A major aspect of Japan's international economic success has been its industrial firms' ability to develop a system of subcontracting with suppliers. Through an exploration of the evolution of subcontracting in Japan as well as an analysis of its current practice in advanced economies,Nishiguchi reveals what he believes to be the shortcomings of existing theories of contractual relations. He shows that subcontracting can be described as the evolutionary product of complex historical interaction among social, political, technological, and company-level strategic plans--but not oneconstrained by culture. This makes it possible for other countries to use models similar to those employed in Japan, encouraging continuous improvement in product quality and cost reduction.

Monograph on community-based small scale industries in Japan - analyses share of industrial production, historical development, social division of labour (incl. Case studies), impact of high-level economic growth trends, problems of mechanization and mass production, decline in international competitiveness, roles in regional development and employment creation, etc. Diagrams, graphs and references.

This book investigates the possibility that increased use of subcontracting could improve the international competitiveness of British industry, drawing on lessons from Japan. Based on interviews in Britain and Japan with over 40 companies, it concentrates on subcontracting in mechanical engineering, electronics, and the motor industry. Pressures such as intensified international competition, increased market volatility, and accelerated technical change have forced British firms into reorganization. The increased use of subcontracting involved in this has partly been the result of changes in the fundamental transactions-cost-economics determinants of subcontracting behaviour; but also, underutilized and already-existing subcontracting opportunities have been taken up in order to reduce costs, and this has required a rethinking of companies' methods of supply chain management. Subcontracting in Japan has involved highly efficient supply chain management and appears to have stimulated cooperative innovation.

This study analyses the shift in the relationship between large and smaller firms from confrontation and conflict, to cooperation and mutual assistance. It charts the pace of the adaption of Japanese style buyer-supplier relations in North American and Western European organizations.

As Japanese automotive and electronics firms have expanded their operations into the United States more attention has been focused on Japanese management and manufacturing. In Hybrid Factory a team of Japanese and American scholars explores the potential for the effective transfer of Japanese management and production systems that have been credited with giving Japanese firms their competitive superiority to a much different national culture. The book looks in particular at which management factors, that provide strength to Japanese production systems, can survive the transfer to the United States or whether the radically different social and cultural environment makes such a transfer impossible. Contributors: Tetsuo Abo, University of Tokyo Hiroshi Itagaki, Saitama University Duane Kujawa, University of Miami Kunio Kamiyama, Josai University Hiroshi Kumon, Hosei University Tetsuji Kawamura, Teikyo University Mira Wilkins, Florida International University