Beyond Mass Production: The Japanese System and Its Transfer to the U.S.

TLDR

Japanese firms established transplant manufacturing operations in the US during the 1980s and 1990s across mature and high‑technology industries, driven by a sweeping revolution in technology, work, and production organization that defines the Japanese model. The book investigates how the Japanese production model rose and the processes that enabled its transfer to the United States. New data show extensive Japanese investment in US heavy industry and high technology, and indicate that the Japanese model has become a world‑class, transferable standard of production organization for other advanced industrial nations.

Abstract

During the 1980s and continuing into the 1990s, more than 1,000 Japanese firms established 'transplant' manufacturing operations in the US. Many of these have been in mature industries like steel and automobiles, but many have also been in high technology industries as well. The success of these ventures is the result of the sweeping revolution in the organization of technology, work, and production that lies at the heart of the Japanese model of production. This book explores the rise of the Japanese model and provides a detailed examination of the processes which have brought about its transfer to the US. It presents new and original data on the extent of Japanese investment in both US heavy industry and high technology. It suggests that Japanese capitalism has developed a new world-class standard of production organization which is transferable and is in the process of being transferred to other advanced industrial nations.