Technological Collaboration as a Form of Automotive TNC's Cooperation and its Effectiveness: the Case of Volkswagen

The automotive industry is a significant industry in the world economy, one of its systematically important components. There was a significant transformation in the automotive industry for last twenty years. Automakers have now created a new type of collaboration strategies such as technology collaborations. Such collaborations among automakers lead to the emergence of innovative products, which lead to the transition to a new technological way. Thus, the issue of studying these collaborations is of particular relevance. The purpose of this work is to assess the direction and scale of the impact of the new development strategy for the European automobile concern Volkswagen. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set: - determine the nature and highlight the basic mechanisms of TNC activity; - describe the causes of transnationalization of corporations; - consider classic and new ways of entering foreign markets by European car manufacturers; - to analyze the activities of Volkswagen and identify competitive advantages; - identify innovative Volkswagen strategies and methods for their implementation; - evaluate the effect of innovative collaboration Volkswagen; - analyze the prospects for strengthening the position of Volkswagen in the European market; - assess the potential development of Volkswagen using new strategies in the Russian Federation. According to the purpose and objectives, the object of research in the work is the European automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, and the subject of research is the company's development strategy, which consists in modern methods of maintaining and strengthening positions in foreign markets. The first chapter discusses the theoretical aspects of the behavior of transnational corporations, namely: the reasons for the transfer of production activities of companies abroad, the classic ways to enter foreign markets on the example of European automakers and modern methods of cooperation. In the second chapter of this work, Volkswagen activities analysis in the period 1950-2010 was carried out to identify the reasons for the current status of one of the leaders in the automotive industry, and innovative ways of cooperation between the company to maintain current positions were also considered. In the third chapter, the effectiveness of new ways of cooperation was assessed by Volkswagen, the company's prospects in the European market and strategic directions of development in the Russian car market were also evaluated.