BMG871 International Business Research Skills Research Proposal Assessment Answer

1. Research Title

“Role of Sustainable Procurement Strategies in Enhancing Brand Value in the Automobile Sector: A Case Study Analysis of Ford in context of USA”

2. Introduction, Rationale and International Business Value

2.1. Background of Study

Rising globalisation and businesses choosing to outsource significantly contributed to companies contesting at the supply chain level. As rivalry has contributed to the demand for surging the economic efficiency of businesses, it has also induced the ecological and social accountabilities of businesses. In the current times, sustainability has become a vital emphasis for the majority of businesses and with their SCs (supply chains) (De and Singh 2022). The demand to take accountability for the ecological and social efficiency of a business originates from its internal and external stakeholders. It is described that client expectations, legal needs, and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) pressures compel businesses to more sustainable procurement strategies (Adu-Gyamfi et al. 2021).

Notably, the automotive industry is deemed as one of the globe’s most substantial and most powerful, with a considerable influence on the civilization, economy and environment. This sector is having a significant impact on depletion of resources, air pollution, and carbon releases which further negatively impacts the environment (Villena 2019). According to Holden (2020), USA is ranked 24th in the world in terms of environmental performance. There have been growing pressures on automotive businesses to grab sustainable sourcing strategies to reduce their ecological impact and surge the brand value. It is due to the fact that presently consumers have become more ecologically aware. Regardless of such pressure, a preponderance of companies in this industry has been slow to adopt sustainable sourcing techniques and there has been not much data on the impacts of such techniques on increasing brand value. As a consequence, research is needed to evaluate how implementing sustainable sourcing strategies may optimise brand value in the automotive industry, with an emphasis on the case study of Ford Organization based in USA (Kumar et al. 2021).

2.2. Rationale of Study

As per Awan et al. (2019), provided the significant environmental and social implications associated with the procurement and production of automotive elements, sourcing is the vital area wherein companies might progress to sustainability. In order to preserve a competitive edge in the market, it is vital to evaluate how suitably such techniques are performing in increasing brand value of Ford. Besides, this study will take up a comprehensive assessment of applicable literature to acquire more about ethical sourcing strategies and how they impact brand value. The findings of this study will be useful to other companies attempting to implement such approaches to increase brand value and their entire sustainability performance in the automotive industry and beyond.

2.3. Practical Importance to International Businesses

This research mixes diverse areas of sustainability research with practical observations to generate outcomes that are realistically applicable. The findings of this research might be implemented in the procurement division of numerous global businesses to a sustainable and socially awareness strategy. The outcomes are majorly helpful for the automotive companies in USA and across the globe. This study can be utilised as an ideal practice guide for businesses who are attempting to execute the procurement approach. Besides, it will benefit the scholar as it means a growth in the know-how of sustainable approaches useful to international businesses and more particularly to the purchasing division.

2.4 Significance of the Research

The study "Role of Sustainable Procurement Strategies in Enhancing Brand Value in the Automobile Sector: A Case Study Analysis of Ford " represents critical research that addresses the pressing need for environmentally conscious business practices in the automotive industry. The objective of this research endeavor is to examine the potential of sustainable procurement practices in order to optimize brand value for corporations like Ford, which is exhibiting a growing global preoccupation with environmental and social obligations. The research provides significant contributions that go beyond Ford, benefiting multinational corporations seeking to enhance brand value, sustainability, and overall performance in the automotive industry and other sectors. By evaluating current practices in comparison to ideal standards and offering practical recommendations, these insights are generated.

3. Research Aims, Questions, and Objectives

3.1 Research Objectives and Aims

The primary aim of this study is to assess the role of sustainable procurement approaches to optimise brand value with respect to Automotive Industry: A case study assessment of Ford. The research objectives are mentioned below:

• To determine sustainable procurement practices and their impacts on brand value of the Ford Company in
• To compare and contrast sustainable procurement activities by Ford with the ideal activities found in the literature
• To provide suggestions to Ford to improve its sustainable procurement practices.
• To assess the difficulties encountered by Ford in establishing environmentally responsible purchasing policies and to suggest solutions to these problems.

3.2 Research Questions

Research questions are as follows:

• What are sustainable procurement strategies and how do they influence brand value in the Ford Company in USA?
• What are ideal sustainable procurement practices which can surge brand value of Ford Company?
• How do sustainable procurement practices of Ford compare with the ideal practices found in literature?
• What are likely benefits to Ford Company in adopting ideal practices for sustainable procurement?

With the above-mentioned objectives and questions, this study will identify industry-wide ideal practices which other companies can adopt to refine their sustainability efficiency and business value. Also, this research will provide recommendations for improving brand’s sustainability procurement techniques that can assist the brand keeping a competitive benefit in the industry.

4. Literature Review

4.1. Sustainable Procurement Strategies and Brand Value

To attain sustainable development in the automotive industry, sustainable sourcing strategies are vital. It has been found by Kannan (2021) that sustainable procurement indicates the procedure in which authorities pursue to source products, services, and works with a declined ecological influence through their lifecycle in contrast to products, services and works with the similar main operation which might be procured. It is further considered as a procedure via which companies purchase assets, supplies, and services considering numerous problems such as conventional forces like quality, price, accessibility, ecological sustainability areas, and more. Another study by Mishra et al. (2022) found that to preserve the long-run feasibility of the automotive sector, it is vital to certify that the products and services brought are moral in respects of civilization and environment. It is found that businesses which utilise sustainable sourcing techniques appear as being ecologically and socially responsible that refines their positioning and brand reputation. The companies which disconnect them from competitors and attract environmentally accountable clients possess a competitive edge due to sustainability sourcing approaches (Le 2022). Use of sustainable purchasing techniques further assists attaining sustainable development goals that can increase the brand value. Henceforth, sustainability procurement approaches of Ford Company have refined the business’s financial efficiency by lessening cost, and increasing SC efficacy (Govindan et al. 2020).

4.2. Development of Ideal Sustainable Procurement Strategies

A scholarGiampieri et al. (2020) asserted that setting definite sustainability goals and converting them to vendors are deemed ideal strategies for the automotive sector. Such goals aim to consider ecological, social and economic facts and must be traced and reported frequently. Furthermore, to ensure their vendors follow sustainability principles, automotive companies must preserve constant communications with their vendors. It might encompass instructing and supporting suppliers and conducting audits to measure their performance. Another scholar Krauklis et al. (2021) found that sustainable materials which can be recycled ought to be utilised in goods produced by the automotive sector. It can decrease the negative ecological impacts of their goods and increase the brand value. As opined by Hąbek and Villahoz (2020, to approach its target of 30 percent decline in carbon releases by 2025, the company has placed numerous sustainable purchasing techniques. The partnership by Ford Company for a clean environment namely PACE is deemed as business’s most vital sustainability procurement approach. These practices helped vendors to surge their ecological efficiency by reducing releases and wastage. Moreover, this practice has prevented 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide releases and about 10 billion litres of water from being generated. This company is found to utilise green materials in their offerings that is deemed a sustainable sourcing technique (Henares 2020).

4.3. Comparison with Ideal Practices of Other Automotive Companies

With regards to the sustainability sourcing strategies of Ford, it can be said that this business possesses a comprehensive sustainability procurement practice which is focused on aspects like economic development; vendor diversity; responsible procurement; and human rights. This company is found to be devoted to sustaining human rights. The vendors of this business are needed to adhere to a range of human rights regulations. The company is found to be dedicated to proper sourcing its resources and components. The Ford company is committed to nurturing economic development in the areas wherein it functions. It has placed numerous programs like supplier growth practices, vendor mentorship practices, and vendor finance practices, to assist native suppliers (Cabigiosu 2022). With regards to ideal practices recognized in the literature, it is asserted that companies must develop a comprehensive sustainability sourcing plan with definite goals in facets such as vendor variety, responsible procurement, ecological sustainability, and human rights. In order to ensure that their vendors adhere to ecological and societal standards, companies ought to use auditing and certificates from autonomous third parties. Companies must trace and report on their success in sustainability sourcing. The business’s entire sustainability plan must be associated with sustainable purchasing. It can entail integrating sustainability criteria in vendor choice processes and utilising sustainability information in vendor scorecards. It can be said that sustainability procurement techniques utilised by Ford Company are synchronised with the ones suggested in the literature (Ghadge et al. 2019).

Though the prominence of sustainability procurement techniques and their prospective benefits were the area of numerous studies, less is known about how such approaches really impact the civilization, economy, environment, and the Ford business particularly.

5. Research Methodology

5.1. Research Philosophy

As per Moon et al. (2019), it is defined by the scheme of propositions and knowledgeable facts in a specific aspect. The types of research philosophies entail interpretivism; positivism; critical realism; and more. For the purpose of this study, the scholar will choose to adopt interpretivism philosophy since it necessitates a previous hold of accepted knowledge on the role of sustainable procurement for brand value, though since what is supposed to be the fact is not known and unexpected, it is believed that current knowledge is insufficient. Besides, it is chosen as the reasoning progressive for this study might essentially be seized just through the subjective understanding and intervention of the social world as fully interpreted by the study participants (Al-Ababneh 2020).

5.2. Research Approach

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of sustainability procurement strategies on brand value of Ford in USA. Moreover, it, through a range of observations, perceptions, and data, aims to formulate an outline about the present and future state of numerous global automotive businesses. In view of this, the scholar will choose a qualitative research approach with an inductive reasoning approach. It is chosen as the study will review a massive degree of material from numerous sources and establish general conclusions on the basis of the information of the sources (McBeath and Bager-Charleson 2020).

5.3. Research Strategy

The research strategies entail phenomenology, archival research, case study, grounded theory, action research, and so on. For this study, the scholar will choose a case study strategy of research because of the nature of research and pursuit to react to the study questions. Moreover, it is supposed to be a vital technique for the use of qualitative secondary data. It is deemed a qualitative method which seeks to know and define the universal nature of an occurrence (Renjith et al. 2021).

5.4. Methodological Choice

There are three types of methodological choices namely qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. The scholar will choose a qualitative method for this study since the research focuses on investigation of subjective aspects. This method is particularly used in sociological research to understand the areas with human engagement. The scholar, using this method, aims to analyse the information precisely and to collect data through the usage of sources and already existing data (Dawadi et al. 2021).

5.5. Sampling Technique

Since the study is qualitative and secondary in nature, the scholar will not gather data from the human participants. Therefore, the sampling is not required for this study.

5.6. Research Time Horizon

It is deemed the timeframe employed to carry out the research. Two-time horizons, namely longitudinal and cross-sectional, are there which can be used by scholars. For this particular study, the scholar will choose a cross-sectional time horizon as this study will assist him to attain a comprehensive view. Also, the researcher will be able to choose what he needs to know about, identify the study population, choose a sample, and associate with the respondents to investigate the required information. It is selected as it can facilitate the researcher to explore various variables at a time. Further, it is deemed a cheap, prompt technique which can stimulate forthcoming research (Al-Ababneh 2020).

5.7. Data Collection

There are two major types of data collection techniques named as primary and secondary. The scholar will use secondary sources of data. The scholar will carry out qualitative secondary study for the proposed interpretivism philosophy. It includes collecting data utilising methods like document analysis, observation and then process data employing thematic analysis. The secondary data will be collected using the document analysis and peer-reviewed journal articles; industry reports; government reports; books; magazines; newspapers; and so on (Sileyew 2019). Also, there are 50-100 people targeted to interviewed.

5.8. Data Analysis

In this study, the data gathered will be evaluated using thematic analysis technique. This will assist the researcher to more precisely understand the views of participants and then visualise the impact of wars. Besides, the researcher will identify themes and associated back to the research objectives. The data will be categorised into meaningful chunks, facilitating the researcher to make inferences and establish relations (Peel 2020).

5.9. Limitations

The limitations in this qualitative study will be related to collected data using document analysis. Firstly, the time limitations will add to the complexity of the study plan. The scope of this secondary research might be affected by the original study’s prospective limitations. The collection and quality of the original information is mainly outside the scope of the secondary scholar’s influence.

6. Indicative Timetable

The Gantt chart typically reflects when an event is aimed to happen in the project by providing an outline about the order in which various actions need to be performed.

7. Ethical Considerations

Ethics are deemed a crucial deal to the procedure of data assessment. It is noteworthy that procurement is greatly impacted by a business’s approach and businesses desire to secure their capital of exclusive procedures. Hence, a great level of privacy through the study is preserved. The present study will obey the ethical standard (Navalta et al. 2019). For the motive of this research, the scholar might ensure that his study is conducted in an accountable and respectful way by obeying to moral regulations and attributing the original data sources. The scholar might further certify that the study findings are explained accurately and that the research’s outcomes are authentic and considerate by addressing the study’s limitations. There is an ethical consideration of attribution and acknowledgement which implies that it is vital for scholars in this study to suitably attribute the main scholars and their contributions while utilising data from all the secondary sources. Moreover, another consideration is data protection which implies that all the data used in this secondary research should be secured and maintained safely. The scholar before collecting the internal data of the chosen company must have to take consent from the higher management of that company. Also, the study will be conducted taking into consideration the plagiarism aspect (Pietilä et al. 2020).

References

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