ABSTRACT
Taking the automotive sector in Germany and Brazil as illustrative cases, the chapter focuses on collaborative forms of inter-firm financing such as reverse factoring programmes in global production networks. By doing so, it addresses a research gap in M&A research which focuses on the financing of acquisitions but does not address the flows of finance in the complex production systems that result from such transactions. The theoretical considerations and empirical results presented indicate that financial management that blurs the boundaries of the single firm can increase the competitiveness of transnational production networks, especially in an environment which affects the overall financing situation of all suppliers independently of their specific characteristics (as is the case with the high level of interest on short-term bank loans in Brazil).
