Heft36 1 - SFB 580 - Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

AUTOMOTIVE REFERENCES LITERATUR COMPANIES GO EAST -
GERMANY AND AUSTRIA
1. INTRODUCTION
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Ultimately, all automotive companies are
international companies with a global
focus, acting at several locations and
on different markets. While some are actively
engaged in establishing new sites, finding new
cooperation partners and exploring foreign
markets, others seems to act conservatively,
appearing reluctant while focussing on and
strengthening their position in their traditional
markets.
GERMANS ON THEIR WAY EAST – AUSTRIANS
STAYING AT HOME
Kathrin Loer
In this regard the title of this paper must be
explained, as it does not seem to say anything
about the topic. Who is meant by “Germans”
and “Austrians” and what is meant by “way
east” in contrast to “staying at home”?
The following text addresses problems of
the European automobile industry, more
precisely problems and challenges of a certain
segment of the automotive sector: the contract
manufacturers. On the basis of two case
studies, I will explain under what conditions a
German company begins to build production
units in Poland, while its major Austrian
competitor does not follow the trend to use
attractive Central and Eastern European
production sites and still remains competitive.
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From an institutional point of view,
interdependencies between the institutional
surrounding 1 and a company’s economic
performance and (international) competitiveness
can be assumed, whereas the cases show
dissolution of these interrelations and some
weakness of the argumentation. Hence, the
aim of this paper, from a theoretical point of
view, is to show the limits of institutionalist
approaches and the need to broaden or