The automobile industry has been at the origin of many of the organizational paradigms and production models that heralded a transformation of competitive practices and also of forms of productive organization that has proceeded since the early twentieth century.

In recent years especially, the auto industry has experienced frequent mergers, acquisitions, and other forms of new global networking. The conference examines specific mergers (Daimler-Chrysler), acquisitions (Volvo by Ford, Samsung by Renault), capital control (Renault-Nissan, Daimler-Chrysler-Mitsubishi-Hyundai), alliances (GM-Fiat), and other agreements such as joint ventures, exchanges of components and so on. But we will also take into account the other side of the coin: exit (Ford from Auto European), sell-off (Rover by NMW), and spin-off (GM-Delphi, Ford-Visteon) occurring among carmakers and component makers, as well as in services.

About 200 scholars, researchers, and company representatives participated in the conference. Most of them belong to the international community of social science researchers with a particular interest in the automobile industry. This meeting gave those scholars an opportunity to exchange information and opinions among the researchers.

A total of fifty-eight papers were presented during the three-day conference. The first day started with a panel discussion 'Practitioner Session with Managers of Cooperative Project in the Car Industry', to be followed by paper presentations. The panel discussion attempted to shed light on the management of the cooperative projects that are currently being set up between automobile manufacturers. Project managers, themselves working in international cooperations that are or have been participating in horizontal collaborations, were at the conference to present specific cases. Project managers from PSA, Renault, Fiat, VW, and Pininfarina presented lessons from the inside that their experiences have taught them.

The automobile industry is an interesting area for research, with its various topics and approaches. As the disciplines represented at the conference included economy, management, history, and sociology, a wide range of themes and foci was expected. Indeed, projects ranged from individual companies and specific cases to a global operation. A wide range of themes was fitted into twenty-one separate sessions, such as management, productive relation, supply chain, e-business, human resources, and geographical issues.

The majority of the papers focused on Europe (including Eastern Europe). Very few dealt with cases in Asia and, though some discussed cases in Korea and China, no cases within Southeast Asia were discussed. It was noteworthy that quite a few papers pertained to South America, especially taking up issues affecting Mexico and Brazil, where many production plants of the US, European and Japanese automobile manufacturers are operating.

Overall, the three-day conference was very successful in allowing all those attending to share their insights into current reorganization processes in the industry, to exchange knowledge, and to build new personal networks with others in related areas. *