Works
- The role of ambidexterity in managing buyer-supplier relationships: the Toyota case, Organization Science 28(6), 1080 to 1097, 2017
- Managerial actions using historical values for tackling hyper-competitive environments: the case of Toyota, Strategic Management Journal 47(6), 1640 to 1670 (online February 2026), 2026
In Organizational Structures
Known for
Studies of Toyota's supplier relations and strategy. Not to be confused with Masahiko Aoki.
Ideas
Ambidexterity in buyer and supplier relations. With Wilhelm, found that Toyota's deliberate use of ambiguity and explicitness works against overemphasizing either exploration or exploitation, and that structural separation and structural integration are two ways a buyer can help its suppliers become ambidextrous. Caveat: One case study.
Historical values as a managerial tool. Found that Toyota's managers used the firm's historical values in three kinds of action, filtering, integrating, and modifying, which let Toyota take in key elements of rivals' modular strategies while keeping the Toyota Production System and its long supplier relations. Caveat: A historical case study of one firm, with Nissan as the comparison.