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Regional Restructuring of the Škoda Auto Supplier Network in the Czech Republic

2007; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 14; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/0969776407076101

1461-7145

Petr Pavlínek, Luboš Janák,

Global Trade and Competitiveness

This article examines the regional restructuring of the supplier base of SkodaAuto, a vehicle manufacturer in the Czech Republic (Czechia). We investigate the tiered structure of the Škoda suppliers in Czechia by classifying 232 Czech-based Škoda suppliers in three distinct tiers and comparing the differences in the distribution between the foreign-owned and domestic suppliers in these tiers.We explore the changes in the spatial distribution of the Škoda suppliers in Czechia since the beginning of the post-socialist economic transformation in the early 1990s, which are linked to the tiering of the supplier base and to the differences among the individual tiers in the type of the supplied components and in the timing of component deliveries. Both the processes of concentration and dispersion are identified.We then analyse the relationships between the location of the Škoda suppliers within Czechia and their basic characteristics such as their size, ownership, age and position in the supplier tier. Based on the results we consider the geographic differences in the regional development potential of the Škoda supplier network in Czechia.