UC Berkeley Working Paper Series Title Keiretsu, Governance, and Learning: Case Studies in Change from the Japanese Automotive Industry Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/43q5m4r3 Authors Ahmadjian, Christina L. Lincoln, James R. Publication Date 2000-05-19 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Institute of Industrial Relations University of California, Berkeley Working Paper No. 76 May 19, 2000 Keiretsu, governance, and learning: Case studies in change from the Japanese automotive industry Christina L. Ahmadjian Graduate School of Business Columbia University New York, NY 10027 (212)854-4417 fax: (212)316-9355
[email protected] James R. Lincoln Walter A. Haas School of Business University of California at Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720 (510) 643-7063
[email protected] We are grateful to Nick Argyres, Bob Cole, Ray Horton, Rita McGrath, Atul Nerkar, Toshi Nishiguchi, Joanne Oxley, Hugh Patrick, Eleanor Westney, and Oliver Williamson for helpful comments. We also acknowledge useful feedback from members of the Sloan Corporate Governance Project at Columbia Law School. Research grants from the Japan – U. S. Friendship Commission, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Clausen Center for International Business and Policy of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley are also gratefully acknowledged. Keiretsu, governance, and learning: Case studies in change from the Japanese automotive industry ABSTRACT The “keiretsu” structuring of assembler-supplier relations historically enabled Japanese auto assemblers to remain lean and flexible while enjoying a level of control over supply akin to that of vertical integration. Yet there is much talk currently of breakdown in keiretsu networks.