Proximities in Modular Production: an Analysis of the Globalization of the Automotive Fisrt Tier Suppliers (In French)

This paper analyzes the strategies of internationalization of the automotive First Tier Suppliers (FTS). The developments of the modular production in the car industry induce an evolution of the vertical relationships which explain, at the same time, the interest and the forms of the internationalization of the FTS. From this point of view, the paper seeks to explain the patterns of internationalization adopted by the FTS by proposing a grid of reading which try to identify proximity request according to complexity and exclusivity of the interfirms’ interactions. The argumentation is articulated around three parts. The first reconsiders the transformations induced by modularization. The second presents some stylized facts on the internationalization of the FTS. The third part presents the analytic grid and draws the implications on the internationalization of the firms.