Lean Production “with Chinese Characteristics”
A Case Study of China’s Automobile Industry
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9951392 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lu Zhang (0000-0002-8855-8492, Temple University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 152-170 |
| Publication date | 2015-04-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7659 • E-ISSN: 1557-9336 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00207659.2015.1061861 |
| OpenAlex | W1587769627 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 25 |
The concept of “lean production” has attracted much attention and sparked considerable debate among social scientists on work and workplace restructuring. This study seeks to engage with the lean production debate through a case study of China’s automobile industry. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in seven large auto-assembly plants in China, the article explores how lean production is implemented in the Chinese context, how it has affected workplace and workers, and what successes and problems have arisen. It finds that intensified competition and China’s specific conditions have driven automakers to adopt mixed strategies by combining certain lean techniques with the existing Fordist–Taylorist mass production system, while utilizing some effective socialist organizational practices. Despite the general move toward a lean-flexible workplace, there are notable variations in employment practices at the factory level that influence outcomes of lean production. The Chinese case provides new evidence that supports the “diversity” perspective and an integrated approach, which underline substantial national and subnational variations in the implementation and outcomes of lean production. The evidence shows that in the absence of independent trade unions, lean production leads to an intensification of work and greater managerial control. The findings suggest the need to bring analysis of capitalist labor process and shop-floor control, resistance, and accommodation back in to understand lean production
Business · China · Context (archaeology · Economics · Economy · Fordism · Industrial organization · Lean manufacturing · Political science · Production (economics · Restructuring · Employment and Welfare Studies · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Labor Movements and Unions · Marketing
On the line at Subaru-Isuzu
Communist Neo-Traditionalism
Forces of Labor
The Chinese Worker, 1875-1900
Conditions for the Disappearance of the Japanese Working-Class Movement
Dominant Divisions of Labor
Governing China
China's industrial revolution
Union Power in China Source, Operation, and Constraints
Governing China
Putting Class in Its Place
Lean Production-The End of History
Strategy or Structure? Capital, Labour and Control
Work, Employment and Society
From 'Fordism' to 'Toyotism'? The Social Organization of the Labor Process in the Japanese Automobile Industry
| Citations per year | 0.56 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2023 (7) |
| Highly cited | No |