Japanese Direct Investment in Mexico's Transport Equipment Sector
Japanese Direct Investment in Mexico's Transport Equipment Sector

Author: Melba Falck-Reyes

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-06-19

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 9811077185

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This book introduces an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Japanese foreign direct investment determinants, the close relations between foreign investment and trade flows in the host country, and the effects and responses by the local economy. It provides an accessible and comprehensive view of the overall macro impacts and local effects associated with the increasing flow of Japanese firms to Mexico’s automotive industry. The research and its outcomes presented here follow extensive fieldwork and use unique statistical datasets to integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches to the analysis. Carefully chosen case studies produce an integrated approach to the subject. As a result, the book fills a vacuum on this topic and provides readers with a clear understanding of the complex interactions among participating actors: Japanese multinationals and Japanese parts-and-components suppliers, Mexican local suppliers, government at the national and local levels, and cooperating Japanese agencies. By critically assessing current theories and empirical methodologies the monograph covers aspects related to the creation of regional production networks and their impact on trade patterns of the recipient country, location determinants of Japanese foreign investment, and spillover externalities in host entities. It presents the reader with a comprehensive view of the different levels of interaction between multinational firms, local recipient economies, and local suppliers and the challenges they face to engage in global chains of production. The book is highly recommended to academics and their students who seek to understand the complex international economic relations in the global economy. This compilation also serves as a valuable guide to policy makers, both at national and local levels, as it provides an informed analysis of how to engage local suppliers in regional and global production chains.

Hybrid Factories in the United States
Hybrid Factories in the United States

Author: Tetsuji Kawamura

Publisher: OUP USA

Published: 2011-07-07

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0195311965

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This book assesses the transferability of Japanese-style management and production systems to 81 factories in North America owned by Japanese companies. All of the book's investigations are based on an original methodology, "hybridization analysis", which quantifies the degree to which features of the Japanese system have been transplanted, using an elaborate checklist and scoring system. With its wealth of data, it should serve as a handy reference volume to anyone interested in the issue of international management and the impact of globalization upon production models.

Workers, Managers, Productivity
Workers, Managers, Productivity

Author: Akio Hosono

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-02-14

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 9811503648

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This open access book provides a glimpse into the Japanese management technique known as “Kaizen,” and the ways it has been disseminated around the developing world. The novelty of this book is three-fold: it provides a contextualized view of the mechanisms of initiatives implementing Kaizen in developing countries; compared with productivity studies, it places the relationship between workers and managers at the center of inquiry, reflecting the intent of SDG8 concerning decent work and economic growth; and it provides an overview of the heterogeneity of Kaizen in terms of geography and firm size. This book explores how improving management techniques can support firms’ productivity and quality. Given its wide range of case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America, this book will be of value to scholars, policymakers and advocates of sustainable development alike.

SDGs, Transformation, and Quality Growth
SDGs, Transformation, and Quality Growth

Author: Akio Hosono

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 9811697485

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This is an Open Access book. The primary objective of this book is to seek out insights into the concept of high-quality growth (HQG). It explores the essential attributes of HQG, such as inclusiveness, sustainability, and resilience, as well as its relationship with transformation, by drawing principally on illustrative cases and instances of international cooperation. The United Nations document on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) states that "We resolve to create conditions for sustainable, inclusive and sustained economic growth, shared prosperity and decent work for all." As such, the concept of quality growth is inherent in many aspects of the SDGs. A similar approach can be seen in the Development Cooperation Charter announced by the Japanese government in 2015. According to the Charter, one of the most important challenges of development is quality growth and the reduction of poverty achieved through such growth. The approach in the Charter emphasizes inclusiveness, sustainability, and resilience. This volume is a pioneering study on quality growth as well as its relationship with SDGs and transformation. Comprehensive studies on quality growth are very few. The case study approach distinguishes the present volume from some previous literature that discussed quality growth within the framework of general policy. Instead, in this book, concrete cases and experiences provide insights into hands-on "ingredients". Through the case studies, it can be seen more clearly that transformation and quality growth are phenomena that do not occur automatically but, rather, ones that require specific, properly designed strategies and approaches. Another unique feature of this book is that it aims to make explicit some of the consistent, but implicit, principles of Japan's international cooperation. [Resumen de la editorial]

The Japanese Automotive Industry
The Japanese Automotive Industry

Author: Robert Cole

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2020-06-01

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0472902032

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As the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies reflected on the deteriorating position of the domestic auto industry in the fall of 1980, and the strong competitive threat being posed by the Japanese automakers, we were struck by the extraordinary low quality of the public discussion of these critical issues. The national importance of the issues seemed only matched by the superficiality of the analyses being offered. The tendency to think in terms of scapegoats was particularly evident. The Japanese as the basic cause of our problems has been a particularly notable theme. To be sure, cooperation with the Japanese in formulating a rational overall trade policy may be an important part of the solution. It has also been fashionable to blame it all on American auto industry management for not concentrating on the production of small cars when "everyone knew" that was the thing to do. Alternatively, government meddling was blamed for all our problems. Clearly, the complex problem we faced required more penetrating analyses. It seemed therefore, that the time was ripe for a public seminar which moved beyond the rhetoric of the moment and probed some of the deeper causes of our problems and possible directions for future policy. In holding the January 1981 auto conference, the Center took it as their task to begin addressing the critical issues facing the industry, with particular, but not exclusive, attention to examining the role of the Japanese auto industry. They had in mind not to simply conduct a rational discussion of the trade issue but to probe the sources of Japanese competitive strength, especially those features whose study might profit them. In these proceedings, they bring those discussions to a wider audience. Question and answer sessions at the conference were necessarily short and a few speakers delivered abbreviated remarks; this volume restores a number of omissions, and provides additional answers to some pertinent questions put by the audience. The Center hopes to encourage the serious problem-solving these complex issues demand. Far too much time has been spent trying to fix the blame. [intro]

Asia and Latin America
Asia and Latin America

Author: Jörn Dosch

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-02-25

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1135273235

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This book analyses the economic, political and socio-cultural relations between Asia and Latin America and examines their growing importance in international relations.

Automobile Industry Supply Chain in Thailand
Automobile Industry Supply Chain in Thailand

Author: Munehiko Itoh

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-09-18

Total Pages: 117

ISBN-13: 9811323607

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This research focuses on the process of growth in the automobile industries in the ASEAN region. ASEAN is drawing attention both from the vantage point of its position as an automobile-producing region and as a potential automobile market. Thailand in particular has long treated automobile production as a national strategy, and this research puts considerable focus on Thailand's initiatives. Since 2012, the authors have been carrying out on-site surveys and have visited many of the suppliers that form the local automobile industry; this published research represents a summary of those findings. The fields of specialty of this study’s respective authors differ, so analyses have been made from a range of vectors. In particular, the focus is on the supply chain in what is generally referred to as a keiretsu.