Vertical Integration and Joint Ventures in the Aluminum Industry

Vertical Integration and Joint Ventures in the Aluminum Industry
Author: John Alan Stuckey
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 362
Release: 1983
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780674934900

A consultant with McKinsey & Company surveys the international aluminum industry and asks why its various activities are divided among firms in the way that they are. These components include the minding of bauxite, its refining into alumina, aluminum smelting, fabrication, and manufacture of the final product. What is it about this industry that encourages joint ventures in some cases, long-term contracts in others, and vertical integration and merger in still others? The author identifies and analyzes the factors which motivate firms to adopt one or another of these patterns of doing business. He draws on and extends recent developments in theory relating to the operation of markets and organizations, and tests the power of theories to explain what is observed in the industry. He has assembled a great deal of empirical evidence, focusing on the United States, Japan, and Australia. The book should become the standard study of the aluminum industry.

Canadiana

Canadiana
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 1244
Release: 1985
Genre: Canada
ISBN:

Synchronized Factories

Synchronized Factories
Author: Juan S. Blyde
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2014-09-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3319099914

The objective of this report is to examine the extent to which countries in Latin America and the Caribbean participate in global value chains and what are the drivers of such participation. Production processes have been increasingly fragmented worldwide. For example, the production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner involves 43 suppliers located in 135 locations around the globe. There are many examples like the Dreamliner, from the 451 parts that go into the iPod to the less technologically intensive but still widespread multi-country production of a Barbie doll. All this reflects significant changes in the way world production is being reorganized across national borders. That is, for many goods, production has become a multi-country process in which different stages are carried out in specialized plants in different parts of the world. Countries which specialize in different stages of the production process are thus linked by these global value chains. For developing countries, a clear opportunity from the continuous international fragmentation of production arises in the form of participating in activities that were virtually not opened to them in the past. Therefore, the international fragmentation of production provides opportunities for trade diversification, an issue that can be of particular importance for Latin America and the Caribbean as the region’s export base is in general highly concentrated in a few industries and particularly biased towards natural-resource intensive sectors. The aim is to identify whether there is policy space for implementing strategies that allow countries to improve their position in regional and global value chains.

World Development Report 2020

World Development Report 2020
Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 511
Release: 2019-11-19
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464814953

Global value chains (GVCs) powered the surge of international trade after 1990 and now account for almost half of all trade. This shift enabled an unprecedented economic convergence: poor countries grew rapidly and began to catch up with richer countries. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, however, the growth of trade has been sluggish and the expansion of GVCs has stalled. Meanwhile, serious threats have emerged to the model of trade-led growth. New technologies could draw production closer to the consumer and reduce the demand for labor. And trade conflicts among large countries could lead to a retrenchment or a segmentation of GVCs. World Development Report 2020: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains examines whether there is still a path to development through GVCs and trade. It concludes that technological change is, at this stage, more a boon than a curse. GVCs can continue to boost growth, create better jobs, and reduce poverty provided that developing countries implement deeper reforms to promote GVC participation; industrial countries pursue open, predictable policies; and all countries revive multilateral cooperation.

A Century of Innovation

A Century of Innovation
Author: 3M Company
Publisher: 3m Company
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2002
Genre: 3M Company
ISBN:

A compilation of 3M voices, memories, facts and experiences from the company's first 100 years.