Pilot Case Study: The Decision by Nissan Motor Manufacturing Corporation U.S.A. to Build a Light Truck Assembly Plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. Volume 1: Main Text. Volume 2: Appendices

摘要

The system developed in the study, for which the acronym RAES (Regional Automobile Evaluation System) has been devised, calls for the achievement of the following objectives: (1) to improve the public sector's understanding of locational decisionmaking as it relates to the automobile industry and its suppliers, (2) to identify and evaluate subnational factors that affect automobile plant actions, and (3) to develop a prototype system that can be used in identifying States that are prime candidates for the location of the automobile-related industries in the near future. These objectives were satisfied by assembling a comprehensive data base and conducting a pilot case study. The pilot case study describes the 31 major adjustments occurring during the period under study, and how the sample of cases was narrowed down to the final candidate, Nissan's decision to build in Tennessee. Included is summary information on the seven site visits conducted prior to Nissan's selection. Concerning Nissan and Tennessee, the pilot case study describes the plant site near Smyrna, Tennessee, traces the development of Nissan's interest in Tennessee beginning in the early 1970s, provided a projected economic impact of the facility on the area and region, and examines the relationship between the evaluation system and Nissan's location decision. A final section concludes by examining the policy implications of the case study analysis.