著者

WonWook SONG YoungKyo SUH

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.0150805a, (Released:2016-02-18)

参考文献数

15

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This paper is a case study of a professional organization for offering customer solutions (POOCS) at Company A, a global materials supplier. Positioned in the upstream supply chains, Company A has the ability to handle materials, and most of its direct customers are second- and third-tier companies in the supply chain. Company A had difficulty understanding the general direction of the supplier system and industry trends for the very same reasons. However, by creating a POOCS, engineers at Company A were able to understand external information of Chain Captains and Trend Settlers and propose solutions without being distracted by semantic noise. In other words, the POOCS functioned much like the gatekeepers described by Allen (1977), who did not find any relationship between the existence of a gatekeeper and performance; however, in the case of Company A, performance clearly improved with the creation of the POOCS to act as a gatekeeper.

著者

Kiyohiro OKI

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.15, no.1, pp.29-48, 2016-02-15 (Released:2016-02-15)

参考文献数

35

被引用文献数

2 6

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This study identifies the usage of the term “mother factory” in the Japanese mass media, Japanese academic research, and non-Japanese academic research and analyzes historical changes in the usage of the term. It indicates that initially, all three groups used the term to mean “a unit that continuously supports overseas factories,” but over time, the term has taken on additional connotations outside of Japanese academic research.

著者

Nobuo TAKAHASHI

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.15, no.1, pp.15-27, 2016-02-15 (Released:2016-02-15)

参考文献数

24

被引用文献数

2 6

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This study reconfigures part one of Thompson (1967) as a theoretical restatement of Chandler's (1962) historical evidence. When organizations grow, their growth orientations and strategies emerge from their technical rationality, according to Thompson's first criteria of technology instrumentality. Regarding instrumentally reasonable/rational organizations, according to his second criteria of economy, organizational structures such as horizontal departmentalization, vertical hierarchies, and multidivisional forms become necessary to minimize coordination costs. In other words, when discussing growth strategies and multidivisional forms, Chandler claimed that “structure follows strategy,” but Thompson rightfully claimed that “strategy and structure follow technology.”

著者

Yufu KUWASHIMA

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.15, no.1, pp.1-14, 2016-02-15 (Released:2016-02-15)

参考文献数

14

被引用文献数

6

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Existing studies have shown that highly conspicuous brands are strongly impacted by word of mouth. Bandwagon and snob effects are opposite; however, existing studies have not shown the conditions under which these opposite effects occur. If we assume that they work simultaneously, they would negate each other and become meaningless. Thus, this paper surveys brand-name goods sold in duty free shops and personal networks constituting friends and acquaintances. Results of this social network analysis reveal that people owning many of the same items have no relation with cohesion but have a relation with structural equivalence (SE). In other words, considering the characteristics of a consumer network, (a) the snob effect operates under conditions of cohesion while (b) the bandwagon effect operates under conditions of SE.

著者

Shumpei IWAO

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.5, pp.279-291, 2015-10-15 (Released:2015-10-15)

参考文献数

31

被引用文献数

2 4

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The technical term “organizational routine” has been broadly used in management and organizational science. The study by Nelson and Winter (1982) is considered to be the origin of this terminology. However, Nelson and Winter (1982) were not management scientists, but they were evolutionary economists. Researchers in both evolutionary economics and management science used organizational routine as a unit of analysis, but three major conceptual differences exist with the definition of organizational routine used in management science. For example, Nelson and Winter (1982) explain that (a) each company has an organizational routine; (b) organizational routines change through natural selection after random mutation; and (c) the organizational routines of one organization can be easily transplanted to other organizations. However, observation of actual firms from management science perspective reveals that (a) each company has many organizational routines that combine in a mosaic-like fashion; (b) the creation, imitation, and selection of organizational routines are intentional; and (c) transplanting an organizational routine is difficult due to needs for coordination. These points are clear from a review of the literature on these topics called as “routine dynamics.” In recent years, scholars have regarded routine dynamics as a new framework for the theory of organizational routine. However, routine dynamics tends to focus less on the need for the coordination mentioned in (c). This study employs a case study of the failure of Company A—an automaker—to implement Toyota's production methods and to indicate that future analysis for changes in organizational routines must be considered from the perspective of coordination.

著者

Nobuo TAKAHASHI

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.5, pp.261-278, 2015-10-15 (Released:2015-10-15)

参考文献数

32

被引用文献数

1 4

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Takahashi (2004) advocates the Japanese-style seniority-based system, particularly the idea of “new work in reward for work,” which is termed as the Work–Work Theory. This paper highlights the characteristics of the Work–Work Theory system in comparison with the idea of “pay in reward for work,” which is termed as the Work–Pay Theory. According to the Work–Work Theory system (i) differentiation of work accelerates differences in promotions and pay; (ii) as workers are dissatisfied with their current work situations, they may want to change their work situations by coming up with new and better ways of doing things, that is, challenging the status quo; (iii) supervisors select the right personnel for a job; (iv) implement regular changes in personnel to reward workers with their new work; (v) working together enables the company to grow; and (vi) under the Work–Work Theory, work assignments that gradually become more challenging provide intrinsic motivation, which becomes exciting (waku-waku in Japanese). If it is not exciting, it cannot be called intrinsic motivation. Thus, the Work–Work Theory drastically changes the motivational approaches derived from the self-determination theory to the honest practice of intrinsic motivation.

著者

Hirofumi OHKAWA

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.5, pp.247-260, 2015-10-15 (Released:2015-10-15)

参考文献数

23

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The Berry model, well known in cross-cultural psychology, categorizes acculturation patterns into four types based on yes–no questions regarding the retention of traditional culture and the relationship with the larger society. Business administration and various other research fields have attempted to use the model due to its simple clarity. However, doubts exist regarding (i) the feasibility of deculturation (marginalization); (ii) the validity of a label “integration,” and (iii) the mutual independence of the four cells. In fact, these doubts stem from the process of formulation of the Berry model. Berry originally categorized 24 question items used in the surveys of individuals belonging to minority populations according to the three labels of assimilation, integration, and rejection. Moreover, Berry used yes–no questions to summarize the characteristics of these labels and added a fourth label, that is, deculturation (marginalization). This format became the prototype for the Berry model.

著者

Mitsuhiro FUKUZAWA

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.4, pp.217-230, 2015-08-15 (Released:2015-08-15)

参考文献数

12

被引用文献数

6 12

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This study employs data collected from a questionnaire survey of 97 business operations (factories) in Japan's electric and electronics industry to measure gemba-level and market-level competitiveness based on the framework of Fujimoto (2003). In addition, the employment situations within these sites were surveyed. The results of these surveys revealed that, as strengths of the electric industry gemba in Japan, 1) these gemba are superior in all metrics of competitiveness except for manufacturing cost, relative to overseas sites in the same companies; and 2) the high level of responsiveness to customers is the major source of market-level competitiveness. Nevertheless, the primary issue faced by these gemba is the skewed age composition of the full-time employees. There are few workers to carry forward necessary skills into future, and the labor costs of the veteran workers are increasing. Japan's manufacturing gemba must develop manufacturing competencies and improve design and development capabilities, in addition to nurturing younger personnel, to gain and sustain competitive advantage.

著者

Yuichiro MUKAI

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.4, pp.205-215, 2015-08-15 (Released:2015-08-15)

参考文献数

16

被引用文献数

3 2

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The “way” of various companies have traditionally emphasized on gaining acceptance of the way by organizations and individuals as is and on the strengthening of control. However, in the case of Komatsu Ltd., those who have accepted the way have probably changed it. In this case, Komatsu's purpose was to develop personnel by entrusting them with the management of overseas sites to improve competitiveness. However, when instilling the Komatsu way overseas, the overseas sites added examples and detailed explanations so that non-production departments could improve their understanding. Thus, localization alone cannot change the way. If a way is considered to be a certain type of organizational routine, this case study suggests the possibility of deployment of the way to other business units or overseas sites causing changes to organizational routines.

著者

Yoshiaki YAMASHIRO

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.4, pp.193-203, 2015-08-15 (Released:2015-08-15)

参考文献数

14

被引用文献数

4 8

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The three criteria proposed by Albert and Whetten (1985) for organizational identity were summarized as (a) central, (b) distinctive, and (c) enduring. They reinforce a traditional image of identity as (a) unparalleled, (b) unique, and (c) unchanging over time. Ashforth and Mael (1989), representative work of social identification, understand this to be the case. However, Albert and Whetten (1985) expanded (a), (b), and (c) and asserted that (a′) if identities are stated, several identities may exist and not just one, (b′) if a comparison with others and self-classification can be performed, then an identity need not be unique, and (c′) if an identity has continuity, it may change over time. Based on this, the range of application for the concept of identity can be extended to organizations, enabling an analysis of organizational identity, particularly an analysis of organizational identity change.

著者

Heejin KIM

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.4, pp.171-191, 2015-08-15 (Released:2015-08-15)

参考文献数

48

被引用文献数

5 7

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There are very few existing studies that focus on the internal headquarter organization in relation to knowledge transfer or innovation in overseas units. It is almost as if there is an implicit assumption that headquarter members ought to be proactive in transferring knowledge or information to overseas units. Thus, this study investigates the bottlenecks of the process in the transfer of product development tasks to overseas units, with particular focus on the psychological resistance of headquarter engineers. A detailed case study of a Japanese automobile supplier revealed the following problems that were faced by headquarter engineers: lack of motivation to business in emerging markets, perception gaps about original developers, and a high turnover rate of local engineers. Next, how the psychological resistance of headquarter engineers, which originate from these problems either directly or indirectly interferes with the transfer of development tasks, was explained by two paths, that is, decline in motivation toward information sharing and technical advices, and lack of communication channels. To promote the overseas expansion of development tasks, which is necessary for emerging market strategies, it will be critical to manage the causes and effects of the psychological resistance of headquarter engineers.

著者

Kenichi KUWASHIMA

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.3, pp.161-170, 2015-06-15 (Released:2015-06-15)

参考文献数

27

被引用文献数

2 7

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The development of pharmaceuticals is an extraordinarily unique process. However, the aspects that are unique in comparison with other industries have never been clearly explained, either academically or practically. Clinical trials are an emblem of the uniqueness of pharmaceutical development; however, using industry-specific ideas and vocabulary do not enable cross-industry comparisons. This paper analyzes the product development process of pharmaceuticals using a problem-solving model that can be applied to comparisons across industries, and organizes the characteristics as well as effective management techniques. From the problem-solving perspective, the pharmaceutical development is unique because it requires the generation of numerous alternative solutions and complex testing. There exist products or industries that share one of these two characteristics, but only a few products or industries share both the characteristics. These characteristics closely relate to product development management of pharmaceuticals. In other words, considering the cost of product development, it is difficult to simultaneously create many alternatives and conduct complicated tests. Therefore, pharmaceutical companies focus on creating many alternatives in the upstream development process, and then testing in the downstream process, responding to this problem by balancing between the two characteristics and switching at the appropriate time. Determining the timing of this switch is one of the most important management techniques that impacts the performance of pharmaceutical development.

著者

Nobuyuki INAMIZU

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.3, pp.147-160, 2015-06-15 (Released:2015-06-15)

参考文献数

8

被引用文献数

2 8

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In this study, data was obtained from a questionnaire of 354 workplace leaders and 3,116 workers at 97 workplaces in Japan's electrical and electronics industry, which was used to examine relationships among a perspective index, job satisfaction, and desire to leave one's job (i.e., turnover candidacy). Takahashi, mainly targeting white-collar workers, noted that a perspective index has a mostly linear, positive relationship with job satisfaction, and a mostly linear, negative relationship with turnover candidacy. In this study, a similar relationship is identified in leaders and workers on the shop floor (gemba in Japanese). The job satisfaction level of the gemba leaders was almost the same as that realized by Takahashi (1997), but the job satisfaction level among manufacturing workers generally tended to be higher. Moreover, turnover candidacy among manufacturing workers was lower than that realized by Takahashi (1997).

著者

Ryusuke KOSUGE

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.3, pp.137-146, 2015-06-15 (Released:2015-06-15)

参考文献数

18

被引用文献数

4 4

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This study examines the market orientation–performance link in the context of service organizations by comparing different approaches for measuring market orientation. Focusing on 54 shops of a Japanese automobile dealership firm, this study measures market orientation through both managers' and salespersons' perceptions as well as both the MKTOR and MARKOR scales. The results of the analysis reveal that market orientation measured through salespersons' perceptions, particularly its cultural components, positively affects sales productivity. In fact, qualitative evidence suggests that salespersons' perceptions of market orientation indicate their internalization of market-oriented values, which in turn leads to continuous improvement behavior.

著者

Nobuo TAKAHASHI

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.3, pp.127-135, 2015-06-15 (Released:2015-06-15)

参考文献数

25

被引用文献数

7 7

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The strategic theory of resource-based view (RBV) put Penrose (1959) in the spotlight. The key to understanding Penrose's assertion is the concept of economies of growth independent of economies of size. According to Penrose, even when economies of size are not working, economies of growth exist regardless of size. Further, the economies of growth are temporary in nature and disappear once expansion is completed. In which managerial services are the economies of growth embodied? This paper hypothesizes that the economies of growth occur where there are unused start-up expert managerial services. Regardless of size, where these services exist, paving the company's way by step-by-step growth should produce profits.

著者

Tomofumi TAKAMATSU Junichi TOMITA

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.2, pp.109-126, 2015-04-15 (Released:2015-04-15)

参考文献数

20

被引用文献数

2 6

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Regarding disruptive innovation, Christensen and Raynor (2003) assume that there are two types of customers: overshot customers in existing markets and entirely new nonconsumers in other markets. In the case of large-scale casting market within the casting industry, customers demand high quality casting surfaces. The new method of casting termed full mold casting (FMC) could only achieve low quality results compared with existing wood pattern-based sand mold casting, which had sufficiently high quality in its casting surfaces. Even in that market, however, the casting of metallic molds for automobiles had particular requirements because casting surfaces were later dealt by mold companies. Thus, customers welcomed shorter delivery times even with lower quality casting surfaces. Kimura Chuzosho Co., Ltd. first acquired certain customers who desired shorter delivery times, and then improved casting surface quality and productivity over the course of doing business with them. Eventually, they became successful in capturing more than half the market for automobile metallic mold castings. Improving the quality of casting surfaces led to market share gains for single castings used in machine tools, which demanded higher mid-range casting surface quality. Moreover, by fully mechanizing numerical control (NC) processing, the company was able to acquire market share in castings for high-end mass-produced machine tools, which demanded high-end casting surface quality and was an area that was considered difficult for FMC. In this manner, by keenly focusing on the specific requirements of their customers, Kimura had secured orders from customers who were neither nonconsumers nor overshot customers. As business continued, the company became successful in steadily improving overall quality, cost, delivery (QCD), and FMC became an example of disruptive innovation vis-à-vis existing wood pattern-based sand mold casting. The logic behind occurrences of disruptive innovation is simpler than the analysis of Christensen, Anthony, and Roth (2004): Even if a company can acquire only a small portion of customers with particular, specific requirements using QCD-related technologies, which are perhaps even toy-like in comparison with existing technologies, such company will have opportunities to improve the overall QCD as its business continues.

著者

Mizuki KOBAYASHI

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.2, pp.97-107, 2015-04-15 (Released:2015-04-15)

参考文献数

15

被引用文献数

2 2

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In general, research on software development outsourcing, which implicitly assumes application software development, tends to ignore hardware product characteristics. However, in embedded software development, the skills and knowledge required of engineers can differ depending on hardware product characteristics. This study employs the data from an interview-based survey to identify the impact of hardware product characteristics on software development outsourcing. In the case of embedded software, engineers at companies that undertake outsourced work must possess not only knowledge of software developed by the outsourcer but also technical information and knowledge regarding hardware product characteristics that can only be acquired from the same client. This accumulation of firm-specific knowledge and information occurs on a continual basis, and is necessary for this type of outsourcing business. Thus, maintaining a low engineer turnover is important.

著者

Mitsuhiro FUKUZAWA

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.2, pp.83-96, 2015-04-15 (Released:2015-04-15)

参考文献数

41

被引用文献数

3 17

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Beginning in the latter half of the 1990s through the early 2000s, research on dynamic capability (DC) emerged. Teece, Pisano, and Shuen (1997) were famous for being quoted even while only having a working paper, which was subsequently published. They were followed by Eisenhardt and Martin (2000). Then, researchers such as Zollo and Winter (2002) studied routines and organizational learning with a focus on the keyword “capability.” These three influential papers cited the following concepts as elements that comprise DC: 1) the level of environmental change; 2) organizational processes or routines; 3) resource configuration; 4) the role of managers (for example, decision making with regard to resource investment); and 5) learning mechanisms. Later, many researchers adopted a resource-based view (RBV) and presented their studies as incorporating DC if they contained the keywords “change,” “competitive advantage,” or “capability” even though they were merely descriptions of static resource states and discussions of their changes. By casually labeling research on R&D, acquisitions, or alliances as DC theory, these later studies a) caused ambiguity and confusion with regard to what “dynamic” means and b) lost sight of the essence of DC theory with various solutions concerning whether the concept can be explained with the stable characteristic of capability.

著者

Nobuo TAKAHASHI

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.2, pp.67-82, 2015-04-15 (Released:2015-04-15)

参考文献数

17

被引用文献数

3 8

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“Bounded rationality” has become such a key concept that the mere mention of the name “Simon” calls this phrase to mind. Nonetheless, this phrase does not appear in the original text of Administrative Behavior (Simon, 1947, 1957, 1976, 1997). In spite of this, the index of the third edition (Simon, 1976), published two years before Simon received the Nobel Prize in Economics, includes the subheading “Bounded Rationality” in three locations under the heading “Rationality.” This paper combines the writings contained in these three locations into three characteristics: (I) That is bounded by the constraints of individual rationality; (II) That makes it impossible to know all alternative behaviors and their consequences and maximize the given values as assumed in game theory; and (III) The organization provides that with a decision-making environment in which behavior that is rational from the standpoint of the given environment is also rational from the standpoint of the group. In the third edition, Simon essentially called that “bounded rationality” and drew a sharp distinction from game theory. However, the concept embodied in that is Barnard's “restricted but important capacity of choice.”

著者

Takeaki WADA

出版者

グローバルビジネスリサーチセンター・東京大学MERC

雑誌

Annals of Business Administrative Science (ISSN:13474464)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.1, pp.53-66, 2015-02-15 (Released:2015-02-15)

参考文献数

14

被引用文献数

1 2

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Waste is generated as an unwanted byproduct of current business activities. Transforming waste products into a resource can enable firms to obtain raw material for free and reduce the cost of waste disposal. However, in general, firms are hesitant to accept the challenge of utilizing waste products because of organizational learning. Moreover, in the past, all challenges to transform waste products into a resource have failed. Thus, firms must unlearn the organizational learning that waste is “not a resource,” which inhibits their attempt to utilize waste products. Furthermore, in the beginning of development, there is no definite idea, and the process is far from the deliberate strategic process with clear objectives. The development process would be a deliberately emergent strategic process with only rough guidelines for attempting to transform waste into resources by any means. To achieve the objectives, firms have to patiently repeat trial and error, even if there are no short-term outcomes. This paper introduces the development process for N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) at the Yaizu Suisankagaku Industry (YSK) as an example of the successful commercialization of technology that utilizes waste. In the YSK example, (1) the spirit of mottainai that increases the value of the material to the maximum and becomes a significant driving force for unlearning, and (2) the leaning on the future principle in which one continues without losing hope even if there are no short-term results were the critical aspects that led to the successful transformation of waste into resources and is referred to as mottainai innovation.