The Japanese Firm Sources of Competitive Strength [Paperback]

Japanese firms have come under close examination by their international counterparts,who seek insight into the sources of Japanese accomplishments.The Japanese Firmreveals the complex network of institutions and practices surrounding the Japanese firm to explain the successes of the Japanese economy. A team of internationally renowned scholars uses theoretical and empirical work, and combines contributions from the fields of institutional economics, organizational theory, economic history, and sociology to elucidate the distinctive social and economic context of Japanese firms. Through an analysis of the internal structure of firms, the interdependency of firms and their suppliers, and the effects of relative income and power equality, Aoki and Dore recognize the diversity of experience within Japan and address the transferability or adaptability of the Japanese experience to the Nordic or Anglo-American context.

Contributions are incisive, original, and informed, all authors being established scholars....should be required reading in schools of management. --Choice

This book is a well-balanced collection of state-of-the-art research results on the postwar Japanese firm. --Journal of comparative Economics

Probably no two scholars have done more to elucidate important features of the Japanese business system than Masahiko Aoki and Ronald Dore. --Journal of Japanese Studies