Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
N. Oliver, R. Delbridge (1991)
BEYOND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THE CHANGING FACE OF UK CAR RETAILINGInternational Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 19
(1974)
Organizational Design: An Information
M. Holweg, F.K. Pil
The Second Century: Reconnecting Customer and Value Chain through Build‐to‐Order
G. Owen (2000)
The British Motor Industry, 1945-1994: A Case Study in Industrial DeclineThe journal of transport history, 21
Jay Galbraith (1974)
Organization Design: An Information Processing ViewInterfaces, 4
G. Rand (1993)
Beyond Partnership: Strategies for Innovation and Lean SupplyJournal of the Operational Research Society, 45
B. Klefsjö (2008)
The machine that changed the worldQuality Progress, 41
(1992)
Prices, Quality and Trust
(1998)
Efficient JIT Supply Chain Management: Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd
(2007)
Lean distribution: concepts, challenges, conflicts
S. Beer (1984)
The Viable System Model: Its Provenance, Development, Methodology and PathologyJournal of the Operational Research Society, 35
M. Holweg, F. Pil (2005)
The Second Century: Reconnecting Customer and Value Chain through Build-to-Order Moving beyond Mass and Lean Production in the Auto Industry
(2001)
Employment Security in the Aftermath of the Break-up of the Rover Group
Whisler T.R. (1999)
10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198290742.001.0001
R. Delbridge, N. Oliver (1991)
JUST‐IN‐TIME OR JUST THE SAME? DEVELOPMENTS IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY – THE RETAILERS′ VIEWInternational Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 19
(1991)
Product Development Performance: Strategy, Organisation and Management in the World
M. Jackson (2001)
Critical systems thinking and practiceEur. J. Oper. Res., 128
(1986)
Marketing Vorsprung durch Technik
S. Bayley
Marketing Vorsprung Durch Technik. S. Bayley, Sex, Drink and Fast Cars: The Creation and Consumption of Images
J. Todd (1996)
World-Class Manufacturing
V. Glushkov (1966)
Introduction to Cybernetics.
(2001)
Employment Security in the Aftermath of the Break-up of the Rover Group, Warwick Business School Working Paper Series, No 342
S. Beer
The Heart of the Enterprise
Jack Sutcliffe (1993)
‘Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name’Journal of Brand Management, 1
R. Church (1995)
The rise and decline of the British motor industry
S. Beer (1972)
Brain of the Firm: The Managerial Cybernetics of Organization
E. Hultink (1994)
4 Product development performance: strategy, organization and management in the world auto industry☆Design Studies, 15
General Motors Corporation
Annual Reports
Timothy Whisler (1999)
The British motor industry, 1945-1994 : a case study in industrial decline
P. Dunnett (1980)
The decline of the British motor industry : the effects of government policy, 1945-1979
R. Church (1982)
The Decline of the British Motor Industry: The Effects of Government Policy, 1945–1975. By Peter J. S. Dunnett. Totowa, N.J., Croom Helm, 1980. Pp. 201. $28.50Business History Review, 56
J. Kiff (1997)
Supply and stocking systems in the UK car marketInternational Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 27
Ford Motor Company. Annual reports, various years
J.P. Womack, D.T. Jones, D. Roos
The Machine that Changed the World: The Triumph of Lean Production
James Richardson (1994)
Beyond Partnership: Strategies for Innovation and Lean SupplyJournal of International Business Studies, 25
Daniel Heller, G. Mercer, T. Fujimoto (2006)
The long-term value of M&A activity that enhances learning organisationsInternational Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 6
A. Reichhart, M. Holweg (2007)
Lean distribution: concepts, contributions, conflictsInternational Journal of Production Research, 45
P. Hines (1998)
Benchmarking Toyota's supply chain: Japan vs U.K.Long Range Planning, 31
A. Pilkington (1996)
Transforming Rover : renewal against the odds 1981-1994
M. Cusumano, Takeishi Akira (1991)
Supplier relations and management: A survey of Japanese, Japanese-transplant, and U. S. auto plantsQuality Engineering, 37
S. Saul (1962)
The Motor Industry in Britain to 1914Business History, 5
J. Utterback (1996)
Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation
I. Winfield (1994)
Japanese manufacturing techniquesEuropean Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 4
S. Bayley (1986)
Sex, drink and fast cars : the creation and consumption of images
DETR
Efficient JIT Supply Chain Management: Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, Good Practice Case Study 374
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to understand how large and apparently successful organizations enter spirals of decline that are very difficult to reverse. The paper examines the case of Rover, once one of the largest car producers in the world, which collapsed in 2005. An analysis of strategic and operational choices made over a period of 40 years investigates the reasons for, and consequences of, a growing mismatch between the context faced by the company (industry dynamics, market conditions) and its operational capabilities, a mismatch that ultimately brought about the company's demise. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on interviews with 32 people, including senior managers (including four chief executives), government ministers and union officials who were key decision makers within, or close to, the company during the period 1968 and 2005. Secondary sources and documentary evidence (e.g. production and sales data) are used to build up a historical picture of the company and to depict its deteriorating financial and market position from 1968 onwards. Findings – The company was formed from a multitude of previously independent firms as part of a government‐sponsored agenda to build a UK National Champion in the car industry. The merged company failed due to several factors including poor product development processes, poor manufacturing performance, difficult labour relations, a very wide product portfolio and a lack of financial control. Although strenuous efforts were made to address those issues, including periods of whole or part ownership by British Aerospace, Honda and BMW, the company's position deteriorated until eventually production volumes were too low for viable operation. Practical implications – The case of Rover highlights the importance of what has been termed “the management unit” in complex systems. The management unit comprises processes and routines to deal with challenges such as managing product portfolios, connecting strategic and operational choices, and scanning and responding to the environment. In the case of Rover, a number of factors taken together generated excessive load on a management unit frequently operating under conditions of resource scarcity. We conclude that viewing corporate failure from a systems perspective, rather than in terms of shortcomings in specific subsystems, such as manufacturing or product development, yields insights often absent in the operations management literature. Originality/value – The paper is of value by showing corporate failure from a systems perspective, rather than in terms of shortcomings in specific subsystems, such as manufacturing or product development; and yields insights often absent in the operations management literature. The Rover case featured in the paper demonstrates the usefulness of systems ideas to understanding at least some types of failure, not as an alterative to capability‐based approaches, but in addition to them.
International Journal of Operations & Production Management – Emerald Publishing
Published: May 23, 2008
Keywords: Automotive industry; Corporate strategy; Operations management; Business failures
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.