Organizations as learning systems: The case of the Japanese automobile manufacturing industry

This study sought to apply frameworks of organizational learning to companies in the Japanese automobile manufacturing industry and, in the process, to ascertain if Japanese automobile companies exhibit characteristics of high- versus low-learning organizations. Of particular interest are the effects of Japanese culture on organizational behavior. A basis for empirical testing of concepts of organizational learning to establish an explanation as to why some companies are more effective in succeeding in the global market according to accepted measures of success is provided. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.