The creation of production systems within the social division of labour of the Japanese robot industry: The impact of the relation-specific skill (alias rocinante)

The robotic industry reveals the creation of subcontracting production systems within the Japanese social division of labour. The creation of the Japanese robot industry is important to geography, not simply because it occurred in Japan, but reveals the interdependence of national, regional and firm specific divisions of labour, and the quality of relations upon which those interdependencies are founded.;The research consisted of interviews undertaken with the first and third largest Japanese robotic firms, and two smaller, specialized firms to determine their products and subcontracting systems. Interviews were then held with many suppliers to determine the importance of the subcontracting relationship to its success, technological advancement, and contribution to other business.;The social division of labour of the robot industry revealed a great diversity of firms with many different talents and technologies, and whose activities are limited to/or bridge local, regional and national contexts. The relation specific skill shows how the interests and creative efforts of the core firm and of the supplier are accommodated to enable the creation of production systems. Production system formation is also an interplay between the creation of unique regional production systems, and the dependency and contribution of each regional production system to a national division of labour. Each regional production system supports local suppliers and a national network of suppliers, who in turn support and are supported by other robot manufacturers. A comprehension of this complexity requires the synthesis of the geographic approach.;Four bases are used to comprehend manufacturing sector change in Japan. (1) The social division of labour is composed of a great diversity of independent firms of all sizes and technological capabilities. (2) Production systems are created by core firms which manufacture a finished good drawn from the synergistic efforts of independent suppliers. (3) The skill required on the part of the supplier to respond efficiently to the specific needs of a core firm (the relation specific skill), exposes the relations binding core firm and suppliers into cohesive and competitive production systems. (4) The technological context is defined by the parts, components and goods which can be acquired from suppliers and which create entrepreneurial niches for those suppliers.