The evolution of a corporate system: the case of production and employment structures in the Toyota Group

Abstract

In this study, we explore the evolution of a corporate system by analyzing the case of production and employment structures in the Toyota Group. Our fi ndings show that the production structure of the Toyota Group, which has been gradually affected by external, market, and institutional factors since the 1980s, transformed in 2009 from a domestic-oriented production structure to an overseas-oriented production structure. We also determined that since 2004, the domestic employment structure of the Toyota Motor Corporation has evolved to allow the fl exible management of worker supply and demand through the hiring of nonregular workers, in response to the amendment to the Worker Dispatching Act. Consequently, the Toyota Group’s production and employment structures have evolved to help secure channels that help the company fl exibly adjust its output in response to abrupt economic fl uctuations.