Title: Manufacturing SMEs in Japan: more subcontracting intensive versus less subcontracting intensive industries

Authors: M.H. Bala Subrahmanya

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India

Abstract: This paper probes the changing structure and importance, inter-firm influence and economic performance of SMEs in More Subcontracting Intensive (MSI) industries as compared to Less Subcontracting Intensive (LSI) industries in the course of changing subcontracting intensities of Japanese manufacturing during 1976–2003. This paper finds that percentage of subcontracting SMEs has steadily declined since the early 1980s but not inter-firm relationship between small, medium and large firms. What is significant to note is that MSI industries did not suffer relative to LSI industries when percentage of subcontracting SMEs declined in Japanese manufacturing.

Keywords: subcontracting; inter-firm influence; labour productivity; economic performance; small and medium-sized enterprises; manufacturing SMEs; Japan.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMED.2008.019083

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 2008 Vol.5 No.5, pp.554 - 573

Published online: 28 Jun 2008 *

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