Competitividad en las cadenas globales de producción de la industria automotriz : un estudio de caso del Grupo PSA y su planta ensambladora en Vigo (2005-2019)

Abstract

The analysis of competitiveness and its determining factors has traditionally been the subject of intense debate in economic literature. Depending on the approach or perspective followed, we can find differences in foundational theoretical assumptions, the conceptualization of competitiveness, the unit of analysis, or the variables and indicators used to evaluate competitive performance. This sometimes leads to different interpretations of the same economic phenomenon. Similarly, the debate on competitiveness and its explanatory factors goes beyond the strictly academic sphere and frequently reaches the sphere of public opinion, effectively influencing the design of public policies.The current debate on competitiveness takes place within the framework of a productive business scenario characterized by the global fragmentation of the production processes. This phenomenon results in the growing vertical disintegration of production processes at the enterprise level. This fragmentation similarly leads to the global dispersion of the various stages or phases that comprise the production process of an end product through forms such as offshoring and outsourcing. Given their significant capacity to coordinate and control transnational production and trade patterns, transnational corporations organize the international fragmentation of production processes in a hierarchical way, in the form of global production chains...