Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T19:40:48.220Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

On the Myth of the Keiretsu Network: Japanese Electronics in North America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Mireya Solis
Mireya Solis*
Affiliation:
American University
*
School of International Service, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016–8071, USA.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study of Japanese consumer electronic networks in North America challenges conventional wisdom on the pervasiveness of keiretsu ties in Japanese production networks abroad. The consumer electronics industry poses hard questions to current views on the relationship between keiretsu and FDI not only because of the more modest internationalization of subcontractors, but more interestingly, because Japanese electronic production networks overseas remained remarkably closed to outside suppliers even in the absence of keiretsu commitments that could constrain purchasing decisions. This article offers a comparison of domestic subcontracting practices in the Japanese automobile and consumer electronic industries, a discussion of the internationalization of electronic part makers, and an analysis of the sourcing strategies of Japanese firms in North America. The article highlights the impact of the non-market environment in Japanese FDI strategies since Japanese companies embarked on foreign production in North America as a direct response to export caps imposed by the American government and/or tighter regional integration rules adopted in NAFTA. Revealingly, Japanese automobile and electronic firms diverged in their reliance on subcontracting firms to meet the more stringent demands for regional production.

Type
Research Article
Information
Business and Politics , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , November 2003 , pp. 303 - 333
Copyright
Copyright © V.K. Aggarwal 2003 and published under exclusive license to Cambridge University Press 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aoki, Takeshi. 1994. Ajia Taiheiyô Keizaihen no Seisei [The creation of an economic sphere in Asia Pacific]. Tokyo: Chuo Keizai Sha.Google Scholar
Asanuma, Banri. 1989. ‘Manufacturer-Supplier Relationships in Japan and the Concept of Relation-Specific Skill.’ Journal of the Japanese and International Economies 3 (1) (March): 1–30.Google Scholar
Assembly-Maker List. 1990. Tokyo: Denshi Keizai Kenkyujô.Google Scholar
Bernard, Mitchell and Ravenhill, John. 1995. ‘Beyond Product Cycles and Flying Geese: Regionalization, Hierarchy, and the Industrialization of East Asia.’ World Politics 47 (January): 171–209.Google Scholar
Borrus, Michael. 2000. ‘The resurgence of US electronics: Asian production networks and the rise of Wintelism.’ In International Production Networks in Asia. Rivalry or riches? edited by Borrus, Michael, Ernst, Dieter and Haggard, Stephan. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Borrus, Michael. 1997. ‘Left for Dead: Asian Production Networks and the Revival of US Electronics.’ In The China Circle, edited by Naughton, B. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Capannelli, Giovanni. 1996. ‘Industry Relocation and Technology Transfer: Japanese Consumer Electronic Firms in Malaysia.’ Tokyo: APEC Study Center, Hitotsubashi University and Institute of Developing Economies Working Paper no. 5.Google Scholar
Cusumano, Michael A. and Takeishi, Akira. 1992 ‘A Comparative Analysis of Suppliers to Japanese and U.S. Auto Plants.’ In Japanese Direct Investment in the United States: Trends, Developments, and Issues, edited by Negandhi, Anant R. and Serapio, Manuel G. Jr. Greenwich: JAI Press Inc. Google Scholar
De Remes, Alain, Fitzpatrick, Timothy and Ortiz, Antonio. ‘NAFTA and the Automotive Industry.’ In Regionalization in the World Economy: NAFTA, the Americas and Asia Pacific, edited by Whiting, Van R. Jr. New Delhi: Macmillan India.Google Scholar
Dodwell Marketing Consultants. 1993. The Structure of the Japanese Electronics Industry. Tokyo: Dodwell.Google Scholar
Dodwell Marketing Consultants. 1993a. The Structure of the Japanese Auto Parts Industry. Tokyo: Dodwell.Google Scholar
Electronic Industry Association of Japan (EIAJ). 2000, 1995. Kaigai Hôjin Ristô [List of Corporations Overseas]. Tokyo: EIAJ.Google Scholar
Elms, Deborah. 2002. ‘Driving to discord: U.S.-Japan auto and auto parts dispute, 1993–1995. Institute of Diplomacy, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, case study no. 257.Google Scholar
Ernst, Dieter. 2000. ‘Evolutionary Aspects: the Asian production networks of Japanese electronic firms.’ In International Production Networks in Asia. Rivalry or riches? edited by Borrus, Michael, Ernst, Dieter, and Haggard, Stephan. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ernst, Dieter. 1997. ‘Partners in the China Circle? The Asian Production Networks of Japanese Electronic Firms.’ In The China Circle, edited by Naughton, B. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Ernst, Dieter and Ravenhill, John. 1999. ‘Globalization, Convergence, and the Transformation of International Production Networks in Electronics in East Asia.’ Business and Politics 1 (1): 35–62.Google Scholar
Florida, Richard and Kenney, Martin. 1991. ‘Transplanted Organizations: The Transfer of Japanese Industrial Organization to the U.S.’ American Sociological Review 56 (3) (June): 381–398.Google Scholar
Fruin, Mark W. 1992. The Japanese Enterprise System. Competitive Strategies and Cooperative Structures. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Fujita, Masahisa, et al. 1994. ‘North American Regional Integration and Multinational Firms.’ In Regional Integration and Foreign Direct Investment: Implications for Developing Countries, edited by Ohno, Koichi and Okamoto, Yumiko. Tokyo: Institute of Developing Economies.Google Scholar
Gerlach, Michael. L. 1992. Alliance Capitalism. The Social Organization of Japanese Business. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Guillot, Didier and Lincoln, James R. ‘Dyad and Network: Models of Manufacturer-Supplier Collaboration in the Japanese TV Manufacturing Industry.’ Paper presented at the Colloquium on Japanese Firms: Organizing for Global Competitiveness, St. Louis, Missouri, June 2002.Google Scholar
Hatch, Walter and Yamamura, Kozo. 1996. Asia in Japan's embrace. Building a Regional Production Alliance. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hiramoto, Atsushi. 1994. Nihon no Terebi Sangyô [The Japanese TV Industry]. Tokyo: Minerva.Google Scholar
Howes, Candace. 1993. Japanese Auto Transplants and the U.S. Automobile Industry. Washington: Economic Policy Institute.Google Scholar
Ikeda, Masataka. 1982. ‘Kara Terebi no Seisan Kôzô to Shitauke Kigyô’ [The Production Structure of Color Television and Subcontracting Firms]. Chûô Daigaku Keizai Kenkyujô Nenpô 13: 25–49.Google Scholar
Inkpen, Andrew. 1993. ‘Japanese Joint Ventures in the Automotive Industry: Implications for North American Suppliers.’ In Driving Continentally. National Policies and the North American Auto Industry, edited by Appel Molot, Maureen. Ottawa: Carleton University Press.Google Scholar
Ishii, Masashi. 1996. Nihon no Buhin Mêkâ no Ajia Jigyô Senryaku -Jidôsha Buhin, Denshi – Denki Buhin o chushin ni shite’ [The Asian Business Strategy of Japanese Part Makers – Focusing on Automobile Parts and Electric – Electronic Parts]. In Kaigai Chokusetsu Tôshi to Nihon Keizai [Overseas Direct Investment and the Japanese Economy], eds. Sekiguchi, Sueo and Tanaka, Hiroshi. Tokyo: Toyo Keizai Shinjôsha.Google Scholar
Japan Company Handbook. 1996. Tokyo: Toyo Keizai Shinposha.Google Scholar
Kaigai Shinshutsu Kigyô Sôran [Comprehensive Survey of Firms Expanding Abroad]. Tokyo: Toyo Keizai.Google Scholar
Kaisha Shikihô. 1996. Tokyo: Nikko Shoken.Google Scholar
Keidanren. 1999. ‘Report on the Possible Effects of a Japan-Mexico Free Trade Agreement on Japanese Industry.’ http:;dRwww.keidanren.or.jp Google Scholar
Keiretsu no Kenkytû. 1993. Tokyo: Keizai Chôsa Kyôkai.Google Scholar
Kiyonari, Tadao. 1989. ‘Kumitate Sangyô ni Okeru Sangyô Soshiki no Henka [Changes in Industrial Organization within Assembly Industries].’ In Gendai Shitauke Kigyôron. Sangyô Kôzô no Henka ni Google Scholar
Tomonau Shitauke Kigyô no Jittai [Theory of the Modern Subcontracting Firm. Conditions among Subcontracting Firms resulting from Changes in the Industrial Structure], ed. Kinyûkoko Chôsabu, Kokumin. Tokyo: Chûshô Kigyô Research Center.Google Scholar
Koido, Akihiro. 1993. ‘Between two forces of restructuring: U.S.-Japanese competition and the transformation of Mexico's maquiladora industry.’ Ph.D Thesis. The John Hopkins University.Google Scholar
Koido, Akihiro. 1991. ‘The Color Television Industry: Japanese-U.S. Competition and Mexico's Maquiladoras.’ In Manufacturing across Borders and Oceans: Japan, the United States, and Mexico, edited by Szekely, Gabriel. Monograph Series No. 36. La Jolla: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego, CA.Google Scholar
Levin, Carl. 2001. ‘Congressional Auto Parts Task Force Urges Bush to Press for New Automotive Trade Pact with Japan.’ Press Release. http:;dRlevin.senate.gov/releases/031501pr1.htm Google Scholar
Levinsohn, James. 1995. ‘Carwars: Trying to make sense of U.S.-Japan Trade Frictions in the Automobile and Automobile Parts Markets.’ NBER Working Paper.Google Scholar
Lincoln, James R., Ahmadjian, Christina L. and Mason, Eliot. 1998. ‘Organizational Learning and Purchase-Supply Relations in Japan: Hitachi, Matsushita, and Toyota Compared.’ California Management Review 40 (3) (Spring): 241–261.Google Scholar
Magnusson, Treece and Symonds, . 1991. ‘Honda: Is It an American Car? Business Week 18 November.Google Scholar
McMillan, John. 1989. ‘Managing Suppliers: Incentive Systems in Japanese and U.S. Industry,’ California Management Review 32 (1) (Fall): 38–55.Google Scholar
Minato, Tetsuo. 1989. ‘A Comparison of Japanese and American Interfirm Production Systems.’ In The U.S.-Japanese Economic Relationship: Can It be Improved? edited by Hayashi, Kichiro. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
MITI. 1994. Chûshô Kigyô no Dôkô ni Kansuru Nenji Hôkoku [Annual Report on the Direction of Small and Medium Enterprises]. Tokyo: MITI.Google Scholar
Nagao, Katsuko. 1994. Kikai Kogyô to Shitauke [The Machinery Industry and Subcontractors]. Tokyo: Shakai Hyoronsha.Google Scholar
Nishiguchi, Toshihiro. 1994. Strategic Industrial Sourcing. The Japanese Advantage. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Noble, Gregory. 2001. ‘Congestion Ahead: Japanese Automakers in Southeast Asia.’ Business and Politics 3 (2): 157–183.Google Scholar
Pak, Sejin. 1992. ‘Symbiotic Dualism: The Social Organization of the Subcontracting Networks in Japan's Machinery Industry.’ Dissertation. Harvard University. Department of Sociology.Google Scholar
Roehl, Thomas. 1989. ‘A Comparison of U.S.-Japanese Firms’ Parts-Supply Systems: What Besides Nationality Matters?’ In The U.S.-Japanese Economic Relationship: Can It be Improved? edited by Hayashi, Kichiro. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Sasaki, Takao and Edokoro, Hidenori. 1987. Nihon Denki Sangyô no Kaigai Shinshutsu [Overseas Expansion of the Japanese Electronics Industry]. Tokyo: Hosei Daigaku Shuppansha.Google Scholar
Smitka, Michael J. ‘Adjustment in the Japanese Automotive Industry. Japanese Structural and Corporate Change.’ Paper presented at the Colloquium on Japanese Firms: Organizing for Global Competitiveness, St. Louis Missouri, June 2002.Google Scholar
Smitka, Michael J. 1991. Competitive Ties: Subcontracting in the Japanese Automobile Industry. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Tabeta, Naoki. 1989. ‘The Mechanism of Vertical Integration: A Case Study of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturing Industry.’ Ph.D Thesis. Washington State University.Google Scholar
Urata, Shujiro, et al. 1995. ‘Nihon no Seizôgyô ni Okeru Hikaku Yui no Henka to sono Kettei Yôin’ [Changes in the Comparative Advantage of Japanese Manufacturing and their Determinants]. Discussion Paper Series. Research Institute of International Trade and Industry.Google Scholar
Wassmann, Ulrike and Yamamura, Kozo. 1989. ‘Do Japanese Firms Behave Differently: The Effects of Keiretsu in the United States.’ In Japanese Investment in the United States: Should we be Concerned? edited by Yamamura, Kozo. Seattle: Society for Japanese Studies.Google Scholar
Williamson, Oliver. E., 1975. Markets and Hierarchies. Analysis and Antitrust Implications. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar