Purpose – This study aims to describe how a work team adapted to its fluctuated and severe environment by changing from “lean” to “over-lean” mode. To do this, the author investigated the relations among productivity, the vertical division of labor, and group leaders' behavior in a Japanese automobile assembly plant. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted field study at an assembly plant for five months. They collected three plant-level data to investigate the capability of its shop floor: transition of production volume; transition of the number of workers; and productivity. And they collected two types of workforce data: skill map and work shift. Moreover, they videotaped the behavior of group leaders on several days and analyzed them through a time study. Findings – The work team of this study achieved high productivity even in its tough environment. However, the authors' time study of group leaders showed that the group leaders, who usually engage in some management activities outside of the production line, did many tasks within the line. This indicates the team had a weakness toward the change of team members. Changing to this over-lean mode enabled the team to survive in a short-run, but maintaining the mode has a weakness in enhancing long-term competitiveness. Originality/value – This study proposes a balance between the two modes is required for organizations if they are to survive their severe and fluctuating environments.

Christensen and Bower (1996) and Christensen (1997, 2003) discuss disruptive innovation by applying Dosi's concept of disruptive technological trajectories (Dosi, 1982). In the studies on performance of hard disk drives, Christensen uses and re-uses "a reprinted graph," in which time and performance are on the horizontal and vertical axes. However, careful examination of different publications shows a varying shape and vertical axis, raising doubts about its reliability. In fact, whether the technological trajectories look disruptive or sustaining depends on the unit on the vertical axis. To present the nature of technological trajectories, it would appear more appropriate to set the vertical axis to volumetric recording density for hard disk drives. Moreover, the technological trajectories of hard disk drives would not be disruptive, if the vertical axis was adjusted to reflect weights of hard disk drives or amounts of their electricity use. It is conceivable that Christensen came to this conclusion that the technological trajectories are disruptive before considering a more appropriate performance measure for them.

A discontinuous technological innovation destroy the existing technological systems and alter the regular competitive balance even in a stable mature industry. In the color TV set industry, a discontinuous technological change from vacuum tubes to transistors and ICs was observed in the 1970's. The effect of a discontinuous change in the color TV set industry is analyzed through comparative study of Japanese and American firms.

No abstract

International standardization has become a strategic tool for global firms since new industrial policies emerged in developed countries in the 1980s, which allow firms to easily form a consortium to set industry-wide standards. This standardization has created many consensus standards that change the distribution of added value internationally, and has induced transformation in the international division of labor among the developed and developing countries. Platform business is most eminent in the resulting business ecosystem. It harnesses consensus standards to earn global competitive advantages, based on two practices: adjusting the scope of their knowledge and selecting new business partners who adopt the standards.