When firms shifts its production base overseas, first-tier suppliers shift with it, and it utilizes local suppliers for supplemental use. In general, when evaluating the local content, we use the first-tier local content. However, when observing carefully the production of each component, many of the components manufactured by local suppliers are composed of imported parts and materials. In the value-added terms, the first-tier local content is an overestimation of the actual value added by local suppliers. In the example of a Japanese automobile manufacturer in Thailand in 2007, the apparent local content was 90 percent, though the real local content measured in value added was 60 percent. However, Japanese Manufacturing Model has been changing these several years. Reliance on imports from Japan for parts and materials is a cost-disadvantage for Japanese manufacturers when facing competition in the local market. Manufacturers need to decrease the amount of value-added by Japanese companies and achieve an actual localization, which should lead to reduced cost. We call such phenomenon the “real localization” as opposed to the apparent localization. Lastly, we will discuss about the impact of real localization in overseas on Japanese domestic manufacturing, especially on Japanese suppliers.

The term “statistical significance” is commonly found in the management journal papers. In comparison with a complete survey, a sampling survey can economize on sampling costs while it cannot be free of sampling errors. However, the sampling error of a random sample can be rated on the scale of probability. When a deviation from the hypothesis is beyond the sampling error, the deviation is statistically significant.

To begin with, Bijker (1995a) introduces the problems about flood and dike in the Netherlands and analyzes them by using Materialistic Models, Cognitive Models and Social Shaping Models. Then, he points out the insufficiency of social shaping models and proposes three more elaborate approaches (Systems Approach; Actor Network Theory; Social Construction of Technology). He examines the huge dike construction, Deltaplan, through these approaches. This is the rough content of Bijker (1995a). In this paper, Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) is said to analyze the sociotechnical ensembles, which consists of heterogeneous elements such as the social, technological and so on. However, when coming into born, SCOT is not a framework to examine the sociotechnical ensembles. It is criticized and updated, and then comes to target them. These days, SCOT is used in management studies as the new analysis tool, but sociotechnical-ensemble-like perspective is often seen in traditional management studies. So, this trend of SCOT is thought to be in transition. However, as for technological frame, which is an updated version of SCOT, it has some rooms for theory development because the relation between elements of technological frame is vague.