Readiness for Supply Chain Collaboration and Supplier Integration—Findings from the Chinese Automotive Industry

The efforts among automotive companies in China to find suitable domestic suppliers have to be seen as a response to local content requirements promulgated by the Chinese central government but also as part of the global sourcing strategy among the producers. Therefore, automotive companies, both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their Western suppliers, are currently trying to integrate more domestic suppliers in their supply chains in China (Holweg et al., 2005). The automotive industry is suitable for further research of complex buyer-supplier interactions because it can also be considered a networked industry implying that it is virtually impossible for any firm alone to possess all the technical expertise and capabilities needed to develop and produce a complex product (Binder et al., 2007; Holweg and Pil, 2007).