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Suppliers' Associations in the Japanese Automobile Industry: Collective Action for Technology Diffusion

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  • Sako, Mari

Abstract

This paper analyses the structure and functions of suppliers' associations (kyory-okukai) in the automobile industry in Japan. The bilateral assembler-supplier relationship has received much attention recently as a source of Japanese industrial competitiveness. However, this paper argues that the hitherto neglected area of intersupplier coordination in technology diffusion is at least as important as the bilateral assembler-supplier relationship in accounting for the overall performance of the Japanese automotive industry. On the basis of company visits and a large-scale survey of first-tier suppliers conducted by the author, the paper analyses. the reasons why suppliers' associations were established and why they continue to exist today, and their effects on economic performance. (c) 1996 Academic Press Limited Copyright 1996 by Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Sako, Mari, 1996. "Suppliers' Associations in the Japanese Automobile Industry: Collective Action for Technology Diffusion," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 20(6), pages 651-671, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:20:y:1996:i:6:p:651-71
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    Cited by:

    1. Thompson, Edmund R., 2002. "Clustering of Foreign Direct Investment and Enhanced Technology Transfer: Evidence from Hong Kong Garment Firms in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 873-889, May.
    2. Inés Macho‐Stadler & Noriaki Matsushima & Ryusuke Shinohara, 2021. "Organizational Structure and Technological Investment," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(4), pages 785-816, December.
    3. Sako, Mari & Helper, Susan, 1998. "Determinants of trust in supplier relations: Evidence from the automotive industry in Japan and the United States," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 387-417, March.
    4. Alessandro Lomi & Philippa Pattison, 2006. "Manufacturing Relations: An Empirical Study of the Organization of Production Across Multiple Networks," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 313-332, June.
    5. Christina L. Ahmadjian & James R. Lincoln, 2001. "Keiretsu, Governance, and Learning: Case Studies in Change from the Japanese Automotive Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(6), pages 683-701, December.
    6. Susan Helper & Abdul Munasib, 2022. "Economies of scope and relational contracts: Exploring global value chains in the automotive industry," BEA Working Papers 0195, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    7. Naoki Ando & Dong Kee Rhee & Namgyoo Park, 2008. "Parent country nationals or local nationals for executive positions in foreign affiliates: An empirical study of Japanese affiliates in Korea," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 113-134, January.
    8. Belderbos René A. & Heijltjes Mariëlle G., 2003. "The Determinants Of Expatriation In Japanese Multinationals: Vertical Business Groups And Executive Staffing Policies In Asia," Research Memorandum 055, Maastricht University, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization (METEOR).
    9. Stephan Manning & Silvia Massini & Carine Peeters & Arie Lewin, 2012. "Global Co-Evolution of Firm Boundaries: Process Commoditization, Capabilities Development, and Path Dependencies," Working Papers CEB 12-009, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    10. Potter, Antony & Paulraj, Antony, 2021. "Unravelling supplier-laboratory knowledge spillovers: Evidence from Toyota's central R&D laboratory and subsidiary R&D centers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(4).
    11. Kenji Kojima, 2000. "Japanese Supplier Relations: A Comparative Perspective," Kobe Economic & Business Review, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, vol. 44, pages 53-76, February.
    12. Kalim Siddiqui, 2015. "Political Economy Of Japan’S Decades Long Economic Stagnation," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 10(4), pages 9-39, December.
    13. Lincoln, James R. & Guillot, Didier, 2011. "Business Groups, Networks, And Embeddedness: Innovation And Implementation Alliances In Japanese Electronics, 1985-1998," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt35g695gn, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    14. Albino, Vito & Carbonara, Nunzia & Giannoccaro, Ilaria, 2007. "Supply chain cooperation in industrial districts: A simulation analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(1), pages 261-280, February.
    15. Marvin B. Lieberman & Lieven Demeester, 1999. "Inventory Reduction and Productivity Growth: Linkages in the Japanese Automotive Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(4), pages 466-485, April.
    16. Tomas Fernandez-de-Sevilla, 2011. "Responses to a crisis: FASA-Renault in Spain during the 1970s," Working Papers in Economics 261, Universitat de Barcelona. Espai de Recerca en Economia.
    17. Fujita, Mai, 2013. "Exploring the sources of China's challenge to Japan : models of industrial organisation in the motorcycle industry," IDE Discussion Papers 419, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    18. Simon Board, 2011. "Relational Contracts and the Value of Loyalty," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3349-3367, December.
    19. Hodaka Morita & Maroš Servátka, 2016. "Does Group Identity Prevent Inefficient Investment in Outside Options? An Experimental Investigation," Research in Experimental Economics, in: Experiments in Organizational Economics, volume 19, pages 105-126, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    20. Hiro Izushi & Dylan Henderson, 2000. "Designing Learning Networks in Peripheral Regions: Comparison of Two Models," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 18(6), pages 697-710, December.
    21. Junya Sakaguchi & Yutaka Kato & Nobumasa Shimizu, 2005. "Valiability of Buyer-Supplier Relationships: Empirical Evidence from Japanese Keiretsu Systems," Discussion Papers 2005-03, Kobe University, Graduate School of Business Administration.
    22. Genjiro Kosaka & Koichi Nakagawa & Seiji Manabe & Mizuki Kobayashi, 2020. "The vertical keiretsu advantage in the era of Westernization in the Japanese automobile industry: investigation from transaction cost economics and a resource-based view," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(1), pages 36-61, February.
    23. König, Andreas & Schulte, Martin & Enders, Albrecht, 2012. "Inertia in response to non-paradigmatic change: The case of meta-organizations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1325-1343.
    24. Perri, Alessandra & Andersson, Ulf, 2014. "Knowledge outflows from foreign subsidiaries and the tension between knowledge creation and knowledge protection: Evidence from the semiconductor industry," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 63-75.

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