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Japanese supplier network system in transition: Survival strategies
René Haak
Deputy Director; Head of Business and Economics Section, German Institute for Japanese Studies Tokyo, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, Japan
Abstract
Japanese economy has been suffering for more than a decade: production has been moved to cheaper neighbouring countries, there have been crises in banking, companies have collapsed, unemployment has risen, domestic consumption has stagnated and the state is massively in debt. These are just the most obvious symptoms exhibited by the exhausted economic giant. The long recession, and the partial opening of the Japanese consumer and capital goods markets have brought fundamental change to the system of close ties between end customers and suppliers.
As response of the changes in the last years the Japanese suppliers are concentrating on the high-tech, knowledge-intensive parts of processes with a high proportion of added value - in a nutshell on mastering technology and knowledge as a survival strategy. Especially this process will make Japanese companies interesting for potential collaboration partners from Europe, Australia and the US.
Keywords
supplier network, strategy, collaboration, keiretsu, technology leadership
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