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Strategies for competitiveness in production – an East Asian approach
01.03.1995
Small enterprises in Japan have achieved competitiveness in their production and high wages for their employees by upgrading their production methods and manufacturing technologically advanced parts and components for large-scale industry. The strong links between large industries and their small-scale suppliers of components are based on sub-contracts and require a high degree of trust on both sides. The advantages to large industry include a scaling down of capacity and improvements in efficiency, and small businesses have benefited from considerable technical and sometimes financial help from the large firms. Small firms in Japan, following in the footsteps of large industries, are now able to export some of their operations overseas to take advantage of cheaper labour markets.