The aim of this paper is to analyse longitudinally\r\nthe development of purchasing strategies in the\r\nautomotive industry during the last 20 years. The\r\namplitude of the business cycle during this time frame has\r\nbeen very high and includes periods of financial/automotive\r\ncrisis as well as high sales and demand. Our empirical\r\ndata is primarily drawn from a 1990ââ?¬â??2010 longitudinal\r\ncase study of the relationship between automaker Volvo\r\nPersonal Cars and Autoliv, a supplier of seat belts and\r\nairbags, complemented with secondary data framing the\r\ndevelopment of the industry level. The theoretical focus is\r\non outsourcing and purchasing strategies developed\r\nwithin long-lasting buyer-supplier relationships;\r\ntheoretical pillars are found in transaction-cost theories\r\nand the resource-based view of the firm.\r\nBased on the longitudinal case study, our analysis\r\npinpoints the importance of intimate cooperation\r\nbetween customer and supplier in areas close to the core\r\nvalues and core competences of the buyer (that is, the\r\nautomaker). From an industry-level perspective, the\r\nwinners in the automobile industry from 2010 and\r\nonwards have been and will be those who can organize\r\nlong-term collaboration partnerships between the\r\nautomakers, their suppliers, and the political\r\nstakeholders, and who can outsource a large part of the\r\ntechnical development to the suppliers in areas also close\r\nto the core competences. The automakers must accept\r\nthat their suppliers have competing automakers as their\r\ncustomers and search for synergies in their product\r\nportfolio. Theoretically, there is a need for conceptual\r\ndevelopment through deeper studies of the firmââ?¬â?¢s\r\nrelational capability and its implications.
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