Composing Robot Production Systems: Japan as a Flexible Manufacturing System
- 24 July 1993
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space
- Vol. 25 (7) , 923-944
- https://doi.org/10.1068/a250923
Abstract
In this paper, case-study evidence of the composition of four robot production systems is provided to reveal the linkages between local, regional, and national social divisions of labour. The relation-specific skill epitomizes the sophisticated procedures used to compose production systems, and the four case studies provide evidence of the communalities and varieties of these procedures. The geography of the interrelationships of the vertical divisions of labour of design-supplied suppliers and of the horizontal division of labour of design-approved suppliers is discussed. The cooperation and competition within this social division of labour allows Japan to function as a flexible manufacturing system.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
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- Manufacturer-supplier relationships in Japan and the concept of relation-specific skillJournal of the Japanese and International Economies, 1989
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