Multicultural Collaborative Team Working as a Driver for Innovation in the Slovak Automotive Sector

Abstract

The accelerated trend towards globalisation, facilitated by the expansion of the European Union in the Slovak context has led to a rapid influx of foreign direct investment into the country. In particular, numerous automotive manufacturers have relocated to Slovakia in order to capitalise upon a lower cost base and the advanced infrastructure. Despite achieving lowering manufacturing costs, the overarching requirement for automotive manufacturers remains the need to innovate in order to create enhanced product value. One key driver of innovation in the automotive sector is to foster collaboration with members throughout the complex supply chain thus enhancing innovation at every stage. This process however requires close cooperation both vertically and horizontally and therefore clear practices and processes are necessary to ensure facilitation of inter-organisational and multicultural collaboration. The focus of this paper is to study the impact of multicultural collaboration and to propose a framework for enhanced working practices.