Japan and United States Comparative Competitive Advantage and Disadvantage

Is Porter or Chandler more useful to your analysis, or is neither useful as they cannot address the major issues?

A country can employ Porter’s diamond theory in identifying appropriate business structures they can develop to help them remain competitive while competing with other internationally. Japanese firms have significant advantages with Porter’s diamond model. Software, manufacturing and semiconductors industries considerably led to the US economic growth as well as productivity in the 1970s. A previous study demonstrated that American based businesses were in a position to gain competitive edge in major sectors including steel, auto and consumer electronics (Best 2001).

Japan and United States Comparative Competitive Advantage and Disadvantage

In addition, such businesses had the potential of setting standards for every sector, develop new technological tools and control shares in the global market. On the other hand, Japanese have created competitive advantage in different sectors such as automobiles, steel cameras and motorcycles. Japanese auto industry has been successful following close interaction and association with its suppliers. For instance, Toyota has the ability to collaborate with its suppliers manufacturing systems to make high quality vehicles, which provides Japanese producers competitive advantage in comparison to American automakers (Vogel 2006).

Japan and United States Comparative Competitive Advantage and Disadvantage

A past research indicated that auto firms in Japan have a significant profit margin than US organisations (Witt 2008). This is due to the fact that Japanese manufacturing structures like Kaizen and Just in Time have provided the sector a platform to enhance productivity while reducing costs. In comparison to United States, instead of establishing a close association, businesses have the potential of influencing suppliers through different strategic decisions (Witt 2008).

Japan and United States Comparative Competitive Advantage and Disadvantage

Bibliography
Abe, E. and Fitzgerald, R., 1995. Japanese economic success: timing, culture, and organisational     capability. Business History, 37(2), pp.1-31.

Best, M., 2001. The new competitive advantage: the renewal of American industry. OUP             Catalogue.

Brakman, S., Garretsen, H., Van Marrewijk, C. and Van Witteloostuijn, A., 2006. Nations and         firms in the global economy.
Chandler, A. 1995, ‘Managerial Enterprise and Corporate Capabilities’, in G Jones and C     Harvey, eds, Organizational Capability and Competitive Advantage
Chandler, A., Hagstrom, P. and Solvell, O., 1999. The dynamic firm: the role of technology,     strategy, organization, and regions. Oxford University Press.

Dicken, P., 2003. Global shift: Reshaping the global economic map in the 21st century. Sage.

Fruin, W M 1994. ‘History and Logic of Interdependence’, in The Japanese Enterprise System     ,ch.1
Hannah, L., 1991. Scale and scope: towards a European visible hand?. Business History, 33(2),     pp.297-309.

Hikino, T. and Amsden, A.H., 1994. Staying behind, stumbling back, sneaking up, soaring     ahead: late industrialization in historical perspective. Convergence of productivity: Cross-    national studies and historical evidence, pp.285-315.

Hutton, W., 2011. The State We’re In:(Revised Edition). Random House.

Johnson, D. and Turner, C., 2015. European business. Routledge.

Lane, C. and Probert, J., 2009. National capitalisms, global production networks: Fashioning the           value chain in the UK, US, and Germany. Oxford University Press on Demand.

Lawrence, P. and Braddon, D. eds., 1999. Strategic issues in European aerospace. Ashgate Pub     Limited.

Lewis, M., Fitzgerald, R. and Harvey, C., 1996. The Growth of nations: Culture,    competitiveness, and the problem of globalization. Bristol Academic Press.

Madar, D., 2010. Big Steel: technology, trade, and survival in a global market. UBC Press.

Mowery, D.C., 1999. Sources of industrial leadership: studies of seven industries. Cambridge     University Press.
Porter, M. E., 1990. The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Fourth Edition, London, MacMillan         Press.
Porter, M.E., 1990. The competitive advantage of notions. Harvard business review, 68(2),     pp.73-93.

Schmitz, C.J., 1995. The growth of big business in the United States and Western Europe, 1850-    1939 (Vol. 23). Cambridge University Press.

Vogel, S.K., 2006. Japan remodeled: How government and industry are reforming Japanese     capitalism (Vol. 224). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Whittington, R., Mayer, M. and Curto, F., 1999. Chandlerism in post-war Europe: strategic and     structural change in France, Germany and the UK, 1950-1993. Industrial and Corporate     Change, 8(3), pp.519-551.

Witt, M.A., 2008. Crossvergence 10 years on: Impact and further potential. Journal of     International Business Studies, 39(1), pp.47-52.

Yamamura, K. and Streeck, W. eds., 2003. The end of diversity?: prospects for German and     Japanese capitalism. Cornell University Press.

Japan and United States Comparative Competitive Advantage and Disadvantage