Indian Automobile Research Articles

Sources of atmospheric lead (Pb) in and around an Indian megacity

Lead (Pb) is a toxic metal whose global anthropogenic fluxes are an order of magnitude higher than natural fluxes. Among all the environmental compartments, the atmosphere is the major initial recipient of Pb. To minimize the exposure to this toxic metal, it is important to determine the potential sources of atmospheric Pb. This study uses a multiproxy approach, Pb isotopes in conjunction with metal composition of aerosols to determine the possible sources of anthropogenic Pb in the atmosphere, in and around an Indian megacity, Kolkata. In Asia, India is the second largest atmospheric Pb emitter after China through coal combustion. Indian automobile and high temperature metallurgy industries are growing rapidly and Pb emissions from India can be traced as far south as in Chagos Island in the Indian Ocean. This study investigates the anthropogenic sources of atmospheric Pb in eastern India at three locations along a 150 Km N-S stretch. The locations have very different environmental settings; a pristine river island, a megacity, and an industrial town. Pb isotope and metal compositions indicate different sources of atmospheric Pb for the three locations: gasoline exhaust from road and riverine traffic in the island, emissions from the high temperature metallurgy industry in the industrial town and long-range transport of coal combustion and industrial emissions for the megacity. The Pb isotope ratios (206Pb/207Pb = 1.1155–1.1681 and 208Pb/207Pb = 2.3905–2.4494) measured in this study have a wider range and are mostly higher than previously measured in Indian aerosols. Pb isotope compositions of two end members, Indian coal and road dust are also measured. This study shows that post leaded gasoline phase-out, the atmospheric Pb emissions in India are dominated by Indian coal combustion and ore processing.

Transformation of Indian Automobile Industry through Inter-Organization IT initiative: AutoDX (A)

AutoDx Case narrates an exciting story of how organizations in one industry (buyers, suppliers, and suppliers of suppliers), who fiercely compete with each other in the marketplace, collaborated to develop an online platform which would bring in significant efficiency in the system and benefit all the players. The case shows that first attempt to develop such a platform failed in the late 90s. However, similar attempt, later on, was inching towards success. That shows the impact of timing of technology and Shared Beliefs. While Case A narrates the problems faced by a few managers and needs for autoDx, Case B details how the project became successful and was under the process of adoption by various organizations.

Upgrading in the Indian Automobile Sector: The Role of Lead Firms

This paper has made an attempt to identify the role of lead firms in mapping the activities related to upgrading. Upgrading refers to the process through which firms may move up the value chain. The literature identifies different types of upgrading such as product, process, functional and inter-chain upgrading which form the essential dynamics of the growth of a manufacturing industry. The Indian automobile industry is one of the successful cases in this regard. Using a case analysis approach, this paper looks at upgrading efforts made by seven major OEMs, including the use of advanced modular platforms, new materials and platform sharing among firms. The role of policy in facilitating the emergence and growth of lead firms has also been assessed.

Impact of Automobile Regulations on Shareholders’ Wealth: Indian Empirical Evidence

The world faces the arduous task of reining in pollution. The pursuit of development agenda fuels more pollution. The economic reforms of 1991 put the Indian automobile on a higher growth trajectory. The resultant increase in vehicular pollution drew the attention of the court of law and regulators. The present study captures the impact of various policy reforms initiated to achieve sustainable development in the automobile sector during the period 1999–2017. Lack of industry readiness led to negative cumulative abnormal returns on introduction of emission standards I, II, and III in 1999, 2005, and 2010, respectively. The automobile industry registered a significant negative CAR of 1.49 per cent in the (0, 0) window at the time of introduction of emission standards IV in 2017 and erosion of ₹88,390 million of shareholders’ wealth.

Ordering of components of Green Supply Chain Practices jointly impacting the individual components of Green Supply Chain Performance – An Empirical Study of the Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector

This paper establishes the order in which five identified green supply chain practices jointly impact ten identified individual component measures of green supply chain performance with reference to the automobile manufacturing sector of India. This research paper is an extension of the research work done by [1]. The purpose of this research paper is to test the hypotheses developed by [1]. Further the joint impact of Green Supply Chain Practices on individual components of Green Supply Chain Performance has been established by means of ten multiple regression models. Consistently the ten multiple regression models that were developed established that there is a definite ordering of the five Green Supply Chain Practices while jointly impacting each of the ten component measures of Green Supply Chain Performance individually. These findings would enable practicing managers in the automobile manufacturing sector of India to take decisions related to implementation of green supply chain practices which would result in enhancing a particular green supply chain performance measure. This information regarding implementation of Green Supply Chain Practices would be very handy as it has financial and policy making implications.

Capital expenditure and persistence of firm performance: an empirical study for the Indian automobiles industry

Capital expenditure and persistence of firm performance: an empirical study for the Indian automobiles industry

Financial competitiveness of firms: A study of the Indian Automobile Industry

Competitiveness is the ability of firms, to perform better than rivals, where performance is dependent on both financial and non-financial conditions of the firm. This study empirically examined the financial competitiveness of Indian automobile companies, for the period from 2001–02 to 2015–16. Out of 42 variables, 13 factors were extracted and these thirteen factors, put together, explaind 76.122 per cent of the total variance. Factor analysis was applied, to identify the factors that significantly contributed to the financial competitiveness. The result indicated that among the three sectors, passenger cars and multiutility vehicles sector were most dominating, followed by two and three wheelers sector and commercial vehicles sector. The commercial vehicles sector was obviously ruled by Eicher Motors Ltd whereas passenger cars and multi-utility vehicles sector was dominated by Honda Siel Cars India Limited and Maruti Udyog Limited. The result of this study would help consumers, to judge the competitive performance of these firms, from the product quality and investment point of view.

Capital expenditure and persistence of firm performance: an empirical study for the Indian automobiles industry

The purpose of the present work is to analyse the dynamic relationship between capital expenditure (CAPEX) intensity and firm performance for the automobiles industry in India. A dynamic panel methodology has been deployed. A sample of 95 listed automobiles firms in India for the period 2005 to 2014 has been considered. The results show that there exists a negative and persistent relation between performance and CAPEX. Also, a moderate level of persistence in the firm performance is observed for the sample companies. The results also indicate a possible U-shape relationship between CAPEX and firm performance. The study highlights the need for proper identification of the appropriate capital expenditure levels. This may lead to positive benefits for the Indian automobiles firms in the long-run.

An Assessment of Green Supply Chain Framework in Indian Automobile Industry using interpretive structural modelling and its validation using MICMAC analysis

The goal of delivering a green product starts with green procurement and then continue further with green logistics, green process and green manufacturing specially in a strong supply chain like that in an automobile organization. The purpose of this paper is to identify the green supply chain management enablers (GSCMEs) for Indian automobile industry and establish relationships among them using interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and find out driving and dependence power of enablers, using Matriced' Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliquee a un Classement (MICMAC) analysis. A survey method is used to get the primary data for this research from fifteen automobile organisations in the Pune-Nashik area. Although currently the research has been conducted only in one industrial region but in future this study can be replicated to other Indian regions as well. The study identifies environmental regulations along with relationship with suppliers as main enablers for a better green supply chain.

Recyclable Packaging - A Step Forward for the Environmental Sustainability with the Cost Benefit to the Organization A Case Study with Reference to an Indian Automobile Industry

Recyclable Packaging - A Step Forward for the Environmental Sustainability with the Cost Benefit to the Organization A Case Study with Reference to an Indian Automobile Industry

Supplier Relationship Management Issues and Challenges in Indian Automobile Industry

Supplier Relationship Management Issues and Challenges in Indian Automobile Industry

Gender Contamination in Indian Automobile Advertisements

Datsun Go surely and boldly disturbed the prevailing gender order in automobile advertisements by airing a series of ‘women only’ automobile advertisements on Indian television channels. This study uncovers the phenomenological response of men to this supposed gender contamination of a male-gendered product. The study captures the change in participants’ construction of gender identity meanings of the car and its purchase probability in response to exposure to differently gendered advertisements of the car. Results indicate the significant impact of gender signals in advertisements on the viewers’ perception of the gender identity meanings of the car. The study also provides evidence of male acceptance of gender bending in automobiles. Managerial implications and theoretical contributions are discussed.

Impact of Automobile Recalls on Stock Prices: A Study in the Indian Context

Not so long ago, ‘product recalls’ in the Indian automobile sector were a novelty. The defective vehicles were repaired as part of the after-sales service. In the absence of a strong regulatory framework, the manufacturers were under no obligation to proactively initiate product recalls. The introduction of a voluntary code on product recalls by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in 2012 and introduction/amendments in the existing legal regimen of the country in recent years have led companies to take more than just baby steps towards product recalls. Product recalls are a case of management failure. There is a need for gauging the impact of this failure on the stock price of the manufacturers, especially in the Indian context where the recall phenomenon is poised to gain further momentum. The event study methodology is a widely used approach to assess the impact of a particular event/announcement on the stock price. This methodology was used in the present study to gauge whether abnormal stock returns accrued to the manufacturers during 13 product recall announcements made in the Indian automobile sector between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015. The study found that product recall announcements generated small and statistically insignificant cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) of –0.02 per cent in the (–1, +1) event window, 0.92 per cent in the (–2, +2) event window and 1.70 per cent in the (–5, +5) event window. The study found no substantial or statistically significant difference in the CAR generated during big recalls and small recalls. Furthermore, the study found little evidence that CAR generated during recalls where defective component(s) in the vehicle were repaired is positive as compared to CAR generated when such component(s) were replaced.

Optimization of rollover stability for a three-wheeler vehicle

An auto rickshaw is a three-wheeled motor vehicle commonly found in Asia, with one front steering wheel and two driven wheels at the back. In automobiles, suspension is used to keep the wheels planted during motion. The trailing arm suspension generally found in Indian automobiles has its roll center on the ground. The vehicle’s center of gravity is above the ground, which creates a moment during vehicle turning known as the roll moment. When this roll moment exceeds a certain limit, the vehicle becomes unstable. Roll rate can be expressed as degrees per lateral acceleration of the vehicle’s sprung mass, and is influenced by factors such as wheel rate, motion ratio, and suspension rate. In order to determine an optimized three-wheeler suspension setup, a matrix selection method was used, in which every available suspension type in the market is rated based on selected suspension parameters such as handling, dynamics, and simplicity. From the overall weightage, each suspension type is analyzed and the most appropriate is selected. In order to achieve the objective of improving the overall rollover stability, certain modifications have been applied in the selected suspension design. Generally, if the roll rate of a specific vehicle axle is high, the percentage of weight transfer on the axle will also be high. By improving roll stiffness, the amount of roll can be decreased, and by optimizing the motion ratio, the roll moment can be controlled, thereby increasing the overall rollover stability.

Contribution of components of Green Supply Chain Execution-Marketing in Green Supply Chain Performance measurement-A Pilot Empirical Study of the Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector

This paper is one of the several extensions of the research works done by [5]. Green Supply Chain Practices have been known to have an impact on Green Supply Chain Performance [5].This paper tests empirically through a pilot study of the Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector, the contribution of the four variables constituting the construct Green Supply Chain Execution-Marketing in Green Supply Chain Performance measurement. Also the paper establishes the reliability of the questionnaire instrument developed previously for measuring the construct Green Supply Chain Execution-Marketing and also for measuring the reliability of the four variables that constitute the construct Green Supply Chain Execution-Marketing. Further the paper establishes the correlation among these four variables. Finally this paper conducts Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to arrive at a single factor (linear combination of four variables constituting the construct Green Supply Chain Execution-Marketing) to aid in measuring the construct Green Supply Chain Execution-Marketing. Finally the paper establishes the order of contribution of the four variables constituting the construct Green Supply Chain Execution-Marketing.

Diminution of Impediments in Implementation of Supply Chain Management Information System for Enhancing its Effectiveness in Indian Automobile Industry

Supply Chain Management Information System (SCMIS) has gained a lot of importance because of its ability to reduce costs and increase responsiveness in the supply chain. The implementation of SCMIS is a complicated process with significant risk. The studies have revealed that the success in implementing these systems is not very encouraging. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the impediments in SCMIS implementation and their severity. Studies on the failure factors of the ERP system have already been done by various researchers. The research on SCMIS, an inter-organizational system, is in its early stages and is still to receive that much attention as its predecessor whereas barriers for its implementation are more severe. Thus, there exists a gap in research in this important area. In this paper an attempt has been made to establish impediments, their severity and improvisation for the successful implementation of SCMIS in the Indian automobile industry.

Contribution of components of Green Supply Chain Migration strategies in Green Supply Chain Performance measurement-A Pilot Empirical Study of the Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector

Contribution of components of Green Supply Chain Migration strategies in Green Supply Chain Performance measurement-A Pilot Empirical Study of the Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector

Contribution of components of Green Supply Chain Continuous Improvement in Green Supply Chain Performance measurementA Pilot Empirical Study of the Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector

Contribution of components of Green Supply Chain Continuous Improvement in Green Supply Chain Performance measurementA Pilot Empirical Study of the Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector

Contribution of components of Green Supply Chain ExecutionPackaging in Green Supply Chain Performance measurement-A Pilot Empirical Study of the Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector

Contribution of components of Green Supply Chain ExecutionPackaging in Green Supply Chain Performance measurement-A Pilot Empirical Study of the Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector

Contribution of Components of Green Supply Chain ExecutionLogistics In Green Supply Chain Performance Measurement-A Pilot Empirical Study of The Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector

Contribution of Components of Green Supply Chain ExecutionLogistics In Green Supply Chain Performance Measurement-A Pilot Empirical Study of The Indian Automobile Manufacturing Sector