Is diversification as a Strategic Advantage? The Example of Automotive Components in the Czech Republic

The automotive industry is the key sector of the Czech national economy. Its share on GDP represents more than 8 % and the Czech Republic is the 14th biggest producer of cars in the world. The goal of this article is to analyze the development of the customers′ portfolio of the automotive suppliers in the Czech Republic from the perspective of their international location. The diversification of portfolio can be measured in many ways. The approach in this article relies both on usual statistical tools (concentration ratio, Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient, Herfindahl-Hirschman index) and on specific approaches such as number of partners, geographical diversification and average distance travelled by exported component. Even though the export volume has been dynamically growing, it has remained focused on a limited number of crucial countries, which are mostly located in the close neighborhood of the Czech Republic.