Whither Japanese keiretsu ? The transformation of vertical keiretsu in Toyota, Nissan and Honda 1991--2011

Katsuki Aoki and Thomas Taro Lennerfors

Asia Pacific Business Review, 2013, vol. 19, issue 1, 70-84

Abstract: Drawing on institutional theory, this paper discusses the transformation of vertical keiretsu in the Japanese automotive industry from 1991 to 2011. By investigating the cases of Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, the paper empirically contributes to the debate on whither the Japanese economy is heading. Long-standing relationships to suppliers and exclusiveness have changed significantly in Nissan, while remaining stable in Toyota and Honda. New competition-based elements and more open support systems have been added to earlier governance mechanisms such as power and anshin (security). We argue that the studied keiretsu since the 1990s follows diverse and complex trajectories of hybridization, and we suggest that the Japanese economy is developing similarly.

Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13602381.2011.652832 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:apbizr:v:19:y:2013:i:1:p:70-84

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/FAPB20

DOI: 10.1080/13602381.2011.652832

Access Statistics for this article

Asia Pacific Business Review is currently edited by Professor Chris Rowley and Malcolm Warner

More articles in Asia Pacific Business Review from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().