RESOURCES AND SKILLS RELEVANT TO THE SEARCH FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-CONSUMPTION VEHICLES BY VOLKSWAGEN OF BRAZIL

Abstract

The aim of this article is to verify what resources and competencies have been more relevant in the development of new vehicles with lower energy consumption by Volkswagen of Brazil in pursuit of competitive advantage, given its adhesion to the Inovar-Auto program, sponsored by the Brazilian Federal Government. This study is based on the resource-based view and supported by qualitative descriptive research, which included interviews with six managers in the areas of product planning, product engineering and marketing, members of the development process of new vehicles from the automaker. The answers were treated and categorized through content analysis. As a result it was found that the company develops personnel trained in analysis, simulation, measurement and technical knowledge, using specific complementary resources and other competences of the company, focusing on the opportunities and threats inherent to the Inovar-Auto program, basically adopting the strategy of product differentiation.