Learning to be Lean in an Emerging Economy: The Case of South Korea

Abstract

Balance of payments considerations have driven the automobile industry strategies of many late-industrializing countries such as Thailand, Mexico, and Malaysia. These countries do not intend to become leading suppliers in the world automobile industry but rather, have designed (if only by default) their assembly and parts operations with a view towards protecting their balance of payments. Because an automobile is a high-value import, and because demand for automobiles rises steeply as per capita income rises, free importation of automobiles often hurts a young economy's balance of payments. Therefore, virtually all lateindustrializing countries have some intention of developing a production capability in autos in order to protect the supply of and demand for foreign exchange.