Prices, quality and trust : inter-firm relations in Britain and Japan / Mari Sako.
By: Sako, Mari
.
Material type: 
BookSeries: Cambridge studies in management ; 18.Publisher: Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1992 1997Description: xiii, 270 p. ; 24 cm. + hbk.ISBN: 0521413869.Subject(s): Industrial procurement -- Japan | Industrial procurement -- Great Britain | Industrial procurement -- Cross-cultural studies | Electronic industries -- Japan | Electronic industries -- Great BritainDDC classification: 338.522 | Item type | Current library | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Lending | MTU Bishopstown Library Store Item | 338.522 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 00092059 | ||
| General Lending | MTU Bishopstown Library Lending | 338.522 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 00092060 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
The management of buyer-supplier relations has come to be regarded as a key to achieving manufacturing competitiveness, particularly in sectors facing global competition based on both price and quality. This book is a theoretical and empirical exploration of the link between the type of buyer-supplier relations and corporate performance. Dr Sako examines how British and Japanese companies in the electronics industry manage their relationships with buyers and suppliers, the empirical study comprising a three-way comparison of a Japanese customer company, a British customer company, and a Japanese company in Britain, and an analysis of 36 supplier companies in Britain and Japan. Variations of the companies' business practices are assessed in terms of technology, the nature of market competition, the national legal framework, financial structures, employment systems, and the mode of entrepreneurship. The author identifies two distinct approaches in the two countries - the arm's-length contractual relation (ACR) in Britain, and the obligational contractual relation (OCR) in Japan - and argues that the trust and interdependence present in the latter can be a powerful springboard from which to achieve corporate success.
Bibliography: (pages 257-266) and index
Introduction -- Part I: Theory and concepts -- A spectrum of transactional patterns: from ACR to OCR -- Trust and organisational efficiency -- Part II: Case studies and survey -- Setting the scene -- The three customer companies -- The analysis of supplier companies -- Part III: Explanations of variations -- Economic and technological factors -- The legal framework -- Banks and financial links -- Employment system links -- Entrepreneurship and the dynamics of small firm creation -- Part IV: Outcomes and implications -- Implications of ACR-OCR patterns for competitiveness -- Conclusions.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Theory and Concepts
- 1 A spectrum of transactional patterns: from ACR to OCR
- 2 Trust and organisational efficiency
- Part II Case Studies and Survey
- 3 Setting the scene
- 4 JJ Electric, GB Electronics and TCP (UK)
- 5 The analysis of supplier companies
- Part III Explanations of Variations
- 6 Economic and technological factors
- 7 The legal framework
- 8 Banks and financial links
- 9 Employment system links
- 10 Entrepreneurship, and the dynamics of small firm creation
- Part IV Outcomes and Implications
- 11 How ACR-P OCR patterns relate to competitiveness
- 12 Conclusions
- Appendix
- Notes
- Bibliography