Matching Items (3)
Filtering by

Clear all filters

132918-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Through the advancement of technology, social media, and the ever-growing connectedness society has with the digital world, the automotive industry’s market paradigm has been uprooted and turned onto its head. There is a race globally for the first company to achieve a truly autonomous vehicle, and one of the major

Through the advancement of technology, social media, and the ever-growing connectedness society has with the digital world, the automotive industry’s market paradigm has been uprooted and turned onto its head. There is a race globally for the first company to achieve a truly autonomous vehicle, and one of the major testing grounds is in the very state of Arizona. The technology is still under development, and there are many challenges and snags, like necessary big data, companies are encountering along the way. A smart city could share the necessary level of data with driverless vehicles, and through the back and forth communication of cars and cities could bring in that level of context and understanding needed to bring the promise of safer driving to life. Currently, companies are tight-lipped and keep to themselves on their research and development, so governments are struggling to manage the upcoming changes with such little information. The challenge is how to deal with the newly emerging inventions which managers have not figured out yet, as far as autonomous cars are concerned. This thesis covers the difficulties governments and companies will face when attempting to adopt driverless cars and smart cities into their infrastructure; public approval, legislation, infrastructure reforms, and communication between municipals and corporations. Through a survey conducted specifically for this thesis, interviews with government officials and corporate managers, and additional research, this thesis provides clearer insights on the situation and provides recommendations for managers and governments alike.
ContributorsStone, Mindi (Author) / Lynch, Patrick (Thesis director) / Nelson, Roy C. (Committee member) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
147914-Thumbnail Image.png
Description

Abstract<br/>Foreign Direct Investment has been pursued to economically integrate countries and to increase economic development. This has been accomplished partly through the WTO and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), which have spurred foreign direct investment (FDI) by removing barriers to trade tariff and nontariff. In addition, they also created a framework

Abstract<br/>Foreign Direct Investment has been pursued to economically integrate countries and to increase economic development. This has been accomplished partly through the WTO and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), which have spurred foreign direct investment (FDI) by removing barriers to trade tariff and nontariff. In addition, they also created a framework and legal guidelines and regulations for investment and trade. Research suggests that this is the case when looking at country level data before and after FTAs go into effect. Although the existing literature offers important insights a weakness is it does not often look at the relationship between FTAs and FDI by analyzing firm level data. This is an important relationship to be studied as, beyond governments multinational companies (MNCs) are one of few key actors that can benefit the most and have the capabilities to take advantage of these FTAs. Therefore, studying the relationship between MNCs and their investments both before and after an FTA is signed is important to see if FDI would change in response to Free Trade Agreements and have an impact at the MNC level deployment of FDI. This would be significant to see if the current steady for attracting FDI is working. This is also important as FDI helps countries develop. Therefore, it can be seen as an exceptional contribution to the overall research on the subject. In this paper I will explore how companies have reacted to the formation of FTAs as well as the distinct effects of North-South South-South and North-North Agreements on firm’s investment strategies, using firm level data and drawing on interviews with multiple trade officials.

ContributorsHawks, Noah K (Author) / Gamso, Jonas (Thesis director) / Roy, Nelson (Committee member) / Ault, Joshua (Committee member) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
132529-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Today’s electric vehicle market is growing at high rates but unaware consumers present a risk to the future success of electric vehicles (EVs). Over the coming years electric vehicles will take over the automotive industry. Consumers will need to become more educated in order to keep up with the rise

Today’s electric vehicle market is growing at high rates but unaware consumers present a risk to the future success of electric vehicles (EVs). Over the coming years electric vehicles will take over the automotive industry. Consumers will need to become more educated in order to keep up with the rise and adoption of electric vehicles. Automotive companies will play a large part in this future of education for electric vehicles.
This paper uses various studies and my own personal study from my summer internship with Ford Motor Company to determine the biggest consumer fears, challenging them and how automotive companies can combat them. In my opinion, the biggest consumer fears for electric vehicles are range anxiety, lack of a charging network, high initial purchase prices, battery replacement costs and lack of appealing options. Consumers who are not interested in EVs, are interested or just looking have fears that can come from opinions or others opinions. These fears can easily change through factual points.
I have included numerous studies that combat these fears and show the truth of each category. In each category I have used studies that point out reasons why these fears are nothing to worry about. Consumers need to learn these fears can be easily changed and that is what this section aims to do.
Automotive companies will have to play a large part in this educational piece. My paper outlines what they need to do in order to succeed in the future. A major part will be dealer engagement. Dealerships represent the face of the company and if they are unwilling or cannot sell EVs, then electric vehicles will not succeed.
Finally, I provide my personal thoughts on the future of the electric vehicle market and what is holding high adoption rates of EVs back.
ContributorsTisch, Zachary Daniel (Author) / Sully de Luque, Mary (Thesis director) / Tuzzolino, Frank (Committee member) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05