Shifting Boundaries of the Firm Japanese Company - Japanese Labour [Hardcover]

All firms wrestle with restructuring, involving consolidation of mergers and acquisitions on the one hand, and fragmentation through outsourcing and spin-offs on the other. Through an in-depth investigation into the organizational strategies of Japanese corporate management and union leaders in Japan, Mari Sako explores the issue of 'organizational boundaries' that arises from such restructuring. Examining the strategy and structure of both businesses and trade unions, the book draws upon empirical evidence drawn from interviews conducted at Toyota and Matsushita and their respective unions. It examines their respective strategies in coping with organizational boundaries against the backdrop of changing labor markets, and in the process, challenges widely held notions about Japanese corporate and union structures. Mari Sako goes on to explore the implication of these relationships in other advanced industrial countries for corporate restructuring, jobs, and labor market flexibility.

Introduction
1. Strategy, Structure, and Institutions of Management and Labour
2. From Factory to Enterprise, from Enterprise to Corporate Group
3. Strategy and Structure at Matsushita Group
4. Strategy and Structure at Toyota Group
5. Inter-Industry Differences: Criteria fro Union Boundary Decisions
6. Intra-Industry Differences I: Why Companies Differ
7. Intra-Industry Differencesx II: Why Unions Differ
8. Harmonization vs. Differentiation, Employment Security vs. Labour Flexibility
Conclusions
Appendix: List of Interviews

Mari Sakois Professor of International Business at the Sa?d Business School of Oxford University. An international expert on Japanese business, she has published widely on the issues of global coroporate strategy, comparative business systems, and human resource management. Her recent books includeAre Skills the Answer? The Political Economy of Skill Creation in Advanced Industrial Countries(withló·