日本财阀系列企业体系Keiretsu历史背景和面临问题

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network structural protection and development. These Keiretsus made efforts in equipment investment, intending to get practically all new industries into their hands on the basis of funds collected from the pipelines of the powerful financial Keiretsus, so that they might strengthen their control of the industries. The changing global context

The bursting of Japan’s ‘‘bubble economy’’ led to an economic downturn in the 1990s. Because of deflation, decreasing consumer demand, stagnation of real GDP, a fall in property and land prices by 80% between 1991 and 1998 as well as a rapid growth of unemployment. Widespread changes in capital markets and inter-firm networks in Japan were accompanied by more fundamental restructurings of corporate performance systems, labour relations and employment practices. Competition from cheaper imports increased at the same time as domestic demand fell overall. As a result there were unprecedented declines in Japan’s overall industrial production rate in 1997 and 1998. The keiretsu system remained strongly in place throughout the first half of the 1990s. Nevertheless, the tendency move toward globalization of capital markets in Japan and ongoing regulatory change may potentially impact networking and performance implications in the 21st century.

These keiretsu are an effective system of minimising transaction costs, and an efficiency gain that has contributed to Japan's economic success. But the system has often been criticised for excluding outside firms from markets and, more particularly, as a barrier to foreign firms entering the Japanese market. Although keiretsu relationships appeared in the 1930s, it was in the 1950s that they were rapidly consolidated. In the post-war years, larger corporations chose their trading partners in areas such as production and distribution, and set about forming close,

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long-term business relationships. The keiretsu were a response to the intense competitive pressures which existed among Japanese firms; certainly, their primary purpose was not to exclude foreign firms. The keiretsu system resulted from corporate competition within the Japanese economy, and became established as a link between firms that was economically rational, and suited to Japanese-style management. However, the system of keiretsu relationships began to be seen as an unfair barrier. With the process of globalisation, plentiful cheap capital from the group's own banks financed a wild dash for global market share in the fast-moving global markets. It is hurting the keiretsu: When the world moved on to Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. of the computer technology. These competitions are costing the keiretsu plenty. ''This is not a temporary change due to the recession,'' says Hiroshi Okumura, a Chuo University professor who studies the keiretsu. ''These groups have become weak because of a structural change in the economy.'' (Business week, 1999).

Over the last decade, many of the keiretsu car manufacturers of Japan have experienced a huge shift in their external environment. Some of the major drivers of change include the sustained economic slowdown in Japan, an increasingly globalized world and changing customer-supplier relationships. These changes have forced keiretsus to reinvent themselves and, in some cases, to completely dissolve the traditional keiretsu structure. As globalization continues to progress, it has become clear that Japanese firms will have to start shifting their productions centers in order to stay competitive. This will be difficult for many Japanese firms due to the fact that interacting with other non-keiretsu companies will require learning a different business culture. Shedding the less desirable qualities of Keiretsu has allowed many Japanese firm flourish

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on the world stage. By looking outside of their own keiretsu group, firms are establishing international manufacturing agreements with more independent firms who are able to produce products for much less then in Japan. Some of the standout Japanese companies that have reach out to foreign suppliers and manufacturers is Toyota. While most of Japan was going through the lost decade, Toyota was actively establishing new partnerships with western firms in both the Americas and Europe. Not only was Toyota unafraid of reaching out to new markets and business partners, it made maintained diversified supply chains and manufacturing locations as to maximize profits and competitiveness.

According to the report from Japan National Statistic institution, the cross-shareholding rate of the Keiretsus dropped from 93% in 1987 to 83% in 2003. Diversification without regard for return on equity has been costly in terms of lower credit ratings. The conservatism of the Keiretsu has caused them to lag behind in fast-changing, globalised markets. As the executive vice-president of Mistubishi Research Institute, Danno Koichi, noted in a recent paper (see .unido.org), the competition brought about by the expansion of US companies, the integration of the Western European market, the birth of the euro, and the information-technology revolution has hit Japanese companies hard.

Structural reforms being undertaken by the Japanese government may change the country's corporate landscape, while moves by more companies to seek alliances outside their Keiretsu-- as Mistubishi Oil and Nikko Securities of the Mistubishi family did -- may well hasten the deconstruction of these corporate entities. Conclusion

This paper reviews major theoretical and empirical work on comparing the

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Keiretsu and Zaibatsus as well as the importance of Keiretsus in the process of Japan development during the 1950s to early 1990s. Firstly, by comparing the pre-war Zaibatsus with the post-war Keiretsu in concepts, history and structures, we conclude that the Keiretsus are the reorganised Zaibatsus. Keiretsu are the close, long-term business relationships established by large corporations with select groups of smaller firms, and they are linked through investment and the exchange of personnel. Then this article offered a discussion of the growth in the Japanese economy during the post-war period from 1950s till 1992 contributed by the Keiretsus’ networks. Thirdly, in the globalisation context, the Keiretsus are regarded as having structural problems. These problems limit the sustainable competitive advantages of Keiretsus to develop into the global market. So the changes are on the process for a reforming of Japan economy.

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