Ph.D. - Management in Organizational Leadership - 2002, University of Phoenix
North American automotive brake supplier industry trends
UMI AAT 3068004
This research study was conducted to determine if there was a common, corporate strategy behind the consolidation that has taken place within the North American automotive brake supplier industry over the last five years, in order to predict future trends for the industry. An extensive literature search produced very little existing research on this topic. Communications with the Brake Manufacturers Council (BMC) in North Carolina and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in Michigan confirmed the lack of existing research in this area, and industry leaders agreed. These organizations subsequently incorporated the researcher’s surveys and presentations into their meetings to provide support for the research.
The researcher created a quantitative survey instrument to test the research hypothesis to determine if there was a common, corporate strategy behind the consolidation that has taken place within the North American automotive brake supplier industry over the last five years, in order to predict future trends for the industry. This survey was distributed to North American automotive brake supplier industry leadership with the generous support of the BMC and SAE. A total sample of 38 of 150 senior industry executives provided the information necessary to explain various corporate strategies driving the North American automotive brake supplier industry consolidations over the last five years. Additionally, a post-survey interview questionnaire was developed and used by the researcher for interviews conducted with the leadership of automotive segments of the U.S. Government, Wall Street, vehicle manufacturers, and major consulting firms for survey augmentation.