Suchergebnisse

This paper explores how "framing from afar," in other words, the construction of categories by external agents—policy makers, regulators, local governments, consulting firms and other actors—influences the establishment and subsequent evolution of a new industry. We use the case of the Japanese microbrewery industry to demonstrate how initial external category-setters shape the evolution of the industry by influencing the type of producers that enter and what they produce. We show that external agents used the pre- existing term "jibiru" – meaning regional or local beer – to define the new industry in terms of regional economic growth. This broad category framing served to legitimate entry by producers from a diverse range of backgrounds, and invited extreme experimentation around local and regional ingredients; it also made it difficult for the industry to reach a shared consensus on the taste and characteristics of the products. Our findings contribute to the literature on industry emergence by demonstrating how early category framing by external actors – whose interests may diverge from those of consumers and producers – may impact the nature of entrants, their product development choices, as well as the long-run legitimacy of the industry itself.

This study examines the role of downsizing in the deinstitutionalization of permanent employment among publicly listed companies in Japan between 1990 and 1997. We found that although economic pressure triggered downsizing, social and institutional pressures shaped the pace and process by which downsizing spread. Large, old, wholly domestically owned, and high-reputation Japanese firms were resistant to downsizing at first, as were firms with high levels of human capital, as reflected by high wages, but these social and institutional pressures diminished as downsizing spread across the population. We argue that this breakdown of social constraints was due to a safety-in-numbers effect: as downsizing became more prominent, the actions of any single firm were less likely to be noticed and criticized, and the effect of the institutional factors that once constrained downsizing diminished.

This study examines how destabilizing pressures interact with embedded exchange relationships in an analysis of broken ties between Japanese auto manufacturers and their suppliers. While functional, political and social pressures all led to broken ties, their effect differed depending on the nature of the tie. We define two types of embeddedness, relational and normative, and argue that while political and social pressures lead to breakage of normatively embedded ties, relationally embedded ties are robust to these pressures. In contrast, functional pressures, specifically, performance, lead to breakage of relationally embedded ties. Our theory and empirical findings have implications for the study of networks and embeddedness and for research on institutional change in business systems.

The keiretsu structuring of assembler-supplier relations historically enabled Japanese auto assemblers to remain lean and flexible while enjoying a level of control over supply akin to that of vertical integration. Yet currently there is much talk of breakdowns in keiretsu networks. This paper examines some recent developments in Japanese parts-supply keiretsu. We argue that keiretsu relationships are drifting from "hybrid" or "network" (i.e., keiretsu) governance modes toward the extremes of arms-length contracting and top-down administration. These changes are best understood through a combination of transaction cost and learning perspectives on alliance. Consistent with transaction-cost economics, the shift in purchase-supply relationships can be traced to changes in the nature of parts transactions and keiretsu-governance structures. A learning perspective on alliance complements and extends transaction-cost theory, providing additional explanation of the sources of change and the specific governance choices being made. Our first two cases document a drift in Toyota's keiretsu supply network toward a hierarchical form in the management of parts-supply transactions. Toyota has effectively internalized its transactions with Daihatsu by taking a controlling interest. Toyota's strategy toward long-term partner Denso, on the other hand, was very different. Toyota built, from the ground up, an in-house capability in electronic components, thus scaling down its dependence on Denso. A third case considers a general trend in the Japanese auto industry toward greater standardization of parts. With the routinization of quality, reliability, and speed in supply management, the need for keiretsu-style governance has declined. The withering of keiretsu obligations is also traceable to globalization and the continuing weakness of the Japanese economy, which have prompted Japanese firms to question received business practice.

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