Green operations strategy of a luxury car manufacturer

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the strategic environmental decisions of a luxury car manufacturer. Through case study research, the investigation sheds light on why and how the company is adopting green technologies. Being pressured by different stakeholders to become greener, luxury car manufacturers carry significant opportunities for environmental improvement given the nature of their manufacturing processes and products. Because of their low-volume production, manufacturers may be able to increase output and still reduce overall emissions when compared to high-volume manufacturers. In the case study company this was found to be possible only because of new ideas brought by a change in ownership. Luxury manufacturers may also be a test-bed for the development and experimentation of green technologies as part of a strategic approach to environmental initiatives. This paper contributes to the fields of green technology adoption and operations strategy in automotive manufacturing groups.

KEYWORDS:

• Green operations
• sustainability strategy
• luxury cars
• environmental decision-making

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. The authors are grateful to both institutions for their support.

Notes on contributors

Dr Breno Nunes is Lecturer in Operations Management at Aston University (Birmingham, UK). He is currently a team leader for the Operations Management Research Area at Aston Business School. He is also Vice President of Education, Research, and Publications for IAMOT – International Association for Management of Technology. His research, teaching, and consulting activities include Sustainability Strategies, Technology and Operations Management, and Green Innovation Management.

Professor David Bennett is a Guest Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Technology Management and Economics, and Adjunct Professor with the University of South Australia Business School. He is also an Emeritus Professor at Aston University and an independent consultant in technology and operations management.

Professor Duncan Shaw is Professor of Operations and Critical Systems based in the Operations Management Group of Manchester Business School (UK). Duncan was previously Professor of Operational Research and Critical Systems at Warwick Business School and Aston Business School. His research and consulting activities focus on decision-making in civil protection and the nuclear industry.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Aston Business School, and Alban, the European Union Programme of High Level Scholarships for Latin America – scholarship No. E06D103633BR.