Americanization and Its Limits : Reworking US Technology and Management in Post-war Europe and Japan

This book develops a new and conceptually distinctive analysis of Americanization in European and Japanese industry after the Second World War, based on a rich set of sectoral and firm-based studies by an international group of distinguished scholars. The authors highlight the autonomous and creative role of local actors in selectively adapting US technology and management methods to suit local conditions and, strikingly, in creating new hybrid forms that combined indigenous and foreign practices in unforeseen and often remarkably competitive ways. Their findings will be of compelling interest not only to historians and social scientists concerned with the dynamics of post-war economic growth and industrial development, but also to those engaged in contemporary debates about the cross-national transfer and diffusion of productive models. Models Of Productive Efficiency And Business Organization Identified With A Particular Nation Have Repeatedly Emerged Throughout The History Of The Modern World Economy. This Book Examines Perhaps The Most Massive And Important Of These Processes: The European And Japanese Engagement With Us Technology And Management Methods In The Mid-twentieth Century. Focusing On A Number Of Key Industrial Sectors (engineering, Telecommunications, Motor Vehicles, Steel, And Rubber) Across A Broad Range Of Countries (the Uk, Sweden, France, Italy, Germany, And Japan), The Richly Detailed And Frequently Comparative Essays Highlight The Creative Role Played By Local Actors In Modifying The 'american Model' To Suit Their Own Circumstances. The Most Striking Findings Elaborate How European And Japanese Firms Succeeded In Creating Hybrid Forms That Combined Indigenous With Foreign Practices In Unforeseen But Often Remarkably Competitive Ways. The Book Combines Historical Research With Theoretical Analysis In Ways That Will Be Of Interest To Historians, Social Scientists, And Business Academics Concerned With The Dynamics Of Economic And Corporate Growth, Industrial Development, And The Diffusion Of Productive And Business Models.--jacket. Introduction: Americanization And Its Limits / Jonathan Zeitlin -- Americanization: Ideology Or Process? The Case Of The Us Technical Assistance And Productivity Programme / Jacqueline Mcglade -- Transplanting The American Model?: Us Automobile Companies And The Transfer Of Technology And Management To Britain, France, And Germany, 1928-1962 / Steven Tolliday -- Americanizing British Engineering? Strategic Debate, Selective Adaptation, And Hybrid Innovation In Post-war Reconstruction, 1945-1960 / Jonathan Zeitlin -- Failure To Communicate: British Telecommunications And The American Model / Kenneth Lipartito -- Creative Cross-fertilization And Uneven Americanization Of Swedish Industry: Sources Of Innovation In Post-war Motor Vehicles And Electrical Manufacturing / Henrik Glimstedt -- A Slow And Difficult Process: The Americanization Of The French Steel-producing And -using Industries After The Second World War / Matthias Kipping -- Remodeling The Italian Steel Industry: Americanization, Modernization, And Mass Production / Ruggero Ranieri -- Mass Production Or 'organized Craftsmanship'? The Post-war Italian Automobile Industry / Duccio Bigazzi -- The Long Shadow Of Americanization: The German Rubber Industry And The Radial Tyre Revolution / Paul Erker -- The Evolution Of The 'japanese Production System': Indigenous Influences And American Impact / Kazuo Wada And Takao Shiba -- American Occupation, Market Order, And Democracy: Reconfiguring The Steel Industry In Japan And Germany After The Second World War / Gary Herrigel. Edited By Jonathan Zeitlin And Gary Herrigel. Selected And Revised Proceedings Of Two Workshops. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In this analysis of Americanisation in European and Japanese industry after World War II, the contributors explore the creative role of local actors in selectively adapting US technology and management to suit local conditions