Abstract:

In order to understand the structure of the keiretsu of Mazda, the authors measured and analyzed centrality of transactions and cross-shareholdings within the same keiretsu. The analysis shows that firms with higher investments into other suppliers will purchase more parts. In other words, the investment is the primary driver for transactions in the top group of centrality. Furthermore, the large-scale firms with high levels of in-degree of transactions have sales advantage over local firms. These firms play a linked role in the network of cross-shareholdings because only betweenness in cross-shareholdings will bring great impact on profit.