Repositori URV

Identifier: TDX:1896

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX1896

Authors:
Margalef Llebaria, Joaquim

Abstract:
This thesis analyses how two companies have adapted to the changes that have takenplace in the Spanish automotive sector and in particular how they have adapted to thechanges in its auxiliary industry. The thesis is divided into five sections. The firstsection introduces the topic by evaluating Chandler's analyses and the Structure-Behaviour-Results paradigm. The second section analyses the reference framework,which is the Spanish economy between 1950 and the end of the 20th century, andexamines how the automotive sector and its auxiliary industry operate. The third andfourth section studies how two companies, MAISA-UTA and FICOSA, have adapted tothe changing circumstances. These companies, which were created in the early 1950s,have played a key role in the dynamics of the sector. To examine how they have adaptedto the various stages during the period studied, we concentrated on their developmentfirst in response to impulses from the internal market and second in view of theirprocesses of internationalisation. These companies have taken different paths tobecoming the main suppliers to the automotive sector: in 1998 MAISA-UTA was takenover by the Lear Corporation, while FICOSA retains the same shareholder structure aswhen it was created. The concluding section evaluates the two companies' processes ofadaptation by highlighting the importance of Chandler's observations to companydevelopment. At the end of the thesis are three appendices. The first one concerns thecollective agreements negotiated by these companies, the second one concerns the useof factors of production via a Cobb-Douglas function, and the third one concerns themost significant statistical data on the companies' accounting and financial structures.