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The development of Saab's strategy over the past decade is described. This has been a success story where conventional marketing methods adapted to Saab's special conditions and applied with the organisation's determination and energy, have brought about this complete turnaround situation.

The purpose of this study is to develop a model of a starting situation for relationship initiation in turbulent business networks.

The study is designed as an extreme single case study that takes its point of departure in a company’s bankruptcy in the Swedish automotive industry.

This study illustrates how a new business relationship can start from a resource combination previously controlled by one actor (i.e. a single company) in a turbulent business network, thereby bringing nuances to the common understanding that new relationships start in stable business networks where resource combinations are developed between actors in established business relationships.

Previous studies have stated that the development of a mutual orientation between actors leads to the formation of a business relationship. The business relationship then leads to resource adaptations between the two companies. The developed model, however, illustrates that this pattern can be reversed in situations of turbulence. Hence, previously adapted resources might lead to the formations of a business relationship. Based on this observation, the authors argue that there are reasons to question if previous models of business relationship initiation and development in business networks are adequately equipped for analysis in turbulent business networks.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how capability gaps can be identified and how they can be dealt with in aircraft technology transfers in future offset deals.

The study is based on lessons learned as identified from three case studies of technology transfers from Saab, a Swedish aircraft manufacturing company to South Africa, the Czech Republic, and India.

The capability gap between sender and receiver has to be dealt with on two levels: on an organizational level; and on an individual level. It is proposed that the disseminative capacity constitutes the ability to assess the capability gap between the sender and receiver, and to convert this assessment to adaptations of the product and production process to include in an industrialization process. On the individual level, the capability-raising activities were connected to employees’ knowledge, personal development plans for the transfer of explicit knowledge, as well as on-the-job training to facilitate the exchange of tacit knowledge.

The research is based on case studies from one company. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm the proposed propositions through new case studies in other contexts as well as through survey-based research.

The paper focusses on the context of offset and reports on actual experiences from a capability perspective of technology transfers within the aircraft manufacturing area. It proposes a structured way of identifying and bridging the capability gap within such transfers.

The purpose of this paper is through a literature study and a study of the Saab offset cases to identify strategies to increase inter-organizational transfer capability.

This paper is based on a literature study and a study of three of Saab’s offset cases and Saab’s process for technology transfer.

This study has identified inter-organizational transfer strategies based on the importance of the hierarchy of decision-making and the change from capacity transfers to capability transfers in offset business. The type of performance goals set in the business agreement decides how to realize the transfer. The hierarchy of decision-making creates a need to align the understanding of the performance goals between the different parts of the organization, which affect the plans for how to transfer knowledge between the organizational as well as the individual levels. To reach the performance goals of the technology transfer, there needs to be a balance between the disseminative capability of the sender and the absorptive capability of the receiver.

This study is based on a single case within a relatively unique industry with an offset perspective and production transfers. Therefore, there is also a need for future studies to confirm the identified relationships within outsourcing/offset within other industries and other types of transfers.

A change from capacity transfers to capability transfers in both outsourcing/offshoring and offset business indicates that more research should be placed on the disseminative capacity of the sender. The literature review revealed that the disseminative capacity of the sender has been the subject of less research than the absorptive capacity of the receiver.

The purpose of this research is to explore the practical implications of brand management decisions, particularly those involving the combination of luxury and mass‐market brands within the same organization through merger or acquisition. The aim of the paper is to expand brand theory by linking it to administrative heritage in the context of the increasingly integrated global automobile industry.

Integrated case studies of Jaguar, Mercedes‐Benz, and Saab illustrate the effects of brand extension and dilution through the lenses of brand development, luxury brands, and administrative heritage theories. The recent history of acquisitions and mergers involving luxury automobile brands provides background to the in‐depth examination of these three specific instances. Conclusions are reached by comparing and contrasting the experiences of these firms relative to their mass‐market siblings.

The blending of luxury and mass‐market automobile brands in one corporate portfolio engages advantages of scale and scope economies, but induces potentially fatal brand corrosion. Consumer perceptions of luxury brands are influenced by the degree of commonality with the associated mass‐market brands, independent of whether the luxury brand or the mass‐market brand is the dominant corporate vehicle.

The paper provides insights useful to practitioners as well as academic researchers. The novel juxtapositioning of the concepts of luxury brands, administrative heritage, and global strategic management through mergers/acquisitions demonstrates the unintended consequences of complex interactions in a dynamic industry. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research.

Discusses the efforts made in Saab′s new factory to overcome problems of motivation and absenteeism in the workforce. Describes the assembly system, which combines working on static units with some line assembly. Surmises that a previous attempt to employ these methods failed because management still used the old methods, the new purpose‐designed plant has more potential and, importantly, space for expansion.

To identify operations and logistics issues which are critical for the operational performance in modular assembly processes.

Based on case studies of Volvo Cars, Toyota, and Saab, the paper identifies operations and logistics issues that are critical for the operational performance of modular assembly processes. The issues are used for extending our understanding of the design and operation of modular assembly processes.

The issues identified concern production planning, deviation handling, assembly flow balance, small unit disadvantages, and module flow control. They reveal that a modular assembly process design brings structural disadvantages related to the dispersion of activities and resource needs. The issues also demonstrate the need for extensive coordination across the interfaces of the decoupled parts of the process.

The findings will mainly be relevant for firms that design and produce complex products involving several technologies and that use company‐specific modules as is the case in the automotive industry, for instance.

Operations and logistics managers may use the findings in order to design and operate modular assembly processes, provide input to the design of modular products, analyze operations and logistics issues before the firm decides to go modular, or not.

Complements existing research on modular assembly processes by outlining structural disadvantages and explaining the need for extensive coordination in such processes.

A significant event both for Metair and the Saab 340 occurred recently when the first aircraft to incorporate not only the necessary cabin material and design changes necessitated by the 1988 interim mandatory requirements but also those which come into force in 1990, was completed at West Mailing. Metair Aircraft, a subsidiary of Hunting Associated Industries and a sister company of Field Aircraft, produced this cabin interior to meet the new fire survivability regulations for production number 121 of the Saab 340 37‐passenger aircraft. The Metair company has been associated with Saab since the early 1980's when it completed the first passenger cabin and all of these aircraft now have their interiors completed at West Mailing. The aircraft are flown from Sweden with bare passenger cabin and unpainted exterior and after 14 working days are returned with a completed interior and externally painted to the customer's specification. Some 70% of Metair's activities are accounted for by the Saab 340 completion task, for which it has overall design responsibility.

THE Scandinavian reputation for product durability and clean, functional design is nowhere better exemplified than in the Swedish car factories of Volvo and Saab.