Dynamics of alignment mechanisms across supply chain tiers in automotive electronics

Licentiate thesis, 2025

Research on supply chain alignment has often treated alignment as an achievable state. Evidence from automotive electronics during the 2020–2023 semiconductor shortage and the current shift toward circularity shows that alignment spans multiple tiers among original equipment manufacturers(OEMs), Tier-1, and Tier-2 suppliers and develops over time. Different planning horizons, information access, and responsibilities across tiers create misalignments. The aim of this thesis is to explain how alignment mechanisms emerge, interact, and develop across tiers, using resilience (the shortage) and circularity as the main contexts.
The thesis is based on three studies. The first study identifies misalignments across the OEM–Tier-1–Tier-2 triad and shows a structural change from an open to a transitional triad as a non-contractual alignment mechanism. This structural change reduces some misalignments but also creates new ones, indicating a continuous alignment– misalignment cycle. The second study follows one supply chain from 2020 to 2025 and shows how contractual and non-contractual mechanisms shape alignment over time: while phases of contractual tightening trigger relational responses and vice versa. The
third study examines circularity practices and shows that collaboration is the foundation that enables alignment.
The thesis contributes to alignment and multi-tier supply chain management by framing alignment as a continuous process rather than an achievable state; explaining the oscillation between contractual and non-contractual mechanisms over time; showing how transitional triads shift roles and information flows across tiers. Together, the findings suggest that firms should manage different alignment mechanisms simultaneously and
anticipate their interactions and unintended consequences.