Central European Business Review 2012, 1(2):37-45 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.16

Is diversification a Strategic Advantage? The Example of Automotive Components in the Czech Republic

Lukáš Mohelský1, Hana Machková2
1 Lukáš Mohelský, Department of International Trade, Faculty of International Relations, University of Economics, Prague, lukas.mohelsky@vse.cz
2 prof. Hana Machková, Head of Department of International Trade, Faculty of International Relations, University of Economic, Prague, machkova@vse.cz

The automotive industry is a key sector of the Czech national economy. Its share of GDP represents more than 8% and the Czech Republic is the 14th biggest producer of personal cars in the world. The goal of this article is to analyze the development of the customer portfolio of automotive suppliers in the Czech Republic from the perspective of their international location. The diversification of the portfolio can be measured in many ways. The approach in this article relies both on the usual statistical tools (concentration ratio, Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient, Herfindahl-Hirschman index) and on specific approaches such as the number of partners, geographical diversification and average distance travelled by exported component. Even though the export volume has been dynamically growing, it has remained focused on a limited number of crucial countries, which are mostly located in the close neighborhood of the Czech Republic.

Keywords: diversification; strategic management; automotive industry
JEL classification: L2, L62

Received: July 3, 2012; Revised: September 5, 2012; Published: September 30, 2012  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Mohelský, L., & Machková, H. (2012). Is diversification a Strategic Advantage? The Example of Automotive Components in the Czech Republic. Central European Business Review, 1(2), 37-45. doi: 10.18267/j.cebr.16
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Attaran, M., Zwick, M. (1989). An Information Theory Approach to Measuring Industrial Diversification. Journal of Economic Studies, 16(1): 19-30. Go to original source...
    2. AutoSAP (2012). Czech Republic - Registrations of new motor vehicles, (accessed March, 2012), [available at http://www.autosap.cz/default2.asp?page={4A86501A-BBD5-4B8F-AE57-397BC8051C9A}].
    3. AutoSAP (2012). Press release no. 14/2012, (accessed June 4, 2012), [available at http://www.autosap.cz/sfiles/TI14-2012.DOC].
    4. Černohlávková, E., Sato, A., Taušer, J. (2007). Finanční strategie v mezinárodním podnikání. Prague: ASPI.
    5. Eurostat (2012). Structural business statistic, (accessed January 2012), [available at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/european_business/introduction]
    6. Grant, R. M. (2008). Contemporary strategy analysis. Sixth edition. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
    7. Lapáček, M. (2007). Příjmová nerovnost a ekvivalenční stupnice, in Mezinárodní Baťova doktorandská conference, Zlín: Tomas Bata University in Zlín, 296.
    8. Machková, H. (2009). Mezinárodní marketing. Prague: Oeconomica.
    9. Mohelský, L. (2012). Diversification of international customers' portfolio as long-term competitive advantage - Case of automotive suppliers in Czech Republic, in Czech Republic and Slovakia in International Trade and Business 2012, ed. Černá, I., Prague: Oeconomica.
    10. Naude, C. M. (2006). Measure of Manufacturing Industry Concentration - Implications for South Africa. TIPS Forum 2006, DPRU. October 2006.
    11. OECD (1993). Glossary of industrial organization economics and competition law, (accessed December 2011), [available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/8/61/2376087.pdf].
    12. OICA (2011). Production statistics, (accessed November 2011), [available at http://oica.net/category/production-statistics]
    13. Rosenbluth, G. (1955). Measures of Concentration, in Business Concentration and Price Policy, ed. Stigler, G. J., Princeton: Princeton University Press, 55-98.
    14. SDA CIA (2012). Statistics sales, (accessed January 2012), [available at http://www.sda.rtvdata.cz/english/eprodej.htm]
    15. United Nations (2011a): International merchandise trade statistics (IMTS), (accessed November 2011), [available at http://comtrade.un.org]
    16. United Nations (2011b): Detailed structure and explanatory notes SITC Rev.3 (Standard International Trade Classification, Rev.3), (accessed December 2011), [available at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/regcst.asp?Cl=14]
    17. United Nations (2011c): Detailed structure and explanatory notes SITC Rev.4 (Standard International Trade Classification, Rev. 4), (accessed December 2011), [available at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/regcst.asp?Cl=28]
    18. United Nations (2012): Growth in United Nations membership, 1945-present, (accessed March 2012), [available at http://www.un.org/en/members/growth.shtml#2000]
    19. United States Department of Labor (2011): Automotive Industry: Employment, Earnings, and Hours, (accessed December 16, 2011), [available at http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iagauto.htm]

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content