"Interfirm Networks in the Japanese Electronics Industry analyses changes in production networks in the Japanese electronics industry. Japan's post-war success in the assembly industries (automobiles, electronics, etc.) is frequently attributed to innovative approaches to the organization of production: instead of relying on full scale vertical integration or arm's-length market transactions like their Western competitors, Japanese assemblers forged intricate networks of long-term interfirm business relationships that provided them with greater flexibility and quality of production. Traditionally, such networks have been characterized by hierarchical interfirm relationships resembling a pyramid." "Paprzyck's study shows how network arrangements have adapted in order to cope with profound changes in the competitive environment and how, as a result, many of the traditional elements of Japanese industrial organization described in the literature have begun to unravel."--BOOK JACKET