Management Practice or Structural Factors: The Case of America Versus Japan in the Car Industry

Abstract

This article analyses the determinants of Japanese success against America in the car industry. It examines the physical productive performance gap between the national sectors in terms of hours to build, and the financial performance of major companies in terms of value added and cash flow. It then outlines the pertinent structural variables before demonstrating their relevance to the competitive outcome in this case. The conclusion is that management action may be relevant to competition within national settlements, but structural variables are likely to be decisive in competition between social settlements where structural variables like wages and hours worked have different values.