ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

The purposes of this paper are to review the evolution process of cooperation between Japanese large corporations and SMEs, particularly that of Kyoryokukai in the Japanese automobile industry, and to suggest some policy implications for the Korean government. Keiretsu system and one of its subsystems, Kyoryokukai, were formed in Japan after the World War II, and expanded effectively during the growth stage of Japanese economy. With the breakdown of bubble economy in early 1990s, however, Japanese economy entered low-growth stage, and Keiretsu system began to lose its effectiveness steadily. Particularly in the Japanese automobile industry, as assemblers began to increase oversea production and adopt product modularization strategy, Kyoryokukai also began to lose its effectiveness. These evolution patterns imply that Keiretsu system and Kyoryokukai are effective only under a certain environment with growing economy and industries requiring transaction-specific investment in the supplier side. From this review, this article suggests four kinds of policy implication for the Korean government: government support only in the case of effective conditions requiring cooperation between large firms and SMEs, selective government support for qualified Korean-version Kyoryokukai satisfying proper conditions, government guidance and support for the voluntary activities of firms related to the cooperation between large firms and SMEs, and government support for enhancing the cooperative and equivalent social culture of business entities.

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