닛산의 회생에 있어서 르노자동차의 역할과 성과

The Renault s role in the Nissan Revial Plan and it s outcome

Facing the globalization of markets and competition, car manufacturers need to revise their international development strategies. During the past decade, several companies have chosen to form alliances with their competitors in order to be part of the world leaders of this industry. This research attempts to identify factors that are likely to contribute to the success of cross-border interfirm linkages. The empirical study is based on an in-depth analysis of the integration process of the Renault-Nissan alliance. Nissan was in a very bad shape during most of the 1990s. It had been losing global market share since 1991. It s production had dropped greatly and seven out of the eight years before the alliance Nissan suffered serious financial losses. The main cause of Nissan s bad state were a lack of a clear profit orientation, an insufficient focus on customers and a misplaced preoccupation with chasing competitors, a lack of cross-functional cross-border and intra-hierarchical lines in the company, a lack of a sense of urgency, no shared vision or common long term plan. It was inevitable for Nissan to make an alliance with Renault. In the face of complex and competitive business conditions, Renault embarked on a new long term business strategy: profitable growth worldwide. The alliance with Nissan of Japan had indeed transformed Renault from a local player in the European market to an international major. After its merger with Nissan, Renault-Nissan launched a range of joint initiatives to generate benefits through substantial savings and growth. Some of the important joint initiatives were: (a) a common platform with Nissan for small cars (b) joint research projects and exchange of components (leading to standardization of these products) (c) the decision to return to the north-american market, using Nissan’s powerful industrial and commercial presence (d) further expansion in Europe and growth in Asia (e) to draw on the strengths of complementary expertise in sales and technology, and to reduce costs and enhance performance. The most important achievements are as follows: (a) the first joint platform (b) a global joint purchasing policy to combine savings of US $ 1.7 billion between 1999 and 2002 (c) joint use of engines and gearboxes, at highly competitive prices are being reviewed. The success of Carlos Ghosn is correlated to his extensive vision of synergies between the Renault and Nissan. The reason he merged Renault and Nissan relies on the advantage of mutual challenge that push both firms to seek new cost reductions, economies of scale and scope opportunities. Consequently, Renault and Nissan both managed to reach their goal by remaining profitable. Since Renault and Nissan have successfully become partners in a new equity joint venture by combining their knowledge, they have reinforced their position as a worldwide leader automaker. An important issue in the Nissan-Renault alliance relies in the management of two different cultures. In order for the combined share of ideas and strategic management to be effective, the employees of both companies must respect the identities of their fellow colleagues as well as their values. The collapse of the Keiretsu helps Nissan to remain globally competitive, Ghosn claimed that the keiretsu system resulted in higher costs when purchasing automobile parts. Also, it is difficult for keiretsu suppliers to have the most advanced technology developed independently which decreases the competitiveness of Nissan in the global market. Also the collapse of the keiretsu led to increased competition among suppliers. As a result, Nissan has been able to select better quality supplies at more affordable prices. We should remember that all reforms of Nissan has been carried out by the effective communication between two companies with different cultures. The Alliance aims to rank among the top three general automakers in terms of: quality and value of products and services in