@article{ref1,
title="Suppliers' associations in the Japanese automobile industry: collective action for technololgy diffusion",
journal="Cambridge journal of economics",
year="1996",
author="Sako, Mari",
volume="20",
number="6",
pages="651-671",
abstract="This paper analyses the structure and functions of suppliers' associations {kyoryokukai) in the automobile industry in Japan. The bilateral assembler-supplier relationship has received much attention recently as a source of Japanese industrial competitiveness. However, this paper argues that the hitherto neglected area of intersupplier co-ordination in technology diffusion is at least as important as the bilateral assembler-supplier relationship in accounting for the overall performance of the Japanese automotive industry. On the basis of company visits and a large-scale survey of first-tier suppliers conducted by the author, the paper analyses the reasons why suppliers' associations were established and why they continue to exist today, and their effects on economic performance.<p />",
language="",
issn="0309-166X",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}