Based on a forecasting study of the geography of the European automobile industry, this paper analyses first its spatial hierarchy corresponding to a regional vertical division of labour within different countries in a centre-periphery framework. Central functions (marketing, planning, R & D, luxury and upper range car assembly, etc.) located in the 'Banane Bleue', are attracted by the centre of gravity in southern Germany, whereas peripheral functions (assembly of small cars, production of generic components) are decentralized to southern European countries, and now eastern countries. Secondly, the paper identifies factors governing its evolution: changes in production organization (technological innovation, lean production) and their impacts on the location of activities (through a desegregated approach to location constraints on different activities: assembly, manufacturing, generic and specific components, etc.), as well as the new competitive context on the European market (arrival of new competitors, reduction of overcapacity, new niches, etc.). Thirdly, a sketch of the spatial configuration of the European automobile industry in 2005 is proposed on the basis of two opposite modalities of complementary spatial dynamics: on one side, concentration versus decentralization of assembly plants; on the other side, polarization or dispersion of upstream activities. Their intersection leads to four possible scenario-configurations: agglomerated unipolar, dispersed unipolar, multipolar and continental integration. Finally, conditions which would encourage or, alternatively, impede each scenario are discussed.

BÉLIS-BERGOUIGNAN M.-C., BORDENAVE G. and LUNG Y. (2000) Global strategies in the automobile industry, Reg. Studies 34, 41‐53. This paper views the multinational firm as a learning hierarchy , and presents a model capable of analysing the spatial organization of multinational firms. This model is based on two criteria: the principle of hierarchy; and the degree of hierarchical control. Four types of multinational companies are defined (world-wide, multidomestic, multiregional and transregional) and the process of internationalization is understood through the way in which firms develop their organizational capabilities. The model is applied to a study of the strategies which have been followed by American, Japanese and European carmakers. BÉLIS-BERGOUIGNAN M. C., BORDENAVE G. et LUNG Y. (2000) Les stratégies globales de l'industrie automobile, Reg. Studies 34, 41‐53. Combinant l'approche de la firme multinationale comme une “hiérarchie” et l'analyse évolutionniste de la firme à travers les processus d'apprentissage collectif, l'article propose un modèle analytique relatif à l'organisation spatiale des firmes multinationales sur la base de deux critères (principe hiérarchique et degré de contrôle hiérarchique). Quatre configurations sont définies: firme mondiale, multidomestique, multirégionale et transrégionale. Le processus de multinationalisation est alors appréhendé à travers le développement des capacités organisationnelles de la firme et son évolution face aux modifications de son environnement concurrentiel. Cette grille est utilisée pour étudier l'internationalisation de l'industrie automobile depuis les premières expansions américaines de Ford et GM dans les années vingt jusqu'aux tentatives récentes des Européens, en passant par les stratégies globales des Japonais. BÉLIS-BERGOUIGNAN M.-C., BORDENAVE G. und LUNG Y. (2000) Globale Strategien in der Automobilindustrie, Reg. Studies 34, 41‐53. Der vorliegende Aufsatz betrachtet multinationale Firmen als eine Lernhierarchie, und stellt ein Modell vor, das im Stande ist, die räumliche Organisation multinationaler Firmen zu analysieren. Dieses Modell stützt sich auf zwei Kriterien—das Prinzip der Hierarchie und das Ausmaß hierarchischer Kontrolle. Es werden zwei multinationale Firmentypen definiert (weltweite, multibinnenländische, multiregionale und Regionen überschreitende), und der Prozeß der Internationalisierung durch die Art und Weise erklärt, in der Firmen ihre organisatorischen Fähigkeiten entfalten. Das Modell wird auf eine Untersuchung der Strategien angewandt, die amerikanische, japanische und europäische Automobilproduzenten befolgt haben.Automobile Industry, Globalization, Hierarchy, Multinational Firm, Organization,

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