German and Japanese Business in the Boom Years

During the twentieth century as a whole, the United States has been a reference point for industrialized economies around the world. This volume examines the American influence on two of the most important and dynamic economies in the so-called boom years of the post-war period (1950-73), the West German and the Japanese. Contributions to this volume analyze five different business sectors which played an important role as engines of economic growth and also in the development of the consumer society in both countries: automobiles, electrical engineering and electronics, synthetic fibers and rubber, consumer chemicals and retail trade. The paired case studies examine the process of introducing new technology and management methods in each company and industry with respect to the American influence. They look at the possible Americanization across a wide variety of functions, including R&D, production, sales and marketing, HR and finance. The book shows that the American models led to a transformation ofexisting production and management systems which, subsequently became the core of the successful West German and Japanese models in the 1970s and 80s.German and Japanese Business in the Boom Yearsmakes an important contribution to the debate on Americanization from a historical and comparative perspective and is essential reading for students and researchers of business and economic history.