Automotive components suppliers facing the learning challenge

Processes of organisational learning continue to attract the attention of managers eager to navigate their business through a highly competitive landscape characterised by globalisation, rapid change, and a race for innovation. The automotive component sector remains under extremely high pressure in this context. This paper deals with the learning challenge induced by major changes in the supply chain, due in particular to the transfer of design and product development activities from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to their suppliers. We build on recent theory development regarding the learning concept and in particular its individual and organisational dimensions defined as the acquisition, the sharing, and the utilisation of knowledge in an operational context. Emphasising practical implications from eight in-depth case studies of the product development process in medium-sized automotive expert supplier firms, different operational learning situations are identified. Based on an analysis of these learning situations, we identify transfer mechanisms between individual and organisational learning, depict what in practice makes the difference between whether single or double-loop learning occurs, and illustrate how different blockages to learning can be avoided.