Indian Automobile Industry Research Articles

After-sales service quality satisfaction in Indian automobile industry

In the automobile industry, after-sales service plays an important role whether it is before buying a product or after buying the product. One of the necessary evaluation criteria for customer satisfaction is availability of after-sales service. In today's situation, after-sales service quality can be measured by administering a customer satisfaction survey. This paper focuses on after-sale service quality and customer satisfaction. In this paper SERVQUAL model was applied for measuring quality of service given to the customers and customer satisfaction in an automobile industry. Structural equation modelling (SEM) with partial least squares (PLS) was used to simultaneously evaluate both the measurement and structural models. The analysis of customer satisfaction through after-sales service quality gave the result in which tangibility, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy were seen to have a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction. In light of the SERVQUAL model, this paper discusses practical implications and focuses on recommendations on how to manage and improve service quality in after-sales service in the Indian automobile industry. This study presents a model for improving customer satisfaction in terms of service quality dimensions.

Is Indian automobile industry getting integrated with Asian production network?

Globally, automobile industry is subject to fragmented production system leading to long value chain spreading across the countries. More recently, literature encompasses the issue of international trade, forward and backward linkages, collaboration in R&D, product development and differentiation, etc., leading to a new concept of international production network (IPN). India is now one of the major automobile producers and exporters. In this context, the paper has made an attempt to comprehend India's engagement in IPN and more specifically its participation in ASEAN network. It uses various trade analytic tools such as intra-industry trade, quality margin, participation index, share of foreign value added in exports, sources of foreign value addition, etc. to analyse India's growing competency in the sector.

Is Indian automobile industry getting integrated with Asian production network?

Globally, automobile industry is subject to fragmented production system leading to long value chain spreading across the countries. More recently, literature encompasses the issue of international trade, forward and backward linkages, collaboration in R&D, product development and differentiation, etc., leading to a new concept of international production network (IPN). India is now one of the major automobile producers and exporters. In this context, the paper has made an attempt to comprehend India's engagement in IPN and more specifically its participation in ASEAN network. It uses various trade analytic tools such as intra-industry trade, quality margin, participation index, share of foreign value added in exports, sources of foreign value addition, etc. to analyse India's growing competency in the sector.

Analysis of issues controlling the feasibility of automobile remanufacturing business in India

In the last three decades, remanufacturing has grown into a significant business sector in developed countries. Take-back obligations, disposal bans, economic benefits, creation of stock of components/parts from disassembly and demand for spare parts during post product life cycle period are key enablers of growth for this business sector. In India, the remanufacturing business is mostly practiced as a disorganised sector. Though Indian automobile industry holds the tenth position in the entire world, second in two wheelers and fourth in commercial vehicles, there are no significant initiatives either from the government or from the industry to pursue remanufacturing as a separate business entity. This paper presents an empirical investigation of the Indian automobile industry and explores the reasons behind the slow growth of remanufacturing as a profitable business option. The survey identifies critical issues that impact the feasibility of automobile remanufacturing in India. It also identifies the differences in perception on remanufacturing by different players in the automobile supply chain, that is, heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs), light commercial vehicles (LCVs), car, two wheeler or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers.

After-sales service quality satisfaction in Indian automobile industry

After-sales service quality satisfaction in Indian automobile industry

Drivers of product visibility in Indian automobile sector: an interpretive structural modelling-based approach

The automobile business in India is highly competitive, dynamic and technology driven. Achieving competitive advantage is of utmost importance for existing automobile players and ensuring enhanced product visibility is the key to gain required competitiveness in cutthroat market. The emergence of modern technology has changed the way organisations in automobile sector are reaching out to their prospective customers. It has also equipped marketers with most recent means of improving product visibility to ascertain a deeper market penetration and better coverage in Indian business scenario. Present research work is an attempt to identify the drivers of product visibility in context of automobile sector in India. A total of 32 initial dimensions which drive the visibility of a product are refined through a structured Delphi method and interrelationships among these drivers are established using an interpretive structural modelling technique. The insights gained through present work have several practical implications for academia and practicing managers of Indian automobile industry.

Drivers of product visibility in Indian automobile sector: an interpretive structural modelling-based approach

The automobile business in India is highly competitive, dynamic and technology driven. Achieving competitive advantage is of utmost importance for existing automobile players and ensuring enhanced product visibility is the key to gain required competitiveness in cutthroat market. The emergence of modern technology has changed the way organisations in automobile sector are reaching out to their prospective customers. It has also equipped marketers with most recent means of improving product visibility to ascertain a deeper market penetration and better coverage in Indian business scenario. Present research work is an attempt to identify the drivers of product visibility in context of automobile sector in India. A total of 32 initial dimensions which drive the visibility of a product are refined through a structured Delphi method and interrelationships among these drivers are established using an interpretive structural modelling technique. The insights gained through present work have several practical implications for academia and practicing managers of Indian automobile industry.

Export Competitiveness of the Indian Automobile Industry: with Special Reference to the South African Market

Export Competitiveness of the Indian Automobile Industry: with Special Reference to the South African Market

Contribution of TATA Motors to Indian Economy

The automobile industry is one of the key drivers that boost the economic growth of the country. Since the de-licensing of the sector in 1991 and the subsequent opening up of 100 percent FDI through automatic route, Indian automobile sector has come a long way. Today, almost every global auto major has set up facilities in the country. Tata Motors is the largest automobile manufacturing company in the world by volume, with presence across a range of passenger cars and Commercial Vehicles (CV). It is the market leader in terms of volumes in CV Segment (including, Light Commercial Vehicle, Medium&Heavy Commercial Vehicles segments) and enjoys a market share of ~ 58% in the CV segment which has grown consistently over the last few years. This paper gives an overview of Indian automobile industry and the contribution of Tata motors. This paper also explains the strategic position of Tata Motors in Indian economy.

Emerging airborne contaminants in India: Platinum Group Elements from catalytic converters in motor vehicles

Platinum Group Element (PGE) pollution on the Indian subcontinent is a growing concern because vehicle sales in India have rapidly increased over the last decade, and it is well known that automobile catalytic converters are one of the major source of anthropogenic PGE in the environment. Despite the rapid growth of the Indian automobile industry, the sources and magnitude of PGE contamination in Indian airborne particles are unknown. In this study we report PGE and mercury (Hg) concentrations, as well as osmium isotope ratios (187Os/188Os) of airborne particles (PM10) collected in Kanpur, a large industrial city in India. We estimate that 61 ± 22%, 32 ± 24%, and 7 ± 3% of the total Os fraction are derived from eroding upper continental crust, catalytic converters fitted in the exhaust system of motor vehicles, and fossil fuel combustion, respectively. Only one sample had a ten times higher (∼76%) than average contribution from fossil fuel. Unlike Os, Pt is predominantly (84 ± 10%) derived from anthropogenic sources. Platinum Group Element and Hg concentrations are not well correlated. However, the highest concentration of particulate Hg corresponds to the most radiogenic 187Os/188Os isotope ratios (4.6). Our results further indicated that PGE/Ir ratios could be successfully used to quantify the relative proportions of natural and anthropogenic PGE sources in aerosol samples. Since PGE and Hg data on Indian environmental samples are scarce, this study provides an interpretive framework that calls for additional assessments of PGE and Hg concentrations in environmental samples from India.

Export Competitiveness of the Indian Automobile Industry: with Special Reference to the South African Market

Export Competitiveness of the Indian Automobile Industry: with Special Reference to the South African Market

Strikes and Labor Unrest in the Automobile Industry in India: The Case of Maruti Suzuki India Limited

The growth of the automobile industry in India was accompanied by a series of strikes and lockouts since the mid‐2000s. A peak of this series were the strikes and the uprising at biggest car passenger producer Maruti Suzuki in 2011 and 2012. The article explores the changing forms of organization that the workers of Maruti created during their struggle. Although permanent and contract workers fought together in one of the two factories of Maruti Suzuki, the division between these groups of workers is still a challenge for trade unions and other forms of worker's organizations in the automobile industry.

Knowledge management implementation in Indian automobile ancillary industries

Purpose In the past decade, much has been written about knowledge management (KM) in the manufacturing; however, less attention has been paid to the Indian automobile ancillary industries located in Chinchwad, Pune. It is suitable to find out the relationship of the factors of the study. It helps in identifying the hierarchy of factors to be taken, and interlinking of production department with KM improves the productivity of the industries. Categorization of these principles based on their driving power (principles which hold other principles) and dependence (principles which are dependent on other principles) has also been examined for KM implementation to study the driving power and dependence power of these principles. This paper aims to determine the roadmap of KM implementation and categorize KM principles based on their driving power for manufacturing industries with the use of the interpretive structural modeling (ISM)-based model. The results indicate that the principles possessing higher driving power, such as KM, inventory control, quality control, productivity and scheduling and their interlinking. The major contribution of this research lies in the development of contextual relationship among various identified factors of KM and determination of their driving and dependence power through a single systemic framework. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, author find out the suitability ISM for Indian Automobile industries to find the relation among the variables. Findings ISM model has been developed for the hierarchy of the identified KM. As ISM model results a hypothetical hierarchy which needs a proper quantitative analysis to evaluate their percentage effectiveness in the hierarchy. Research limitations/implications It is applied to automobile industries with limited number of variables that will show the dependence variable and driving variables and their interrelations. It can be applied other fields to fine the relationship of variables. Practical implications The ISM may be used in supply chain management and total quality management to find interlinking between the variables. Originality/value The limited data collected from Pimpri Chinchwad industrial area of Pune from Maharashtra state (India).

Analysing critical success factors to implement sustainable supply chain practices in Indian automobile industry: a case study

The aim of this article is to analyse the critical success factors (CSFs) behind the successful implementation of sustainable supply chain practices in Indian automobile industry. Supply chain sustainability is a critical and timely topic for the developing country like India that captures increasing concerns over sustainability, whether driven by current legislation, public interest or competitive opportunity. Identification of CSFs responsible for sustainable supply chain practices and evaluating their contextual relationships has the potential to affect future government policy, current production operations and identify new business models. In response to this, this paper intends to identify CSFs based on organisational theory and model them to implement sustainable supply chain practices in Indian automobile industry. Twenty-five CSFs to implement sustainable supply chain practices based on organisational theory are recognised by means of the literature review and in discussions with experts in one case study organisation. A solution methodology based on the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique is used to propose a structural model, which not only helps in understanding the contextual relationship among these CSFs, but also in determining their interdependence to implement sustainable supply chain practices. Further, the importance of CSFs has been determined based on their driving and dependence power using MICMAC analysis. Our overarching thesis is that the insights gained are useful for Indian automobile industry and would help practitioners, regulators and academicians to focus their efforts towards implementation of sustainable supply chain practices.

Buyer supplier relationship and supply chain sustainability: empirical study of Indian automobile industry

Over the last decade, most manufacturing organizations have been experiencing pressure to incorporate sustainability practices in their supply chains. The key reasons behind this pressure may be stated as increased consumer awareness towards environmental issues, stricter environmental laws and regulations, and increased competition. This paper seeks to identify the factors affecting sustainability adoption in the Indian automobile supply chain and investigate the inter-relationships existing among them. The factors have been identified on the basis of a comprehensive literature review and expert opinion. Data were collected through a survey of 157 Indian automobile companies; a carefully prepared questionnaire was used as research instrument. Partial least square (PLS) approach was used to investigate the relationships among various factors leading to sustainability performance. Results indicate that external influence and expected sustainability benefits positively affect top management's commitment towards adoption of sustainable practices. Further, it was found that a better buyer–supplier relationship positively impacted the triple bottom line of sustainability which comprises economic, social, and environmental performance measures. The buyer–supplier relationship was assessed after breaking it down to three constructs - supplier selection, supplier development and supplier performance review. This study is unique and carries a high originality value as it offers a better understanding of: 1) each construct (supplier selection, supplier development and supplier performance review) of the buyer–supplier relationship; and 2) every construct's effect on each dimension (economic, social and environmental) of supply chain sustainability of the Indian automobile industry. Such a comprehensive and detailed study involving the observation of each construct of the buyer–supplier relationship, and analysis of the effect that each construct has on the three dimensions of sustainability has not been carried out before. This way, the study makes a significant contribution to the existing body of literature. The present study has several practical implications which would enable managers to adopt sustainable practices in their supply chain.

The impacts of critical success factors for implementing green supply chain management towards sustainability: an empirical investigation of Indian automobile industry

The management of ‘sustainable’ issues in supply chain is attracting much attention from the academia and corporate world. Sustainability has turn out to be a major concern for organizations to integrate ecological and societal issues in their business strategy. Therefore, this paper explores the importance of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) to implement Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) towards sustainability taking into account the automobile industry of India. The hypothesized relationships of the proposed framework have been tested by analyzing data collected from 123 Indian automobile organizations. This study examined impacts of CSFs to implement GSCM towards sustainability on current green practices implemented by Indian automobile industry and expected organizational performance outcomes by using multiple regression analysis. The findings point out that the ‘Regulatory’ CSF has been identified which plays the most important role in promoting the green practices. ‘Internal Management’ and ‘Competitiveness’ CSFs playing a crucial role towards achievement of expected performance outcomes. The present research will assist the practitioners/managers to understand various GSCM implementation issues and to improve their practices and performances towards sustainable development.

Assessment of Barriers in Green Supply Chain Management Using ISM: A Case Study of the Automobile Industry in India

Production organizations often upgrade their supply chain processes to green supply chain system for various operational synergies, but they certainly fail to implement such advanced systems because of barriers that are accountable for internal and external environments. Considering this, the study analyzes the automobile industry in India, both to explore the barriers of green supply chain and to classify them. To do so, a legitimate method of mathematical modelling—interpretive structural modelling— is used. The study has identified thirteen barriers based on the extensive literature, and has added one, with reference to expert opinion. It has been found that six attributes are dependent barriers, five are driver barriers and three are linkage barriers. The study holds significant implications at the firm level, for production processes and the green supply chain system, especially in automobile manufacturing firms. The identified relationship between these barriers may help organizations overcome them in order to implement an effective and efficient green supply chain management (GSCM) system.

Bayesian network on labour dissonance: a social sector development challenge to India

India's unorganized labour force contributes about one third of the total labour sector. The scenario is even worse in the Indian automotive industry which employs a little over 7% on a permanent basis. Problems get exaggerated due to the outdated labour laws, ironically established to support and protect workers. The disappointing areas in the labour contract act and labour laws have led to unfair wage practices and a hostile work environment, giving way to labour discord. This research paper discusses the key issues of labour dissonance in the Indian automobile industry using a Bayesian network analysis. Real-life case-study examples from the Indian automobile industry were considered to identify the rationale behind labour unrest. Bayesian analysis of a set of 250 responses helped us to understand the associations among key attributes of labour dissatisfaction.

Determinants of Profitability of Automobile Industry in India

The present study is an attempt to ascertain the determinants of profitability of automobile industry in India by taking a sample of all the automobile firms covering various segments of automobile industry in India viz. commercial vehicles, three wheelers, two wheelers, and passenger vehicles which are listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), for a period of eleven years from 2003-04 to 2013-14. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, firm-specific factors viz. financial leverage, size of firm, tangibility of assets, growth of firm, liquidity, inventory turnover ratio, debt equity ratio, debtors turnover ratio, total assets turnover ratio, average payment period, and cash liquidity of firm are regressed against return on assets ratio. Firstly correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis are applied to identify the factors affecting profitability of sample firms. Further, to find out the prominent factors that account for the variation in profitability of sample firms, step-wise regression analysis has been carried out. It was found that profitability of automobile industry in India is significantly influenced by the liquidity position of firm, growth of firm, inventory turnover ratio, debt equity ratio, and average payment period.

Significance of financial leverage in capital structure decisions in indian auto mobile industry

The very crucial problem in every business is financing the firms’ assets which influences the risk and return of investors. The term leverage refers to an increased means of accomplishing some purpose. In financial terminology, leverage refers to furnish the ability to use fixed cost assets or funds to increase the return to its shareholders. Financial leverage is the ability of a firm to use fixed financial charges to magnify the effects of changes in company's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) on the earnings per share. The usage of debt in the capital structure of the current Indian Auto mobile industry with specific reference to Tata motors, Bajaj Auto, Hero motors corporation and Maruti Suzuki, The study focused on total debt/Equity along with payable and receivables ratio, earning power, return on capital employed and return on equity. The said companies employed low level of borrowed funds. The companies are ploughing back of profits in the form of reserves. The debt equity ratio is less than one and also in decreasing trend in the specified companies. It may be concluded that profitable companies are not giving much importance for leverage aspects in India. As nothing is permanent in this world, it may be presumed that the companies may revert to debt fund for their further growth and expansion in coming years.