The Japanese Enterprise System

This volume merges four streams of inquiry and interpretation in a study of the evolution and emergence of Japan's leading industrial firms during the twentieth century. First, it is a historical study of how the industrial institutions of modern Japan appeared and matured. Second, it is anorganization study of the basic forms of social and economic interaction in Japan. Third, it is a development study of how circumstances of rapid technical and economic change have shaped the Japanese business system. It is also a strategy study of how Japanese managers have responded to andshaped these circumstances. This fourfold synthesis offers a model of institutional development under conditions of late economic development and private initiative that falls somewhere between a capitalist development state and a free market economy. Business policy rather than industrial policy is accentuated, revealing aset of robust institutions and a dynamic to activate and interrelate them.

In contrast to the myth of Japanese uniqueness, Ozaki delineates the universal principles of the Japanese economic system, whose cornerstone is capitalism with a human face. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Is capitalism everywhere driven by the same logic of market forces, contract, and individualistic motivation? Or is Japan different? These eighteen contributions by leading Japanese economists shed light on a number of issues in this increasingly important debate. The variety of perspectives and the range of firms covered--not only the large industrial corporation but cooperatives, public enterprises, and mutual life insurance companies as well--provide a broad overview that few other books on Japanese business can offer. In a new introduction to this English-language edition, Ronald Dore and Hugh Whittaker identify and summarize the salient themes and sharpen the points discussed. Chapters are grouped into five parts:- Part I identifies characteristics of the typical Japanese firm and the enterprise system.- Part II examines interfirm behavior such as trading, subcontracting, and cross-shareholding in enterprise groups.- Part III describes general firm behavior: how businesses invest in research, equipment, and product development.- Part IV takes a look at the employment system--specifically, competition, deployment of human resources, and the traditional bonus system (a particularly significant feature of Japanese firms that differentiates them from their Western counterparts).- Finally, part V looks at specific kinds of firms: cooperatives, public utilities, and life insurance companies.

Research paper on the social environment, business organization and internal labour market of industrial enterprises in Japan - describes the impact of historical and cultural factors on industrial structures; discusses seniority, workers adaptation, efficiency, economies of scale, Innovation, etc.; explains the relationship between modern economic structures and traditional value system based on the family. References.

Discusses the technological developments, main issues, challenges, opportunities, and trends impacting every part of small to medium sized enterprises.